Saludos de Paysandu!

So we have been in Paysandu for over a week now, and are finally beginning to settle in. Elizabeth and I found a great apartment that is being rented by a friend of one of our hosts, and decided to go with it. It was only used as an office by her husband, so it was semi-furnished, but between her and our hosts they totally furnished it and set it up for us, so we have everything we could need. It is a surprisingly modern building, and from the 7th floor we have the most amazing view of the city and the river between Uruguay and Argentina, we are very very lucky. It is also right between the two schools where we are working, and within walking distance of most things we need. It is pretty wonderful to have a kitchen again. Unfortunately we don't really have working internet, so I will still try to buy a modem sometime soon.
We have been going to the teacher's college and the elementary school and observing/talking with the classes, and have learned a lot about things here and how they compare to the U.S. People are so interesting and personal, I really love it. They have no problem getting to know you right from the start, and will ask and answer all sorts of personal questions, which is a nice change from a lot of the U.S.
We've been taken care of down to every detail by our hosts (our hosts meaning the teachers we work with who are 'hosting' us through Fulbright)... they are always looking out for us! When Elizabeth got sick this weekend, they were all very concerned, it's amazing how sweet they are. We have also been making some friends at the teacher's college, and last night went out with some of them for the first time. It's nice to go out with other young people here, less pressure perhaps, especially since they also want to practice their english. We went for a traditional 'asado' (sort of bar-b-q) at one of our host's houses today, and it was so lovely to be with her whole family (parents, children and grandchildren), to really feel a part of things and a part of people's lives.
I have been starting to feel a bit more homesick, especially not having regular internet to be in touch and perhaps being a bit past the 'honeymoon' period of being somewhere new, but I am hoping I will settle in fast. The kids at school are very funny and the students at the college are interesting and interested, which is wonderful, and of course all the teachers and professors just couldn't be more welcoming. Sometimes I am surprised by how smoothly things have been going so far.
This week has started the "Semana de la Cerveza," or "Beer Week", and every night they have concerts and a fair and lots of events. I've gone to the philharmonic and several other events so far. Next week we are going to Salto to visit the other Fulbrighters from Tues to Thur (hopefully to the thermal baths), and then they are coming here, so that will be nice to be altogether again. Hopefully I will get the chance to post about that next week. Hope everyone is doing well back in the states!

Arrival in Paysandu

We have only been in the city of Paysandu (in the 'departamento' of Paysandu) for about 3 days now, but it seems like much longer! Our hosts here have been wonderful, and are constantly checking up on us. It is impressive how welcoming and friendly the people are here. They make it so easy to feel at home, even though everything is so different. The department is about 100,000 people but the city feels pretty small and is much less modern to my Americanized aesthetic, but I am getting accustomed to things (including the very strong accent and slurring of words) and beginning to feel comfortable here.

We had a long bus ride from Montevideo, but we revived ourselves after checking in the Mykonos hotel (quiet and quaint, and a bit of a change from our modern, upscale hotel in Montevideo), and went on our first adventure here. Carolina, one of the younger teachers we are working with, invited us out on a small boat with her cousin, her cousin's husband, and their 13 year old daughter. It was the perfect welcome to our new city... the weather was gorgeous, and we went out to an island in the river between Uruguay and Argentina, right by 'el puente', the bridge which connects the two countries between Paysandu and Colon. On the island we had drinks and lots of pastries, which is what people do around 6pm ('tea time', left over from the British influence here), since they eat so late. Usually people also drink 'mate', the traditional very strong tea here, drank out of a gourd and metal straw which filters the herbs. The family was very funny and so welcoming, we felt right at home. Later that night we went out to dinner with some of the other host teachers, and were shown a bit more around the city.

Sunday we finally had some time to rest after a busy busy week, and in the afternoon we went to look at a few living options. Ultimately, we have decided to go with the first apartment that we saw, which was the only option where we could live totally on our own. It is in a surprisingly new and modern building and we are getting it for a very fair price, so I feel pretty good about it. It was never used as a fully livable apartment, just an office, so it is missing some things, but the people who normally rent it are not going to be using it for a while, so they are going to put some things in so they can rent it out and have it be more livable. Our hosts are also lending us some things (like beds!) so that worked out well. We will hopefully start moving out tomorrow, and will be in by Thursday. It is close to the center of town, where our teacher's college is, and also close to the elementary school, so we will never have to feel unsafe or have unreasonable distances.

Last night we went to the teacher's college for the first time... they are renovating their building, so they are unfortunately being housed in a former hotel, so it isn't the greatest situation, but they call themselves a big family, so it still has a very hospitable atmosphere. We got a very warm introduction by the director and one of our hosts in front of a large portion of the school, then we introduced ourselves, then they sang us a song! It was very sweet. We got a tour of the place, met as many people as we could, then sat in on an english class, which was really interesting.

