Welp folks, this past Wednesday marked four months in South America. That means 4 months of personal growth and adventure have passed, and I have 8 more months of personal growth and adventure to come!
Tonight I thought to myself: Self, you are really starting to feel more confident in expressing yourself in Spanish. And it's true! The more and more time I spend with Uruguayans, the more and more comfortable I feel sharing my thoughts, feelings, and experiences. My young-adult group at the church I attend and the pastoral office within my University have been particularly helpful (and unbelievingly patient) throughout this growth.
Moving on to this week:
Monday-- One final exam 'Idioma Español', one final exam 'Pensamiento en América Latina y Uruguay,' study for my final on Tuesday.
Tuesday-- One final exam 'Cultura Uruguaya,' teach English, study for my final of Wednesday.
Wednesday-- One, AND LAST, final exam 'Literatura Uruguaya.' FREEDOM!
So, as you can see ^^^ my lunes-miércoles was not very fun, but all is well because I am now done with school for practically four months. That's right. Four... months...
Thursday-- Thanksgiving. This day was tougher for me than I thought it would be. I found myself really missing my family, friends, and (obvio) food. But mostly family and friends. My friend Lindsay lives with a Uruguayan host-family and four other American exchange students, and she kindly invited me to join her host-family and some others for an 'American Thanksgiving dinner.' Everyone cooked something which made for quite the feast. : turkey (which I haven't eaten in four months), potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, cranberries, bread, salad, apple-pie/crumble, pumpkin-pie, and my host-mom's chocolate-dulce de leche cake (explanation to follow). I was going to make a pie for dessert, but after trying for a bit to explain that I was looking for 'pie-crust' to two guys at the supermarket ('...ehmm la base del pie por favor?'), I discovered that they didn't sell it. Due to my inability, or rather impatience, for making things from scratch in a foreign language in a foreign kitchen...not that I have the ability or patience to do that in English...I decided to settle on boxed brownies. Classic. I did buy some dulce de leche to be creative and mix it in the batter. I seriously improvised when it came to the materials in the kitchen, as I couldn't seem to find the tools I needed and no one was home to preguntar (ask). I'll go ahead and confess to self-timering the top-right pic below. Anyways... I made the brownie batter, mixed in some dulce-de-leche, and waited for my host-mom to get home to help me with the oven. I normally know how to work ovens, but I swear this one is different! She showed me the ins-and-outs of the oven, and I placed the brownies in to bake for 15 minutes. 15 minutes = enough time to go upstairs and start an episode of How I Met Your Mother. Within 10 minutes I smelled smoke. At least I tried?...
Baking brownies for our Thanksgiving dessert. They turned out quite lovely, I must say.
After the whole 'brownie-incident,' I ran to the store to pick up some flour, cocoa, and eggs. My host-mom whipped up a new cake in about the same time that it took for me to burn my brownies. I headed over to Lindsay's, cake in hand, and was welcomed by a warm house full of warm people and warm food. It was a great way to spend Thanksgiving and re-emphasized how thankful I am for this experience and all of the people in my life: the old and the new. Feliz Día de Acción de Gracias, everyone!
Día de Acción de Gracias--the bottom left corner = host-mom's brownie-replacement cake.
Friday-- My friend Alyssa's parents were in town this week, and they graciously allowed me to tag along on their day-trip to Colonia del Sacramento. I had been to Colonia already, but, as you may remember from week 4, it had rained practically the entire time. This time, I hoped to see Colonia in a new light. Get it?...light? ...sunshine?... It didn't rain, por suerte, which indeed made Colonia seem like a completely different place. Colonia is really such a charming town, and I loved spending the day wandering around the historical plaza, through the streets, and around the artesian feria. We ate a scrumptious lunch, browsed through the quaint shops, and climbed the steps to the top of the lighthouse. We treated ourselves to ice cream que estaba muy rico, stopped by the new aquarium (very different than my expectations), and slid down a grassy hill on cardboard boxes. We also took pictures with a random mime--I was instantly reminded of Mary Kate and Ashley: Mystery Cruise. Kinda creepy... BUT our time in Colonia was lovely, and I am thankful for the generosity of Alyssa and her parents.
Colonia del Sacramento--sin la lluvia, por suerte.
Saturday-- One of my friends from the retreat I went on in August, reference week 5, invited me and Lindsay to spend the day in Floresta, about an hour 1/2 ish bus ride out of Montevideo. I knew a few people from the retreat, and others became fast, new amigos. We began our day on the beach, relaxing and playing a game called tejo. Then we returned back to my friend's summer house there to have lunch and spend more time with one another. While we waited for the hamburgers to cook on the parrilla, we talked, hammocked, and sang along to the guitar. The singing and talking continued all day long. At one point we were all just sitting in a huge circle chit-chatting for hours. No one was on their cell phone, no television, nor any other piece of technology. We were simply a bunch of young-adults and our priest hanging out, chatting about life. I genuinely had such a good time. Those are three things I love: good people, good discussions, and good ambiance. I feel blessed to have met this group of people, as they help me to grow in the language, in my spiritual life, and as a person in general. It is nice to feel like I have real, local (woo!) friends with whom I can be myself.
Un día en Floresta con buenos amigos.
Sunday-- Just a normal ol' Sunday. Woke up, went to the feria in Parque Rodo (in place of running along the rambla), had host-family lunch, worked on some stuff, went to Mass, went to my young-adult group after Mass, came home and had dinner (at 11 pm might I add, normal), and now I'm writin' my dear ol' blog.
On Thursday I leave for Mendoza, Argentina for a week and then I move on for a week in Valparaiso, Viña del Mar, y Santiago, Chile. I will try to blog on Sunday when I am in the hostel, but I can't make any promises. Please pray for a safe journey (20 hours in bus to Mendoza and 30 hours in bus from Santiago back to Montevideo...oh boy...), for good weather, and for a fun/safe time. Let the traveling begin!
You are all, como digo siempre, in my thoughts and prayers. Feel free to come visit [insert winky face]!
Sinceramente--
Courtney
Courtney,
ReplyDeleteGlad to know your baking/cooking skills are still the same (kidding!) And that was super sweet of your host family to give you an 'American' dinner. I can't believe how much you've improved your spanish!! I can't wait to hear you when you get back. I know you are so much better than me already! Maybe you can even come over and talk to my parents, they'd be really impressed! I love you and I am always praying/thinking of you!!!