Hello friends,
Well here I am about a month in. Through intensive study of culture crossing and such, I have repeatedly read about a little thing called "culture shock." It happens when someone goes for an extended amount of time to another culture different from their own. There are four stages in this experience, the first being the "honeymoon" phase. During this time, everything you experience is good and exciting and nothing seems to bother you too much. About a month in though, the initial excitement you had starts to wear off and you find that things are not so "peachy."
The reason for me babbling about this has been brough on by my constant worry that the excitement is soon going to end. We are coming up on being here for a month and I'm afraid its all going to start heading downhill. Already I am starting to see people getting annoyed, and a few times I have heard some pretty negative comments about things people dislike. I knew this was going to eventually come, but I guess I thought I would be more prepared. Nothing really terrible has happened, but I fear the worst is yet to come. What I'm wondering, though is that when the "honeymoon" is over, is it really over? Will I really get to the point where I'm sick of being here? This has been on my mind since the moment I stepped off the plane. Ugh. I keep praying that God will help me to be positive and optimistic. Hopefully He will not turn a deaf ear to my request.
I guess that's all I had to say, just worrying about what is to come. Not to worry anyone of course, just expressing my concerns. Well I guess that's all for now. Until next time.
Courtney
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Uruguayan Fun
Let's see, it's been about two weeks since we have been here and of what I can recall, Punta del Este and Carnaval 2008 seem to stand out the most, not to mention all the little exciting things that happen everyday here in Uruguay!
Carnaval was probably a little over a week ago. Never have I been amongst so many people in my life!! It was this huge parade that lasted about 4 hours. We didn't stay the whole time, but the time we were there was quite exciting. One big difference between the parades I have been to and this one: anyone can be a part of it! People were running around like crazy. They would cheer and just run up to join the dancers and floats that passed by. It was really funny. It was mostly children, but everytime a banner would pass by, they would run out into the street and lie down in the middle of the road while the banner passed over them. I told Courtney we should go out there and try it, but for some reason she declined.
After the parade, we walked home which was scary. Carnaval is known to be a crazy night. It's kind of like Mardi Gras. I experienced a particular incident with a drunk man, but we wont go into details. Haha.
Last weekend we went to Punta del Este. We left Casa ACU at around 8 am and took a charter bus. We are spoiled. First place we went was Casapueblo and it was amaaaaaazing. It was this huge adobe looking palace that was built by this artist, though I can't remember his name at the moment. My mom woud have definitely loved it since it was built right off the ocean. The sun sets over the water every night. How majestical.
After, we took a boat to this little island. It looked deserted, but there was a small beautiful beach waiting for us on the other side. Just so you guys know, the Atlantic Ocean is freeeeeeeezing. The water looked so clear and beautiful that I just couldn't resist. I jumped in along with my friend Emily (Courtney was too chicken, though later she couldn't resist either.) I mean, how bad could it be right? My legs went numb from the water and my feet started aching with pain. LOL, I've never been in water that cold, but I'm glad I can say that I have now!
We swam a little longer, then I had to get out because it was so cold. We laid (sp?) around in the sand for a long time and almost fell asleep. We lazied around all day. It was great. I also picked some rocks for my aunts so they could have some off the Alantic coast, however when I think about that, it takes me back to my little incident in the bathroom. We went to change clothes in these tiny bathrooms. The door to the stalls (sp?) would hit your knees when you sat down to the lid less toiley, so you can imagine me trying to change in this box. I was careful not to drop anything in the toilet since Courtney had just yelled at me not to drop anything. I unfolded my shorts and one of the beautiful rocks that I had picked up for my aunt fell and plopped right into the toilet. And it was a really BIG one!! So I was wondering what the guard lady was going to do (the bathrooms here have guards) if she saw it in there. I had to. It was far down and in the back. I had to reach way down and dig it out.......I bathed in hand sanitizer.
Okay only a little more, I promise. For dinner we went to Piriapolis. I thought I had seen lots of nature in my past. I had been to the mountains and had just seen a beautiful beach. Piriapolis took my breath away. We ate at this restaurant high in the sky above the city below us. It was peninsula, so there was water on all three sides, with mountainous hills behind us, and the city and beach directly below us. We ate with the sun setting over the view. After the sun had set, Courtney and I rode the sky ride down the side of the cliff. That was great too, except we couldn't understand what to do when the workers yelled directions at us in spanish.
