Goodbye, Uruguay!

Hard to believe, but I think this may be my last blog post from Uruguay!  Amazing that the time has already gone.  Well, lots of things have happened in these last weeks.  One exciting event was when I ran my first ever race... a 10K, hosted by Nike.  It was pretty exciting, with thousands of people all in our neon yellow shirts, the roads closed off, the city cheering us on!  I accomplished my goals: running it in well under 75 minutes, running the whole thing, and not falling!  Then last week, I finished up everything at work and said goodbye to pretty much everyone.  Also went to my last Hebrew class.  It can be hard to say goodbye and to really close all the doors... everyone tries to find another way to see you again, but the best thing always ends up being to just say goodbye when you plan to!  Otherwise the goodbyes could go on forever.  All of the Fulbrighters also presented at our final presentation, where we got another chance to see some of our mentors (even some all the way from Paysandu!).

Then, this past Thursday, I went for 6 days to Chile, and had the most amazing time.  I stayed with Marianne, a home friend of Elizabeth, who was an awesome host and tour guide!  It was great to stay with someone who both totally understood what it was like to be a young American living in South America, but someone who had been in Chile for over a year, so she really knew her way around.  It was interesting to compare our experiences, and to get to see some amazing sights.  I spent most of the time in Santiago, sightseeing, taking pictures of the beautiful Andes whenever I could see them through the unfortunate smog, and buying a store's worth of amazing yet inexpensive hand-made jewelry.  We also visited Valparaiso, a port city with lots of colorful houses up on a huge hill, and Viña del Mar, an up-scale beach town.  I went to some amazing exhibits (saw a real Easter-Island Moai statue!), saw some of Pablo Neruda's homes, and found some fantastic murals and street art.

Now, back in Montevideo, I'm just tying up all of the loose ends, buying last minute gifts, getting my things organized, and saying my last goodbyes to everyone.  Then on Monday, fellow Fulbrighter Kate and I will be flying out at 11pm, and I'll be arriving in New York Tuesday morning!  Hopefully Ollie will make a special experience at the airport :)  As for future plans, I plan to keep applying for jobs, start doing some serious research about grad school programs, catch up with friends, take on some new projects (guitar, scrap book, etc.), and see where the next road takes me!

A most amazing visit!

Well, here I am with just a few short weeks left to go.  Hard to believe, but I am eager to be home and organize the next phase of my life.  But, I had the fortune of enjoying a bit of these last few weeks with some amazing visitors.  Life-long CT friends Allison and Erin came to visit for a week, and it was incredibly special to have that experience with them.  Having grown up together our whole lives, it can be hard now when we see our lives going in different directions and having such different experiences from one another, so it was truly wonderful to get to share a piece of this experience with them.  I felt very special that they took their precious vacation days and came all the way down here, just to Uruguay, to spend 6 short days with me!  We found some time of course to hang out and have them catch me up on all of the pop culture I've missed, along with some city sightseeing and trying of the different Uruguayan cuisines (asado, chivito, mate, masitas, and the torta frita was quite the hit!).  Then we took a few day trips, including Punta del Este, and Colonia.  Although the first few days were rainy and gray, we finally got some sun towards the end.  They also got to meet several of the other Fulbrighters and friends here during a rambla picnic I organized.  All in all I'd say it was a successful trip, and it was so much fun to spend one of my last weeks with them here!

 I was sad when they were gone, but didn't miss a beat... that weekend, I went on a trip to Cabo Polonio, a beach nature reserve that you can only reach by off-rode vehicles.  Elizabeth and I went on a Friday and met Beth, Meara, and Beth's friend Kim there, where we stayed in the most adorable little hostel/inn that was really more like staying in someone's home for a few days.  Although there isn't reliable running water or electricity, we were pretty comfortable, although I did get to make good use of my headlamp at night!  It was an impressively beautiful site... being so remote, people who live there really have to be prepared for the 'hippy' lifestyle people live there, but they get a beautiful and very protected spot in return.  On our final day of the weekend we had our one day of beautiful weather, and climbed the lighthouse for an impressive view.  We also got to see the sea lions that live on the rocks.  Although we saw lots of dead animals on the beach (sea lions, penguins, turtles...) we unfortunately did not get to see all of them live.  It was a great trip, but after so much traveling and running around these last few weeks, I wasn't sorry to finally be home and have my feet planted in Montevideo for a little while!

