Lists and Things I've Noticed

As the semester is coming to a close, I have done quite a bit of thinking about what I have grown to love here in South America, what I am going to miss, and what I am looking forward to coming home to when I get back to the United States.

Things I will Miss:
1. The food. I have fallen in love with Uruguayan food. Chivitos, Milanesa, Alfajores... not to mention the La Cigale ice cream parlor down the street! Some people in our group are not huge fans of the food down here because there is not a lot of seasoning used in the preparation, but anyone who knows me knows that plain food is not an issue when it comes to my taste in food! - Just a quick explanation of what those kinds of food are.. Chivitos are basically hamburgers and can be made with either steak or chicken. However, they also contain fried eggs, lettuce, tomato, bacon, ham, cheese, mayonnaise, olives, and whatever else you can think of. Milanesa is like a slab of chicken fried steak, often topped with ham and melted cheese. And alfajores... they're a kind of cookie here. Think two fluffy sugar cookies with dulce de leche in the middle, doused in chocolate. mmmm. Though my taste buds will be sad to leave all this, I'm sure my waistline will thank me, haha! :)
2. Raquel and Mariela - they're our cooks. I'm adding them as a second bullet, but throwing them in with number one's explanation.
3. The laid back lifestyle of Uruguayans. I have discovered that my sense of time has been completely skewed over the past three and a half months. Time just is not as big of a deal here as in the US. I am curious to find out how it is going to feel once I'm plunged back into the fast-paced life in the states.. Will I fall right back into that kind of lifestyle? Or has my view on life altered enough to where I'll be able to hold onto some of that Latin American laid-back attitude?
4. No tax. That one speaks for itself. I love not having to factor in an extra eight percent or so into everything I buy here.
5. Living without a purse or cell phone. This kind of goes along with number three, to an extent. It was weird to not be permanently attached to my cell phone at the beginning of the semester. I kept thinking it was vibrating, only to reach into my back pocket and discover its absence. Don't get me wrong - once I am back in the states I'm sure it will be right back on me at all times, but it has been a wonderful four month break.
6. The smell of our laundry. We take our laundry to the lavanderia every week or so, and the next day we pick it up, smelling quite like heaven.
7. Piropos - I actually just learned this word yesterday. So I know, most people would probably have this on their list of things they did not like about South America, but I've found them to be flattering for the most part. Piropos are the men who go around in the streets, yelling out and whistling at the pretty women who walk by. Sometimes they get annoying, or just plain creepy if it's an older man, but for the most part, I choose to take them as complements. It was weird to get used to, but what girl doesn't like to be told she looks pretty as she's walking by?
8. Living in Casa ACU. This is one of the biggest things I am going to miss. I have absolutely LOVED living with fourteen other college students, all under the same roof. I feel incredibly lucky to have been given the opportunity to get to know each and every one of those fourteen people - we have had such an incredible group. Last night I was reading in the computer lab at about 12:30, and I just sat back and took everything in. People were sitting around me, doing homework or just facebooking on the computers, I heard a fiddle and harmonica playing from a couple rooms over, and I couldn't help but think how much I was going to miss being surrounded by all these people. Living with friends is officially one of my favorite things in the entire world. To my best friends back home who read this - one summer, we're all living together. It's official.


NOW, for a list of things I'm excited for:
1. YOU. Okay, that one is obvious. I'm crazy excited to see my family and best friends. I can hardly contain my excitement when I start thinking about that... Yesterday I was in class and caught myself staring off into space with a gigantic smile on my face, thinking about seeing you guys for the first time in four months. :D
2. Driving. Even though I have really enjoyed being able to walk everywhere, I do miss being able to get in my car and drive anywhere at the spur of a moment. I miss driving with the windows down; I miss blaring my music and singing along at the top of my lungs. Speaking of music...
3. Music. I miss being surrounded by music all the time. Given, I have been exposed to some awesome new bands and songs while I've been here, but most of the people here are not as nearly obsessed with music as my friends back home are. I'm excited to go home to that, especially after four months of hearing 90's songs playing all over the place. Not that I don't love 90's music - it's one of my favorite genres... but still. :D
4. Monster. I must admit, I have just found a replacement drink for Monsters - it's called "X4 Keep Moving." However, I still miss our green monsters back home, as ridiculous as that sounds.
5. Chick-fil-a, Taco Bueno, Chicken Express, Dominos... just a few of the restaurants I'm excited to come home to. I've decided on the way home from the airport, Chick-fil-a breakfast will be the first thing I consume. I'm so excited.
6. Free water and refills. When ordering drinks here at restaurants, we always are given a glass with a bottle (or can sometimes) of whatever drink we asked for. Usually our waiter will pour the drinks for us. Minus the fact that water is just as expensive as soft drinks and once you're done with that bottle you have to order another if you're still thirsty, it has been pretty fun to be served like that. But I am so ready for free water and refills.
7. Human interaction. That is a horrible title, but I don't know what else to call this one. People here have plenty of human interaction, kissing every person they know on the cheek as soon as they see them and as they're saying goodbye. However, I miss hugs. Not only that, but I also miss being able to walk down the street and make eye contact with strangers, smile, and say "hi" to them without worrying about them getting the wrong idea. I had to really work to make myself stop looking strangers in the eye and smiling at them as they passed by when I first arrived here in Montevideo.


These lists are anything but comprehensive, but they cover quite a bit.
Long story short, I'm ridiculously excited to come home, but I know I'm going to miss South America a ton.

In other news...
Classes are over!!! All my finals are on Friday. [I only have three actual finals, so it shouldn't be too bad.]
Sunday and Monday we are taking a trip to Rocha. I'm sure I'll write more about that one later.. We were supposed to go there last weekend, but the weather was bad so we decided to shoot for this weekend instead. so we're all praying for good weather this time around!
Now, I realize that the economy has been going through some awful times back in the States, although I must admit that I have not felt the effects of this depression. In fact, despite all it has been doing to everyone in the States, as well as the rest of the world, it has really benefited all of us here. Both the US dollar and the Uruguayan peso have become weaker. At the beginning of the semester, our exchange rate was about 18.80 pesos to the dollar. Now, we've got a 23.60 pesos to the dollar exchange rate. That definitely has helped me break even with my bank's ATM charges, haha.
Speaking of US influence on the rest of the world... I never realized how much our actions affect all the countries everywhere else in the world. There is an adage that goes, "If the US sneezes, the rest of the world catches pneumonia." Living here has really been an eye opening experience, especially being here during the elections. I would be willing to make a bet that most Uruguayans knew more about our elections than many people living in the US.

Anyways, that's enough about politics. I swear, I'm turning into more and more of an adult by the month. We discovered that during free travel, when several times we found ourselves talking about subjects that our parents would be talking about over the dinner table. Yikes. [No offense, Mom and Dad.] :)
Well, that's about it for now. This time next week we will be on a plane headed your way! I wonder when I'm going to be able to wrap my mind around that... Probably not until I'm back in Fort Worth.