Look at this. Over a week late. Surpriiise. I just don't like typing all that much so I procrastinate and then have to do a whole lot at once. Kinda like what I did with vegetables as a kid.
Anyway, our trip started on a Saturday at 4pm. I have no idea why we waited until that late in the day to leave, but I never really know is going on during our trips here. Our bus drivers and tour guide for the week came and picked us up at the Casa. The bus drivers were great guys and actually hung out with us and went on all the tours with us. I cannot remember their names, but they were easily recognized by the girls as the attractive one and the other one. They reminded me of Bert and Ernie. Even their head shapes and thick eyebrows contributed to the comparison. The attractive one was Bert. We started off with a 20+ hour bus ride through Uruguay, Argentina and to our destination in Foz do Iguaçu in Brazil. We all checked into our hotel and Ben and I wandered around until we found our room number. Of course we had large room, great view of the back lawn with a balcony, and one bed. The perfect honeymoon suite, for me and Ben. It was just fine though, he talks to me enough in his sleep I feel like I know him pretty well.
Monday we got started nice and early at 8:30am, whoopee. We first went to a bird park. It was pretty much a Zoo with only birds. There were all kinds of parrots, toucans, eagles, owls, and storkish/flamingo birds. The parrots spoke Spanish! One would say "Hola" and of course everyone would giggle and then another parrot had mastered that as well and laughed right back at us. There were a few areas were the walking path went into the cages and the toucans and other birds would land right on the handrails! I was really tempted to touch them, but they told us a girl bled last semester because a toucan bite her. Not the smartest thing to tell a group of mostly girls. After walking through that we went to the Brazilian side of Iguaçu Falls. From here we on the other side of the river from most of the waterfalls and had a great view. The next day we spent the whole day on the Argentine side of the Falls. There we got to walk right on top of and beside the waterfalls. It was incredible! The best part was the last area of the Falls that we saw. They call it The Throat of the Devil. it is almost a semicircle and there is so much mist from the water that you can't see where the water goes. Insane.
Other than the Falls there wasn't much to the trip, other than all the FOOD. We had to provide our own lunches each day, but other than that every meal we had was a buffet. I actually got tired of food by the end of the week.
Well, there are only 20 more days, 8 class days, until I return to the States. I am getting so excited about people and things that I have missed! At the same time, I know that I am going to miss Uruguay. The things that I have learned and the friends that I have made here are the best. Life is so different, but it is now normal. It will be interesting to see how I cope with being back in the States. There are so many things I have learned to live without. Quality napkins, free water, free re-fills, Chipotle, southern hospitality, English, reliable internet, my phone. I can't decide whether I will indulge in these things or just appreciate them more. But there are things that I hope to preserve in my daily life from Uruguayan culture as well. this is probably the last post I will have from Uruguay, considering my beautiful track record. I hope have enjoyed keeping up with my travels and I will see you in a couple weeks!
Friday, April 22, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Bicycles, Backflips and Backpacking in CHILE!
Another long expanse of time has passed since I have spoken of my happenings and travels. Sorry, I think my trials to become a blogger are about as worthless as my goals to become a morning person. It just may never happen. To continue my horrible streak of late posts and overdue storytelling, I am just now posting about my Free Travel experience in Chile, almost a week later.
As a substitute for a Spring Break while studying abroad we are blessed to be given a week to plan our own trips and travel at our own expense. Stefanie Nicholas, Hailey Thompson and I planned a trip to Chile. We first spent a couple nights in Santiago, then three nights on the Pacific Coast in Vina del Mar, and the two nights in the Andes Mountains. All a formula for the best Spring Break, or Fall Break i guess for us.
First we flew out of Montevideo on Saturday night and to our hostel about 10:30 that night. We had burgers at the bar next door. I had not been warned about Chilean burgers, but the enormous size wonderful taste were wonderful surprises.The next morning we got up and blindly followed a map we had to find where we would be starting our bike tour of the city. With the Bicicletas Verdes we got to see important parts of the city and they also told great place to eat and visit. Later that day we hiked up to the Virgen Cumbre (Summit) for sunset with a great view of the city. That was followed by an interesting journey back down the walking path in the dark. We very nearly got lost and Hailey thought that every trashcan was man crouching by the path.
Monday morning we caught a bus to Vina del Mar and we were checked into our hostel by lunch time. We waited there for Jay Hemphill (one of my best friends from camp who is studying abroad in Vina del Mar this semester) to find us at the hostel. About 20 min later we saw him huffing and puffing up our street, Apparently he ran all the way there and wasn't even sure how he found it. We had empanadas and he showed us were his apartments were. Jay, the same as me, is not cutting his hair or shaving during his semester abroad, so we both look like a couple of lumberjacks. Because of this, I am guessing, an older man at the panaderia asked if we were brothers only to find out we were unrelated Americans. This just made him exclaim, "Gringos!" but thankfully in good nature. The next couple days there consisted of freeing a car from sand dunes, playing frisbee on the beach, learning how to do backflips, catching up with Jay and eating ice cream every night.
Thursday morning we caught a bus back to Santiago, rode the subway from the west side to the east side of Santiago, caught a bus to San Jose del Maipo and then got a taxi to take further into the mountains to Refugio Lo Valdes. This place was the best. In the middle of the Andes, with no electricity except for a few hours at night by a generator. Here, two hours away from anywhere, we spent the next two nights. For the first few hours it appeared that we would have the place to ourselves, but while were lounging in our Mina room, a couple of Norwegians came up the spiral staircase. These two, name Boord and Anja, had hitchhiked there way to the refugio and were expecting the rest of there party, Kristor and Nils, to arrive soon. Hailey noticed when she had first me them that she had seen them before. It turned out that they had been staying in the same hostel as us our first two night in Santiago. Small world. After talking to them we found out that they are all medical students from Norway and were on a study trip in Chile. they had gotten bored with the city and wanted to visit the mountains. They were a lot of fun and made our stay at the refugio so much better. That friday we went on our day hike in the mountains right by where we were staying. We hiked for about 7 total hours and made up to about 100,000 ft altitude. It was so different from other mountain hiking I had done because there weren't any trees. The upside to it was there was always a good view. The colors of the peaks were so vivid and being able to see glaciers on the high peaks was awesome. There were a few time when I just sat and took it all in. The Creation is amazing.
