15 years ago
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Dancin in the Rain
Asado from Kara DuBose on Vimeo.
So guys, I've missed you. I'm sure you're ready to hear from me. It's ok- I won't tell Jess.
I have to let you in on my life in the last ten minutes. Jessalyn got my radio thing working again (thanks to some batteries donated by THE Wimon Walker) and so she started jammin some sweetly soft music and we just went into the courtyard and had a ballet slash interpretive dancing fest. Jealous? Don't be. You just go ahead and drag yourself from reading this oh-so-hard-to-want-to-ever-read-anything-else-ever blog and take an interpretive dancing break. There's no judgement here.
As I type, we are having a girl party in my room. Sarah is painting her nails orange and Jessalyn is painting a henna tattoo on Carolyn's cute little foot. We are just chillin' in the cuarto until our amigos finishing cooking the our dinner comida. A bunch of us are pitching in and some of the Profs and other students are cooking us some Mexican Pile-up. Mmmmm. Can't wait!
Some highlights from this past semana:
1) The Asado, of course. Please see above video. Oh- but there is one part I didn't get to put on the video because it was too dark. The devotional. It really was so sweet. We all sat in a big circle sang songs for a while. First the people from the Iglesia de Cristo would sing a song and then our group would sing. Many times, we sang the same song two times in a row- first in Spanish, and then in English. It's such a humbling experience to realize how BIG God is! That night was just a small illustration of how personal God is to people all around the world.
2) Class on Monday- we learned about the Candombe music (from an African sub-culture here). The Walkers got Charo Delgado, a reknown Candombe teacher, to come teach us the backgound of the Candombe people, parade, drum beats, and dancing. You all can look forward to some video clips of us trying to dance. It's rather comical really. It was tons of fun and Charo Delgado was HILLARIOUS! The first thing she said when she came in was "You all have heard of me, right? No? I'm surprised" HAHA! We got a kick outa her.
3) The YMCA Tuesday night. We discovered a rock-climbing class! We just happened to go at just the right time. They were finishing the kid's class so we got to (try to) talk to them a little bit. Shelly and Nathan Sanders were with us and they were QUITE the hit among the youngsters. Nathan is really good at Spanish. Plus, he's funny- so that helps. Anyway, turns out that Pablo runs the rock climbing room and he speaks English. He was so warm and welcoming and taught us everything we needed to know about climbing and belaying other climbers. Now that I think about it, had he not spoken English, that night had the potential to be pretty brutal. Pablo let us climb and taught us a little bit about form and encouraged us to go introduce ourselves to the other climbers so that we could practice our Spanish with them and they could practice their English with us. Everyone was so friendly and helpful! It was so much fun! Afterward we did an abdominal workout with them and they seemed a tid bit exasperated with us because Pablo would say what do to in Spanish and then would stop them so he could tell us in English. He laughed and said "Sorry- they're new." He said soon he'll only speak to us in Spanish and only if we NEED him to say something in English he will. It's so awesome though because he's genuinely interested in us learning Spanish while we are here. Also he gave our whole class the "we're a team" speech. Now, every time we walk into the YMCA, the people know our faces and we all greet each other with a kiss (cheek to cheek, don't worry- plus it's Biblical "greet one another with a holy kiss"-Rom 16:16, 1Cr 16:20 to name a few). Ok...enough with the Y. Follow-up stories available upon viewer request.
I'm gonna be honest with you...when I said earlier "SOME highlights..." I was far from telling a lie. We had so many fun times this week; it would be a daunting task to note them all. We hung out with the church kids Wednesday night, some of us went out to dinner with the Profs Thursday night for a Uruguayan specialty meal "Gnochi." This weekend it has actually been rainy, so we've all spent a lot of time with each other as a house just playing guitar, drinking coffee, and listening to the rain in our courtyard.
