went swimming, found chili and corn bread

The fact that I pretty much need to be busy all the time in order to be productive was recently reinforced.  I thought for some reason that "part time" teaching actually meant "full time" and that I would be busy all the time... not true.  I again have free time, which is good because after I've looked up all the words I don't know each day in my dictionary, it's usually time to go to sleep.  However, I've also begun pursuing activities that could form the base of my side project(s).

First, I found a new running buddy!!  His name is Finde, he is five months old, furry, and full of energy (pictured below).  He belongs to my "mama" my host mom's mom.

I also joined a rowing club that has a gym and a pool where I can swim (I went today for the first time).  My mom is actually a south american champion swimmer and my host sister rows so I think we're all going to go one day (and I'm sure I'll get my butt kicked, but it will be fun).  I also registered for a 5K race at the end of the April in Montevideo that is organized by Nike Uruguay and is called "She Runs Montevideo" it's an all women's race! I'm pumped about it especially because I will need to find more running buddies when I move to Montevideo in June.

Tonight, I made chili and cornbread for dinner in my apartment (sunset view from the balcony).

It was delicious and we had a surprise American visitor who rode his bike from California down here, and he is staying with us tomorrow.  I made no bake cookies, as well, and it was kind of like being home, except my cooking was not as good as mom's, I had to look up the names of all the ingredients to buy them, and had to light the stove and oven with matches... and forgot to turn the gas off... but then remembered when my host mom smelled it :)

I've also begun my search for a coffee shop in which to hang out.  Today, I went to an adorable place and got a cafe con leche and alfajor (below!).  It awesome and delicious, but I was also the only one there because it's in the back of a store, so I'm not sure how often I'll go there because I felt a little like I was interrupting the otherwise very tranquil environment.

To finish, I taught at the high school (Liceo 1) for the first time today.  It went pretty well.  I'm supposed to speak English all the time, but I think I need to figure out a compromise because it seemed like a lot of the students couldn't understand a lot of what I said.  However, I'm also going to start sitting in on high school chemistry classes (in spanish!) next week... so I'm sure that will be interesting and probably make my brain hurt in every way possible (but that means it's growing, right?).

Semana Santa

The past week I have not had any work or classes because it's "Holy Week" here leading up to Easter.  Therefore, I went on several mini trips with Shamari and Jenny, the other two Fulbright ETAs.  First, I moved my belongings into the apartment in which I am living last Saturday and promptly left the same day to take a bus to Salto (the city where Shamari lives).  I arrived to find an asado (barbecue) and a bunch of students from Shamari's school waiting (below).

The next day we went to the "termas" which are very close to Salto and are basically like a bunch of very warm swimming pools.  It was very fun and relaxing and felt like summer, especially because I got sunburned :)

 Also, we made many ice cream excursions because I'm basically obsessed with dulce de leche ice cream (and dulce de leche in general).  Especially because I'm officially not sick anymore and am hungry again!

 After hanging out and exploring Salto for about two days then left on a night bus to go to Rivera/Santana, which is on the border between Uruguay and Brasil (we went to Brasil!!)

 I obviously had to do a few dance moves and cartwheels across the border :).  We also went to a Brazilian buffet, where for about $10, you got as many side dishes as you want and the servers would walk around with skewers of meat for as long as you were sitting down.  I don't speak Portugues well (or really at all) but it was delicious and I learned how to say "thank you" (obrigado!).
After our brazilian adventures and bus ride back to Salto, we were going to go to Argentina but the plans fell through because of passport complications, missing keys, and exhaustion.  So we hung out with our friends in Salto for another full day and left for Paysandu (my city!) the next day all together.  We all stayed in my new apartment (I'll post some pictures of it later) together thanks to my gracious host mom, Alejandra.  We went with my mentor, Carla to the little town next to Paysandu called Casa Blanca to watch the sunset over the river.  The four of us are below.

The sunset was beautiful, and right across the river is Argentina, so I'm sure I will go very soon :)

Shamari and Jenny left the following day to return to Salto and Montevideo.  Now I am adjusting to the apartment and life in Paysandu.  I need to make a boatload of powerpoint presentations before Monday haha

First week in Paysandu

Hello everyone!
I realize I have not been great about blogging.  I apologize, but I was actually sick.  I got to Paysandu last Saturday, and I honestly haven't felt normal since before I left the states, but I thought I was fine.  Well, I'm staying in a hotel right now and I went to some of the first classes I'll be helping with on Monday.  After that class, I met with my mentors and they made me go see a doctor because I hadn't stopped coughing, they were worried, and I felt warm.  Well, my fever was 104 degrees (40 Celsius) and I'm on antibiotics, cough medicine, and have medicine in case my fever comes back, but I'm much better now! And I've also gotten more insight as to how nice, caring, and helpful the people are here.  My mentor took me home with her, called various doctors until she found one whose house we could go to instead of waiting at the emergency room for three + hours.  Then, the doctor was the nicest woman ever and inspected me and gave me all the medicine for no charge.  I also spent that night at my mentor's house so she could make sure I was definitely ok before I went back to the hotel (Mom and Aunt Dell will be proud that I wrote them both thank you notes with chocolate :)
My students also seem awesome so far.  All of them are really interested in where I'm from, why I'm here, and want to show me around Paysandu so I can get to know the culture better.  I have all of next week off (so I'll actually have time to explore more), and I'm meeting up with the other Fulbrighters for part of it, but we'll also be in Paysandu for part of it because it's "Beer Week" and there are huge parties and live concerts every night.  When I better know what we're doing, I'll let you know.   Also, here is a picture of me in Montevideo on my first day in front of Rio de la Plata!