Iguazu!

As promised, I'm posting about going to the waterfalls at Iguazu before anything else exciting comes up.  Kate, a Fulbright research scholar, and I went together, starting out early in the morning on a Thursday.  We spent most of the day in transport and at airports, but made it to the hostel without many problems.  The next day we went to the national park to see the falls.  We only went to the park on the Argentinian side (as opposed to the Brazilian or Paraguayan sides, in which there are also waterfalls), because I do not have a Brazilian or Paraguayan visa.  Unfortunately, that first day it poured on and off, and we got soaked a few times, putting a literal damper on things.  It was incredibly beautiful though, and the first glimpses were breathtaking, especially with the rainy mist.

Eventually we made our way back, got an early (American-style, I guess you could say) dinner, than tried to get some sleep, despite it being pretty noisy in our hostel room, which faced the street.  The next day we made a point of getting up early to take advantage of what turned out to be a beautiful day.  We spent the whole day at the park, taking in the sunshine and the incredible views.  I was especially on the lookout for animals; sightings included a toucan, some giant lizards, and of course the coatie, which are the South American equivalent of scavenging raccoons, just with longer snouts.  I'm not really doing much justice to this amazing experience, but I think the pictures speak more than I could ever attempt to describe here.  I'm incredibly glad I went, I think it was certainly one of the most breathtaking sights I've seen down here, if not in my life.

Then on Sunday, we had the day to kill more or less, so we went to one of the stone mines.  It was a bit of an adventure to get there, but for those of you who know my obsession with stones and crystals and general shiny things, for me it was well worth it to see the amethyst, quartz, and agates still in the caves.  Very cool.  Then we wiled away are afternoon, had dinner, and set off to the airport with a very long night ahead of us.  We took our first flight to Buenos Aires, then had about a 9 hour layover in the airport.  Unfortunately, this airport barely even had seats to sit on for people who are not allowed yet in the gate, which we weren't, so we spent the night on the cold marble floor.  Sweet.  Then we made it back to Montevideo, I took a brief nap, headed to work, ran my usual conversation group, then went to the symphonic orchestra concert at the Teatro Solis (a beautiful old theater that was recently redone), then came home, and crashed.  It was well worth it though!

Then this past weekend, I finally got to just stay home and relax, and celebrate Elizabeth's 25th birthday!  Yay!  We went out on Saturday night with some people from the American Embassy, which was pretty amusing, then on Sunday, we went to dinner and finally tried the 'Copa Melba', a giant tower of ice cream, cookies, whipped cream, and fruit.  Yum.

This week, beloved friends Allison and Erin are coming, so I am incredibly excited!  I have plenty of plans in store, and I think we will really enjoy ourselves.  More to come!

On the go!

I'm determined to get in another post before the month is out, so here goes.  I've been traveling quite a bit this month it feels like.  I wanted to get in one more trip to Buenos Aires, plus I needed to renew my visa, so I took myself for a long weekend to BA.  I had the good fortune of staying with an Argentinian friend and her mother, who I met through a very beloved long-time friend from the states.  I had a lovely, relaxed weekend with them, clearing my head and trying to just enjoy these last adventures.  I also was able to have dinner with a friend from Vassar who is studying there abroad, which made it even more worthwhile. Another, although somewhat minor highlight, was getting to have my first soy-chai-latte in 6 months (thank you, Starbucks-Argentina!!!).  Soy milk is a lot harder to come by in Uruguay, and since I am lactose-intolerant, I usually have to drink my hot beverages black.

It was also the Jewish holidays, but for a variety of complications I wasn't able to attend synagogue, which was hard.  I felt a bit let-down about it, and like I was missing out on something that is genuinely important to me, since I always go.  But I felt like I tried to celebrate and reflect on the new year in my own way though.  In other news, I've been trying to run a lot on the rambla (boardwalk) now that the weather is getting better.  I'm up to about 5 miles, which for me is a lot.  I even went to a kick-boxing class at my gym with a co-worker, which was very fun, and really tough!  I've also been plugging away at applying for jobs, looking for some sort of work with women either in the social work field, or more international women's movements (like international health groups, or advocacy)... my fingers are crossed...

