Week 36--

Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia! (Please listen to this. It is one of my favorite parts of the Easter Mass ... in English... every year. It is beautiful, and I couldn't stop singing it today in my head... and later out loud!)

Welp, I'm back from my silent retreat. There's a lot to hear when you're silent for a long time... and I left the retreat full of the Lord's joy and peace, thanks be to God!

It would take hours for me to write all that I experienced of God's overwhelming love on this retreat...but I do want to share just a little something that made me smile today. I hope it makes you smile too.

Before you read: I have nothing against gardeners. I actually quite like gardeners, and it will soon be on my bucket list to learn the names of flowers. The passage is John 20:11-18

"But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, "Why are you weeping?" She said the them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him." Saying this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, "Do not hold me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and to your Father, to my God and your God." Mary Magdalene went and said to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord" ; and she told them that he had said these things to her."

Mary Magdalene sees Jesus and supposes, "Oh... that's probably just the gardener..." That just makes me smile! It is so human, and I know I do this all the time. God is so present in this world, and He presents Himself to me soo many ways... and I say, "Oh... it's probably just the gardener..." How many times does Christ try to show Himself to me, and I disregard Him as "just the gardener?"

I also love in this passage how Jesus calls Mary by her name. And with that, she recognizes Him. "Mary." <-- that's all He says. "She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, 'Rabboni! (which means Teacher)." The punctuation and the capitalization is so interesting to me. "Mary." Period. "Rabboni!" Exclamation point! "(...Teacher)," CAPITALIZED T. The first is so direct. Period. The Lord is calling Mary directly by name. Period. The second conveys joy in seeing the Lord for who He is! He's not just the gardener! Exclamation point! The third shows respect, for although Jesus is Mary's beloved friend, He is also her Lord and Creator. CAPITALIZED T.

But besides the punctuation and capitalization, there is more to this! You see, just as Jesus calls Mary by name, so He is also calling me directly by name. "Courtney." Nothing more. "Courtney." ...and He waits for me to recognize His call. He waits for me to say, "Wait a second... you're not the gardener!" And just as He is calling me directly by name, so He calls you directly by name.

It reminds me of this Catholic hymn, "You are Mine." ♫♪ Do not be afraid I am with you. I have called you each by name. Come and follow me; I will bring you home. I love you, and you are mine. ♫♪

I finished the spiritual exercises with Mass and a prayer, by Saint Ignatius of Loyola, that I think is absolutely beautiful and would like to share:

 

Take Lord and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will.

All I have to call my own, You have given it all to me. To You, Lord, I return it.

Everything is Yours; do with it what You will. Give me only Your love and Your grace.

That is enough for me.
Amen.
 

I would love to share more, and I probably will individually with you if you would like when we chat in person (or via Skype), but I have to get up in a few hours for school (bleh...), and like I said... everything would take hourssss to explain. I want to thank all of those who kept me in their prayers throughout my time in spiritual exercises. I literally prayed for "all those on my blog list," as well as for the specific intentions that some of you all passed along to me-- so please be confident that the Lord has His hand of protection over you.

Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia! (Quick! Here's another chance to listen to the hymn from the begninning... if you'd like...I can't get enough!)

 

Are you sure that the guy yanking weeds in your backyard is just your "gardener?" ...You may want to check on that...

 

With joy--

 

Courtney



Week 35--

Yo he estado acá en América del Sur (y principalmente en Uruguay) por 8 meses ahora! Q locura! Y todavía hay muchas cosas que quiero aprender y que voy (espero) a aprender.

^ Basically saying I've been here for 8 months and there's so much more that I want to learn and that I am going to learn (I hope).

This week was a long, but good week. I feel like things that happened on Monday happened 18 years ago... I did A LOT of things this week. Time for... (ba da da daaa!) another list:

1. Classes Monday, Wednesday-Friday. Note: no classes on Tuesday, which is random and I love it.

2. I WENT TO THE MOVIES FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 8 MONTHS! I saw the movie "Los Croods" all in Spanish. It's from the U.S.A., but I don't know the English name. It is animated, the main girl's voice is played by Emma Stone, and it's about cave people. Anyways... If you know the movie in English, I recommend it for the whole family. It reminded me of "The Allegory of the Cave," which I read in my freshman year Core class. The movie has a lovely little message to it--quite refreshing!

