Favorite moments from WEEK 8!

1. Shadowing Gaby at work

-I do not remember if I have mentioned this before, but my host mom is a criminal judge here in Montevideo and I am learning more and more that she is kind of a big deal. One thing worth mentioning is that the court system in Uruguay is VERY different than the one in the US. I do not know a lot about all the differences, but the few that I know are pretty big differences. For example, judges are not elected, they are appointed. Also, judges do not use an actual court room-all of their work is done out of an office and they meet with their "clients"(I do not know the proper term...I am not studying law. haha) in a small office as well. And the maximum penalty that they can give is 30 years in prison. 

-In addition to being a judge, my host mom also teaches law at my university. She often talks about her cases and her students, because she loves what she does and wants to share that with me. This topic typically would not interest me, but I have learned a lot from her and I love hearing her talk about her passions. She has mentioned several times since I have been here that she wants me to come to work with her someday so that I can get to know what she does a little better, and have the chance to see where she works. So, since I do not have class on Fridays, we decided that would be the perfect day. She had just met with the several members of a very important case the day before-resulting in her name being on the news throughout the day-so I was very curious. Here are some pictures from this experience:

 <Here is a picture of Gaby's desk. Everything is done on paper! I cannot imagine. It stressed me out a little. Each "packet" of papers is a different case.>

<Gaby hard at work>

<This picture is just for fun. It was posted in the bathroom. haha. I found it rather ironic. It means:"Please do not steal the toilet paper. Thank you.">

2. Museo Blanes

This week, I went on another field trip with my Spanish Language class to an art museum. I just love field trips! Why do they cease to be valuable learning experiences once you reach college-THEY DON'T! But it is very rare to go on a field trip with a college class. So I am soaking them all in this semester. This museum is located in an old house in a beautiful old neighborhood of Montevideo called "Prado." If I am being honest, the museum was really not much to see. There were three small exhibits that could be completely viewed in a half an hour or less. However, the museum also has a beautiful outdoor garden, which was by far my favorite part. Here are a couple pictures from this adventure:

 

 

 <You cannot really tell, but the flowers that are most abundant in this garden are wisteria and hydrangeas(have not yet bloomed), which are my two favorite kinds of flowers!>

3. Quality time with Abuela

Anyone who knows me well...or even not that well...knows that the way to my heart is through good food. Abuela has mastered this. haha. Twice during this week, I ate a meal with her. The first time, she was hanging out at our house and Gaby was getting ready to leave for work and Abuela said she was going back to her house to eat with her boyfriend. Gaby got onto her and told her that she needs to invite me, her "granddaughter" because, I was going to have to eat alone. So I went to her house and had fresh fish and vegetables and salad. It was delicious! They sure know how to cook! And then they told me they would always invite me over from now on when they are going to have a meal-Best. News. Ever! The next day or so, Abuela invited me over for "panchos y cervesa"(hot dogs and beer) at her house. It was a simple but yummy meal. And then we were both craving ice cream, but she didn;t have any, so we walked to an ice cream shop a few blocks down the road. I think I may have found someone who loves ice cream almost as much as me. Score!

 

 4. Also, this happened:
There is not much need for an explanation here. A fire, comfy socks, local treats, and tea makes me into one happy girl. But sitting by the fire with a cup of tea always makes me think of my family-my dad because he makes the fire, my mom because she loves us to have a fire in the house and she loves tea, my sister just because, and Toby because he loves the fire just as much as we do and I love to snuggle with him by the fire.

What can I say? It was a pretty stellar week. 

Recent trips-weeks 6 & 7

Colonia

A couple of weekends ago, I went to the sweet little town of Colonia for the day with about six other international students. Colonia del Sacramento(the city's full name) is located on the Río de la Plata, facing Buenos Aires and was founded in 1680 by Portugal, making it one of the oldest cities in Uruguay. The cobblestone streets and blue and white tile signs allude to the rich history. There is not a lot to do, so a day was plenty of time to explore, but it is quaint city worth seeing. This was my first vacation since I have been here and I loved it! First, we walked to the port and took a self-guided walking tour through the city. Then, we found a restaurant with a terrace and ate a meal overlooking the water and the city-It was a beautiful day to sit outside. And then we visited the lighthouse and sat on the beach and played games. It was a very relaxing and enjoyable day. (Oh, and I cannot forgot that I had some of the best ice cream I have ever had-yes, Italy, I am talking to you.)

                               

                               
                                             

< Some of the sweet friends I got to share this adventure with: >

Piriápolis en Maldonado  

Piriápolis is a city in the department of Maldonado in Uruguay. For those of you who did not know where Uruguay was or even that it existed before you found out I was coming here, Maldonado is east of Montevideo. Because of this, the water is more oceanic and clearer in this region than where I live, and so many people travel and live there for the beaches. This specific region is also cool because some of Uruguay's hills are located here (They are definitely hills, not mountains). I probably would have never travelled to this city, if it were not for my host mom. This area is much more relaxed and rural than Punta del Este(a popular tourist spot a little further east). My host mom's best friend recently bought property in Maldonado and built a quaint, one-room cottage. My host mom and I went for the weekend with her best friend, Carla and her son. It was great to get away and do something a little different. The first day, it rained the entire time, so we just stayed in the cottage and played cards and drank tea. It was perfect. I loved that I was able to have a unique experience that many other students living here won't have. I am so grateful that my host mom has generously shared her life and her friends with me. It has opened up so many great opportunities.

