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
Monday, February 21, 2011
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
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