Week 40--

Week 40!? Geez! I feel like I was just writing week 4...

I spent the majority of this week outdoors and/or with my friend Lindsay (or Lichi, if you will).

The weather was BEAUTIFUL almost every single day. Not too hot, not too cold... juuuuuuust right. Very fall-y.

Speaking of fall... and to have a little play with words here, cuz that's always fun, I was reminded this week of how wonderfully things have just fallen into place here:

This weekend Lichi and I had a "marathon" (as Lichi called it) of "fun time with amigos" (as I call it). On Friday night we went to a tango exhibition, with music, singers, and dancers, with our Uruguayan friend Marce. Afterwards we all met up with our other two Uruguayan friends, Flor y Nati, to have a "semi-sleepover." Side note: Semi-sleepovers are when people stay at a "sleepover" until the whole "sleeping" part...then they leave. So it's more like an "over." The whole concept of "full"-sleepovers doesn't seem to really exist here... Anyways, we all stayed up chatting and laughing away until about 3 or so. After staying the night at Lichi's (I stayed for the full-sleepover), Lichi and I woke up to go volunteer at UNIDOS, met with some friends at a café, and then relaxed at her house until meeting up with our Uruguayan friend, Gastón. He had prepared a delicious dinner--little pita pockets with veggies, chicken, and meat with PHILADELPHIA CREME CHEESE (I know, right!?), and lots of other yummy things. His little 11-year brother, Alejandro, also joined us for the evening. After dinner and some conversation, we all walked down to an ice cream place, ordered some ice cream, and ate it in the plaza. After some more conversation, Lichi and I returned to her house for another full-sleepover, and so our marathon of fun time with amigos ended.

This weekend,  in our little marathon, Lichi and I had such a wonderful, normal time (I hope you don't mind, Lichi, that I am speaking for you on that... but I'm pretty sure you had a good time). And by normal, I mean...  easy. As in... it felt natural? If that makes sense...

On our way home from Gastón's I said to Lichi that our little mid-night ice cream in the plaza reminded me of Cook Out milkshake runs back home in NC. Easy, relaxed, fun! And scrumptious! And then Lichi said something along the lines of, "It's just so cool that we have friends here with whom we can do stuff like this." And I couldn't agree more. It is just neat that we have made a life for ourselves here in the last 9 months. It is such a good feeling to recognize that our lives feel normal here. That we can have fun time marathons with amigos... and to do so just feels easy. It just feels natural.

And looking back, (it helps that I re-read some of my old blog posts this week, already feeling nostalgic for Uruguay... and I'm still here...) it's nice to see how things all worked out--how things fell into place. Such as: taking an exchange student class where a guy (my now friend, Seba) came in and talked about a weekend retreat, sitting next to Lichi on a bus home from a field-trip and being encouraged (I don't even know if she knows this) to have the courage to go on the retreat, going on said retreat which was held in the church Las Esclavas, going to Las Esclavas and being asked to take up the collection with a woman who introduced me to Viki (who works at UNIDOS) who then introduced me to others who invited me to a young adults group, attending the young adults' group, hearing more about the mission trip in February through the young adults' group, attending the mission (which was an incredible experience), fortifying friendships through the mission and in the young adults' group... etc., etc., etc. Many things like that... which have led me to semi-sleepovers and pita pocket dinners.

I have had so many experiences here in South America, and still so many more to come. There are so many places I've been, and people I've met, and things I've done, which have not only made my life feel normal here, but have (more importantly) helped form and grow me in many different ways. And all of this "falling-in-to-place-ness" I see as a true blessing from God.

"I sought the Lord and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears." Psalm 34:4

And on that note: Happy fall! (Or probably spring in your case...!)

Happy Fall!

 

Les mando un abrazo fuerte--

 

Courtney



Week 39--

I wish this week was "Week 33"... because "thirty-three" in Spanish is "treinta y tres," and that's EXACTLY where I went this week: to the Uruguayan Department of "Treinta y Tres." Speaking of numbers... I would just like to throw out there that I've now been in Uruguay/South America for nine months! That's a "full-term" baby in the womb!