Today we went to the elementary school for the first time. For now I am actually working at the same school as Elizabeth since there are a few different outbreaks of illnesses at my school, and everyone agreed I should hold off on going there for a bit, especially given how I've been sick recently. I was so impressed how quickly they took care of that... we spoke about it on Sunday, then later that night I received a couple of text messages from our hosts telling me it was all squared away, and I got a phone call the next morning from Patricia in the Fulbright office, who coordinates everything for us, saying that she spoke to the two school directors and everything was confirmed. It was very reassuring to know what good hands I was in.

Today at the elementary school was very fun... we were introduced to everyone then walked around with the director, who is a very funny, jovial guy, and then we went with him to a ceremony being held in a plaza and run by various school officials and schools to celebrate the beginning of the school year in commemoration of Jose Varela, the father of the public education system in Uruguay, who believed every child deserved an equal education. It was very nice, with a children's choir, and the kids from the public music school playing some songs.

Then we went back to the school and joined four different classes throughout the school day. The kids had tons of questions for us and were definitely fascinated by us and it was pretty adorable. They would hug and kiss us goodbye, and ask us lots of funny things. I was very impressed with what they can do with very few resources, as well as very impressed with the computers that the government gives each child in the school system. It is truly an amazing venture they have to get all kids on board with technology for learning.

Those are all the highlights for now... I'm very excited to finally move into our apartment Thursday and to be able to cook and stop living out of a suitcase, although that will also mean I will no longer have free wireless internet. I will do my best to still be in touch through the interwebs, and will hopefully be getting my own wireless modem within the next few weeks. Next week for Easter our city has 'Semana de la Cerveza', literally 'Beer Week' in honor of the brewery that used to be in Paysandu (although it closed a few years ag0), which is a huge tourist attraction with lots of festivities and concerts. The other Fulbrighters in Salto will hopefully be coming to visit, as well as one of the Fulbright professors, who is coming to visit with her family next week, and possibly some of the Fulbrighters in Montevideo. We also will be going to Salto for a visit, where we will definitely have to spend some time soaking in the natural thermal baths there. More posts to come!

Here is the link to my Flickr site, where I will be periodically posting all of my photos:
www.flickr.com/photos/allisonbloom

Enjoy!

Orientation ends... departamento begins!

It is with mixed feelings that I now have to leave my first week in Montevideo behind and move on to my first real stay in the department 'Paysandu.' Today we met our 'hosts,' the people we will be working with and who will be mentoring us at our schools, and learned some more about the Uruguayan education system. It was a stressful and overwhelming experience... I think we all felt the anxiety and pressure of finally meeting these people, knowing that we are more or less in their hands for the next three months. We were given lots of information, and for the first time we really ended up doing all of our interaction in spanish, which added another dimension of stress to it. Luckily they all seem incredibly nice, caring, compassionate, and very enthusiastic people, who are truly grateful to have us there and who understand how awesome a program Fulbright is.

I have to say I have been very impressed with Fulbright so far. They have really taken care of us, sometimes maybe more than was even necessary. This week was full of cultural and educational experiences, as well as just really stimulating and dynamic conversation; it was so nice to really get my brain going again and to be surrounded by interesting, engaging people.

Because of that, it is sad to say goodbye to everyone, but I have high hopes for what is to come. Knowing that this 3 month experience is so short motivates me to make the most of it, and knowing we will have the support of our hosts makes things easier. Tomorrow we will have a 3-4 hour bus ride to the new city (accompanied by a few of our hosts, too, just because 'it is nicer to travel with people'!), and we will be staying in a hotel until sometime next week. Elizabeth and I will be searching for places to live in these next few days, and we will begin observing classes at our two schools. I am in an elementary school and a teacher's training college. Luckily we aren't there so much to teach grammar or any of the boring stuff, but to teach culture and to get the kids involved in various enriching projects. It sounds like we will really be able to have fun with the kids and will be an exciting and motivating presence for them, and I am looking forward to working with little kids again. What with my ears not being accustomed to the accent and my mouth still not being accustomed to speaking spanish frequently, I think being with the kids, who I don't feel are judging me like adults do, will be a breath of fresh air. As for the teacher's college, I am told we will probably be the first people from the U.S. (and first native English speakers) that most people in the interior will meet, so our being there is something of a novelty.

As for the coming weeks, we will have a visit by one of the professors we met this week, when she comes through Paysandu with her family. We will also have 'Beer Week' over Easter break in our city, which is apparently a huge destination for Uruguayans. It sounds like a pretty exciting festival with lots of music and fairs, etc, should be fun. We also plan to visit the other ETAs (English Teaching Assistants) in their department, Salto (link: check out the NYTimes article!) where we will definitely have to take a dip or two in the famous 'hot springs'/'thermal baths' there.