People have asked me a lot lately which I like better: Oxford or Montevideo. I honestly can't give an answer. Both of these experiences have been so very different. One thing I've loved about being here is the contact with the local people. I always thought people were plenty friendly in England, and they are. But I was telling people here this week, the people here have redefined my expectations of friendliness. The people in England pretty much kept to themselves. People in the States people are looking out for number one (the exception being the small towns of Texas: ABILENE- wut wut!). Everyone has an agenda and "if you were not originally a part of my planned day, then move out of my way so I can get on with the things I need to get done." But here- I have not felt that once. People aren't in a hurry. Sometimes they're in the opposite, in fact. I don't really know what that means. But you get the point.
Ok. Time to chao. It's been real. Watch the video or Jessalyn will poke you in the eye with the llama she just bought.
Hi mom and dad,
~Kara Dawn
Thursday, January 29, 2009
More Asado photos
here's just a few more photos from the asado that wouldn't upload last night.
Kara thought it would be fun to get her guitar out and play on the roof but she made Lawson start it off he took the attention like a champ... or perhaps more like a rock star. Well, acoustic pop star really.
Sara and Ben were playing slaps. Why did Ben stand on the pointed thing? One could never know.
Kara put her Guns N' Roses shirt on cause SHE'S A FOLLOWER! whoo!
Just kidding she put it on cause she was rockin it hard with our new friends. She said yea, I have really bright salmon nail polish on but I also like to rock.
Mathias the suck up. :)
How cute is this. Really it makes me want to roller-skate with disco lights and Sister Sledge.
We ARE a family.
Morgan, Lawson, Sara, Ben, Stefanie, Zanessa and Mikaela
P.S. a correction from the last post Natalia is related to Martin and Diego. Emmanuel is not.
Kara thought it would be fun to get her guitar out and play on the roof but she made Lawson start it off he took the attention like a champ... or perhaps more like a rock star. Well, acoustic pop star really.
Sara and Ben were playing slaps. Why did Ben stand on the pointed thing? One could never know.
Kara put her Guns N' Roses shirt on cause SHE'S A FOLLOWER! whoo!
Just kidding she put it on cause she was rockin it hard with our new friends. She said yea, I have really bright salmon nail polish on but I also like to rock.
Mathias the suck up. :)
How cute is this. Really it makes me want to roller-skate with disco lights and Sister Sledge.
We ARE a family.
Morgan, Lawson, Sara, Ben, Stefanie, Zanessa and Mikaela
P.S. a correction from the last post Natalia is related to Martin and Diego. Emmanuel is not.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
chickaroca is NOT a word.
Sometimes I feel like I'm trying to blog from a third world country (global south to be politically correct) with the problems I've been having trying to update this post. Its possible that my lack of time and my 4 hour breaks between attempts might have something to do with it but the fact of the matter is that I just realized my shoulder is peeling. I haven't been to the beach in a week... mas o menos. What's up with that?
Really though, I have been working on this blog since this morning. It's mostly the uploading pictures and the fact that I don't have huge chunks of time to dedicate to blogging. In fact I don't even have time to dedicate to sleeping, which in my book could lead to serious problems. Pero, maybe it's OK that we haven't written in a while because if Kara and I posted everyday you might get behind on your reading and then you try to catch up and miss something new and then get overwhelmed and maybe crying happens... that would be a travesty. SO, Menos mal la conexción del red es muy terrible! Thank you internet for being so, so very dumb so that all the readers (I just know that there's innumerable passionate, dedicated followers of Lista Para Asombrar) can fear not.
Today specifically, I had an hour Spanish lab until fui español para 3 horas immediately followed by lunch... the fun doesn't stop there though because not long after we took our 25 minute hike to the required Gaucho Museum and returned two hours later... I had just enough time to set some pictures to loading before Andrea (not pictured yet) showed up and Martin, Diego, Mathias, Emmanuel y Natalia were not far behind. Martin, Diego and Mathias are brothers and the chicita wearing red in the photos below,Mikaela, is their hermanita (little sister.) Andrea is Martins novia (girlfriend) and Emmanuel and Natalia are not related to anyone, but no less important. They all go to the Iglesia de Cristo attached to the house that we now attend and we are pretty much in love with them. A no brainer right? Its pretty simple really. That is basically the group that took us to the futbol game last week (which I never put pictures from. whooops. I still can, feedback is welcome) and the group that was at the asado (barbeque) we had Sunday night. We are pretty much in love with them. Did I already say that? For the asado we climbed to the third floor courtyard of our house/church (where we are in the photos) and hung out until it was time to eat. After we ate we took the elevator to the roof of the building and had a devotional in the dark with a view of the lights Montevideo. Top that.
