Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone! I'm thinking this is going to be a little different from my ususal October 31st back in the states, but i'm up for some Montevideo Halloween times. Tonight, a few exchange students from Spain are hosting a Halloween costume party! It should be fun!


On Wednesday night, us girls went to Azabache which is a salsa club here. Danced a little salsa and celebrated Tine's 22nd birthday. Tine is another exchange student from Germany. Catherine and I left pretty early because she has Thursday morning classes, but by early I mean we were in bed at 3 o'clock. Nightlife goes on till the wee hours of the morning here, and for us Americans/British, its hard to keep up sometimes!


Anway, also on Wednesday was our last community service trip to Don Basco school. It was a little sad to have to leave the kids. You hope that you have made some kind of difference in their lives. Its sad not knowing what will happen with these kids. What will become of each of them. They have such hard lives and I just wanted to grab them all and take them home with me! We had a wonderful day though full of fun Halloween activities. Before we left, they had prepared a little "Going Away" party for us with cookies, coke, and other treats. They also presented us with a group picture and a small gift. It was so sweet and I'm definitely going to miss them!

Uruguay has it all...gauchos and Carnaval!

So, today was fun. Catherine and I had breakfast this morning then I went for a jog on the Rambla. It was a nice, warm day outside and I have really started to enjoy my morning runs. There are always lots of people out walking their dog, bicycling, finshing, or just sitting with others talking. I love that about the culture down here! They have such a laid back way of life. People enjoy really being in the fresh air, socializing with friends.

Afterward, Catherine, Maddy, and I met up in Ciudad Vieja to shop for some Halloween costumes for a party this weekend hosted by some other exchange students. We had some luck when we found a shop pretty much devoted to Carnaval (the huge Latin America festival around Lent, kind of like Mardi Gras but a million times bigger). So after finding some really glittery masquerade accesories we hurried down to the "Gaucho Museum" of Uruguay to meet up with their spanish class for a tour. Gauchos are the uruguayan version of the American cowboy, more or less. A wonderful guide showed us around the magnificent 1800's mansion that is now home of traditional gaucho knifes, lances, bolas, lassos, and clothes. She explained a lot of the gaucho history and life to us, and it was really interesting. The picture that I've placed to the right is a view of the some of the buildings and streets of Ciudad Vieja.

This afternoon, I had the chance to talk to my granny, and Aunt Jona for the first time since I left in July. They came down to my house in McMinnville to have lunch with my mom and talk to me on skype. So our little chat made my day! Now, after a little studying, I'm thinking of eating some dinner and watching a movie. Yay for movie nights!

life since last time...

Hey guys! So, I haven’t written in a while…this last month has been crazy!!! Daniel was visiting from September 24th through October 9th, and then I’ve had a major book review due in my history class, field trips, beach days, and what not.

So, Daniel’s visit was great! The first weekend after he arrived we went to Punta del Este, a popular beach destination for Argentinean and Uruguayans. It was still a little chilly at that point, so we rented bikes and got a great feel of the peninsula. We spent two days there going out to eat, seeing the yacht harbor, and laying on the beach. Punta del Este was beautiful! That next Tuesday we traveled about 3 hours away to Colonia del Sacramento, which was the first Portuguese colony settled in Uruguay and is now a picturesque port town full of quaint museums and small cafes. We got some delicious ice cream, walked through the cobblestone streets, and saw the town from the top of the 200 year old lighthouse. Following Colonia we spent a couple days in Montevideo (as I had midterms and classes going on), then packed up once more and headed to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Buenos Aires was spectacular! Daniel and I saw all the major touristy sights such as Eva Peron’s mausoleum in the Recoleta Cemetery, the neighborhood of La Boca’s colorful houses, tango on the streets of San Telmo, and the Casa Rosada. My favorite part was our day trip to the Tigre, a Buenos Aires suburb located in the delta region. We took a scenic train ride out there and then a boat tour through the delta community. The houses line stripes of islands and the resident have to travel in and out by boat. Since it’s the only form of transportation they even have “taxi boats!” For the rest of his time here, Daniel and I walked around the sights of Montevideo, flew kites on the beach, and chilled out after a very busy two weeks. So, now he’s back in the good ‘ole U.S. of A, and I’m still here haha! Only 48 days left though!

So, today I turn in my ten page book review. Whew, what a weight lifted off my shoulders. I had to read and then summarize (all in Spanish) an 80 page book about the society and culture of Uruguay from 1920-1990. Definitely glad I’m finished with that! I only have four weeks of school left, yay! That means that for the next month I’m going to be loaded down with tests, papers, and presentations though. Not looking forward to that. Finally though, it has warmed up here…which mean lots of lying out on the beach! Hey, I can’t study all the time!