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!