You can't so don't try. If you must try, go ahead but I will just come back with something even better that we have done in the past week and then poke you in the eye for trying when I told you not to. Its lose-lose for you. There are so many things that I could ramble on about like the AMAZING time a group of us have been having with our new friends at the rock climbing room at the gimnasio, or Candombe lessons we took while you were trying to scrape the ice off of your car's window, or the parade to celebrate the beginning of Carneval tomorrow night, but you remember when I said I didn't have a lot of spare time to spend blogging because I'm too busy even to sleep? Well I'm about to make time. Dormiré.
abrazos y CHAO.
jess
Check out those manly men and their big knife thing. Here we have Nathan Sanders, Wimon Walker and two of our three hermanos (from left) Martin y Mathias.
Mathias is the sweetest 15 year old I've ever met. Besides helping cook and prepare the meal, he pulls out the chair that he picked for you, refuses to let you serve yourself or sweep after dinner, he follows you around incessantly speaking Spanish at an ungodly speed, and he always lets you win at thumb wars (...unless he really loses. CAUSE I'M SUCH A BEAST.)
Mathias is also the biggest suck up of all time. I personally am flattered, but 5 years his senior. I would however recommend him to a sweet girl who hopes to study abroad in the future. He can also dance to out-dated 80's techno.
Look at this. Are they cute or ARE THEY CUTE. I mean JUST COOMEE ONN. OH, oh my, oh. goodness. Wimon is wearing a "World's Greatest Dad" tee. I had a world's greatest dad shirt once... until my dad took it back. RUDE.
How beautiful did Stephanie look? eStephani, the presence of carne makes you glooow. and el viento en tu pelo es muy bonita.
like when you're rocking the patio...
This is Kara. You may know her cause she's the other girl on the blog. You may not have recognized her though, because that scary looking thing in the purple is her.
Stephanie is not a local. She came with us to Uruguay. Needless to say, sometimes if we're in a big group we make her stand at the bus stop while we hide behind the sign so that the bus driver will stop for us, and sometimes people try to speak Portuguese to her. Stephanie doesn't speak Portuguese.
Mikaela (the little sister) loves Zanessa. Prec.
Sarah has a way of passing on a smile. Her laugh is pretty contagious... keep on smiling Sarah, you just keep right on.
more pictures later... if I don't feed my computer to a llama. Good thing I don't have a llama.
Really though, I have been working on this blog since this morning. It's mostly the uploading pictures and the fact that I don't have huge chunks of time to dedicate to blogging. In fact I don't even have time to dedicate to sleeping, which in my book could lead to serious problems. Pero, maybe it's OK that we haven't written in a while because if Kara and I posted everyday you might get behind on your reading and then you try to catch up and miss something new and then get overwhelmed and maybe crying happens... that would be a travesty. SO, Menos mal la conexción del red es muy terrible! Thank you internet for being so, so very dumb so that all the readers (I just know that there's innumerable passionate, dedicated followers of Lista Para Asombrar) can fear not.
Today specifically, I had an hour Spanish lab until fui español para 3 horas immediately followed by lunch... the fun doesn't stop there though because not long after we took our 25 minute hike to the required Gaucho Museum and returned two hours later... I had just enough time to set some pictures to loading before Andrea (not pictured yet) showed up and Martin, Diego, Mathias, Emmanuel y Natalia were not far behind. Martin, Diego and Mathias are brothers and the chicita wearing red in the photos below,Mikaela, is their hermanita (little sister.) Andrea is Martins novia (girlfriend) and Emmanuel and Natalia are not related to anyone, but no less important. They all go to the Iglesia de Cristo attached to the house that we now attend and we are pretty much in love with them. A no brainer right? Its pretty simple really. That is basically the group that took us to the futbol game last week (which I never put pictures from. whooops. I still can, feedback is welcome) and the group that was at the asado (barbeque) we had Sunday night. We are pretty much in love with them. Did I already say that? For the asado we climbed to the third floor courtyard of our house/church (where we are in the photos) and hung out until it was time to eat. After we ate we took the elevator to the roof of the building and had a devotional in the dark with a view of the lights Montevideo. Top that.