We went back into Santiago on Saturday, checked into another hostel and rested for the most part. We found good places to eat and enjoyed the street life. We also bought some souvenirs had great ice cream and frozen yogurt. By Sunday we were tired and ready to be back at the Casa in Montevideo. Though our trip was very tiring and busy, I was so happy that we got a real traveling experience. We slept in four different hostels and did something every day. And I am every more happy to say that we didn't have anything stolen and had possibly the smoothest traveling possible. Good thing I enjoy navigation, I guess.
Well, the next big trip is to Brazil and the Iguaçu Falls. We got our yellow fever shots and visas yesterday morning. That was fun, except that the building for the shots was pretty shady or "sketch" in the words of our director Wimon Walker. I kept feeling like someone was about to make me choose between a red or blue pill. Anyway, until next time something interesting happens.
Tusentak (a thousand thanks in Norwegian)
Curtis
As a substitute for a Spring Break while studying abroad we are blessed to be given a week to plan our own trips and travel at our own expense. Stefanie Nicholas, Hailey Thompson and I planned a trip to Chile. We first spent a couple nights in Santiago, then three nights on the Pacific Coast in Vina del Mar, and the two nights in the Andes Mountains. All a formula for the best Spring Break, or Fall Break i guess for us.
First we flew out of Montevideo on Saturday night and to our hostel about 10:30 that night. We had burgers at the bar next door. I had not been warned about Chilean burgers, but the enormous size wonderful taste were wonderful surprises.The next morning we got up and blindly followed a map we had to find where we would be starting our bike tour of the city. With the Bicicletas Verdes we got to see important parts of the city and they also told great place to eat and visit. Later that day we hiked up to the Virgen Cumbre (Summit) for sunset with a great view of the city. That was followed by an interesting journey back down the walking path in the dark. We very nearly got lost and Hailey thought that every trashcan was man crouching by the path.
Monday morning we caught a bus to Vina del Mar and we were checked into our hostel by lunch time. We waited there for Jay Hemphill (one of my best friends from camp who is studying abroad in Vina del Mar this semester) to find us at the hostel. About 20 min later we saw him huffing and puffing up our street, Apparently he ran all the way there and wasn't even sure how he found it. We had empanadas and he showed us were his apartments were. Jay, the same as me, is not cutting his hair or shaving during his semester abroad, so we both look like a couple of lumberjacks. Because of this, I am guessing, an older man at the panaderia asked if we were brothers only to find out we were unrelated Americans. This just made him exclaim, "Gringos!" but thankfully in good nature. The next couple days there consisted of freeing a car from sand dunes, playing frisbee on the beach, learning how to do backflips, catching up with Jay and eating ice cream every night.
Thursday morning we caught a bus back to Santiago, rode the subway from the west side to the east side of Santiago, caught a bus to San Jose del Maipo and then got a taxi to take further into the mountains to Refugio Lo Valdes. This place was the best. In the middle of the Andes, with no electricity except for a few hours at night by a generator. Here, two hours away from anywhere, we spent the next two nights. For the first few hours it appeared that we would have the place to ourselves, but while were lounging in our Mina room, a couple of Norwegians came up the spiral staircase. These two, name Boord and Anja, had hitchhiked there way to the refugio and were expecting the rest of there party, Kristor and Nils, to arrive soon. Hailey noticed when she had first me them that she had seen them before. It turned out that they had been staying in the same hostel as us our first two night in Santiago. Small world. After talking to them we found out that they are all medical students from Norway and were on a study trip in Chile. they had gotten bored with the city and wanted to visit the mountains. They were a lot of fun and made our stay at the refugio so much better. That friday we went on our day hike in the mountains right by where we were staying. We hiked for about 7 total hours and made up to about 100,000 ft altitude. It was so different from other mountain hiking I had done because there weren't any trees. The upside to it was there was always a good view. The colors of the peaks were so vivid and being able to see glaciers on the high peaks was awesome. There were a few time when I just sat and took it all in. The Creation is amazing.
We went back into Santiago on Saturday, checked into another hostel and rested for the most part. We found good places to eat and enjoyed the street life. We also bought some souvenirs had great ice cream and frozen yogurt. By Sunday we were tired and ready to be back at the Casa in Montevideo. Though our trip was very tiring and busy, I was so happy that we got a real traveling experience. We slept in four different hostels and did something every day. And I am every more happy to say that we didn't have anything stolen and had possibly the smoothest traveling possible. Good thing I enjoy navigation, I guess.
Well, the next big trip is to Brazil and the Iguaçu Falls. We got our yellow fever shots and visas yesterday morning. That was fun, except that the building for the shots was pretty shady or "sketch" in the words of our director Wimon Walker. I kept feeling like someone was about to make me choose between a red or blue pill. Anyway, until next time something interesting happens.
Tusentak (a thousand thanks in Norwegian)
Curtis
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Subways, Bible Class and Penarol
Once again, I am sorry. I just can't seem to get a hold of this consistent blogger mindset. This probably has something to do with why I could never keep a journal either. This weekend was extended to give us an opportunity to travel, but I chose to stay home (it actually feels like home now) and have a nice restful, free weekend. I get to type this us beside a window that is open to the cool air from a rainy day here in Montevideo. It is a good day to be lazy. Anyway, since I have last posted a LOT of things have happened. We went to Buenos Aires for five days, finished our Bible course and went to a futbol game in Montevideo. I'll document this in chronological order.