It was one of the best days ever, however, me being me did not wear any sunscreen. I had heard that Uruguay is closer to the hole in the ozone layer so the sun is even more dangerous than at home. I didn't listen. You guys can guess what happend...I BURNED!! Never have I gotten a sunburn like that in my life!
I could go on and on, so I'll save the rest for next time. :) God bless.
Carnaval was probably a little over a week ago. Never have I been amongst so many people in my life!! It was this huge parade that lasted about 4 hours. We didn't stay the whole time, but the time we were there was quite exciting. One big difference between the parades I have been to and this one: anyone can be a part of it! People were running around like crazy. They would cheer and just run up to join the dancers and floats that passed by. It was really funny. It was mostly children, but everytime a banner would pass by, they would run out into the street and lie down in the middle of the road while the banner passed over them. I told Courtney we should go out there and try it, but for some reason she declined.
After the parade, we walked home which was scary. Carnaval is known to be a crazy night. It's kind of like Mardi Gras. I experienced a particular incident with a drunk man, but we wont go into details. Haha.
Last weekend we went to Punta del Este. We left Casa ACU at around 8 am and took a charter bus. We are spoiled. First place we went was Casapueblo and it was amaaaaaazing. It was this huge adobe looking palace that was built by this artist, though I can't remember his name at the moment. My mom woud have definitely loved it since it was built right off the ocean. The sun sets over the water every night. How majestical.
After, we took a boat to this little island. It looked deserted, but there was a small beautiful beach waiting for us on the other side. Just so you guys know, the Atlantic Ocean is freeeeeeeezing. The water looked so clear and beautiful that I just couldn't resist. I jumped in along with my friend Emily (Courtney was too chicken, though later she couldn't resist either.) I mean, how bad could it be right? My legs went numb from the water and my feet started aching with pain. LOL, I've never been in water that cold, but I'm glad I can say that I have now!
We swam a little longer, then I had to get out because it was so cold. We laid (sp?) around in the sand for a long time and almost fell asleep. We lazied around all day. It was great. I also picked some rocks for my aunts so they could have some off the Alantic coast, however when I think about that, it takes me back to my little incident in the bathroom. We went to change clothes in these tiny bathrooms. The door to the stalls (sp?) would hit your knees when you sat down to the lid less toiley, so you can imagine me trying to change in this box. I was careful not to drop anything in the toilet since Courtney had just yelled at me not to drop anything. I unfolded my shorts and one of the beautiful rocks that I had picked up for my aunt fell and plopped right into the toilet. And it was a really BIG one!! So I was wondering what the guard lady was going to do (the bathrooms here have guards) if she saw it in there. I had to. It was far down and in the back. I had to reach way down and dig it out.......I bathed in hand sanitizer.
Okay only a little more, I promise. For dinner we went to Piriapolis. I thought I had seen lots of nature in my past. I had been to the mountains and had just seen a beautiful beach. Piriapolis took my breath away. We ate at this restaurant high in the sky above the city below us. It was peninsula, so there was water on all three sides, with mountainous hills behind us, and the city and beach directly below us. We ate with the sun setting over the view. After the sun had set, Courtney and I rode the sky ride down the side of the cliff. That was great too, except we couldn't understand what to do when the workers yelled directions at us in spanish.
It was one of the best days ever, however, me being me did not wear any sunscreen. I had heard that Uruguay is closer to the hole in the ozone layer so the sun is even more dangerous than at home. I didn't listen. You guys can guess what happend...I BURNED!! Never have I gotten a sunburn like that in my life!
I could go on and on, so I'll save the rest for next time. :) God bless.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
!Hola! ?Que tal?
Buenas noches amigos,
This is Courtney! So I feel kind of awkward posting on Tina's blog because I do have one of my own, but Tina insists on us sharing. Lol, which I don't mind of course!
Today was the second day of classes, and boy am I intimidated. There is so much writing, which is probably the thing I stink at the most, and lots of reading, which isn't too bad. The professors are all pretty nice, but I am going by my middle name, Elizabeth because I am finding it is easier for spanish-speakers to say. Hopefully that won't get too confusing.