You can't so don't try. If you must try, go ahead but I will just come back with something even better that we have done in the past week and then poke you in the eye for trying when I told you not to. Its lose-lose for you. There are so many things that I could ramble on about like the AMAZING time a group of us have been having with our new friends at the rock climbing room at the gimnasio, or Candombe lessons we took while you were trying to scrape the ice off of your car's window, or the parade to celebrate the beginning of Carneval tomorrow night, but you remember when I said I didn't have a lot of spare time to spend blogging because I'm too busy even to sleep? Well I'm about to make time. Dormiré.
abrazos y CHAO.
jess
Check out those manly men and their big knife thing. Here we have Nathan Sanders, Wimon Walker and two of our three hermanos (from left) Martin y Mathias.
Mathias is the sweetest 15 year old I've ever met. Besides helping cook and prepare the meal, he pulls out the chair that he picked for you, refuses to let you serve yourself or sweep after dinner, he follows you around incessantly speaking Spanish at an ungodly speed, and he always lets you win at thumb wars (...unless he really loses. CAUSE I'M SUCH A BEAST.)
Mathias is also the biggest suck up of all time. I personally am flattered, but 5 years his senior. I would however recommend him to a sweet girl who hopes to study abroad in the future. He can also dance to out-dated 80's techno.
Look at this. Are they cute or ARE THEY CUTE. I mean JUST COOMEE ONN. OH, oh my, oh. goodness. Wimon is wearing a "World's Greatest Dad" tee. I had a world's greatest dad shirt once... until my dad took it back. RUDE.
How beautiful did Stephanie look? eStephani, the presence of carne makes you glooow. and el viento en tu pelo es muy bonita.
like when you're rocking the patio...
This is Kara. You may know her cause she's the other girl on the blog. You may not have recognized her though, because that scary looking thing in the purple is her.
Stephanie is not a local. She came with us to Uruguay. Needless to say, sometimes if we're in a big group we make her stand at the bus stop while we hide behind the sign so that the bus driver will stop for us, and sometimes people try to speak Portuguese to her. Stephanie doesn't speak Portuguese.
Mikaela (the little sister) loves Zanessa. Prec.
Sarah has a way of passing on a smile. Her laugh is pretty contagious... keep on smiling Sarah, you just keep right on.
more pictures later... if I don't feed my computer to a llama. Good thing I don't have a llama.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
La Semana Pasada
Are you REALLY ready to be amazed? This 2 minute video shows you just a handful of good times from our first week here! Enjoy! Cuz we’re lovin it!
Untitled from jessalyn massingill on Vimeo
One week has passed since we left the good ol’ U.S. of A. and here I sit on a little twin bed with THE Jessalyn Massingill. We just came back into our room from our SWEET courtyard where we sat in our hippie circle singin’ and playin’ some gee-tar!
Ah! Speaking of singing, I’m sure many of you readers out there have heard of a little ACU shin-dig we like to call Sing Song. Well I would like to have you know that this year will be the first (hopefully annual) Sing Song Montevideo! We have been writing the act this week and in all of about two days we are ready to send the lyrics to the Sing Song co-chairs in Abilene. Another fun fact- last Spring Jessalyn and I were able to be part of the first Oxford Sing Song act under the direction of junior theatre major Jeremy Varner folks! I just had to take that opportunity to give a shout to mi amigo!
Let me take you back a few days to this past Wednesday night. We all decided we wanted to go to the fútbol (soccer) game together so Nathan Sanders (Professor Sander’s hubby) made the arrangements for us all to go to the Nacionál vs. (insert name of Brazilian team here) game. The game started at 10:45 p.m.—how about that late night culture! You saw some of the Nacionál Fans on the video. You saw our new friends! Some of the youth group from the Iglesia de Cristo accompanied us to the game. It was amazing! We practiced our Spanish with them and one guy, Martin, practiced his English with us. We all enjoyed them so much! I’m excited about seeing them at church again tomorrow. Interesting how we can form relationships in one night that surpass the barriers of language and culture.