First, we had our second short week in a row and headed out on the last Friday of February (is it already March?!) to Buenos Aires. We first had a bus ride out to the historical district of Uruguay and spent the day in Colonia, just across the Rio de la Plata from B.A. It was nice little cobblestone town and we found a place to have some food and drinks, "The Drugstore." Five hours later we finally boarded the Buquebus ferry and started over to Argentina. Buenos Aires is easily the New York of South America. From I had heard it looks like a combination of Paris and San Diego, but I am pretty sure it is plenty larger than either. The only scheduled events for us during the whole five days was a bus tour of the city on Saturday and church Sunday morning. Outside of those allotted times were we free to roam the city. I spent much of our time walking through the street markets and finding places to eat. One night, a group of us actually found a T.G.I.Fridays! It wasn't the same as at home, but it was fun to experience. Other than that we found a pizza place called "Genova" which is awesome because that's my Gran's name! The pizza was great too, it was the first circular pizza we had seen since arriving in South America. One thing that Buenos Aires taught me, or more reinforced with me, was that I am not a city person. I loved getting to be there for a few days and experience it, but my favorite times were when I found a quiet place in the park. Just makes me look forward our other trips even more.
Once we got back to Montevideo on Tuesday, it was right back to school work. At the end of January we started our Cultural Bible class. The course is designed as short summer course, so this meant an assignment is due just about every day. The trade off however is that we very thankfully finished the course this past Thursday (got an A, by the way). Don't get me wrong, I loved the content and assignments of the class. It was just so much at a time. It will be great to have more time for the classes here now. And if I were to give an excuse for why I hadn't posted in a while, that course would be it.
Now for more recent and awesome events on Wednesday night of this week we went to a Uruguayan futbol game. We went to cheer for the team of Penarol, one of the teams based out of Montevideo. We support Penarol because our church friends tell us to, haha, but apparently they are pretty good and worth supporting. All the stories you hear about how crazy futbol games are and how insane the fans are, they all under-exaggerate. It. Was. Insane. Any time the ball was anywhere near the goal every single person was on their feet. There was non stop yelling at the refs and cheering on the team. The fanaticos had taditional songs and chants that were sung from the start of the match until it was finished. The passion that all of the fans have is incredible. Hopefully I will get a chance to go another game and get my own Penarol jersey.
In exactly a week I will be leaving for Chile! We get ten days of free travel and I will be in Chile for all ten. First we (Hailey, Stefanie and I) will spend Saturday and Sunday nights in Santiago and then bus out to Vina del Mar Monday morning. Vina del Mar is a city right on the Pacific coast about an hour and a half from Santiago and Jay Hemphill is studying abroad there! It will be great to see him. We will stay there until Thursday morning when we will bus back to the other side of Santiago and up into the Andes. We have booked an attic room in a refugio way out away from any cities, up in the mountains. We will stay there until Saturday when we will go back down to Santiago and stay there until out flight back to Montevideo on Sunday night. It's going to be awesome! I can't wait!
Until I return,
Curtis
First, we had our second short week in a row and headed out on the last Friday of February (is it already March?!) to Buenos Aires. We first had a bus ride out to the historical district of Uruguay and spent the day in Colonia, just across the Rio de la Plata from B.A. It was nice little cobblestone town and we found a place to have some food and drinks, "The Drugstore." Five hours later we finally boarded the Buquebus ferry and started over to Argentina. Buenos Aires is easily the New York of South America. From I had heard it looks like a combination of Paris and San Diego, but I am pretty sure it is plenty larger than either. The only scheduled events for us during the whole five days was a bus tour of the city on Saturday and church Sunday morning. Outside of those allotted times were we free to roam the city. I spent much of our time walking through the street markets and finding places to eat. One night, a group of us actually found a T.G.I.Fridays! It wasn't the same as at home, but it was fun to experience. Other than that we found a pizza place called "Genova" which is awesome because that's my Gran's name! The pizza was great too, it was the first circular pizza we had seen since arriving in South America. One thing that Buenos Aires taught me, or more reinforced with me, was that I am not a city person. I loved getting to be there for a few days and experience it, but my favorite times were when I found a quiet place in the park. Just makes me look forward our other trips even more.
Once we got back to Montevideo on Tuesday, it was right back to school work. At the end of January we started our Cultural Bible class. The course is designed as short summer course, so this meant an assignment is due just about every day. The trade off however is that we very thankfully finished the course this past Thursday (got an A, by the way). Don't get me wrong, I loved the content and assignments of the class. It was just so much at a time. It will be great to have more time for the classes here now. And if I were to give an excuse for why I hadn't posted in a while, that course would be it.
Now for more recent and awesome events on Wednesday night of this week we went to a Uruguayan futbol game. We went to cheer for the team of Penarol, one of the teams based out of Montevideo. We support Penarol because our church friends tell us to, haha, but apparently they are pretty good and worth supporting. All the stories you hear about how crazy futbol games are and how insane the fans are, they all under-exaggerate. It. Was. Insane. Any time the ball was anywhere near the goal every single person was on their feet. There was non stop yelling at the refs and cheering on the team. The fanaticos had taditional songs and chants that were sung from the start of the match until it was finished. The passion that all of the fans have is incredible. Hopefully I will get a chance to go another game and get my own Penarol jersey.
In exactly a week I will be leaving for Chile! We get ten days of free travel and I will be in Chile for all ten. First we (Hailey, Stefanie and I) will spend Saturday and Sunday nights in Santiago and then bus out to Vina del Mar Monday morning. Vina del Mar is a city right on the Pacific coast about an hour and a half from Santiago and Jay Hemphill is studying abroad there! It will be great to see him. We will stay there until Thursday morning when we will bus back to the other side of Santiago and up into the Andes. We have booked an attic room in a refugio way out away from any cities, up in the mountains. We will stay there until Saturday when we will go back down to Santiago and stay there until out flight back to Montevideo on Sunday night. It's going to be awesome! I can't wait!
