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!
Courtney
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