Today I was reading for my “Travel as a Narrative” class and I read excerpts from The Greatest American Travel Writers. As I read some of the narratives I couldn’t help but get giddy because I actually knew feelings welling up inside of them. Travel isn’t about standing at a distance and observing from inside a tour bus or a 5 star hotel window. Don’t get me wrong- there are times for those as well. But the times when my heart races are the times I can share moments with people who live in a counter-cultural world; when I go into a church and sit with alongside people who praise the same God as me, when I sit in a café and giggle after I try to order and with a smile the waiter says “hablas espanol?” when I just proved to the entire café that I most certainly do not. I walk down the streets and lay at the beach just in awe of the beauty surrounding me, wondering when I will cease to be amazed at such unique creation.
Full from some delectable homemade curry,
Kara Dawn
Untitled from jessalyn massingill on Vimeo
One week has passed since we left the good ol’ U.S. of A. and here I sit on a little twin bed with THE Jessalyn Massingill. We just came back into our room from our SWEET courtyard where we sat in our hippie circle singin’ and playin’ some gee-tar!
Ah! Speaking of singing, I’m sure many of you readers out there have heard of a little ACU shin-dig we like to call Sing Song. Well I would like to have you know that this year will be the first (hopefully annual) Sing Song Montevideo! We have been writing the act this week and in all of about two days we are ready to send the lyrics to the Sing Song co-chairs in Abilene. Another fun fact- last Spring Jessalyn and I were able to be part of the first Oxford Sing Song act under the direction of junior theatre major Jeremy Varner folks! I just had to take that opportunity to give a shout to mi amigo!
Let me take you back a few days to this past Wednesday night. We all decided we wanted to go to the fútbol (soccer) game together so Nathan Sanders (Professor Sander’s hubby) made the arrangements for us all to go to the Nacionál vs. (insert name of Brazilian team here) game. The game started at 10:45 p.m.—how about that late night culture! You saw some of the Nacionál Fans on the video. You saw our new friends! Some of the youth group from the Iglesia de Cristo accompanied us to the game. It was amazing! We practiced our Spanish with them and one guy, Martin, practiced his English with us. We all enjoyed them so much! I’m excited about seeing them at church again tomorrow. Interesting how we can form relationships in one night that surpass the barriers of language and culture.
Today I was reading for my “Travel as a Narrative” class and I read excerpts from The Greatest American Travel Writers. As I read some of the narratives I couldn’t help but get giddy because I actually knew feelings welling up inside of them. Travel isn’t about standing at a distance and observing from inside a tour bus or a 5 star hotel window. Don’t get me wrong- there are times for those as well. But the times when my heart races are the times I can share moments with people who live in a counter-cultural world; when I go into a church and sit with alongside people who praise the same God as me, when I sit in a café and giggle after I try to order and with a smile the waiter says “hablas espanol?” when I just proved to the entire café that I most certainly do not. I walk down the streets and lay at the beach just in awe of the beauty surrounding me, wondering when I will cease to be amazed at such unique creation.
Full from some delectable homemade curry,
Kara Dawn
Thursday, January 22, 2009
umm... where are you?
If you are trying to decide whether you want to go on a study abroad trip or if you're having trouble deciding which study abroad trip you want to go on, the question I have for you to guide you to your decision is- Where are you?
Take a step back and survey your life. (thats when you're supposed to say to yourself... hmm... where am I?) I say this because as over and over and over I keep coming across things on this trip that make me say to myself or the person next to me (who probably doesn't care) "if Oxford had this _____, (fill in the blank) I don't think I would have been OK with it, or I'm glad that we _____ here but I don't know if I would have enjoyed this in Oxford"... same story every time. I even remember thinking while I was in Oxford about the ways of life in Montevideo and breathed a sigh of relief that it was different for us.
My sincere joy in Montevideo this week makes me question 1. my state of mental maturity before last January & 2. where I was/am in life that suddenly makes Montevideo so perfect.
