Then we had our orientation where we heard all about the city and our schedule and trips and stuff like that. It was long but definitely worth the information that we got. We talked about safety and classes and such. Then we had a prayer meeting and talked about our hopes and fears and roadblocks for this trip. After lunch of something like Shepherd's pie, we set our for an adventure of a lifetime.
Wimon took us on the bus to the Plaza de Indepencia which is like downtown. If Montevideo was NYC, this would be the Time Square. In this middle of this square is the statue of the Uruguayan overall military and otherwise hero, Artegas. More on him later. This statue was quite impressive and showed the obvious admiration that the Uruguayan people have for this man.
After that, Wimon gave us a paper with some things to find and write down the answers: our first assignment for our international studies class. After that point, the set us all free in groups of three to four and we had to find the answers and wonder slowly back through the city to the Casa. We went a little bit further, into the old city, and walked along the walking streets. It was beautiful and incredible! Then we went into a cathedral and were amazed by the art: sculptures and stained glass. That was as far down as we went. My group then split off and walked though a handcraft market and back to the square.
From that point on we wondered along the main street of this side of town, 18 de Julio, and took pictures. One big thing in Montevideo and Latin America as a whole is the plazas that they have every so often that are like parks with a statue in the middle of it. There were about 4-5 on the way back to Casa (about 2 miles). We had a lot of fun people watching at one point. We just sat down in a plaza and discretely took pictures of people and watched them as they went along. After about an hour of sitting and being still, resting our feet, we kept going. We walked along 18 de Julio all the way home. We passed the national library and a lot of shops. In front of the library there were two statues that we were asked to take note of: one of Cervantes and one of Socrates. Pretty impressive, eh?
It was a long walk home, but we finally got back to casa safely and were glad to have some water and a seat. My group was the first ones home, after about 3 hours of "walking home from the plaza" and we decided to go and get some food, even though it was very early for Uruguayans.
On our way out, we met Dr. Sutherlin, our faculty, and some other people at the door, they were going to the supermarket to get some food to cook for dinner and so we all went along together. I got some shampoo and other stuff, but we decided to make dinner all together. We got some pasta and sauce mix for dinner. We got back to casa and discovered the GIANT amount of leftover empanadas and shepherd's pie, so we only cooked half of what we got. We still had SO MUCH leftover. It was fun and good. We have to light the oven (el horno) and the stove (el estufa) by hand, but I think I can do it now. I got some video of us cooking and I will get it up as soon as I can.
After dinner, we got together and several of us walked about 3 blocks to get some helado (ice cream) and it was DELICIOUS! The cone was the best part. There is so much good food here we are going to have to find a gym soon. Although walking almost everywhere helps!
Currently, we are watching the Goofy Movie in english with several of the students. Wimon, Rosalinda, Rachel, and Dr. S all went to dinner and we are left to our own devices. We have had a great day and I can't wait to see what comes next. I think that this will feel more permanent when we start classes on Monday. As for now its like a vacation on crack and in a different hemisphere!
Love yall!
1 comment:
I can't wait to see pictures. Keep having fun.
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