Uruguay

Well as I told you earlier, some of the group spent the last four days in Uruguay. It was a wonderful break and provided the relaxation and rest that we all needed. We spent two days in the capital city of Montevideo and the other day exploring the coast of the country. Montevideo is a charming and wonderful city. In many ways it is a lot like BUenos Aires, although a fraction of the size. Therefore, it has a lot of the big city things to do like the theater and art fairs without the city noise and commotion. The peacefulness and tranquility of the city was really nice. The two days we spent in Montevideo were used to go to museums, art fairs, theater productions, and to talk with the people about their country. We were given the task of comparing this city to Buenos Aires economically, politically, and religiously. It was fascinating to do and I found the people very open to talking about their country. It made me wonder why I dont ask people more questions about their country when I travel. During the night we went to their opera house to see two different theater productions. THeir opera house was beautiful and reminded me of some of the ones in Europe. It had four levels that formed a semi-circle instead of the straight rows we have in the states. Also the entire theater was decorated in red and gold which gave it a very elegant look and feel. The first production was a ballet. It included pieceds of many different ballets, some of which were uniquely coreographed for this production. It included classical and modern dances. All of them were fabulous, but I especially enjoyed the modern dances. One of the coreographers is world-reknown for his creativity. The second show was a Spanish play called La vida es sueno or Life is a dream. It is the equivalent of Hamlet in the Spanish speaking world. It was good to see because it is so important to the Spanish culture and I enjoyed it for the most part. Although it had some strange parts were the dancers and actors appeared to be on drugs because of the way they moved, the costums, and the lighting. Also there was some on stage nudety we did not expect.

The other day we spent traveling along the coast to Punto de Este. THis is the place where the Rio de la Plata meets the sea. It forms the widest river in the world at this location. It was a beautiful drive and the land was so pretty. It was very peaceful and relaxing. It was also rainy that day, which could have been a downside for some people, but I really enjoyed it.

We are now back in Buenos Aires, and the Patagonia group gets back tomorrow. We have four more days with our families before we head north for the traveling phase of the trip. I cant believe the first month is almost over and that I am getting ready to leave my host family. THe have been wonderful and I am going to miss them. Ive appreciated all theyve taught me, not only in regards to speaking better Spanish, but also about life in Buenos Aires and the way we should be engaging and acting to help the poor and needy around us.

Another randome fact- At the toll booths, if the cars wait more than a minute or so to pass through they begin to honk continually in hopes of getting through without paying. If they wait more than three minutets all the cars get through for free becasue there should not be any stops or delays on the highway.

Take care. I love and miss you.