My point is that there isn't a single thing I would change about my semester in Oxford, (take note of that.) If ever I start in with any regret about Oxford, like wishing that I spent more time with everyone in the group instead all my time with a small group or wishing that I took more pictures here, or spent more time there, I like to drop a book on my toe or inflict some serious injury on myself (this is not true) to remind myself that I think people who look back on the past with any regret are, in essence, wasting time. Wishing for some miraculous second chance to make faulty things perfect generally causes you fail to see that today IS yesterday's second chance, but also because I was not at the same place in life that I am today... and everything has it's place.
(please don't waste your time obviousness of the statement that one cannot be the same place today as yesterday. try to see the point I'm making.)
I just got out of the most majestic hour in Spanish Lab and I can't help but laugh at myself because I remember this time a year ago I was wiping my brow because they speak English in England and I was thinking about how I dodged that bullet. I've adored French since childhood and never had any interest in trying to speak Spanish, at least not till I was fluent enough in French but in the week that I have been here I have doubled and tripled the small amount that I learned in the two months after I found out I was going to have to speak Spanish to survive... and I just spent an hour in a lab where there was no English... and I understood... 95% of what was said... and get this.. (oh this makes me giddy) I had no trouble responding.
Spanish lab was wonderful but thats not why I'm learning, so I can sit in a hot room and fry my brain from thinking too hard while my skirt keep sticking to my legs. I'm learning for nights like last night when the kids from the church came and hung out in the courtyard. And I am learning so that when we're trying to talk to them on our way to the futbol game I don't have to inject "como se dice?" every thirty seconds.
So that when Oscar makes jokes about Kara's name (cara means expensive... when kara introduces herself she says "yo soy kara"... Oscar says it makes it hard for her to get a boyfriend just by saying her name... you can do the math) we can laugh because it's funny instead of because we're clueless.
In summary, I would say that most everyone here (to my knowledge) is having the time of their life... and that includes us... and well... we already got to have the time of our lives once. But today, having already experienced the Oxford life with an amazing group I can see how everything has fit so perfectly into place. So Oxford would not be what I need now and I doubt I could have enjoyed Montevideo then as much as I am now.
Let me just say I just shocked the FIRE out of my right hand trying to plug something in, and now my right limb feels like an arm shaped gelatinous blob.....but a blob with uber-sensative nerve endings since I still have the feeling of thousands of needles stabbing my jelly arm.
but I also just saw Nathan stump his toe... tehehe...
Rachel gives a shout out in the sand to all the Siggies around the world.
Rachel, Kara and Stephanie sit at a beachside restaurant cause it was hot and we were thirsty.
I think Caroline is watching the kitten stuck in the stained glass at the cemetery... and I think they got it out.
Our first stop on the bus tour of Montevideo was a beautiful cemetery right next to the coast. We spent some time but it wasn't enough to do it justice.
One of about 600 photos I took at the cemetery. trying to get everything in 20 minutes was like not making a priority list before you get to Wal-mart on black friday.
Wimon guides us back onto the bus for the bus tour
Our next stop is the Monte (Mountain) of Montevideo (its a hill) that overlooks the city.
This is our super cutie prof Shelly and hubbie Nathan.
Stefanie likes to lounge around in cemeteries...
Stephanie, Caroline, and Morgan suck up to ACU admin... just kidding. I think its awesome. Photo by Lawson Soward
These kids were cute, even if they probably did want to break the cameras we were sticking in their face. They're pretty much Zanessa's best friends. ha
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Where to Begin?
The last week of my life has been a whirlwind. It’s hard to believe that only a week ago I was in America living my normal every-day life, comfortable with my phone, car, friends, family, and all of my completely unnecessary commodities. And now only a few days later, here I sit in the courtyard of “Casa ACU” on the Uruguayan coast of South America. I still almost feel like I’m just on vacation. This very moment I can hardly move for fear that the smallest shift will irritate my sunburn. Okay, so it’s not that bad. But yep, it’s summer here! And for some reason my brain told me it would be okay to go to the beach for a few hours with minimal sunscreen. And Jessalyn let me! Unbelievable.