< An abandoned castle located on the side of a dirt road. We just drove by because it was a cold and gloomy day, but I love how eery and mysterious it looks. >

< A side view of the cabin and the view of one of the hills from their property: >

< These are pictures of an abandoned church on the side of another random dirt road. It was perched between some houses and a lumber yard. When it was initially built, it was not recognized and accepted by the city, and so it was forgotten, while life continued to move on around it. I love this place. When I stepped inside, I was overwhelmed by the beauty and mystery it held, unknown to so many people. What a beautiful metaphor. >

                     

Thanks for reading! More to come soon. 

Highlights from Weeks 6 & 7

As you have probably noticed, I have not been a very good blogger. While I am very prompt here in Uruguay, my blog posts have not been. Since I wrote my last post, I have really started to feel comfortable here. Because of this, the past few weeks have been packed with excitement and adventure. One layer of this is some of the trips I have been on recently; however, you are going to have to wait to hear about those. More to come soon.

Turismo Adventura: 
As mentioned in an earlier post, I took a tour of the city of Montevideo with a small group of other international students one of my first weeks here. Although it was not the best tour I have been on, I gained some pretty useful information from our tour guide (a Tourism grad from my university-yes that is a real major). My favorite thing that she told me about is a class at my university called Adventure Tourism. Yes...it is as cool as is sounds. I decided to register for it, even though there was no one else I knew taking it. No worries...I was later able to convince a girl to take it with me. I realize that I am spoiled here when it comes to classes. I only need Spanish credits right now and so I am living the life taking whatever I like and having a really relaxed schedule. This class, in particular, is the only class I have with Uruguayan students and it only meets every other week. AND, class consists of mountain biking, canoeing, rock climbing, repelling, or other such adventures. Again I say, I am spoiled. Two weeks ago was our first real class. This past week, we just learned and practiced basic skills, such as tying various knots. However, it was still a blast. And this class has also been a blessing because all of my classmates always recognize me at school and warmly greet me, even when I don't even remember that they are in my class. Here are some pictures of us being monkeys in the park:

Uruguayan friends:

Speaking of how great people have been to me, I have a couple specific experiences to prove it. My Techo leader(See previous post if you are confused), who studied abroad in New Zealand for a year and speaks English fluently, also happens to live really close to my house. When he discovered that I had never tried dulce de leche pancakes(really just crepes with dulce de leche), he invited me over to his house to make and eat them with him and his girlfriend. It was nice to have the chance to spend some time with local doing something I adore: eating! I do not have any good pictures of us, but here is one of the star to the party: the pancakes. yummy!

Another Uruguayan friend who I have had memorable experiences with is a student at my school named Camila. We got connected through my wonderful friend Courtney Walker from Queens, who studied here last year. It has been so great to get to know Camila. She is so easy to talk to. On numerous occasions, we have just met and talked for hours. However, last week, I decided to attend one of her field hockey games. It was my first time ever watching one and so it was an adventure for me. Her team embraced me and even let me sit on their bench and use their camera to take pictures of the team. And I got to meet her dad, who was very friendly and inviting as well. This past week, Camila and I met at school so that she could interview me for one of her Communications assignments. I felt so honored! Here is a picture of the coach talking to the girls before the game. Camila is the one getting her hair braided.

Gaucho Museum: 

This past week, I went to a local museum in Montevideo all about gauchos. Gauchos In simple terms, a gaucho is a Uruguayan cowboy, but you can read more about them here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaucho
Most of the museum was filled with old artifacts used by the gauchos, but my favorite things were that it was in a beautiful old house tucked between buildings in the old city, I got to watch two of my classmates dress up like gauchos, and I was able to take old coins out of a room meant to look like an old Uruguayan bank.

 

Community Service:

I have the incredible opportunity to work alongside other exchange students and collaborate with the university and local organizations on service projects this semester. I decided to do two different projects. For the first, three other girls and I will be planning activities that stimulate imagination and creativity for a group of  fourth graders who attend a school in a poor area of Montevideo. The school that we are working at is technically private, but families only have to pay around $15 a month for their child to attend. They spend the whole day at the school-the first half they take normal courses and the second half is electives and recreational activities. I went for the first time this week and I am already falling in love with these kids. I look forward to getting to spend time with them on a weekly basis. My second project is similar as far as content, but the context is entirely different. With a separate group of exchange students, I will be visiting a cancer city in Montevideo once a week to lead creativity/art-based activities with a group of 6 kids(ages ranging from 10-20) with cancer. As a student pursuing a career and Nursing and as a granddaughter to someone with cancer, I was excited to learn that I would have this opportunity. I was not able to go last week, but I will keep you posted as I continue to participate and interact with this group this semester. 

Thank you for hanging in there on this long post. More to come soon!