I Love the Rain

So the summer has officially ended and classes have begun! I am both excited and nervous. Excited because it means a bit of structure. Nervous because of time management and homework. My schedule is fairly spread out and the only downside is occasional classes on Friday. The first half of our semester is packed with events and we are going to back off second half. This is partially because of the weather. Right now it is winter and in November it will be spring/summer.
As I am writing this, it is raining and has been raining most of the morning. It's awesome!! We were all ready to wear long sleeves and sweat pants :) A common tradition here in Uruguay, when it rains, is to make fried bread. I would say that it is similar to sopapillas in the States...muy delicioso! We may be having that a lot because it rains a lot.
My main break from class is right now, so I am going to take a siesta to recharge. Buenos tardes mis amigos!

Yo Tengo Gozo (I've got joy)

Today was . We went to all Spanish services and understood nothing. The singing was fun and so was meeting people. The rest of the afternoon was free. We went to another feria that was bigger and better. I bought a mate gourd and a bombilla. It will be something to take home but I can use it with the yerba mate I bought now. Finding food was a new adventure. A few of us went to the Gran Sportman and had to figure out how to give tip and whether or not tax is included. Wow! Later we sang some more in Spanish and English with the teenagers (which is where the title of this blog comes from).
A trip to the beach was in order, since it will be the last warm day for a while. We were going to play soccer and frisbee, but it became dark and we were hungry. At 9 we had our first group gathering and talked about cross-cultural servants in the Bible.
O yeah....school supplies for the equivalent of $14....yeah, I think so!
Well I am tired out...more from Montevideo to come!

Kisses and Mate'

Hope my blog is finding everyone well. I have been busy seeing the city more today. We explored Punta Carretas and Feria Villa Biarritz. Punta Carretas is a shopping mall that used to be a prison back when the country was under dictatorial rule. It was very modern. The Feria, on the other hand, was a large market in a park. Some might call it the equivalent of a flea market in the States. There was jewelry, clothes, PS2 games, shoes, fruit and vegetables. Very crowded but interesting to see. Once again we were our own to explore and find our way home!

This evening we took a tour of the Iglesia de Cristo (the church) that we work with and live in the same building with. The buliding used to be a coffee factory named El Chana. The clock tower is still on the roof along with a beautiful view of the city. While we were waiting for food to get to the church, so we could share a meal with the teenagers, they let us try some mate'. It is pronounced MA-tay and is a drink found here in Uruguay. The best way I can describe it would be an herbal tea drinken though a metal straw. It is hot when you drink it. It burned my tongue but I liked it :) The teenagers were accepting and fun....they are going to challenge us on our Spanish though.

Everyone we met tonight kissed us on the cheek. Its the common greeting. It isn't an actual kiss, you just make the noise but touch cheeks. They were not afraid to greet every single one of us.
Hanging with them will be exciting! One thing I did forget to mention yesterday, I went to Las Carretas to try the Midnight sandwich Gary Green told me about (in the Miami airport). It was goood. Tomorrow is Sunday, obviously, so we will be going to services for the first time- complete with singing in Spanish :)

Comments por favor (please)!

Bienvenidos a Montevideo (Welcome to Montevideo)

If some of you didn't know, I am currently spending my fall semester in Montevideo, Uruguay with the Study Abroad group from ACU. It has been a wild ride so far!

To summarize my trip here: we did not get through security and to our gate in Dallas until 50 min before our flight left, had no trouble in Miami, endured a 9 hour flight to Montevideo instead of Buenos Aires, and arrived 3 hours early. All that said, someone had to lose a piece of luggage....that person was me! It wasn't a big deal, because it just went to Buenos Aires (where we were supposed to land first). I got it back today and am thankful it was such a short time. I have wonderful roommates who let me borrow their clothes :)

Once at Casa ACU, we took a tour/scavenger hunt of our neighborhood. Avenida 18 de Julio and Tres Cruces were two areas we explaored. We were able to begin using the few Spanish phrases we knew! For lunch we had empanadas (4 kinds) made by the lovely Mariella- and for dessert...dulce de leche empanadas!! That night we went to an artisan market and looked around. Dinner is late here, so at 8 pm we ordered. I had pollo al horno c/papas y bonietas (baked chicken with potatoes and sweet potatoes). It was amazing!!! Dessert was bread pudding.

There have been many firsts on this trip and it's only the second day! First taxi ride, carbonated water and bus ride with a fare. My legs are definitely sore from our downtown walking tour today. We went all the way in to the Old City and back down 18 de Julio to get back to Casa. Our hosts pretty much let us explore today. Some foods of the day were shepherd's pie and milanesa al carne.

This is my first blog, so let me know if you want more details than I am giving or if this is just right! Comments are always appreciated and I would love to hear from You! Much love, chau!