Until I return,
Curtis
Monday, February 21, 2011
Lobos del Mar
This past weekend had the little bit of adventure I have been looking for. I had started becoming a little restless in the city. Climbing trees and walking down streets I haven't seen before. I realize these aren't the brightest ways to deal with my need to gallivant, but I can only live in a city far so long. This weekend I got to stretch my legs in Rocha, another district in Uruguay. ( I realize that there is way to know if I am just typing, but I took a break here to trim my finger nails. They got bad enough that I was having to type slightly different.) We stayed the nights in a beach town, La Paloma. Our hotel was right on the beach, which we had plenty of time on, and we rode our bus into town for meals. The beach was great. Much cleaner than Montevideo and real waves. There were surfers all down the beach and the real Atlantic Ocean water was nice and cold. I went out and played in the wave first thing. It was great, I felt like a little kid again. Especially when I got really tired and went back into my room and took a nap. I really enjoyed walking the main street in town. There were little shop and restaurants all over the place.
While I did enjoy La Paloma, my highlight of the weekend was Saturday when we left town for the day. First we went to an Ombu Tree forest. We rode the bus to a river dock off of the highway. We boarded our boat, "El Gaucho" and made our way down the river. We winded through open planes and the sky was awesome. It was great to see that huge sky that I am so used to in Texas. We landed the at a dock in front of a little establishment right next to the river. A young woman with flowing pants and a young long haired, bearded man (my kinda guy) pulled us and tied up the boat. The woman ended up being our guide through the Ombu Trees and everyone's undeniable crush. Yes, even the girls had a crush on her. Actually, the girls had more of a crush on her. She was pretty good at English and did her best to give the tour in English, and she did a great job. Of course, what made the tour the best were her little mess ups and differences in translation. The best thing was probably her shamelessly calling some feces "fox shit." She asked what she had said when we all laughed, and then said that she had learned that one from a movie. We assured it was no problem and had a good laugh. Anyway, the Ombu trees are amazing. Scientifically they actually trees and our guide told us that they are more like grass than trees. No two trees look the same and many have holes and hollow out at the base. This causes a lot of them to outgrow themselves and collapse.
After our excursion in the Ombus we got back on out bus and headed to Cabo Polonia. This beach, or Cape (Cabo) is so remote that to get to it we had to hop in the back of a supped up truck and drive across sand dunes. Once on the beach we made an early stop at a hostel right on there on the beach. It is there that I had the best tasting piece of beef that has ever graced my being. While experiencing this meal my hearing got dull and I would guess that I was slightly blind, but my eyes were already shut. Once I came to my senses David Reynolds and I decided to walk down the beach to the little bitty village. Our original intentions were to go see the sea lions that lay on the rocks there, but we took the long way. We hiked around on the rocks right at the water and the waves. It was awesome. We eventually made it over to the Sea Lions (Lobos del Mar) and found the girls too. Then we cut through the town and headed straight out to the sand dunes. It nice and windy and quiet at the top and a good place to rest.
It was a weekend I had been needing to have and enjoyed every minute. This trip makes look forward to the other outdoorsy trips I will be taking this semester and all of the other great things I will experience. I love and miss all you back home so much and it is a great time to be a Kinsmen! Sing Song Champions! Threepeat! The cup stays! REO REO REO HEY!!
Curtis out
While I did enjoy La Paloma, my highlight of the weekend was Saturday when we left town for the day. First we went to an Ombu Tree forest. We rode the bus to a river dock off of the highway. We boarded our boat, "El Gaucho" and made our way down the river. We winded through open planes and the sky was awesome. It was great to see that huge sky that I am so used to in Texas. We landed the at a dock in front of a little establishment right next to the river. A young woman with flowing pants and a young long haired, bearded man (my kinda guy) pulled us and tied up the boat. The woman ended up being our guide through the Ombu Trees and everyone's undeniable crush. Yes, even the girls had a crush on her. Actually, the girls had more of a crush on her. She was pretty good at English and did her best to give the tour in English, and she did a great job. Of course, what made the tour the best were her little mess ups and differences in translation. The best thing was probably her shamelessly calling some feces "fox shit." She asked what she had said when we all laughed, and then said that she had learned that one from a movie. We assured it was no problem and had a good laugh. Anyway, the Ombu trees are amazing. Scientifically they actually trees and our guide told us that they are more like grass than trees. No two trees look the same and many have holes and hollow out at the base. This causes a lot of them to outgrow themselves and collapse.
After our excursion in the Ombus we got back on out bus and headed to Cabo Polonia. This beach, or Cape (Cabo) is so remote that to get to it we had to hop in the back of a supped up truck and drive across sand dunes. Once on the beach we made an early stop at a hostel right on there on the beach. It is there that I had the best tasting piece of beef that has ever graced my being. While experiencing this meal my hearing got dull and I would guess that I was slightly blind, but my eyes were already shut. Once I came to my senses David Reynolds and I decided to walk down the beach to the little bitty village. Our original intentions were to go see the sea lions that lay on the rocks there, but we took the long way. We hiked around on the rocks right at the water and the waves. It was awesome. We eventually made it over to the Sea Lions (Lobos del Mar) and found the girls too. Then we cut through the town and headed straight out to the sand dunes. It nice and windy and quiet at the top and a good place to rest.
It was a weekend I had been needing to have and enjoyed every minute. This trip makes look forward to the other outdoorsy trips I will be taking this semester and all of the other great things I will experience. I love and miss all you back home so much and it is a great time to be a Kinsmen! Sing Song Champions! Threepeat! The cup stays! REO REO REO HEY!!
Curtis out
Monday, February 14, 2011
Semana Cuatro
I have decided that a late night blog post is a better way to spend the time I should be sleeping than studying for biology. Been there, done that.
Primero: I know, I still a horrible blogger. In my defense, this past week really has not been too eventful. Sadly the study in Study Abroad has made itself known. Our online Bible course has started and has us all by the tail. It is ordinarily a Maymester course which means that we will be done by March 10ish (score!), but it also means a lot of work each day until May 10ish (party foul!). Thankfully our, and Germany SA (can;t spell Liepzvinfkjdsgf), trips are being respected and nothing is due during those weekends. Another plus is that I am really liking the course so far. It is making me read, think and research and Christianity in Culture (course title) is very applicable while in a foreign country. Just a lot of work for a little while.