3. I went to the Mass in the Cathedral of Montevideo which celebrated the beginning of Pope Francisco I's papacy. I have never seen so many priests and seminarians celebrating Mass together in one place. The Cathedral was packed. It was beautiful.

4. I had a really good, long chat with my friends Nicola and Gavin about very real things... Which was so good that I thought I'd include it in this list.

5. I signed up to go on Spiritual Exercises starting this coming Wednesday night until Easter Sunday around 7 pm. It is basically like a silent retreat. I've never been on one before, but from what I understand.. We will all read a passage from the Bible or receive an image of the Lord through a story or reflection, and then we will have time to ourselves to pray, reflect, and be with God in silence. Then we repeat. We'll also have Mass and things like that I'm assuming. I've been told that we get a "buddy" for the 4 days, and we get a certain amount of time to talk out our thoughts with them... Because sometimes when you talk things out they seem more real, and also to simply have someone to talk to if I'm struggling, loving the silence, or having really great insights through prayer, etc. I'll let you all know more about it next week when I get home, but until then... I would appreciate your thoughts and/or prayers. You can be sure that you all will be in mine!

6. I "presented" a little tid bit on the retreat I went on in August to the group of freshman and new comers in the University. Yay for public speaking... IN SPANISH!

7. I went running twice this week! AND used the workout equipment on the rambla for the first time since being here! ...slow but steady wins the race...

8. Went to my friend Shanice's house to make pizza! It was sooooo good. Then we talked for hours while eating this delicious pizza (and adding in a lil' ice cream to boot!). Her roommate Katie taught me how to make apple dessert empanadas (OH MY GOSH!), and I shared this, and this, and this video with Shanice and her other roommate Nicola (the friend from number 4). I was not having the most up-beat day, but afterwards I left their apartment feeling so smiley and thankful. Like I said in my last post... It's amazing how much of a difference one person, let alone a whole group of people, can make.

9. Went to the movies for the second time in my Uruguayan life (and this week...) with my host sister. We saw "Silver Linings Play Book" with Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence. It was so. good. Quite a lot of "choice-y" language, but very well done. Maybe that's why it won 8 oscars?!

10. Today I went to Punta del Este with my friends Abby and Daisy (they're housemates here in Montevideo). It was soo much fun. We met a guy from Canada who was traveling solo, so he tagged along with us for the day! We spent a lot of time at/on the "monument of the fingers" (el monumento de los dedos), which looks how it sounds. We also had a deep talk on the beach, had a scrumptious chivito lunch (thanks Abby's mom), and watched the sun set at la Casa del Pueblo at Punta Ballena. Also... On the way to Punta del Este I befriended a woman named Rosilia. She had 83 years, 12 kids, and 50ish grandchildren. She also had 2ish secrets for life... Which I wrote down in 1 notebook. The first piece of advice = that you and your husband (or wife) should agree on things that you like to do... And then to DO things together. She listed examples like go to the park, go to the movies, etc. The important thing is just DOING things together. The second = to put God before all things, and to always keep our focus on Him. Pretty wise woman I must say.

Annnnd mis amigos...that's all for now. Sorry it got a little lengthy.

Happy Palm Sunday! Happy Holy Week! And/or happy 8 months of me being here!

But seriously, 8 months?!

 

First time at el cine Uruguayo!

Punta del Este.

Mis amigas, Abby y Daisy.

El pulgar de los dedos.

Meet Jordan, our new Canadian friend.

Punta Ballena.

Incredible.

Casa del Pueblo.

Another one for you, Laur.

 

Qué todo pase bien--

Courtney



Week 34--

Phewf... the first week of classes is over! It has definitely been a week of growth and eye-opening experiences. I'm gonna go ahead and jump right into one of the things I have learned these past 7 months/especially this week. Philosopher William James once said, "Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does." I tell ya... Mr. James could not have been more right. I have learned that one person--ONE person--really can make an impact for better or for worse. In class, with the "regular" Uruguayans... I looked around and thought, "I'm the only girl in here with a backpack..." HA! I seriously was. BUT you can also take that metaphorically? As in: I didn't know anybody, I felt foreign (cuz I am), and I was just a lil' uncomfortable. But if one person made a point to talk to me, all of that awkwardness seemed to disappear. That's it, that's all I needed: one inviting comment, one gesture of kindness, one selfless thought. I want to be that person for others when I return. Now that I know what it is like to be an "extranjera," a foreigner, I want to intentionally make an effort to reach out to those who may be thinking, "...I am the only one in here with a backpack..."

