We made it!

Hey everyone! I just realized that if I don't update this right now, I probably will end up just not updating it at all. This is only day 3 in Uruguay, but already so much has happened! We have done a lot of exploring around Montevideo. I'm not really sure how to describe the city though - it is the biggest city in the country, and when I say big I mean like New York City big, but without all the lights and flashiness and noise. I haven't been able to take many pictures yet [we were encouraged to spend our first few days just taking in everything and to save taking pictures for later], but I'll start taking some soon and try to put them up so you can get a better feel for what I mean.

Some interesting things that I have learned or experienced so far - Well, the first would definitely be our overnight flight here. I ended up having a section of three seats all to myself, which was awesome. The entire flight I had at least two of those seats to spread out a bit, so I was able to sleep for at least a couple hours. When we first arrived in Montevideo, it was 51 degrees outside and drizzling - a weird experience to have towards the end of August. But the next day [yesterday] and today have given us much better weather. Today it has been in the mid-upper 60's and sunny... it feels amazing.

We met our first Uruguayan friend last night at the mall. Five of us ended up spending some time talking to a guy working in one of the stores, and between our Spanish skills and his English skills, we were able to have a pretty long conversation. [Okay, so I mostly just listened. But that is still one of my favorite experiences so far.]

Something I've learned - the "ll" and "y" are pronounced as a mixture of "j" and "sh" here. This Spanish is different from "Mexican Spanish" and sounds much prettier, in my opinion. [It's called Southern Cone Spanish.] I'm really looking forward to having a Uruguayan accent in my Spanish once I begin to learn more. For example, "playa" would be pronounced "plah-jah" or "plah-sha," depending on who is talking. It's difficult to explain in writing.

The food is amazing here. Our cooks, Raquel and Mariana, are truly astounding. I'm going to have to join some kind of gym here pretty soon so I don't gain twenty pounds while I'm here. [At least we walk everywhere around here - which is different, but fun.] And on the meals we are supposed to buy on our own... well, let me just say that Pesos > Dollars > Pounds. Dinner last night cost me a little over $3.50. And that was at a pretty nice sit-down restaurant in the mall. Good stuff.

Tonight we are going to meet some of the kids from the Iglesia de Cristo that Casa ACU is attached to, so I'm excited about that. I'm so ready to learn more Spanish - right now talking to people alone is way too intimidating. I guess I just need practice.

I'll put up pictures soon! If there is anything specific you want to know about, let me know!



Here's the only picture I've taken so far:

The sunset was GORGEOUS on the way to Miami.