This Friday, a small group of people from my young adults' group at church traveled to Treinta y Tres for a little "mini-mission." (Although my friend Lindsay's host-padre, Eduardo, likes to say that the words "mini" and "mission" can't possibly go together porque "no tiene sentido," "it doesn't make sense...) I use the word "mini" in the sense that we were only there from Friday night until tonight, Sunday... but Eduardo is right: missions can't be mini, because through them come great fruits.

Unfortunately, due to my sleepiness from the bus, I will only be touching on two of these great fruits in this blog post.

FIRST FRUIT: A local family, "la familia de Laura," invited us to dinner Friday night. They welcomed us with so much joy and love... and I cannot stop thinking about it. As we walked in the door they greeted us with the biggest and most genuine of smiles. Their authenticity, purity, and selflessness, through their service and joy-- that is what struck me the most. They lived a very humble lifestyle... but they still prepared a feast for us. They hadn't met more than half of us... but they still treated us like family. And they did all of this so naturally... without even thinking twice about it. They showed me the face of Christ, through the way they treated us and the way they treated one-another. Before we left today, Laura said to us, "ya son una más de la familia." Basically: you all are our family. Gosh, I want to be like "la familia de Laura:" full of genuine joy, love, and selflessness.

SECOND FRUIT: While spending time with people in the community, door-to-door, we came upon some incredible stories of faith: people who endured incredible suffering through incredible faith in the Lord. We met one man in particular, who is currently battling cancer, who explained that his reliance on the Lord has helped him to accept his cross of cancer, and to bear it with confidence and joy. He has put all his suffering in the hands of the Lord. Wow. Talk about easier said than done... Fast-forward a bit to our ride home on the bus: I call it, "the bus ride from hell," although, en realidad, it wasn't that bad because I was with friends and we had lots of fun together. It's just is funny to call it that. ANYWAYS... So lots of unfortunate things happened on "the bus ride from hell": screaming newborn babies, lots and lots and loooots of traffic, pooping newborn babies... but the worst was the following: two men got in a little "tiff"on the bus. One man (we'll call him Pablo) had purchased a ticket for seat "x," but the other man (we'll call him Juan) was sitting in Pablo's seat. Juan's seat was seat "y," right next to seat "x," and there was no one sitting in seat "y." Pablo told Juan that he was sitting in his seat, but Juan responded, "All the seats are the same, you can sit in seat 'y'." Pablo responded, "No, I purchased seat 'x,' and I want to sit there." Juan didn't move. They started raising their voices. The bus drivers had to intervene. Still Juan sat in Pablo's seat and Pablo remained standing, refusing to sit in seat "y." Then the bus drivers stopped the bus, and the police got on the bus and dealt with the men. The two men were going back in forth... blah, blah, blah... and then the police made Pablo get off the bus and go with them to the police station where he then missed his connecting bus to another Department. So who was right? Pablo or Juan? WHO CARES! Although I personally think Juan should've just moved over to seat "y"... that's not the point of the story! The point is: it was so sad for me to see this whole scene unfolding before my eyes. The pettiness of it all. I wanted to march back there and say, "Look... I just met this man dealing with cancer. And he is JOYFUL! He is striving to live a Christ-like life, and he is JOYFUL! You guys are fighting over BUS SEATS! or PRIDE! Or Whatever you're fighting over!... and see where it is gets you?! I'll tell you where: A.) Kicked off the bus and in the police station where you will then sit and miss your connecting bus... or... B.) Still sitting in seat "x" surrounded by people who all think you acted ridiculously and are so annoyed that the bus had to stop for your childish behavior." Although, like I said... it's so much easier said then done--I think I'll choose the joy option, thank you very much!

RECAP OF THE TWO FRUITS I PICKED FROM THE GREAT-"MINI"-MISSION: Authentic love, joy, and selflessness is contagious... it's what Christ showed us through His life, death, and resurrection, it's what "la familia de Laura" showed us through their welcoming hearts, and it's what I want. By placing everything in His hands, although  "everything" may include intense suffering, I can become more like Him... and hopefully grow in this love, joy, and selflessness that I want so badly. By placing everything in His hands, and by striving to be like Him, I won't get caught up in silly, wordly things... like bus seats... and be kicked off the bus by the police to then sit in the police station and miss my connecting bus. Rather, I'll be peacefully on my way to where I'm striving to go.

