This has been yet another exciting weeks. I am finding it more and more difficult to balance correspondence, homework, Uruguay, and being here with my friends as this
semester draws to a close.
It seems that someone has told our group about going home and whispered into each little ear that it might be good to get back to the USA. We haven't been a very homesick group and are still more than elated to participate in elements of the Uruguayan culture, but with classes ramping up to full speed and only three weeks left, I am finding it hard to stay in the moment here. This semester has been dream of a lifetime: making new friends, traveling, exploring new cultures, and forming memories and bonds that will last my whole life. I feel sure that I can't even imagine the deeply set changes on my worldview this semester.
Anyway, last weekend we had the opportunity to go to the beach resort town of Punta del Este at the intersection of the Rio de la Plata and the Atlantic Ocean. Two weeks ago I was at the Pacific, this week, the Atlantic! How cool is that?
The notable sites of Punta del Este are La Mano, or the giant hand in the sand, and the numerous beaches and resorts. We just took a day trip in order to see the sites. We got there about 10 in the morning. It is about two hours away from Casa in Montevideo, so we left at eight. We went to the Casa Pueblo, which is the house of a well-known Uruguayo artist who lived part of his life there and part of it in Argentina. It was really pretty. The interesting thing about it is that there are like no straight lines on the whole place. It really looks kinda like something from Dr. Suess. Someday I'll have to write a story about why that is.
The rest of the day, we drove around Punta del Este and took a boat to a little island and spent on the beach. It was a lot of fun. I really really really like the ocean and waves and so naturally, I was literally the first one in and the last one out. It was amazing!
We came back that night and had a lot of fun just on the bus making things up and speaking bad Spanish. Matt and I have decided that we are basically personality twins and so now we call each other "Twin" in Spanish. Little brother Ben sat in front of us and was annoyed by our loud voices and singing all the way back to Casa.
The next part of the week was completely dominated by classes and preparation for a biochemistry test that I wanted to do well on. I poured almost all of my time and effort into that the first part of the week.
After the test on Wednesday, we had some time to relax and then went to the soccer game between Costa Rica and Uruguay. Because we didn't beat Argentina like we needed to, we became a wildcard of sorts. We had to play Costa Rica to determine if we got to go to the world cup in 2010 in South Africa. Because of the scoring of the first playoff held in Costa Rica (Uruguay 1-0), we only had to not get beat by the Costa Ricans to be able to advance. We painted our faces and got really excited about going to this game.
We were elated when Uruguay made their first goal, but that was shortly followed up by a Costa Rican goal as well. We held them off though and tied 1-1, letting us advance to the World Cup. I can't wait to have parties for those games in our apartment next spring!!
So tomorrow, Ben, Dara, Karaline, Alli and I are going back to Punta del Este for our free travel weekend. We are going to spend time on the beach and just chilling out. I can't wait for some down time after this insane week!
Thanks for the support and the prayers! Three weeks from this moment I will be arriving in the DFW airport to be greeted by my family and taken back to Abilene. It is SO hard to believe!!
(Pictures: Top- (left to right) Me and my roommates Linley and Dara at La Mano. 2nd- Ben and I at Casa Pueblo. 3rd- Matt and I asleep on the bus back from Punta del Este. 4th- Ben and I at the game, a sampling of our face-painted art. Last- The team waving to fans from the field after the game with Uruguayan flag in the foreground.)
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