Ol' McDonnald had an estancia, E-I-E-I-OOHHHH

Well, its been a while since I've graced y'alls presence so let me mention a few big events. #1 Estancia!!! Estancia is one of the spanish words for farm, so guess where we got to go to... AFARM!!! It was a perfect day, the sun was shining, there was a light breeze, and not a cloud in the sky :) To get to this estancia, we had to ride a 2 hr bus to the middle of no where, literally.

To us, it looked like the bus just decided to drop us off on the side of the road...

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Fortunately, we were very wrong. This place had 2 pools (one indoor and one outdoor), a lake to canoe in, horses to ride, a sauna, a man made forest, lots of land and cattle, cute dogs, and great food. We were able to enjoy this for only $50! The first thing we all did was hitch a ride to the horses. I didn't realize how much I missed riding with my Pa! I just knew that he was smiling in heaven when I was riding that horse. Being able to ride in Uruguay brought back many memories of him, which I found kind of ironic because I was in a completely different country, culture, you name it. It was refreshing to feel so close to him and not have sadness overwhelm me.

Next we hit the indoor pool. I brought my brand-new waterproof camera to test it out...

Needless to say, we had fun practicing with underwater photography :)

Next we enjoyed a lovely lunch. They served us barbecued ribs right off the grill, salad, cheese rolls (like Red Lobsters), and other little snack foods. Then came desert... Let's just say that they like alcoholic deserts and that the ice cream was amazing lol. After lunch the group split

up. Some of us decided it would be fun to canoe so we found some life jackets and started heading to the lake... We had no idea how to get there and after about 20 minutes of walking in a field covered with cow patties and thorns (in sandals), we unanimously decided to head back. No one was too pleased and it became the ultimate fail...

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after that, it was round 2 with the horses! I got a horse that loved to run and be in front of the line... Let me just say that it was fun/scarry/thrilling/nerve racking all at once. What was the problem??? Well, you see the saddles were not the "normal" ones that I'm use to. They were mostly made out of sheep wool, which is more comfortable but has no butt grip (if ya know what I mean). Then, it also had no horn so if I did need to hold on to something (as in if I was slipping off) then I was outta luck. Another major factor was my horse was not afraid to race with the other horse next to me. If Leah's horse decided to speed up a bit, then my horse would speed up a bit more. Next thing you know Leah and I were clinging on for dear life. I have never been bucked off a horse, but I just knew that my record would break if I let that horse have its way. I made him slow down but there for a while, I thought I had lost control completely. once everyone caught up with us at the stable area, they were all saying "Oh my gosh, y'all looked so legit!" haha if they only knew ;)

We joined everyone else to eat a snack (that was more or less like a meal) and then gathered our stuff and hit the road. We thought we were

gonna have to walk to the bus stop but the people were kind enough to give us a lift. We all separated into 2 pickup beds and headed for the bus stop. It was kinda scary because it was probably a 10-5 minute ride with constant stopping and accelerating. Audrie almost fell out and also almost lost her bombilla (even worse)! Here is a pic of her clinging on for dear life after she almost lost it...

Once we arrived at the bus stop, it was pretty much uneventful the rest of the way home. I will say we waited for about 45 minutes for the bus to pick us up, but no one really minded cuz we were making eachother laugh by singing random songs.

Corre, Corre, Corre!!!

So, Thursday was a hectic day all day long. I was not able to help in the kitchen because I was finishing my Spanish homework. We had to make up a scene in spanish, so this is what I came up with (the setting is two girls in a farria).

El Puesto de Joyería

Alicia: ¡Hola Juliana! Vamos buscar un puesto de joyería.

Juliana: Ta, vi un puesto debajo de nosotros.

Alicia: Ta, te segué.

Pablo (el vendedor): Hola, ¿Qué puedo hacer por ustedes?

Alicia: ¿Podemos mirar a tus collares y oros?

Juliana: También ¿Tienes una pulsera negra?

Pablo: Esto es todas de las pulseras negra y los collares y oros están allí.

Alicia: ¡Gracias!

Juliana: ¡Gracias!

Pablo: De nada.

Juliana: Ohh, me gusta un pulsera lisa, pero no tienen un pulsera lisa.

Alicia: Puedes ahorrar dinero ahora. Ayúdame buscar un collar y oro que son parecido.

Juliana: Ta, ¿Qué color?

Alicia: Hmmm. . . azul o verde.

Juliana: Hay un collar verde lindo. ¿Te gusta?

Alicia: ¡Sí! Es muy lindo. Ahora buscamos un oro parecido.

Pablo: ¿Están bien?

Alicia: Mas o menos porque me gusta un collar pero no puedo encontrar unos aros verdes.

Pablo: ¿Te gusta eso?

Alicia: ¡Sí! Cuanto cuesta si compro un collar y unos aros verdes?

Pablo: 250 por todos.

Alicia: Está bien, gracias. Los compro.

Pablo: De nada.

Next, I ate lunch and rushed to get ready for Spanish class. We have a 30 minute walk from Casa ACU to the Catholic university every time we go to class. I really enjoyed class because I understood most of what she said. We talked about the past and the present and how things have changed, which led to are next homework assignment (presenting a powerpoint completely in Spanish!!!!!!).