As for work here, I've been doing a lot of editing on a publication that the department is putting together, and having fun with my conversation groups.  For a while it seemed like the groups were dwindling, but after a bit of a party with home-cooked treats two weeks ago, I think we've revitalized things a bit.  I was also finally able to make contact with a women's domestic violence network, and I will be doing a small project with them in my remaining time, so that is exciting.  I'm continuing to go to hebrew class, and continuing to be surprised by how much knowledge I can actually manage to dredge up from my memories of hebrew class as a kid.  I guess Noam Chomsky was right (thank you, Professor Baird); we really do have the ability to retain language far better as children.

Then, although my office did not actually have the week off, last week was the vacation week for public schools here, so I went on a trip with the other female ETAs (Meara, Beth, and Elizabeth) way up into the northern interior.  We spent a day and stayed overnight in the city of Tacuarembo, taking fun pictures and seeking out all the places that we'd seen in the fabulously kitschy, tongue-in-cheek movie that came out earlier this year, 'Miss Tacuarembo.'  Then we continued on to stay at the posada Lunarejo (a rural inn) way out in the province of Rivera, closer to the city of Artigas, which is approaching the border of Uruguay and Brasil.  The posada was so lovely, and the landscape much more impressively varied (hills, mesetas, etc) than anywhere else I've seen in Uruguay.  And of course, we went horseback riding again; for the second time in a row now, horse-bite free.  The only downside was that I got really sick with some sort of flu-like virus.  We came back mid-week, and I spent the next few days resting, but finally took myself to the doctor when I developed a raging case of pink eye in both my eyes.  Now I'm doing a lot better though, and gearing up for my next trip; I leave Thursday morning to visit the waterfalls at Iguazu, on the Argentinian side.  So exciting!  I will post about that with pictures next.

Let the countdown begin

As usual, so much to catch up on! After my parents left, work got really busy... I helped run a country-wide training for primary school English teachers. I was also a presenter, and I gave an hour long presentation on using theater in the English classroom, which from the feedback I've been getting, was actually somewhat useful. I gave the speech twice, once to teachers from all over the country (which also gave me the opportunity to say hi to some teachers from Salto and Paysandu, in the interior, whom I had not seen in a long time!), and once to teachers from Montevideo. It is amazing how many of them I actually know now... I feel like I could at least recognize the majority of the English teachers associated with the department where I work, and that is a lot! Participating in this training made me really feel a part of things in my office, and definitely served as a turning point for solidifying my relationships and my role there. I also started visiting classes for my second Fulbright placement in Montevideo, which is a less involved role, but still gives me another perspective on education here.

In other news, we've just been trying to make the most of our time left here in Montevideo, and taking each adventure as it comes! We have gone to two concerts here in Montevideo so far, one which was Tabare Cardozo, who is a murga bordering on classic-rock singer, and then we went to an A Contramano concert, which was a traditional murga concert, complete with a male group of singers who dress up in elaborate costumes and sing/joke about Uruguayan society and politics. Most of it goes over my head, but it can be pretty funny when I catch on to something, and always entertaining. We also went out for 'Noche de Nostalgia,' which is the night before Uruguay's Independence Day. They throw huge parties and everyone goes out, and venues are obliged to play mostly 'oldies' music. Elizabeth and I went with our friends Yosanna (from Paysandu) and her boyfriend Emiliano (who lives in Montevideo) to basically the biggest party in the city. It was pretty crazy... it was at this huge entertainment complex on the outskirts of the city, with so many dance floors I don't even think we saw them all. I have to admit, I loved the music, and got a huge kick out of watching a room full of Uruguayans, most of whom don't speak a word of English, singing and dancing along to 'YMCA.' I had quite a few bar/bat mitzvah flashbacks. In true Uruguayan style, we didn't make it home until 7 am.