Some other things that happened this week:

1. I participated in a Uruguayan flashmob. Interesting...
2. The Catholic Church chose a new Pope... and he is from BUENOS AIRES! That's right next door! I love his humility in his opening remarks... praying for Pope Benedict XVI and asking us to pray for him. Talk about goose-bumps, or shall I say "piel de gallina." Let us always pray for one another. Let us pray for the whole world, that there may be a great spirit of fraternity. --Pope Francis (Francisco) I
2. We had a girls' night/dinner at the CRU interns' apartment which was so much fun--a good lil' Spanish break, yummy food, and lots of healthy laughter.
3. I went to a BINGO fundraiser Saturday night, and lost every round (as well as the raffle).
4. I had MY FIRST BABYSITTING JOB (woo!) also on Saturday night. One of the boys had the stomach flu already, and another one of them got the stomach flu while I was watching them. It was... an... experience...
5. My host-parents, host-brother, and I went to an air show today for the air forces' 100 year anniversary! I'm not a plane fanatic, but it was actually quite breathtaking seeing the planes make special formations and show off their tricks over the Río de la Plata. Something about the mixture of the clouds, and the sun, and the planes... I don't know...

To finish up, I thought I'd let you all know what classes I am taking this semester... in case you were interested! I'll go ahead and translate the titles of the courses into English:

1. Organizational Culture
2. External Communication, Marketing, and Public Relations
3. The Historical Process of Uruguay--This is an exchange student course. I just love the professor because she knows everything about everything.
4. Production I--We will be producing videos...oh boy... 

This is so candid, and so, so good.

Girls dinner!

 

Peace and buh-lessings--

 

Courtney





Week 33--

Finally! I am writing a blog post on time! You know what that means... everything is tranquilo again and CLASSES START TOMORROW. What is this world coming to?!

This past week I spent plenty of time 1. on the beach and 2. with good people. I think you could call that a week well spent.

On Wednesday I went to the University for a "new exchange student welcome," aka ice-breakers (woo!), and met the 53 other host-students from 13 different countries. This seems like a really good group, and I have already enjoyed spending time with many of them. It is so weird for me to think that 7 months ago I was in their shoes, experiencing a new country, new language, new culture, etc. That's not to say that I am not still experiencing new things, believe me... I am!, but the whole "dream-like-state/summer-camp-feeling of everything being so foreign" has worn off. And that, my friends, is a nice feeling. Looking back, I can see how I've grown--in the language and as a young woman--and I am thankful. I look forward to the many more opportunities for growth that I'm sure I'll encounter throughout the next 5 months. Step 1: Taking regular classes with regular Uruguayans.

...Although I've grown in confidence... that thought still gives me the heeby-jeebys. Prayers please!

Little funny (but also not funny at the moment) side note about life here in Uruguay: on Friday I went to the University to ask about classes... which start MONDAY (3 days after Friday, just to emphasize) and they still didn't have the classes or hours of the Communication classes that are starting (I repeat) on MONDAY. I am signing up for classes for Queens in the U.S.A. in like 2 weeks, and those classes start in August. Like I said, I am living the tranquila life here for sure! It's going to be quite an interesting week...

 



Hooray for new exchange students and a new semester!

 

Talk to ya next week if I survive this one ;)

 

Besitos--

 

Courtney

P.S. For all you U.S. East Coast-ers out there... we're back to being an hour apart! Woo!





Week 32 (belated)--

This past week I traveled to Rio de Janeiro, Brasil with my host-sister to visit my cousin (once removed, but who's countin') Tim, his wife Timi, and son Taltós (we call Taltós Titu... pronounced Tee-Too).

When reflecting upon this week, one word immediately comes to mind: family. I had never met Tim or his family before, but from the moment they opened up the door I felt it--I was with my family. To add to that feeling, just around the corner sat my Gram, who had traveled all the way to Brazil to surprise me. If you know me at all, you know I cried.