Also, here is a picture of one of my classes and I that I just took because I was showing them some pictures of my life on my computer.  I'm on the far right, and my mentor, Adriana, is on the far left.

Orientation Week

The other Fulbrighters and I (Shamari and Jenny) have just finished our week of orientation in Montevideo.  Jenny is going to stay here and keep looking for housing, while Shamari and I are off the the provinces (He is going to Salto and I am going to Paysandu).  There are also three Fulbrighters here on research grants, who will all stay in Montevideo.
There has been a lot of information and a lot of Spanish that I have learned in the past week, which is a little overwhelming because I´ve been kind of sick (I guess your body reacts poorly to too many life transitions at once...), but I´m still very excited and looking forward to the days to come.
Some orientation highlights: running on the rambla in the morning right next to the ocean (that was when I was less sick), dulce de leche, dulce de leche, dulce de leche (I missed that just a little and you can bet I´ll be bringing a vat back with me), the awesome, motivational, and supportive people I´ve had the priveledge of hanging out with all week, chivitos (a giant uruguayan sandwich with lots of meat and lots of other things, as well), visiting the US embassy, really strong coffee, lunch with one of the previous ETAs (super helpful and reassuring), exploring the city and discovering more about a culture that I will be integreted into in the next eight months.
I´ll try to post more when I´m settled in Paysandu with internet :)

Successful Arrival!!

I made it to Montevideo!!  My flight was not delayed, but the other two candidates were.  We did all end up meeting in Miami and all got a shuttle together to the hotel where we will be until Saturday.  I'll be heading to the interior after that.  It's so warm and sunny here!! I just want to go to one of the many beaches we saw on the drive from the airport and go swimming.  I'm kind of delirious from jet lag right now, though, so I might save that for tomorrow.  I'll post again soon especially after tomorrow when I know more about orientation and the program.  Love you all :)

Home Life (in Pittsburgh)

Well, I successfully quit both of my jobs in Colorado, got in one last day of skiing, and made it home (despite some delays) to Pittsburgh late Monday night (slash Tuesday morning).  Shout out to mom and Aunt Dell who picked me up at the airport.
Since then, I have been frantically trying to pack my life into bags that I will survive on in Uruguay for the next eight ish months while also eating all of the delicious food that my mom has been making for me.
My flight leaves tomorrow at 5:35pm from Pittsburgh, and I arrive in Miami, Florida at about 10:30pm. My flight to Montevideo leaves Miami at 11:15pm and I should arrive at 9:25am.  The two other candidates and I are all on the same flight from Miami.  On Monday, I just have to find my way to the hotel (http://www.hotelurbanexpress.com.uy/index.html) where the Commission is paying for us to stay throughout orientation.  Orientation is Tuesday through Saturday, and I should know a lot more about the program in general, Uruguayan culture, and the expectations the program has for me afterwards.  (The hotel also has wi-fi everywhere so I should be able to communicate then)  After orientation, I will be going to Paysandu, Uruguay, where my first placement will be (I believe I'll switch and be in Montevideo for the final four months).  I'll stay in a hotel the first few days while I find housing, but after that I should start on my work for the program in earnest.
Right now, I'm extremely nervous and excited at the same time.  I'm anticipating a lot of those "life crossroads" moments within the next week or two.

"An Unmatched Experience"

I realize that I have really not been blogging even semi-regularly, and I apologize.  I do not actually have internet in my dorm-style apartment and skiing or running fall much higher on my current priority list than blogging.
Anyway, I've been in Telluride for about two months now and I love it.  I've been working a lot more because I got a second job at the coffee shop right next to the restaurant where I also work (convenient). Everything has slowed down a bit here now that the holidays are over, and we are all waiting for more snow.  Most of the mountain is open anyway, but there are some pretty sketchy runs that will easily take a couple chunks out of your skis.  I have been trying to run (yay for altitude training!), ski, and practice spanish as much as I possibly can before March arrives.  I am flying home on March 4 and flying from Pittsburgh to Montevideo, Uruguay on March 10.  Everything still seems pretty unreal.  I'm probably going to have a minor panic attack trying to unpack and repack all of my stuff during the six days that I'm home.
I'm trying to think of a funny anecdote to better describe mountain life... yesterday I finally had a day off from both jobs (kind of- I still had a meeting at 9am, but that was it).  A lot of other people that live in my building said they were going riding early so I got back as soon as I could and stopped by to meet up with them. Well, they were all awake, which is a good start, but they had also all had about 4 vodka and orange juices for breakfast and were not in any shape to hit the mountain.  I left to go running thinking that they would stop drinking because they ran out of orange juice, and I when I got back some of them were out riding and some of them were asleep... I cooked some breakfast to try to rally the troops, but they just went back to sleep after or were staying inside.  So I borrowed my friends skis who still has demo bindings and adjusted them for me.  They were men's 178cm volkl skis.  I put on my borrowed helmet, turned ski tracks on, put on a good playlist, and had a blast.  I hit 65.6 mph down the groomers and skied with a friend until they closed the mountain.  Then I went back to my room, returned the skis, changed really fast, and headed to Montrose with another friend for awesome Mexican food and grocery shopping.

It's a pretty awesome life.  Hopefully I'll be able to write more soon :)