Then this past weekend, we took a whirlwind trip back up to Salto and Paysandu. First we went to spend the day in Chapicuy with a friend of the Fulbrighter's who lived in Salto. It was a small town in between the cities of Paysandu and Salto, and we spent the day with his lovely family, had lunch, went to the Meseta de Artigas (a cool natural monument to Uruguay's national hero, Artigas), and had a pleasant, truly Uruguayan day. Then we hopped on a bus to Paysandu, where due to some snafoos in our plans we found ourselves without a place to stay for the night. But we found a hotel room, ate in one of our old favorite restaurants, and stopped by our friend's birthday party, which was our main reason for coming in the first place. We also bumped into one of the teachers we used to work with, one who we were very close to, so that was awesome. The next day we just hung out around the city, reminiscing about old times, then met up with two of our mentors and their families for tea time. Seeing them and being with their families made the whole thing worthwhile, and reminded me of and made me nostalgic for the community I had there in the interior. Life in the city is more dynamic, but definitely more isolating.

Now, finding myself with 2.5 months left, I am scrambling to get everything done that I wanted to get done here, while also keeping one eye on the future (applying for jobs, etc). I'm trying to keep on top of everything I'm expected to do for work before I leave, as well as trying to find some volunteering work with a women's group to help out with in my remaining time. I also am planning the rest of my travels... trips in the works include going to Buenos Aires next weekend and visiting with friends, going to the waterfalls at Iguazu, having an amazing week when Al and Erbear come to visit in Oct (yay!!!), and one final trip to visit Chile before I leave, returning just in time for Thanksgiving.

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming...

So much to catch up on! Where to start... first of all, I said I would post about the week with my parents, so I will start there. After some weather-related traveling snafoos they finally made it here, and we spent the week doing a lot of exploring. As for Montevideo, they were able to take a city tour while I was at work, we explored the Ciudad Vieja (the 'Old City'), as well as Pocitos, which is my part of the city, including the rambla by the water. We also did some shopping, and I got new gray boots to go with the beautiful gray bag I bought in Buenos Aires.

We also had a lot of culinary adventures... my dad seemed to enjoy the typical 'chivito' (steak sandwich piled high with everything but the kitchen sink), and even my mom was able to take part in some of the typical Uruguayan cuisine. We went to the feria on Tristen Narvaja, an outdoor market that sells a wide variety of things, and because it was rainy, we of course had to have some 'torta frita' (fried dough) and mate freshly prepared by me, both of which are the typical Uruguayan rainy day delights. We also ate out at some really great places, trying our hardest to discover some not-so-typical Uruguayan cuisine, which I admittedly am pretty tired of since I am not a big fried-food person, and I enjoy things with more spice, flavor, and vegetables than people do here.

As far as trips, on Tuesday we took a day trip to Punta del Este, which was incredibly beautiful, and very empty being the completely wrong season. We ate at the greatest, out-of-the-way fish restaurant, where the guy had a Connecticut license plate on his wall, was a Yankees fan, and proudly showed me the write-up of his restaurant in an American guidebook. He told us to friend the restaurant on facebook!

Then on Friday we made our way to an estancia (a tourist ranch) in the department Colonia, a few hours outside of Montevideo. The estancia was lovely, and there was hardly anyone there, since it's the off season. The first day was disappointingly rainy, but at least we got to relax with our books by a roaring fire and enjoy some homemade meals. The second day we went horseback riding twice... the first time, I seemed to get the slow horse. He was a very nice horse, but refused to keep up with the group, and our gaucho didn't seem too concerned that I kept getting left behind. Then my parents and I went out again just ourselves and the gaucho in the afternoon, and I asked for a different horse, which went more successfully. We really were just out in the fields of rural Uruguay, riding around, no trails... riding through vineyards, and pastures, through groups of cattle and sheep, who stared at us like we were the most excitement they'd had all day. It felt very... authentic. Then on Sunday we went to Colonia del Sacramento, which is a World Heritage site, so it is a beautifully preserved city with the remnants of its Portuguese roots. Then I left my parents to take their ferry to Buenos Aires, where they stayed for a few more days, and I went home to Montevideo.

This past week has been pretty crazy work-wise... I was asked to make a presentation at a teacher training next week, for over 200 teachers from all over the country. I'm speaking about using theater in the English primary classroom, and I hope to have a lot of fun with it. I'm nervous, but I think it'll go well. Then I had some difficulties and some serious mis-communication while trying to get my second placement under way... now it is finally coming together. I've also been learning a lot about how some things don't change, no matter what country you are in; for example, navigating workplace dynamics, tensions between people, etc. I just plan to stay as neutral, positive, and helpful as possible, while also looking out for my own interests and responsibilities.