Aside from the classes and as far as transition goes, I think I'm doing pretty well. (Knock on wood.) I really like being here. There is so much to see. It's all so different and I'm trying to be as flexible as possible so that culture shock doesn't hit me too hard. Tina and I were just talking about what we wanted for dinner, and we both realized that we missed Sonic. How sad is that? Not even a week, and we are already missing the food back home. I know it sounds cliche, but you really don't know how much something means until its gone. How convenient it is to run down to a fast food place where everyone speaks english and the menus all make sense! We did find a hamburger stand, but the meat tastes more like breakfast sausage than ground beef. But hey! that is what studying abroad is all about! Finding out your habits and learning to adapt to new ways of living. And if lack of american food is the only thing that rubs me wrong then that is fantastic!
The people here are very different too. Tina's dad, I hope you aren't reading this, but there are so many beautiful people. I told Tina that even the house painting guys are handsome! But no worries padres, we are going to come home, and we probably won't marry a Uruguayan. We are here to learn, not to search for soulmates right?
Well I guess that's all I will post for now. I hope you are all doing well and that the Lord keeps you safe for us. Last night I couldn't fall asleep because I kept worrying something bad would happen to someone back home, and I wouldn't be able to be there. So be safe guys--you don't know how much we love you.
Ciao!
Courtney
This is Courtney! So I feel kind of awkward posting on Tina's blog because I do have one of my own, but Tina insists on us sharing. Lol, which I don't mind of course!
Today was the second day of classes, and boy am I intimidated. There is so much writing, which is probably the thing I stink at the most, and lots of reading, which isn't too bad. The professors are all pretty nice, but I am going by my middle name, Elizabeth because I am finding it is easier for spanish-speakers to say. Hopefully that won't get too confusing.
Aside from the classes and as far as transition goes, I think I'm doing pretty well. (Knock on wood.) I really like being here. There is so much to see. It's all so different and I'm trying to be as flexible as possible so that culture shock doesn't hit me too hard. Tina and I were just talking about what we wanted for dinner, and we both realized that we missed Sonic. How sad is that? Not even a week, and we are already missing the food back home. I know it sounds cliche, but you really don't know how much something means until its gone. How convenient it is to run down to a fast food place where everyone speaks english and the menus all make sense! We did find a hamburger stand, but the meat tastes more like breakfast sausage than ground beef. But hey! that is what studying abroad is all about! Finding out your habits and learning to adapt to new ways of living. And if lack of american food is the only thing that rubs me wrong then that is fantastic!
The people here are very different too. Tina's dad, I hope you aren't reading this, but there are so many beautiful people. I told Tina that even the house painting guys are handsome! But no worries padres, we are going to come home, and we probably won't marry a Uruguayan. We are here to learn, not to search for soulmates right?
Well I guess that's all I will post for now. I hope you are all doing well and that the Lord keeps you safe for us. Last night I couldn't fall asleep because I kept worrying something bad would happen to someone back home, and I wouldn't be able to be there. So be safe guys--you don't know how much we love you.
Ciao!
Courtney
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Just smile and say "Si"
Okay, I don't know if it's just me or if I'm really that bad, but for some reason I keep finding myself stuck in a situation where a Uruguayan is trying to communicate with me and alas...all I can do is smile and say "si" over and over again. What's up with that? At home, for the most part I can make out what another person is saying...but here the words are crazy different! Sigh. That has happened more times than I can count, but it's not too bad. Uruguayans are really friendly and patient people. I have sooo much to learn.
I still can't believe I'm really here. I'm in South America. It's such a whole other big world. When you're in Uruguay, you feel it.
Just a quick wrap up, I haven't even been here a week and it feels like I have been here for months. I think it's because we are doing so much and are really busy. At least we have been. It should slow down soon. We have been doing lot of different things, but most of it consists of learning where everything is located. Easy things are really hard here, like withdrawing money from an ATM and going out to eat. The menus look so foreign, haha, which they are, but I have never seen spanish words like this before. Then ordering is another story. This isn't where you get your parents to tell the waiter what you want. You have to do it yourself...most of the time. We went to the ciudad vieja yesterday and I was trying to tell the waiter I wanted my steak cooked well done. Wow. Note to self: Cocino mucho does not mean "well done."