Then I walked back to Casa ACU with just enough time to power walk to the Alianza for my weekly English Conversation Club. This is a place for people wanting to improve their English, but most of them are fluent in English so it is more like a place for them to just talk in English for an hour. We ended up talking about education and the differences from Uruguay to the US learning systems. Interesting fact learned: Most people in Uruguay do not write out of class essays in any level of schooling. I wish ACHS and ACU had that policy!!! lol

On the way back to casa, a friend and I people watched all the way down 18 de Julio. We decided that it is more culturally acceptable in Uruguay to show public affection. Coming from a high school that punishes couples when they hold hands, it took a while to suppress a shocked look every time I see someone smooch on the street. It's common for couples to kiss during red lights or waiting for a bus or sitting down on the bus, etc. Another thing that we noticed was how different the people on streets were coming back, compared to an hour before when we were walking to the Alianza. The people were younger, there were more vendors on the streets, and restaurants had more customers. Why the change??? People had stopped coming home from work and the city night life had started! This is the time when the couples are able to spend time together after a long day of working.

We didn't power walk back from the Alianza, but we made it just in time for another English conversation group at the church next door. Other groups before us have offered to read the bible in English with different people from the community and our group agreed that we would like to continue this tradition. Tonight was the first night, so none of us knew what to expect or who would even show up. At first only a couple of church members (who know enough english words to hold a conversation) showed up, but then more people came and everyone had at least one person to talk to. My partner was this man named Alex, who knew quite a bit of English already. He was from another church in Montevideo and had been a believer since he was 11 years old. We quickly read through the passage and began to talk about our faith.

Kitchen+Yeast Rise Up Lovely Donut Days

So after a cry fest, struggling with Spanish homework and having an all-together crappy Monday, Tuesday could not have come sooner! I slept in till 10:15, put on come comfy clothes and headed for the kitchen. I love to cook here at Casa ACU. The cooks here are so positive and encouraging to be around; it was the perfect way to start a day. I am normally in charge of making the salad and dessert when I help, so today I learned how to make DONUTS. I literally know how to make lip-smackin donuts from scratch! While I helped out in the kitchen, I got to talk to Rachel, one of the cooks. She is soooo patient and kind to me! I stumbled over every sentence but she never gave up on me. Even though I know I stumbled the whole time, the cool thing is that I can tell my Spanish is improving, which was a huge joy factor today. She told me what to do in Spanish and I understood most of what she was saying without her telling me twice or repeating it in English. It was a major improvement compared to the first time I helped her. She had to write almost everything down or show me what she was talking about constatnly, which probably made her job harder rather than easier. Today however, I enjoyed lovely Spanish conversations while I worked. I even ended up even teaching her a few English words too. Who knew learning Spanish could be so fun... I guess it only happens when your in a kitchen.

Next I rushed to my room and begin to translate my very difficult Spanish homework. Part of the assignment was to write a 200 word paragraph about two people we thanked God for. This time I tried to use words I already knew instead of trying to translate it word for word. It was much easier and I did a much better job all-in-all compared to my first paragraph. Another sign of improvement in Spanish!!!! By lunch time I had more than half of the paper done, so I didn't stress about it. After a wonderful lunch ( by the way everyone loved the donuts :D), I completed the paper and ran to collect my things for Spanish class. I'm not gonna lie, I was a little nervous about class because most of the class time is spent in confusion. The walk to the Catholic university, which takes about 30 minutes, helped calm down my nerves. Class went smoothly and I actually understood the majority of what was being said.. another improvement point!!! We read two stories and had questions over one of the stories. It took me a while, but I answered all of the questions right and completely understood the whole story. Let's just say I was very excited after I left class.

I came back to my room and gave myself some needed downtime while everyone else went running or went to the gym. When they all got back, we went to a nearby grocery store and I bought some pasta to cook for dinner with some fresh veggies sometime this week. It was fun to walk with everyone and do something together. When we got back to the house, everyone stayed in the kitchen, had dinner, drank mate (I had coffee though), and talk/laugh with each other. I would definitely call today successful and completely wonderfully uplifting.

The End

Peaks and Valleys

Ok, so this exercise is called many things (highs and lows, happies and crappies, good and bad), but the point is to talk about the best thing and the worst thing that happened this week. I thought it would be appropriate to tell you guys the best and worst experiences so far. Seeing how this is the first week of being here, it will be a little hard to narrow it down to only one good thing so I'm gonna narrow it down to one day.

First, it had been raining nonstop for 7 days. This rain varied from raining cats and dogs to almost misting. Everyone was cold and wet, which can be down right miserable, but we had high hopes for a wonderfully sunny saturday. When we all woke up saturday morning to more rain and cold wind, it was very disheartening. No one wanted to suffer walking in the cold, but it was better than staying depressed in

the cold Casa ACU. Several of us grabbed a bus and went to a part of town that no one had seen yet, while the others went to find an ATM and drop off some laundry. We walked in the misting rain for a few blocks looking for a place to eat when we stumbled upon a quaint little pizzaria. The place was so warm and inviting; we ended up sitting by a great window seat and instantly became comfortable. I ordered a hamburger, which came with grilled onions, a fried egg, cheese, tomato, mayo, and beer mustard, and fries that were overflowing off the plate. While we ate some awesome food, the weather became clearer and clearer.

By the time we were finished eating, someone noticed bus 121 and saw are group; they had just driven past us and we all laughed and then called them. They were still on the bus so they quickly got off and joined us in the little restaurant. We left and just started aimlessly walking around the big city of Montevideo. That was, hands down, the best thing I have ever done here. No one got lost, everyone saw what they secretly wanted to see and the sun was shining the whole time! Here are some pics of our adventures:

The worst thing about this week was getting home sick... skyping can only help so much. I have decided to personally look up how Abraham and some other famous Bible characters handled living in a foreign country. I want to know why they were there, how it affected their spiritual life and how they coped with home sickness. I'll try to keep an update on my findings so feel free to join me on this Biblical journey. Hopefully this will be my medicine for my sickness.