The first few days here everyone was a little tired, but that did not hold near enough weight over our insatiable desire to explore. Everyone was eager to get to know this place we would now call “home,” at least for the next 4 months. We’ve ridden buses and taxis, gone to restaurants, cafés, and bakeries, and walked through several different ferrias (open-air markets). My favorite place thus far has been the Ciudad Vieja (Old City). It is so rich with the Latin American culture. There’s a beautiful park there where people and families go to relax together and drink matte- a hot tea-like beverage that everyone drinks here. We’ve all tried it all want to like it, but I think thus far, Zanessa is the only girl in our group who actually drinks the stuff. On second thought, if I dumped a good bit of sugar in it, I could probably suck it down like liquid candy. Maybe I’ll try that tomorrow. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Classes commenced monday morning. Would it make me a nerd if I said I was super excited to start classes? Because I was pumped! These past two days my brain has been eating its share of the educational buffet. And there I go with the nerdy comments again. It’s going to happen a lot this semester- it’s just a part of who I am. Anyway, really since the day we arrived I’ve been trying to utilize every opportunity I possibly can to learn Spanish. I’ve always been timid when trying to speak Spanish and I think that’s natural, but we all know that the only way we will learn is by abandoning our pride and giving it a whirl. I’ve been praying a lot for boldness and God really has given it to me. I’m sure not going to quit asking now! The people here are so incredibly helpful and gracious. All we have to say is that we are learning Spanish and they really do try to help. I’ve ridden in the front of about 4 taxi’s by now and I’ve carried on conversations with all of the cab drivers. They love that we want to learn and get better, so they help us. I’m not going to lie, there are many times when they get carried away and start speaking what seems to be faster than an auctioneer and I just say “ohhh si,” but really I haven’t the slightest clue what they were talking about. For the most part, though, I’ve been super impressed with the willingness of the people in our group to step out and learn, even if it means feeling a bit stupid at times.
That brings me to the last thing I will comment about for the evening- our ACU group. I’m getting to experience this culture with such a unique group of young adults. I certainly don’t know everyone well yet, but we are on our way! The past few days eating meals together, playing games together, singing and playing guitar together, and having devotionals together have made me so excited to see what God has in store for this amazing group of young people. I know I have so much to learn from them and I can’t wait to be shaped over these next 4 months by the way they challenge and encourage me.
I could go on forever, but alas! My bed is calling my name! Eight o’clock is going to come soon, and very soon.
Buenos Noches,
Kara
The first few days here everyone was a little tired, but that did not hold near enough weight over our insatiable desire to explore. Everyone was eager to get to know this place we would now call “home,” at least for the next 4 months. We’ve ridden buses and taxis, gone to restaurants, cafés, and bakeries, and walked through several different ferrias (open-air markets). My favorite place thus far has been the Ciudad Vieja (Old City). It is so rich with the Latin American culture. There’s a beautiful park there where people and families go to relax together and drink matte- a hot tea-like beverage that everyone drinks here. We’ve all tried it all want to like it, but I think thus far, Zanessa is the only girl in our group who actually drinks the stuff. On second thought, if I dumped a good bit of sugar in it, I could probably suck it down like liquid candy. Maybe I’ll try that tomorrow. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Classes commenced monday morning. Would it make me a nerd if I said I was super excited to start classes? Because I was pumped! These past two days my brain has been eating its share of the educational buffet. And there I go with the nerdy comments again. It’s going to happen a lot this semester- it’s just a part of who I am. Anyway, really since the day we arrived I’ve been trying to utilize every opportunity I possibly can to learn Spanish. I’ve always been timid when trying to speak Spanish and I think that’s natural, but we all know that the only way we will learn is by abandoning our pride and giving it a whirl. I’ve been praying a lot for boldness and God really has given it to me. I’m sure not going to quit asking now! The people here are so incredibly helpful and gracious. All we have to say is that we are learning Spanish and they really do try to help. I’ve ridden in the front of about 4 taxi’s by now and I’ve carried on conversations with all of the cab drivers. They love that we want to learn and get better, so they help us. I’m not going to lie, there are many times when they get carried away and start speaking what seems to be faster than an auctioneer and I just say “ohhh si,” but really I haven’t the slightest clue what they were talking about. For the most part, though, I’ve been super impressed with the willingness of the people in our group to step out and learn, even if it means feeling a bit stupid at times.