Last weekend a group of us Fulbrighters also went to a Tabare Cardozo concert, he's a very well-known Uruguayan 'murga' singer (look it up... a very interesting genre), which was great. After, Elizabeth and I went to what essentially ended up being a house party at the family apartment of a student at the teacher's college where she works, which was amusing. Then on Saturday we had dinner and went bowling with Yosanna, our friend from Paysandu, and her boyfriend Emiliano, who lives in Montevideo. It was wonderful to see her and to feel reconnected with our life in Paysandu.

Now, after a few very cold weeks and some stressful situations the weather seems to be taking a turn for the better and I'm hoping to get back to a more positive attitude. I've still been going to synagogue and taking my Hebrew class and hanging out with the Fulbrighters and Jennie, my new American friend from Hillel; making some more Uruguayan friends now that I'm in Montevideo is slow, but steadily getting underway. Time is going by so quickly, and I want to be able to enjoy, or at least get a lot out of, each moment. I have so many plans left to do, between work, traveling, and volunteering, and hardly any time left to do them all, and that pressure is becoming a serious reality. I will keep updating as time continues to rush by...

The Uruguayan Curse

Once again, I am terribly guilty of neglecting this poor blog, but I will try to highlight all that has been going on over the past couple of weeks. I have been working at my new placement in the Department of Second Languages, which is a government group that runs all English teaching and Portuguese teaching programs specifically in primary (elementary) schools. I am running some conversation groups for primary English teachers, as well as helping out on any projects that they need a native eye for, etc. So far it has been really great. Last week I helped out at a teacher-training event and set up my conversation groups, which I started this week, and all the teachers in them are really interesting, motivated, and enthusiastic, so it should be lots of fun. My other placement is still a bit of a mystery, but I am waiting to look into it further until after my parents visit. THEN I will really put in some initiative to get started and find out what I'm supposed to be doing.

As for other news... through some contacts with our rabbi in Westport, I have been able to connect with a cantor here who invited me to attend his Conservative synagogue. Last Saturday, Kate (another Fulbrighter and, in my opinion, definitely worthy of being labeled an honorary Jew) came with me to attend services. Even though the cantor had given our names to the security guards, convincing them to let us in was quite a task (um, did we look like terrorists?). By the time the torah portion rolled around, I was feeling very at home; I was really struck by just how similar the service and whole setup felt. I finally met the cantor in person, and he introduced me to another woman who is involved with the Montevideo Hillel. Everyone was nice and welcoming. After spending 4 months trying to overcome feeling like a foreigner, it felt good to be in an environment and community where I knew I belonged.

Then on Tuesday night I accompanied Veronica, the woman I met at synagogue, to her Hebrew class at the Hillel. The class was really fun, and there is a new session starting in a few weeks, so this might finally be my chance to learn some Hebrew! Haha of course learning a new language in a language that is already my second language is a unique challenge. In a weird twist of fate, there was another girl from the U.S. in the class who works for the Hillel, she lives very close to me, and doesn't know too many people in Uruguay yet, so I'm looking forward to getting to know her better... of course along with the Uruguayans in the class.

This week there are also lots of visitors... friends, boyfriends, and this Saturday, my parents! I'm trying to plan some things so we won't be searching for things to do; tomorrow's task will be to buy a whole slew of bus tickets. I have been trying my best to adapt to life here: frequent food shopping, taking the bus, figuring out the quirks of our apartment (like discovering that the water was making us sick, so we need to drink bottled or filter it), hanging out with the other Fulbrighters, settling into my new job, getting involved in different activities, and just putting out my feelers for anything else that might enrich my life here. I still have a long to-do list of things I need to start to explore, but luckily I still have plenty of time.

I think those were some of the highlights for now... after my parents visit I will be sure to post again about the week with my family! And as for the title of this entry... a la when I left in March, just as my parents are preparing to leave to come here, there was yet ANOTHER huge storm (with hail, even in the middle of the summer), and it left many houses in Westport, including ours, without power. This seems to be an unfortunate trend!