And now... fotos! (Fotos creds: mis amigas Noel y Flor de mi grupito)



La cena con la familia de Laura.

Treinta y Tres!

 

Little Walllllterrrr. (Who is part of "la familia de Laura.")



Desde Salto hasta Treinta y Tres!

 

Hasta el domingo que viene--

 

Courtney

 

P.S. Thoughts and prayers for all those affected by the tragedies in Boston and Texas. God Bless the U.S.A.



Week 38--

Two very, very big, big things happened this week. The first, and the most important thing: MY COUSIN, DAN, AND HIS GIRLFRIEND, LYLA, CAME TO VISIT ME! The second, and less important thing (but still big): I TURNED 21 YEARS OLD! Veintiún años! Ay caramba!!

I can't properly express how thankful I am to Dan and Lyla for visiting me and for the way they treated me (like a princess) when they were here. I had SO much fun with them. We walked around the center and old parts of the city, down to the rambla, to one of the art museums, to the legislative palace, and to lots of restaurants... Although it was fun showing them around, I think by far my favorite part of the whole two days was just being with them. I felt as I had felt in Rio, in "Week 32 (belated)" -- there is just nothing quite like being with family.
My Aunt Jo wrote to me right before Dan arrived: "Nama must be so happy that Dan is seeing you...as you know, she loved it when her grandkids did things together." I have been thinking about that a lot-- about Nama smiling down on us, about the gift of being able to spend time with family here in Uruguay, and about how blessed I am to have cousins who are my best friends.

On my birthday I was graced with an overwhelming sensation of love and friendship. I was greeted with lots of hugs, birthday wishes (in English and in Spanish), and even a little "bizcocho Happy Birthday serenade" in the school cafeteria... sung at about 500 miles per hour because the candle was lit and we didn't know if we'd get in trouble... Dan and Lyla took me out to the most delicious restaurant and then surprised me with a pile of gifts and cards from them and my family back in the states, my host madre brought me a little cake in the morning while singing "Happy birthday to youu..." complete with a sweater that she KNITTED ME while I had been in Ecuador! Even this weekend, the kindness continued as my dear, new friend Josefina gave me the loveliest Mary pendent and card and my friend Shanice cooked me a scrrrrumptious dinner. Not to mention all of the love-filled emails, instagram shout outs, birthday texts, and Facebook posts I was sent...Wow. What a birthday! Muchas gracias, many, many thanks to all who made me feel so special even while I'm thousands of miles away from home.

I really couldn't thank you all enough for your continual support.

Speaking of support... thoughts and/or prayers would be greatly appreciated for this upcoming weekend-- I will be going on another mission trip to a Uruguayan department called "Treinta y Tres" with my young adults' group at church. Vamos misioneros!

Meet ya here (meaning the blog, not Montevideo... unless you'd like to meet me in Montevideo!) next week--

21 year old, Courtney

HelllaaddooOOoooo00oo. (We love each other more than it may appear in this photo).

La rambla.

Three cheers for family and friends!

Birthday buds!

We didn't let it rain on our parade... or on my birthday!

Palacio Legislativo con mi primo.

Wonderful restaurant with wonderful people.

21!

Week 37--

 

Happy April! April showers bring May flowers! But it's fall here... So... April showers...will soon May-ke me scour(s)? Okay, whatever, at least I tried!

 

If I were to entitle this post in a way other than, "Week 37," I would entitle it: "The Power of Words and Friendship." (The title actually reminds me of that old, Disney Channel movie...aunque tiene nada que ver.) Now I know it may sound cheesy, but it's true! Words carry a certain weight... a certain "power," as with friendship. I feel as I have continually experienced both in my life in general, and more specifically here in South America, and even more specially this week in Uruguay. Allow me to share a few of my thoughts... "Con permiso." (This is where you respond out loud "Adelante.") "Adelante."

 

The summer before my junior year in high school, my English Language teacher assigned "The Book Thief" as summer reading. Let's just say that usually not everyone actually fully completed summer reading (especially when your summer reading book is "The Red Badge of Courage," yuck)... But this particular year, I think everyone happily completed it. The book was (still is) incredible. I would always say, "Even the boys loved it!" As we continued to discuss the book in class as the year began, digging deeper and deeper into its meaning, the book became even more incredible. The power of words. You can influence the change of a nation with words, as Hitler did during the Holocaust. You can influence the change of ideas, behavior, feelings... It's kind of scary: the power of words... but also so fascinating.