Like, I have said, the truth is not too much happened in the past week. One thing is that is changing though is that I am finding it easier and easier to go out on my own with confidence. I never really talk to others more than just buying a drink, but I know where I am going now and know where the places I like are. Oh! I did my laundry for the first time last week. That was a good interaction. I knew what to expect and knew what to say. The little phrases like, "hola" "si" permiso" and "gracias" all come without any thinking already. Yes, they are the most common things to say, but I say them without even translating in my mind now. A small small thing, but I am just glad that I have experienced some positive adjustment. Tonight some of our amigos from the church came over to learn how to Tango with us. We had already experienced Candobe lessons so. Tango was nothing. Well, it wasn't automatic, but not as different. I actually enjoyed it and felt like I got the hang of it pretty quick. Of course I will leave it the girls whose toes I stepped on to be the judge of how "good" I actually was. After that we had some fantastic brownies. One batch with mint chocolate and another with dulce de leche. A good Valentines Day in Montevideo.
Since being here I have loved it and been doing my best to expose myself to the culture, but it has still been a big transition. I left a Gamma Sigma Phi, social club I had just pledged; a huge group of guys a became very close too last semester. I left The Pod; ten roommates that became some of my best friends last semester. I left my left my loving family; KrisAnn in Waco, Parents and Grandparents in McKinney and Longview. I miss them, and far too many friends and family members to list off, so much. Thankfully I have had a few things to remind me of everyone daily. My pledging blocks, chain links and pledge pin all sit on my desk. David Singer gave his extra watch the night before I left for Uruguay and he left for Oxford. It reminds me of The Pod every time I look at it. Mom gave me her small bible (her name engraved on it the cover) that Grandmommy and Grandaddy gave her to fit in my diaper bag many years ago. It reminds me of my family whenever I read it of see the cover. There are more little things that remind of home that I love, but lists are boring.
This weekend we are traveling to Rocha, Uruguay. This will guaranty a post at least telling of that experience, if not one before. I will continue to try and be better about posting more often, I promise.
Mucho Amor,
Curtis
Primero: I know, I still a horrible blogger. In my defense, this past week really has not been too eventful. Sadly the study in Study Abroad has made itself known. Our online Bible course has started and has us all by the tail. It is ordinarily a Maymester course which means that we will be done by March 10ish (score!), but it also means a lot of work each day until May 10ish (party foul!). Thankfully our, and Germany SA (can;t spell Liepzvinfkjdsgf), trips are being respected and nothing is due during those weekends. Another plus is that I am really liking the course so far. It is making me read, think and research and Christianity in Culture (course title) is very applicable while in a foreign country. Just a lot of work for a little while.
Like, I have said, the truth is not too much happened in the past week. One thing is that is changing though is that I am finding it easier and easier to go out on my own with confidence. I never really talk to others more than just buying a drink, but I know where I am going now and know where the places I like are. Oh! I did my laundry for the first time last week. That was a good interaction. I knew what to expect and knew what to say. The little phrases like, "hola" "si" permiso" and "gracias" all come without any thinking already. Yes, they are the most common things to say, but I say them without even translating in my mind now. A small small thing, but I am just glad that I have experienced some positive adjustment. Tonight some of our amigos from the church came over to learn how to Tango with us. We had already experienced Candobe lessons so. Tango was nothing. Well, it wasn't automatic, but not as different. I actually enjoyed it and felt like I got the hang of it pretty quick. Of course I will leave it the girls whose toes I stepped on to be the judge of how "good" I actually was. After that we had some fantastic brownies. One batch with mint chocolate and another with dulce de leche. A good Valentines Day in Montevideo.
Since being here I have loved it and been doing my best to expose myself to the culture, but it has still been a big transition. I left a Gamma Sigma Phi, social club I had just pledged; a huge group of guys a became very close too last semester. I left The Pod; ten roommates that became some of my best friends last semester. I left my left my loving family; KrisAnn in Waco, Parents and Grandparents in McKinney and Longview. I miss them, and far too many friends and family members to list off, so much. Thankfully I have had a few things to remind me of everyone daily. My pledging blocks, chain links and pledge pin all sit on my desk. David Singer gave his extra watch the night before I left for Uruguay and he left for Oxford. It reminds me of The Pod every time I look at it. Mom gave me her small bible (her name engraved on it the cover) that Grandmommy and Grandaddy gave her to fit in my diaper bag many years ago. It reminds me of my family whenever I read it of see the cover. There are more little things that remind of home that I love, but lists are boring.
This weekend we are traveling to Rocha, Uruguay. This will guaranty a post at least telling of that experience, if not one before. I will continue to try and be better about posting more often, I promise.
Mucho Amor,
Curtis
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Sing Song, Yemanja, and Candobe
It has been a while! I guess I am still not used to this blogging thing. I forget that I am supposed to update this every time something significant happens. Maybe I'll catch on to the routine eventually. Let's see, I guess I left off with last weekend.
Last Sunday the group decided to get serious about Sing Song. In that one day the lyrics and songs were all decided upon and we started practice that night. Since then we have practiced nearly every night. Though we only have 9 people participating in the act we still have different singing parts and real choreography courtesy of Catie Baird and Jaime Metscher. It is looking like it will be a real act and I am sure I will be spending plenty of time later this week doing some video editing.
Other than starting Sing Song practices we have still managed to have a busy week. On Wednesday we went to a small natural museum down the road for our Spanish Class. Our teacher, Amelia decided that we needed a little break from the classroom. After the bus ride back she even bought us ice cream! She's a great teacher, obviously. Also on Wednesday we went down to the beach where there was an annual memorial, celebration, dedication, whatever you want to call it, to the see goddess Yemanja. She was adopted from African religion and is now almost combined with the Virgin Mary. It was very interesting to observe. Many people were sending out sentiments in the form of food and letters in the ocean as well as waiting in line to be blessed on the beach. I did not really understand much of what was going on, but it was an experience worth having. Afterward we went to a small fair-like area that was right there on the Rambla with our friends from the church.
