Hola Mis Amigos!
Santa Rosa is here! Santa Rosa is a storm that passes through the city every year around this time. It has been purring down rain and thundering all day. I love it! I have missed rain so much. It is so nice to sit in my room, by my window, hear the rain pour down, and write this blog to all of those that I love.
Whew. It has been a long weekend... On friday we went to the Old City. This is a more historical part of Uruguay. There are historical landmarks, government buildings, and most importantly, the statue and ashes of "Our national hero, Artigas." Artigas was a leader of the people who was exiled, lived to 90, and then his ashes were brought back to Uruguay. He is the only historical figure that every single Uruguayan would say is a hero. His ashes were displayed in a room underground, beneath a huge statue of Artigas on his horse. I do not know much about Artigas, but one cannot help but feel reverent in that room.
As we were standing outside of the statue, a little boy came to us and asked each of us for a dollar. He could obviously tell that we were American. While the initial instinct is to feel sympathy, you just have to remember that these kids are trained to do this and firmly refuse :( After the boy left we all went our separate ways. The leaders (Wimon, Rosalinda, and Cindy) went to Casa, while the crew (me, will, andrew, amelia, and courtnie) walked back to find somewhere to eat. We did not realize that the walk back to casa would be like 45 minutes. At least we walked off some of the delicious chocolate cakes that raquelle and mariella have been spoiling us with! While we were walking back there was a large protest going on. I could not catch all of what they were saying but it had something to do with low wages and poor housing. I guess politics are controversial everywhere, even in the relaxed streets of montevideo.
Friday night we ventured out to find food. The leaders were not with us so we had a bit of trouble finding a restaurant. :/ However, we eventually ended up at a pizzeria. There are really two types of pizza(ish) dishes. There is "pizza" which is pretty normal but the flavors are different, and then there is "muzzarella" which is made with, you guessed it, mozzarella cheese. It was all delicious. It is just going to take time to get used to the different flavors here. After dinner we went back to Casa and slept. Hard.
Saturday was an amazing day! In la mañana we went to a market downtown. It was so crowded and big and CHEAP!! I bought a scarf porque es muy muy frio here! Will, courtnie, and I walked together, while andrew and amelia went down another trail. It was so relaxing to stroll around, browse, ask prices, and spend time in the world of montevideo markets. I took some pictures of the more interesting things (pictures below are 1. a huge dog 2. will scarf shopping 3.fútbol 4. fresh market).
After we had seen the entire market, will, courtnie, and I caught a cab back to casa. Let me just talk about the taxis here for a second... First of all, the have seat belts, but they are more of a luxury/suggestion than a law. Second, these taxis are tiny tiny and so the drivers think that they can fit through the smallest spaces. Third, these drivers speed like crazy. No one stays in the lanes. I don't even know why they have the white lines on the roads honestly. Think of the magic bus in Harry Potter...it is JUST like that. After our roller coaster ride back to Casa we walked to Lucas to get our first hamburger here. All of my friends who had gone to montevideo before me just raved about the food at Lucas and I was not disappointed. I got a simple hamburger with ketchup and mustard. The condiments here all taste and look a little different than in the states but they are really good! After such a big lunch there was a big nap :)
Side story: Will saved my camera while we were at the market saturday morning! I was taking pictures on the sidewalk and all of a sudden he grabbed my camera and pull me aside. I asked him what was wrong and he pointed toward the street... He pointed to a guy in a yellow truck just a few feet away. He explained that as soon as I had pulled my camera out, he made eye contact with some other men and then he threw a purse out of the window. Apparently what was happening was that they were hoping I would have bent down to help pick up the purse, so that they other guys could have ran by and grabbed my camera as I was distracted... Sneaky, sneaky,sneaky! Thank goodness for will! Most of the people here are so sweet and honest, but there are many who will do anything to steal.
Saturday evening we were given a tour of the church that we share the building with. QUE LINDA (how beautiful)! There was stain glass, marble, wooden staircases, a 2 story library, and we were taken up to the roof, right next to the clock tower. We were standing above the city as the sunset... just breathtaking. God was all around us. After the tour, some kids from the youth group joined us for dinner. That was such a blast! We ate spaghetti and brownies. Muy delicioso! Then we just sat around and talked, shared pictures, stories, and favorite youtube videos :)
Sunday morning meant church! We met around 10 am and walked about 5 feet into la iglesia. The service was beautiful but somewhat hard to follow. Might have something to do with the whole spanish thing...;) But I tried to listen to the words I knew. We even sung a song that we sing at my home church in round rock! So I sang along to that one and could easily understand the spanish words. I think that singing may become one of my favorite ways to learn spanish here. Two little girls, Mika and Yamilla, sat with us. They were about 13. They doodles all through church, giggled at the boys, and played with the girls hair. It was amusing to watch them play and I loved making such sweet friends! Now here is the big news...I cooked. What?? yes, I did. Now here is the not surprising news...it was awful! lol Will tried to make some kind of creamy vegetable soup...fail. Then I attempted to make macaroni and cheese...fail. Well, I couldn't make mac and cheese in the states so why would I be able to make it here?? It is just hard to go grocery shopping because everything is in spanish and there are not many spices here to add flavor to the food. Oh well, I will learn. Raquelle and Mariella (the cooks) already promised to help us learn. Thank goodness!
I think that is it for now... So much happens here. It is going to be hard to keep you updated on everything! I promise I will do my best :) I love and miss you all. Keep me in your prayers, as you are in mine.
Te Amo,
Em