 

This week, the power of words has become more evident to me. As a foreign exchange student, dealing with non-foreign students and professors, I have realized how much weight words truly carry. Being an "outsider," in the sense that I am not from here, nor grew up in the same culture, nor learned the language from birth, brings about a sense of vulnerability, and with this vulnerability, comes a degree of sensitivity. Although I am a black belt in karate (...no seriously, I am!), sometimes I'm not so tough when it comes to, here it is again, the power of words. I think we've probably all heard the saying, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." Yeah, IIIIIII'm not so sure about that. I don't know about you, but not too many people throw sticks and stones at me on a daily basis... However, words are everywhere and form such a crucial part of our day to day lives. I think, at times, words have a greater power than those so called "sticks and stones." And if the three are mixed together... Oh boy... watch out.

 

So what am I trying to get at here? I am not trying to say that anyone here has been intentionally hurtful in their words to me. No, not at all! On the contrary, the Uruguayans'/South Americans' words to me are most often filled with kindness, encouragement, and/or hope. But there are times, as there are in the United States and all over the world as well, when a person's words are hurtful, without necessarily an intention to actually be hurtful. This occurs most often, I am guessing, when the speaker has never "been in the listener's shoes." For a purely hypothetical example: imagine a local, who has never gone to live in another country with a different language, speaking to a current foreign exchange student living in the local's country without full knowledge of the language. <--- that's what I mean by the whole "shoes" saying/example. Anways, let me repeat: it is sometimes NOT the intention behind the words, but sometimes just the words themselves, and the way that they are interpreted by the listener, that may sometimes be hurtful. Maybe "bad intentions" could be our "sticks and stones" because if the three are mixed together...oh boy... watch out. Also, something to emphasize: Positive words carry just as much, if not more, weight as negative words. But this is what I'm getting at! This is where the power of words comes in to play! ...It kind of goes back to my point again from week 34 about "one person making a difference for the good or for the bad." The way I say things, the words I choose, and the tone and form in which I use those words, can truly make a difference in some one's day-- for the good or for the bad. That's all I'm trying to say here.

The good news is: I (we) as a listener(s) and interpreter(s) of these words have the power to let them affect me (us) negatively or not! But that would be a whole other blog post for a whole other day. I'll just leave this with you for some food for thought: "The Lord is my light and my salvation--whom shall I fear. The Lord is the stronghold of my life--of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foe who will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident." -- Psalm 28:1-3

 

I take this as a gift: to be in this vulnerable position where I can truly understand the weight my words carry. I hope to be more sensitive to this fact once I return to the U.S. ... back on the "inside" where I feel comfortable. I don't ever want to be so comfortable that I forget this lesson: that my words and the way I use them matter.

 

Words are even more fascinating when you think of them in terms of forming a whole language... a whole way of communication, of conversation. And through language, communication (which, yes, could include nonverbal), and conversation... mixed with quality time, service, and shared experiences...along a large spoonful of vulnerability, love, and trust... We form FRIENDSHIPS! The POWER of friendship! This will be a lot shorter than my lil' tid bit on the power of words, but I would just like to say that I have spent some wonderful time this week talking and spending time with friends, in both English and in Spanish (which is kinda a neat thing), both in person and via Skype (which is also kinda a neat thing). I am just so unbelievably thankful to have people in my life whom I can consider true friends. I think there is a special power in that. So thank you, friends, for being who you are and for being mine. 

I hope all is well with each and every one of you! Howsabout we make this week to come a great week, during which we are both conscious and appreciative of our words and our true friendships. Who's with me?!

 

Hasta la próxima vez--

 

Courtney

 

Mi grupo de amigos de la iglesia en una noche de pizza esta noche... el poder de la amistad!

 

Ps. I included "The Book Thief" link to Amazon in this blog post in case you would like to purchase it to read. Trust me, it's a good one. Here's the link again, in case you missed it before.

 

Pss. Remember to choose your words (and friends too, I suppose) wisely! ;)