Bienvenidos a Uruguay

11th week--



Last night I experienced 'el cambio del horario,' in other words, 'daylight saving time.' So by "experienced el cambio..." I really mean "lost an hour of sleep." Heads up, my friends! I am now 2 hours ahead of my fellow Georgians and North Carolinians and of all of my east-coasters... and of David in Ohio.

 

I attended my first Uruguayan concert on Thursday! My three friends and I purchased tickets to see the band Juanes. I was first introduced to Juanes in high school by my Spanish II teacher, then later in college through my Elem. Spanish II class and my group of Latino amigos. Although I would not know every song, and even when I would know a song I would not know all the lyrics, I was still excited to listen and to dance my behind off! We were literally in the last row, so I didn't have to worry about embarrassing anybody with my 'dancing.' Behind us was a huge hill overlooking the venue. In order to keep people from sneaking up there to listen to the concert for free, police men (and a police woman) were posted at the top. I think they had just as much dancing as I did. If law enforcement doesn't work out for them, they could always try out their moves in Uruguayan theater... or dance back-up for Juanes!

 

 

I'll tell you what--yes, it was so great seeing Juanes play live and dance to his songs, but what may have been even greater was realizing that I could actually understand what he said when he spoke in between songs along with a number of his lyrics. In the United States, I would listen to Juanes simply because I enjoyed the songs and I wanted to learn the language (or because I needed Spanish listening hours), but now I can actually understand, more or less, what he is singing. Many of his lyrics are beautiful. Today, I took the time to translate one of my favorite Juanes songs:

 

Para Tu Amor-- Juanes

 

Para tu amor lo tengo todo

           For your love I have it all
Desde mi sangre hasta la esencia de mi ser

           Through my blood until the essence of my being

Y para tu amor que es mi tesoro

           And for your love that is my treasure
Tengo mi vida toda entera a tus pies

           I have my life all at your feet

Y tengo también

           And I have also
Un corazón que se muere por dar amor

           A heart that dies to give love
Y que no conoce el fin

           And that knows no end
Un corazón que late por vos

           A heart that beats for you
Para tu amor no hay despedidas

           For your love there are no goodbye's
Para tu amor yo solo tengo eternidad

           For your love I only have eternity

Y para tu amor que me ilumina

           And for your love that iluminates me
Tengo una luna, un arco iris y un clavel

           I have a moon, a rainbow and a carnation
Y tengo también

           And I have also
Un corazón que se muere por dar amor

           A heart that dies for your love
Y que no conoce fin

           And that knows no end
Un corazón que late por vos

           A heart that beats for you
Por eso yo te quiero tanto que no sé como explicar lo

           That's why I love you so much that I don't know how to explain it
Que siento

           That I feel

Yo te quiero porque tu dolor es mi dolor

           I love you becuase your pain is my pain
Y no hay dudas

           And there are no doubts
Yo te quiero con el alma y con el corazón

            I love you with the soul and with the heart
te venero
          I adore you
hoy y siempre gracias yo te doy a ti mi amor
          Today and always I give you thanks to you my love
por existir

          For exisiting
para tu amor lo tengo todo
          For your love I have it all
lo tengo todo y lo que no tengo también
          I have it all and I also don't have it all
lo conseguiré
          I will obtain it
para tu amor que es mi tesoro
           For your love that is my treasure
Tengo mi vida toda entera a tus pies

           I have my life all at your feet
Y tengo también

           I have also

un corazon que se muere por dar amor

           A heart that dies to give love
y que no conoce el fin

           And that knows no end
un corazon que late por vos

           A heart that beats for you

Por eso yo te quiero

           That's why I love you
tanto que no se como explicar que siento lo

           So much that I don't know how to explain it
yo te quiero

           I love you
porque tu dolor es mi dolor

           Because your pain in my pain
y no hay dudas

           And there are no doubts
yo te quiero

           I love you
con el alma y con el corazon

           With the soul and with the heart
te venero

           I adore you
hoy y siempre gracias yo te doy a ti mi amor
          Today and always I give you thanks to you my love.…

 

(I copied the Spanish lyrics from these sites, but the English translation I did all by myself! ...with a lil' bit of help from an online dictionary and my host-sister...)

This weekend, my friends and I enjoyed the 'Feria Internacional de Libros,' which is a huge temporary market of books. In addition to finding a textbook that I need for my 7-14 page paper in Pensamiento en Latinoamerica y Uruguay, I discovered the book Esperanza Rising en Español. I remember loving that book when I was a kid, so I can't wait to read it all in Spanish. It may take a bit longer, but I think it will be quite enjoyable and help me further advance in Spanish vocabulary. Sidenote: what goes better with reading a book than eating delicious ice cream!? Luckily for us, there is an ice cream shop across the street from the feria, which we took advatage of. "Sí, obvio." <-- all the cool teenagers say that here.

 

Also, these past two days, Uruguay has been celebrating "El Día del Patrimonio." This is a time when Montevideo opens many of the museums or historical buildings which are usually closed and has many other free exhibitions around the city. My friends and I visited the old Presidential building, a historial (and gorgeous) mueseum/house, and the Puerto (Port) de Montevideo. We also enjoyed different groups tango-ing, both children and adults. Although the weather could have been a wee bit nicer, it was still a lovely and relaxing weekend.

  

          Palacio Salvo.                   Barcos del Puerto.                      Bandera Uruguaya.

     Helado rico.                              Gaucho y China.                       "Reading is cool."

On Thursday, my friends and I are off to Buenos Aires. I will not be back until Monday, so my usual Sunday blog post will be delayed. I will either make the next blog post a two-week wrap up, or post on the Monday or Tuesday after next weekend. Please pray for safe travels for my friends and me and for lots of SUNSHINE.

I continue to miss and pray for you all.

Cheerio!

Courtney