On Thursday we went to the second parade of Carnaval, Candobe. Candobe is a type of dance inherited from the African culture and the whole parade was different groups performing their own renditions of the dance. Another crazy parade, though. Not quite as big, but still a lot of people in and watching the event.
On Friday we went to a concert at the Teatro Solis. None of us were really informed on what we were going to, but it turned out to be the musical scores of a bunch of well known movies. There was Indiana Jones, Titanic, Jurassic Park, E.T., and Stars Wars. Great stuff. Anyway, I am going to go pick up some muzzerella and have dinner.
bendiciones, Curtis
Last Sunday the group decided to get serious about Sing Song. In that one day the lyrics and songs were all decided upon and we started practice that night. Since then we have practiced nearly every night. Though we only have 9 people participating in the act we still have different singing parts and real choreography courtesy of Catie Baird and Jaime Metscher. It is looking like it will be a real act and I am sure I will be spending plenty of time later this week doing some video editing.
Other than starting Sing Song practices we have still managed to have a busy week. On Wednesday we went to a small natural museum down the road for our Spanish Class. Our teacher, Amelia decided that we needed a little break from the classroom. After the bus ride back she even bought us ice cream! She's a great teacher, obviously. Also on Wednesday we went down to the beach where there was an annual memorial, celebration, dedication, whatever you want to call it, to the see goddess Yemanja. She was adopted from African religion and is now almost combined with the Virgin Mary. It was very interesting to observe. Many people were sending out sentiments in the form of food and letters in the ocean as well as waiting in line to be blessed on the beach. I did not really understand much of what was going on, but it was an experience worth having. Afterward we went to a small fair-like area that was right there on the Rambla with our friends from the church.
On Thursday we went to the second parade of Carnaval, Candobe. Candobe is a type of dance inherited from the African culture and the whole parade was different groups performing their own renditions of the dance. Another crazy parade, though. Not quite as big, but still a lot of people in and watching the event.
On Friday we went to a concert at the Teatro Solis. None of us were really informed on what we were going to, but it turned out to be the musical scores of a bunch of well known movies. There was Indiana Jones, Titanic, Jurassic Park, E.T., and Stars Wars. Great stuff. Anyway, I am going to go pick up some muzzerella and have dinner.
bendiciones, Curtis
Saturday, January 29, 2011
The Mystery Meat
We have finished our first week of classes. Of course, it feels like we have already been here for months, but it has only been 8 days. Before we have gotten too deep into school work made sure and saw all the landmarks of the city; markets, beaches, the central city.
On Wednesday we went on a bus tour of Montevideo. This trip made me feel like I am still a tourist. We stopped at places and took group pictures, Wimon Walker (the ACU Casa director) had a mike and told us facts about the city as we drove around, and we all had cameras. We even made stops where there was already a bus full of elderly tourists. Though it is fun to see all the sites, I am tired of looking like a tourist. My main goal for the semester has become to blend in with the culture. Hopefully my 11 hrs of Spanish class and lab time will help with that.
Thursday night marked the start of Carnaval in Uruguay. the nation doesn't have the biggest celebration, but it does take pride in having the longest. To open up the celebrations there was a craazy parade. It was about the South America equivalent to Mardi Gras. The masses crowding the sidewalks to watch the parade down Doeciocho St. and the children running wild in the middle of the parade. There was confetti, paper, shaving cream and silly string flying everywhere. Our group didn't make all the way through however. We decided to head out after couple hours had passed and we were told that it lasted until 2am. It was a whole lot of fun though, and just what the group was needing. Recently some had been down about being here. It is just so different and none of us really know what is going on most of the time. I am enjoying that aspect, but everyone reacts differently. Once we are used to life here and find our own niches I think everyone will really like it. Carnaval helped with that. Everyone needed some entertainment.
Aside from that, I got mail yesterday (Friday)! The parents mailed me the Buff (basically a bandana type cloth used for my hair, don't worry about it) I had left at home, along with the Camp Deer Run letter. It was good to get a few pieces of home.
Last night we went to a pizzeria just a couple blocks away and ate out on the side walk. Victoria, a fellow study abroad-er, tried to order pepperoni, but got some other kind of meat. She did not particularly fancy this meat, whatever it was, but I on the other liked it much better than my muzzerella con jamon (cheese and ham) pizza. Sadly though, we are not sure what Victoria had order by mistake and it remains a mystery meat. I hope to discover what this meat was, because I enjoyed it thoroughly.
I am still without any way to upload photos from my camera, but I will find a card reader or camera cable soon enough. Don't worry [family] it has only been a week. There will be plenty of photos eventually.
bendiciones,
Curtis
On Wednesday we went on a bus tour of Montevideo. This trip made me feel like I am still a tourist. We stopped at places and took group pictures, Wimon Walker (the ACU Casa director) had a mike and told us facts about the city as we drove around, and we all had cameras. We even made stops where there was already a bus full of elderly tourists. Though it is fun to see all the sites, I am tired of looking like a tourist. My main goal for the semester has become to blend in with the culture. Hopefully my 11 hrs of Spanish class and lab time will help with that.
Thursday night marked the start of Carnaval in Uruguay. the nation doesn't have the biggest celebration, but it does take pride in having the longest. To open up the celebrations there was a craazy parade. It was about the South America equivalent to Mardi Gras. The masses crowding the sidewalks to watch the parade down Doeciocho St. and the children running wild in the middle of the parade. There was confetti, paper, shaving cream and silly string flying everywhere. Our group didn't make all the way through however. We decided to head out after couple hours had passed and we were told that it lasted until 2am. It was a whole lot of fun though, and just what the group was needing. Recently some had been down about being here. It is just so different and none of us really know what is going on most of the time. I am enjoying that aspect, but everyone reacts differently. Once we are used to life here and find our own niches I think everyone will really like it. Carnaval helped with that. Everyone needed some entertainment.