Well, we have gotten lost more times than I can count, living next to a beach is really amazing, there is no such thing as Mexican food here, and a car almost ran over me yesterday. Seriously.
Today was Church. Quite intimidating if I do say so myself, but really enjoyable. After church, we ate and then all of us had to get up and say our names, where we were from, how many siblings we had, and what we were studying...all in spanish! I don't think we did half bad.
It was a little disheartening though at some points. The people there all thought I knew spanish because I was "latina." Sad day. They also kept making jokes and laughing at me....and I'm still not sure why. I just laughed right along with them.
One man kept asking me about my family and where they came from. I think he just kept associating me with Mexico. He laughed at me so much. LOL. I mean, he didn't laugh at me, he was a cute old man. I just really need to learn spanish.
Well, this was a long post, but I promise they won't all be that bad. I really wasn't even planning on keeping a blog. This is for you Dad.
I still can't believe I'm really here. I'm in South America. It's such a whole other big world. When you're in Uruguay, you feel it.
Just a quick wrap up, I haven't even been here a week and it feels like I have been here for months. I think it's because we are doing so much and are really busy. At least we have been. It should slow down soon. We have been doing lot of different things, but most of it consists of learning where everything is located. Easy things are really hard here, like withdrawing money from an ATM and going out to eat. The menus look so foreign, haha, which they are, but I have never seen spanish words like this before. Then ordering is another story. This isn't where you get your parents to tell the waiter what you want. You have to do it yourself...most of the time. We went to the ciudad vieja yesterday and I was trying to tell the waiter I wanted my steak cooked well done. Wow. Note to self: Cocino mucho does not mean "well done."
Well, we have gotten lost more times than I can count, living next to a beach is really amazing, there is no such thing as Mexican food here, and a car almost ran over me yesterday. Seriously.
Today was Church. Quite intimidating if I do say so myself, but really enjoyable. After church, we ate and then all of us had to get up and say our names, where we were from, how many siblings we had, and what we were studying...all in spanish! I don't think we did half bad.
It was a little disheartening though at some points. The people there all thought I knew spanish because I was "latina." Sad day. They also kept making jokes and laughing at me....and I'm still not sure why. I just laughed right along with them.
One man kept asking me about my family and where they came from. I think he just kept associating me with Mexico. He laughed at me so much. LOL. I mean, he didn't laugh at me, he was a cute old man. I just really need to learn spanish.
Well, this was a long post, but I promise they won't all be that bad. I really wasn't even planning on keeping a blog. This is for you Dad.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
So They Leave
It is nearly 7:30 in the morning in Abilene, TX. My sister and a few friends are about to depart for Montevideo, Uruguay in an hour and a half. Two hours. I'm really nervous for them. But excited as well. I'm excited about all they'll get to experience (okay, maybe even a little jealous).
Because they NEED to keep in contact, I've created this blog for Tina (and Courtney if she wants to share), so that the rest of us back home can keep up with their adventures. You guys better post!!
Also, I'm going to miss you guys a ton. Have fun. Be safe. Look the right way before crossing the street. Study daily. Submerse yourselves in the culture. Speak as much Spanish as you can. Drink lots of mate for me. And bring me some back. And buy me a great souveneir. Maybe some jewelry... Take lots of pictures. Meet as many people as you can. Go to every festival/fair/parade/whatever cultural event is taking place. Laugh loud. Smile freely. Dance crazy. And always give thanks to God.
Lots of love, girls. From all of us back home.
Because they NEED to keep in contact, I've created this blog for Tina (and Courtney if she wants to share), so that the rest of us back home can keep up with their adventures. You guys better post!!
Also, I'm going to miss you guys a ton. Have fun. Be safe. Look the right way before crossing the street. Study daily. Submerse yourselves in the culture. Speak as much Spanish as you can. Drink lots of mate for me. And bring me some back. And buy me a great souveneir. Maybe some jewelry... Take lots of pictures. Meet as many people as you can. Go to every festival/fair/parade/whatever cultural event is taking place. Laugh loud. Smile freely. Dance crazy. And always give thanks to God.
Lots of love, girls. From all of us back home.
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