More news to come... stay posted!

The Arrival!

Well, I made it! This has been the craziest few days... this weekend (Saturday) was that terrible freak hurricane-like storm, Allison P got stranded at my house, a tree fell through the roof, trees fell on the driveway blocking it and ripping the power lines off the house. The silver lining was that Allison and I got more time to spend together during my last weekend here. Luckily I managed to get all my stuff together still and we were able to get out of our driveway by the time I needed to go on Sunday. My parents still don't have power though :(

So we got to the airport and I went on my way. The first really nice person I met was an English woman who was chatty and sweet, and then I kept seeing her at the airport. Then I got on my flight, which left later than it should of, and luckily had changed all my seats and got the SWEETEST seat with tons of legroom. I sat next to this guy, about in his 50s, who barely said two words to me until right after dinner, when he all of a sudden became a chatterbox and we talked for a really long time. He is originally from Argentina, and he said he really loves Uruguay (even though Argentinians aren't supposed to), and he was telling me about the region. He's been living between NY and CT for the last 20 years though, so we had lots to talk about. I had trouble sleeping on the plane and barely slept at all, so that made it more enjoyable.

I was worried I would miss my connecting flight in Buenos Aires, but the flight was delayed an hour, so I luckily had plenty of time. Sat next to another reasonably friendly guy, and then at the airport met up with 3 of the other Fulbright ETAs and the program assistant. We got to our hotel, and everyone seems really nice. We all went for a long walk along the boulevard by the water-"La Rambla". Then we went to dinner, and were all in a stupor.

Today, we all had to give presentations on ourselves and our Fulbright goals, which went well. We met the other people there on Fulbright grants-professors, the other full-Fulbright grantees-and everyone is really interesting and incredibly smart. It was very stimulating stuff. We were given empanadas and postre for lunch and then we went on a walking/bus sightseeing tour, which was cool. I do feel incredibly ashamed of my complete lack of knowledge about Uruguay compared to everyone else, but I am learning. Above are pictures of what was supposed to be a hotel but never was and for a while was the highest building in South America, me at the top of the telecommunications tower, another picture of the tower view, and the government building. When I have some more time, I will start posting all of my pictures on my new Flickr account, and I will post the links here.

Then I went to this amazing talk/exhibition about women's rights, specifically women's birthing rights (unnecessary c-sections, reclaiming the woman's body, the politics and economics of women's bodies and birthing, etc), and the women were so enthusiastic and passionate, it made me so motivated and excited about getting involved here. The women's movement is very progressive and very exciting, and definitely would be a good 'home' for me when I can get involved. Then I went to dinner with the two other ETAs that went to the talk. The other 4 ETAs are very nice and friendly, but also very independent, and with lots of traveling experience. Unfortunately I'm the one with the least abroad experience it seems, and I'm also the youngest, but hopefully that won't make a difference when we are all settled in.

So much more to say, but it will have to wait for another day! Stay posted!

Last minute preparation

Ahhh!!! I don't think I could be any more stressed out right now. Things are truly down to the wire, and I am scrambling to get everything done. As I'm sure most people know I'm a bit of a control freak and perfectionist, so if there was anyone who was going to take this whole preparation/packing thing a bit too far, it would be me. Every day I seem to learn about some new thing that I absolutely CANNOT do without for an 8-month stay in South America! No matter how much I may think I'm done buying new things and putting together more materials, the list just keeps getting longer.

One way or another though, on Sunday night it will all have to come together so I can get myself on that night flight to Buenos Aires, connect in the morning to Montevideo, and begin my week of orientation. I now know that I will be living in the province Paysandu for the first 3 months with one other Fulbright Teaching Assistant, Elizabeth. Paysandu is in the northwest of Uruguay, on the river that borders Argentina. Apparently that is the region in South America with 'hot springs', so some of the province is actually an eco-tourist location. It looks like a nice place, but I really don't have too much of an idea of what my living/working situation will be like. I have my two school assignments there, but that's about it.

One of the other ETAs happens to already be down there, and she has been emailing us with updates. She has assured us we are in good hands with the program coordinator who has been helping us, and also reported that there are lots of cool events all month celebrating international women's day. I'm psyched to join her in checking some of that out!

Right now I am so stressed and an unpleasant grouch to be around, but I know I just need to keep my eye on the prize. I was told recently by a fellow teaching assistant abroad in Europe that it all gets better once your feet are on the ground... even though I am nervous to be leaving and facing the unknown and definitely sad to be saying so many goodbyes, I can't wait to have my feet on that ground!