I think if I had done nothing but sit in the apartment all week with them by my side, I would have been happy. I WAS WITH MY FAMILY! I haven't seen anyone from my family in seven months...without the help of a screen. But this family of mine is full of adventure-lovers, so we did not sit in the apartment all week. Also fine by me! I, too, am a lover of adventure.

My gram stayed in Rio with us from Tuesday until Saturday. I loved going around the city with her--visiting lookouts, a favela, beaches, the botanical garden, Corcovado (the Jesus statue), restaurants, a craft market, and more! At night, during or after dinner, we would talk about her side of the family. I learned so much that I had never known before. It was almost like discovering a new, little piece of myself--and I felt proud of where my family came from. Tim told me that Gram's mother had a way of making everyone around her feel special, even if someone in the crowd was a Scrooge. Gram talked about her father: how he worked his way from the bottom-->up in Ford, and then gave away a grand portion of his money to help those around him without telling anyone (including his wife, at times!). I even learned more about my Pop, Gram's husband who passed away when I was eleven. Gram says that every day, throughout their 46 years of marriage, she always knew that Pop loved her. That's a gift. Anyways... it may be one of those things that I think is so interesting because I'm related to these people, and while I'm sitting intrigued, others are snoozing Zzzzzz... So I'll stop here. But if you want to know more, I can tell ya!

New topic--I have been asked a few times this question: If you had to choose, beach or mountains, which one would you pick? That's a hard question to answer! My response is this: "Both (just to let the ask-er know that I enjoy them both), but if I had to choose... I think I'd choose the beach because it reminds me of my family, I grew up going to the beach, and I love the sound/smell/feeling of the ocean." However, the good thing about Rio is that I don't have to choose one or the other! It has both! So now my new answer is: "If I had to choose, I'd choose Rio."

Yesterday, on our last day, Sabrina and I went on a "little hike" up Pão De Açúcar (my cousin Titu climbed straight up the mountain when he was 7, and set a record for the youngest climber to climb it-- here he is... it's insane actually). Timi made it sound like it was going to be a little stroll... but no. It 'twas not, my friends. It 'twas not. We were hiking up that mountain basically bear-crawling, and stopping halfway to harness-up and rock climb. Although it was a lot more difficult than we expected, it was SO worth it. I have never done anything like it, nor have I seen a view as spectacular as the views we saw while climbing. The whole time I kept thinking... "How do you describe this to someone?! There is no word, no photo that could capture the beauty of what I am seeing right now." It was like 50 shades of blue except not like the book, I mean literally 50 shades of blue...Soo many blues all mixing together with the sea, and the sky, and the mountains. It was honestly, so breathtaking. Thank you, Lord, for this beautiful world. That's all I can say about that!

Annnnd... nowwww some photos!

Even the ride to Rio was amazing. Look at the moon!

Tim caught the surprise on camera!

Favela.

Cristo el Redentor amidst the fog.

Incredible child.

Beautiful plants in the botanical garden.

I couldn't get enough of these cactuses! Cacti? Cactie? ...tye?

The best surprise and myself.

Gram likes to climb too!

Gotta love family!

Being a bird for 10 minutes.

La playa!

For you, Laura.

Sand hand(s).

The world's kindest driver, Bira!

Timi is a GREAT cook. Great cook indeed.

New little friend and his little tongue.

Climbing!

Professional, age 8.

Climbing crew.

Hello there, Cristo el Redentor.

View from Corcovado (without fog).

La locura de las fotos.

Hike/climb up... a lot harder than we thought it would be...

Woo!

Almost there!

View from the top of Pão De Açúcar!

Cristo, el sol, y Rio.

 

Before Sabrina and I walked into the airport, Bira (our driver for the week) told me (in Portuguese, but I'm gonna type it in English) "Go with God." So now, I leave you with this  last photo above ^ and those same words: "Go with God." I hope that you discover beauty and blessings in abundance this week, as I did in Rio.

 

Até a próxima meus amigos (Google translated from English to Portuguese)--

 

Courtney



Week 32--

Hello, from Rio de Janerio, Brazil! We are about to go out to dinner and then go sleep in hammocks in the trees (not kidding), so unfortunately this blog post will have to wait until Tuesday when I get back to Montevideo. 

Here's a photo to hold you over...

!!!

Até terça-feira--

Courtney