Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Week 50--

I DID IT AGAIN! I AM SO SORRY FOR NOT KEEPING MY WORD! BUT I AM WRITING NOW (for last week)! Forgive me?

This past week has been hectic, hectic, HeCTic... but in a good way! So many things to do, and places to see, and people to say goodbye to. Even the goodbye part is good...in a way... because it has allowed me to further appreciate the relationships I have made here. And boy, have I met some wonderful people. As the days continue to zoom by, drawing closer and closer to the end, I continue to be amazed by the hearts of my new friends.

On the 4th of July, aka my most favorite holiday, my fellow "Yankees" and I met up to spend a day full of all things U.S.A. It was rainy, so after a nice American lunch of hot dogs, we all cuddled up and watched Pitch Perfect in our red, white, and blue. So comfy cozy! It was nice to be surrounded by lovely girls who share the same pride that I have for our country. (cue: Proud to be an American!)  

Adopted-host-mom, Laura, welcoming me. She is wearing an English apron... Not okay. ;) 
USA!
 
After spending time with the Yanks, I met up with my Uruguayan friends for a night at the movies/slumber party. We saw "Palabras Robadas," which I think is called "The Words" in English. Whatever the title... it was really good. Makes ya think. When we got to my friend Pitu's house, she had a little surprise for me: my very own MATE! SO kind and SO so thoughtful. She even taught me step by step, with a lot of patience, how to prepare and serve the mate properly. I wrote it all down, so I won't forget. Interesting fact: When she had finished telling me the steps I wrote "Drink the mate!" and she said to me (without knowing I had written that) "Now you can serve the mate." It really hit me how I had thought about drinking the mate first, myself, while the first thing Pitu thought of was serving it to another. Does that say something about our culture? Or just about me, and my messed up priorities? Hmmm.. something to think about... Anyways, now I feel like an authentic Uruguayan! ... if only I could nail down the accent...
 



El cine.
Learning how to make a mate! (Pronounced mah-tay)
 
On Friday night, my church group surprised me with a going away party! The decorations were so cute--they did a little blog post spoof which was hilarious! I'll have to share it with you all when I return-- and we chatted, sang, and laughed (a lot) throughout the night. I could not be more thankful for these people. But I will write more about them in my next post... cuz on Sunday I have to say goodbye to them for real :( What I will say now is that I had a wonderful time with them on Friday, and I am so thankful for all of the planning and work that went into the fiesta!
 

Mis amigos!
Cantando por la noche.
 
On Saturday morning, I woke up early and jumped into a car with four of my friends to head to Minas, in the Uruguayan department Lavalleja. It's about a 2 hour drive or so... I think? Minas is BEAUTIFUL! I had such a good time wandering throughout Salto del Penetente, a park in Minas, with my friends--enjoying the waterfalls, lagoons, and trees, as well as conversation, laughter, and some yummy food. We also climbed up a hill called "Santuario de la Virgen del Verdun" which had an incredible view. Looking out into the distance, I felt so much peace. So for those of you who have been praying for me to feel at peace towards the end of my time here: your prayers are working! Keep em' coming (please)! Muchas gracias, Gaston, por planificar todo el viaje! Fue un dia precioso que nunce voy a olvidar.
 


Salto del Penetente.
Santuario de la Virgen del Verdun.
 
On Sunday, Gaston, Flor, and I met up in the morning to tour two churches in Montevideo. I, of course, missed the bus I was supposed to get on (classic)... which will come into play later. The first church we went into had SUCH a neat, painted, decorative ceiling--really so beautiful! The second church we went to was closed. Woops! WHY DID I MISS MY BUS!!!? <-- I kept thinking that. We went around back and rang the doorbell of what we thought was the parish office, which ended up actually being an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting... another woops! I then tried to play the "we're with a girl who's not from here... can you please let us in?" card. But, as I said, the parish office was not, in fact, the parish office, and our attempt didn't quite work...so we went next door to the retreat center to see if anyone was there who could let us in. There wasn't. We then walked back to the church to see the daily Mass times and JUST as we were walking past, a priest that I had just met on Wednesday at Misa con Tiempo (basically a Mass for young people... so cool to see so many young people in one room for the same purpose... can't even imagine what it would feel like to be at World Youth Day coming up) was walking by! So we greeted each other, and then I explained that we had come to see the church but couldn't get in. He said, "If you can wait 20 mins., I can let you in!" Long story short: we ended up getting an awesome tour of the church, in which we got to climb up into the roof/towers and see the view out the window into Montevideo, complete with explanations of the different elements of the church given by the priest. Later on, Gaston pointed out: "It is just so incredible to see how things work out, even if things don't go as planned." It's true... if I had made the bus, if we hadn't accidently interupted an AA meeting, if someone had answered the door at the retreat center... we would have never experienced what we experienced that day. Thank you, Lord!  

 
 La iglesia en El Prado.

This is the cross of Christ, where the salvation of the world is offered.
 
Sunday night, after my young adults' meeting, I went to my friend Marce's house to spend the night. We stayed up till 4 in the morning, chatting amongst ourselves and with her family and watching Bridesmaids (Damas en Guerra)... which is ALWAYS a good laugh. A fantastic way to end a fantastic week. And I know the next (and final) two weeks will be just as fantastic!
 
Until Sunday (I will try to keep my word this time!!)--
 
Courtney
 
P.s. Accent marks are not used in this post because I am so sleepy and do not have the patience to search for them in Google to copy, paste, and resize them in. "Gaston" has an accent mark on the "o," "dia" has an accent mark on the "i," and "Verdun" has an accent mark on the "u." I think that is all! Buenas noches! <-- no accent marks needed on that one...


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