Aside from that, I got mail yesterday (Friday)! The parents mailed me the Buff (basically a bandana type cloth used for my hair, don't worry about it) I had left at home, along with the Camp Deer Run letter. It was good to get a few pieces of home.
Last night we went to a pizzeria just a couple blocks away and ate out on the side walk. Victoria, a fellow study abroad-er, tried to order pepperoni, but got some other kind of meat. She did not particularly fancy this meat, whatever it was, but I on the other liked it much better than my muzzerella con jamon (cheese and ham) pizza. Sadly though, we are not sure what Victoria had order by mistake and it remains a mystery meat. I hope to discover what this meat was, because I enjoyed it thoroughly.
I am still without any way to upload photos from my camera, but I will find a card reader or camera cable soon enough. Don't worry [family] it has only been a week. There will be plenty of photos eventually.
bendiciones,
Curtis
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Mercado Mercado Mercado
The first Sunday here in Montevideo started out with a 10am service at the church we are sharing a building with. The service was of course in Spanish and was just one of the continual reminders that I have to learn a lot of Spanish while I am here.
The day after my first blog post we went to Ciudad Vieja. Here there were many historical land markers and buildings that are important to Montevideo's establishment. Also, there is a large market that takes over the streets. We split into groups and were given the freedom to explore the Ciudad Vieja and the markets. My group (Heather, Hailey, Shelby and Tia) decided to go see the ocean. We walked down to the coast and strolled down the rambla. Once we ran into construction we started back into the city and of course ended up where we should not have been. While walking up a road a young boy came up from behind and snatched Tia's purse! She yelled and ran after him and I also ran after the boy. He turned on the next street and then ran into a doorway. I followed him and down the hall past doorway and it came to a dead end. There were doorways to homes that elderly men were sitting in front of. Tia decided to ask around to see where the boy had gone. I went back out to check on the girls but I could not see them down either street. I stayed and waited for Tia and while I did, there were more kids on the street corner that watched me closely, but I stared back at them and they never tried to approach me. Eventually Tia came back out talking to an older man and he had her purse. Once he saw that I was with her he put it in her hands. He said that the boy had thrown it in the trash. The money and phone was gone, but the credit cards, license, and keys were still in the purse. We decided we had had enough for the day and took a long walk home. The girls, we found out later, had found another group and stayed with them for the afternoon.
Quite a crazy first full day in Montevideo, but we learned a few things: Teenagers and children have literally zero penalty for crime and their record is wiped clean at age 18. Sadly the ones we have to watch out for the most are 10-15 year-olds.
Since then we have been visiting mercados all over the city and just walking around looking at everything. We have been to the mercado in Ciudad Vieja, one near the beach, a mall (just like american malls) and a sunday market today. We met the youth from the church on Saturday and got to hang out with them again today in the market. I can tell that they will be a huge help in learning conversational Spanish.
Many more to come,
Ciao, Curtis
The day after my first blog post we went to Ciudad Vieja. Here there were many historical land markers and buildings that are important to Montevideo's establishment. Also, there is a large market that takes over the streets. We split into groups and were given the freedom to explore the Ciudad Vieja and the markets. My group (Heather, Hailey, Shelby and Tia) decided to go see the ocean. We walked down to the coast and strolled down the rambla. Once we ran into construction we started back into the city and of course ended up where we should not have been. While walking up a road a young boy came up from behind and snatched Tia's purse! She yelled and ran after him and I also ran after the boy. He turned on the next street and then ran into a doorway. I followed him and down the hall past doorway and it came to a dead end. There were doorways to homes that elderly men were sitting in front of. Tia decided to ask around to see where the boy had gone. I went back out to check on the girls but I could not see them down either street. I stayed and waited for Tia and while I did, there were more kids on the street corner that watched me closely, but I stared back at them and they never tried to approach me. Eventually Tia came back out talking to an older man and he had her purse. Once he saw that I was with her he put it in her hands. He said that the boy had thrown it in the trash. The money and phone was gone, but the credit cards, license, and keys were still in the purse. We decided we had had enough for the day and took a long walk home. The girls, we found out later, had found another group and stayed with them for the afternoon.
Quite a crazy first full day in Montevideo, but we learned a few things: Teenagers and children have literally zero penalty for crime and their record is wiped clean at age 18. Sadly the ones we have to watch out for the most are 10-15 year-olds.
Since then we have been visiting mercados all over the city and just walking around looking at everything. We have been to the mercado in Ciudad Vieja, one near the beach, a mall (just like american malls) and a sunday market today. We met the youth from the church on Saturday and got to hang out with them again today in the market. I can tell that they will be a huge help in learning conversational Spanish.
Many more to come,
Ciao, Curtis
Thursday, January 20, 2011
I Have Arrived
Well, I'm here. Sitting at desk, in my room with my new roommate Ben Fincher, in Montevideo Uruguay. It is still too surreal to think that this is my home until May. Even after unloading my bags, hanging clothes in the closet and taking a shower in a new place my mind is just in vacation mode. I feel myself unconsciously thinking, "Oh, this will be a fun week or so" all the while facing the truth that unless I learn some Spanish I am lost in this country for the next few months. The house seems great, the Walkers have welcomed us right in and we have been going nonstop since we arrived. I think I will do alright here.
Now, the events of the trip. It all began with a Nalgene, a cooking pot and a microscope. The day before departure (Tuesday, Jan. 18) I had agreed to take a cooking pot for the cooks at Casa ACU and a microscope for Professor Hernandez (from here on out, known as Tia Patti). I had room in my carry-on bag, so this was no problem. Wednesday I had all my bags packed in the bus and filled my Nalgene water bottle for the ride. Turns out, I wasn't thirsty. I did not realize I had not drank any of the 32 oz until I was next in line for security at DFW airport. I stepped to the side and allowed those behind me to move past as I stood there chugging the water. After a good minute of gulping down water, I took a breath and drank some more. Once I finally removed my laptop, camera, shoes, wallet, change, belt, spleen, watch and phone from my bags and person I had to wait while my carry-on was defiled by x-ray camera. My bag attracted about 5 security personnel who were up for the guessing game. The cooking pot and microscope through them for a loop and took a while, but I was ok with it. They probably need some excitement. After a tasty Jack Daniels Burger at T.G.I. Fridays with the MVD Gang, the wait terminal went by pretty quick. That's because that flight was on time. Miami is another story.
