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
Saturday, January 29, 2011
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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