The Door is Closing

The past couple of weeks, it has started to sink in that I will not be here much longer. I find myself thinking or saying quite frequently: "some day I will...". But the truth is that I am running out of "some day"s. After this week, I only have 4 more weekends until I leave, and only 2 or 3 will be spent in Montevideo. I can not really tell you how this makes me feel, because honestly, I do not know yet myself. But I will share with you some of my thoughts and experiences from this stage of my adventure. Because I live an hour+ by bus from Montevideo, I have not had much of a social life here, outside of school. But I have really tried to take risks and get out of the house more recently, to make the most of my last few weeks here, despite how long it might take or how sure or unsure I am of the details. Here are some things I have done/recent occurrences:

1. Dinner with friends
-One day last weekend, I went out to dinner with some exchange friends at an Armenian restaurant. We had been craving ethnic food-to add some variety to our diet-so we decided to mix it up and try someplace unique. It was delicious and definitely hit the spot. Then, we went to get ice cream afterwards. I was so glad I went, but when I got home, I realized I had been gone for 7 hours (due to travel time). Crazy!

2. Said goodbye to my Community Service kids
-This is not an example of how I have tried to make the best of my time left in Montevideo, but it is an example of how things are coming to a close. On Thursday, I had my last "reunion" with my precious kids that I hang out with for community service. We brought them their finished projects that we worked on with them throughout the semester(photo novels) and had a mini party for them. I have grown to love these kids and have a respect for the people who pour into them on a daily basis. I was overwhelmed with joy, contentment, pride, gratitude, humility and sorrow when I had to leave. It is so much more complicated than just being happy or sad when you have to say goodbye; it is most often composed of multiple layers of emotions and thoughts. I was reminded of all the goodbyes I have said in the past to children that I grew to love-in Haiti, Philadelphia, and Africa. It never gets easy.

3. Spontaneous Celebrations
-This past week was my last week of classes...ahhhhh! And so when we finished, some friends and I went to the park to eat churros and other delectable treats, to celebrate the end of the semester. Now I just have exams!

4. Study Sessions
-This is exactly what it sounds like. haha. I went to the city to study at a friend's house, so that I could be with my friends and I wouldn't have to study alone. It was nice.



5. Bargains and Beaches
-Today I took a break from studying to go to a street market in the city. It was not as exciting as the one I had gone to before, but I still enjoyed it. Afterwards, we went to the beach to meet up with other exchange students for a "last hoorah" party, as people will start to leave this week to travel or head home. Did I mention that it has been in the mid-70s and beautiful here?! Merry Christmas???!!!

6. Spontaneous Food Purchases
-There are so many hole-in-the-wall food venders/bakeries/cafes/ice cream shops and also lots of food trucks in Montevideo. I love that about this place. I always say that I want to stop in these places random days, but I never do, for a variety of reasons. So these past few weeks, I have started taking food risks(but not too risky), by trying new foods and places. Some examples of what I have had are: a choripan (a chorizo-sausage-on bread), candied fruits and veggies (I think it might be a seasonal treat, in preparation for Christmas)...


...and Torta Frita (fried dough with sugar that was traditionally made from rain water and therefore, is most often eaten when it rains). I approved of all of these things with the exception of the fruit; I tried a pear, fig, and carrot and I actually liked the carrot the best, but they were all just way too sweet.

 Well, I better go study for my exams! 

The grand adventures of Courtney, Juan, Jorge, Juana, George, and Chuminga

This is very late, but a couple of weekends ago, I went on a camping trip with my Adventure Tourism class, and I wanted to share some picture, thoughts, and memories with you. It was definitely one of my favorite experiences of this semester. We went canoeing, spelunking, hiking, horseback riding, zip-lining, rappelling, and mountain biking. 

I began to realize the intensity of the trip right off the back. We started off the trip with an 8.5 mile canoeing trip to our lunching destination. My arms were aching as early as the moment I stepped out of the boat, but it was a beautiful, fun, and challenging experience. 

We canoed up the river, against the wind and the current, until we reached the ocean. At that point, we loaded up the canoes and settled down in the grass for a picnic. It still blows my mind that this was my "exam." 

   

After canoeing, we took our bus to a large hill(not a mountain), called Cerro Aroquita, where we entered a cave and went hiking. 

This is a picture inside the cave. We spent a lot of time in silence, listening to and watching the bats and the dripping water. Not everyone would have enjoyed this, but I sure did!

Here is a picture of the hill and the views that we saw from the hill:

Here is the forrest that we walked through to reach the top of the hill. 

 

 The place we ended up staying is actually the same place I went with my parents for the day. But I was excited to return because I thought it was beautiful and I left feel like I had seen everything there was to see, which is very fulfilling.

This was the view from our cabin (on the day it rained).



Here is a view of Salto del Penitente, which gets its name from the two large rocks, which look like praying hands. Unfortunately, I did not have my camera, because I did not want it to get lost or broken, so I do not have pictures of me doing and activities. But, I repelled from right below the two large rocks all the way to the stream, in the bottom left corner.


Mountain biking through the area was by far the most strenuous activity, but the views made up for it in the end.



This picture was taken in the gold mine we visited on the rainy day.

Some general thoughts about the trip: 

• exhaustion- This trip was seriously one of the most exhausting experiences I have ever had. It was only three days long, but we did a large number of activities, and I left feeling worn out and sore. 
• tranquility-There is something so soothing and majestic about the Uruguayan countryside. One this trip, I did not climb the tallest mountain I have ever climbed, or see the grandest waterfall, but I was overwhelmed by the calming beauty of the country I have had the privilege of living in this semester.
• community-It was such an honor to be able to join this community of students and professors. This group in particular, has such a love of life and they exude with joy and laughter. This trip was sometimes difficult socially, because I was not able to relate completely with the Uruguayans or break through the lingual and cultural differences that kept us apart, but it was rewarding just to be able to watch everyone interact with one another. There was a song or game for everything. And laughter was a given. 

You may be wondering what the title of this post is about. Well, I am going to tell you. As some of you may know, "Courtney" does not exist in Spanish. In fact, it is not even pronounceable in the language. And so, throughout my time here, especially during this particular week, I have picked up several nicknames and have been "renamed" numerous times, both intentionally and unintentionally. So, there it is. 

Until later.