We landed in Miami ahead of schedule so we had some to walk around and stretch our legs. We easily made our boarding time of 10:00pm, but Miami had some other plans. After not hearing any announcements about boarding at 10:45 we were informed that plane was about to make its way to the gate. Then delay after delay after delay out final boarding that was actually met was 1:15 with a 1:45 take off time. We even got as far as backing away from the gate only to hear a boisterous, "Psych!" over the intercom. Not really. but that is what might as well had said. Apparently the hydraulic pumps were not fully functioning, so we rolled back up to the gate and let the mechanics on to do their thang. And their thang they did and we FINALLY took off at about 2:30. Now, because of our delay we had dinner at about 3:00am. Of course I stayed awake for this. Then the rest of the flight I had sessions of "sleep" that lasted as long as I could unconsciously balance my head and break fast at about 11:30am. However, the whole experience was made worth while because our flight attendant was a sassy black woman. fake nails, gold bracelets and all. She laughed at me for accidentally pushing the flight attendant button and remembered that I wanted coffee with breakfast.
We landed and the Walkers were there ready for us and we took a bus the scenic route to Casa ACU. From there we had a meal, a scavenger hunt in the city and went out for dinner. All of which reminded me how little Spanish I know.
It is late here and we have another full day tomorrow, starting with a 9am breakfast. Curtis out.
Now, the events of the trip. It all began with a Nalgene, a cooking pot and a microscope. The day before departure (Tuesday, Jan. 18) I had agreed to take a cooking pot for the cooks at Casa ACU and a microscope for Professor Hernandez (from here on out, known as Tia Patti). I had room in my carry-on bag, so this was no problem. Wednesday I had all my bags packed in the bus and filled my Nalgene water bottle for the ride. Turns out, I wasn't thirsty. I did not realize I had not drank any of the 32 oz until I was next in line for security at DFW airport. I stepped to the side and allowed those behind me to move past as I stood there chugging the water. After a good minute of gulping down water, I took a breath and drank some more. Once I finally removed my laptop, camera, shoes, wallet, change, belt, spleen, watch and phone from my bags and person I had to wait while my carry-on was defiled by x-ray camera. My bag attracted about 5 security personnel who were up for the guessing game. The cooking pot and microscope through them for a loop and took a while, but I was ok with it. They probably need some excitement. After a tasty Jack Daniels Burger at T.G.I. Fridays with the MVD Gang, the wait terminal went by pretty quick. That's because that flight was on time. Miami is another story.
We landed in Miami ahead of schedule so we had some to walk around and stretch our legs. We easily made our boarding time of 10:00pm, but Miami had some other plans. After not hearing any announcements about boarding at 10:45 we were informed that plane was about to make its way to the gate. Then delay after delay after delay out final boarding that was actually met was 1:15 with a 1:45 take off time. We even got as far as backing away from the gate only to hear a boisterous, "Psych!" over the intercom. Not really. but that is what might as well had said. Apparently the hydraulic pumps were not fully functioning, so we rolled back up to the gate and let the mechanics on to do their thang. And their thang they did and we FINALLY took off at about 2:30. Now, because of our delay we had dinner at about 3:00am. Of course I stayed awake for this. Then the rest of the flight I had sessions of "sleep" that lasted as long as I could unconsciously balance my head and break fast at about 11:30am. However, the whole experience was made worth while because our flight attendant was a sassy black woman. fake nails, gold bracelets and all. She laughed at me for accidentally pushing the flight attendant button and remembered that I wanted coffee with breakfast.
We landed and the Walkers were there ready for us and we took a bus the scenic route to Casa ACU. From there we had a meal, a scavenger hunt in the city and went out for dinner. All of which reminded me how little Spanish I know.
It is late here and we have another full day tomorrow, starting with a 9am breakfast. Curtis out.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Pre-Posting Post for the Most!
Well, I have done it. By creating this blog I have completely conformed to technology of this day and age. Then again, it is the calling of my generation to fully use the technological resources available, eventually show our parents it exists, explain it enough they can observe it, and lead them to believe they understand it. However, that is a complete stereotype. My parents are active, avid facebookers. As well as grandmommy. Way to go Christian/Reynolds family members over...30!
Anyway, the purpose of this blog is to inform all of those interested of my life while studying abroad this next semester in Montevideo, Uruguay. My adventures, experiences, encounters (really any good story) will all make their way onto the bloggy blog. If you're all lucky maybe some of my random thoughts will make it past twitter and onto the posts as well. Anywho, I will notify all the facebook nation when I post. Feel free to comment, but make it tasteful. This isn't a page for cheap words. If blogs were waste receptacles my blog is a sectioned recycle bin. The kind with glass, paper, and plastics all separated. The most chivalrous, comely, and cultivated of blogs. No pressure though, feel free to comment.
Much Love to All
Anyway, the purpose of this blog is to inform all of those interested of my life while studying abroad this next semester in Montevideo, Uruguay. My adventures, experiences, encounters (really any good story) will all make their way onto the bloggy blog. If you're all lucky maybe some of my random thoughts will make it past twitter and onto the posts as well. Anywho, I will notify all the facebook nation when I post. Feel free to comment, but make it tasteful. This isn't a page for cheap words. If blogs were waste receptacles my blog is a sectioned recycle bin. The kind with glass, paper, and plastics all separated. The most chivalrous, comely, and cultivated of blogs. No pressure though, feel free to comment.
Much Love to All
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