That brings me to the last thing I will comment about for the evening- our ACU group. I’m getting to experience this culture with such a unique group of young adults. I certainly don’t know everyone well yet, but we are on our way! The past few days eating meals together, playing games together, singing and playing guitar together, and having devotionals together have made me so excited to see what God has in store for this amazing group of young people. I know I have so much to learn from them and I can’t wait to be shaped over these next 4 months by the way they challenge and encourage me.
I could go on forever, but alas! My bed is calling my name! Eight o’clock is going to come soon, and very soon.
Buenos Noches,
Kara
Monday, January 19, 2009
A Face With a Name.
(in the backyard of House 9 in Oxford)
Bienvenidos a Lista para Asombrar! Welcome to our blog where we (Kara and Jessalyn) will be keeping you updated about what is happening here in the lovely Montevideo, Uruguay...our new home for the next four months.
We know that you're not as interested in us as you are in finding out what its like to live in Uruguay at Casa ACU, but just to start we want to try to put a face with a name and let you know a little bit more about who will be showing you around this town as you read about ACU in Latin America. Once you get to know us we can start showing you around the warm, sunny and lovely Montevideo.
Last January we packed up and headed across the big blue pond to spend a semester with Study Abroad in Oxford, England. We're doing it again this year but this time we're going south and we're determined to get a tan and drink some Matte on the beach. Part of our plan for this blog is to compare and contrast (as much as possible) the two programs. So far they're a world apart and we don't just mean that literally. We at least want to juxtapose our experiences so you can share in our memories and hopefully you'll fall in love with Oxford or Montevideo or BOTH, like we already have.
We hope you enjoy hearing about what's happening here now and we hope that you enjoy reminiscing with us about where we were this time last year. We're definitely going to enjoy it!
get ready to be amazed~
(On top of St. Michael's tower in Oxford)
Chao for now,
-Jessalyn & Kara
(At the Louvre, Pictured: Daley Neiderhofer)
(On the coast at Dublin, Ireland
Pictured: Zach Smith, Daley Neiderhofer, Adrian Dennington )
(A snowy Day in Stockholm, Sweden
Pictured: Daley Neiderhofer, Jessica Rae Hopkins)
(waiting for the plane in Morocco
Pictured: Zach Smith, Abby Rix, Jeremy Varner)
Jessalyn
Jessalyn
It was hot in Montevideo as we got onto the bus that was going to take us to the Ciudad Vieja (The Old Town.) I found a seat on the back of the bus and sat under an open window. I've never been to South America before, I've only studied spanish for two months (mas o menos,) and it was only my second day in Uruguay and even if this place becomes home, it isn't yet. As I was sitting there enjoying the smells and sounds of the city and thinking about what I could say to sum up who I am in a blogger's paragraph, a warm breeze hit my face and I felt a wave of comfort run over me as I was reminded of what I assumed to be home. But what I realized was that I wasn't reminded of my home in Texas but of the hot summer month I lived in Italy this past summer. At first it struck me as strange that the thought of my brief time in Italy was what was aroused to comforted me in this new place, but it caused me to reflect a little on life... and so I'll share with YOU what I found out about ME.
In January I picked up my life and moved it half way across the world to Oxford where I stayed for 5 months and in my time there I found myself in France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Ireland, and Morocco and took a piece of each with me. Then I moved to Italy where I spent a month traveling and painting, and I met Tuscany through the smells of oil paint and the unexpected rain. I met my Dad in London on the last night of June and flew to Zambia to meet up with mom and bro to end what was the grandest of world tours... or so I thought. Even when I made it home in August I temporarily moved into an apartment attached onto my parents house had just enough time to get used to it before I made the decision to leave again.
The past year of my life I've been a wanderer, and in some ways displaced. On the bus I realized that I was no more or less at home at any of those places than I was here in Montevideo because even though I spent five months at some and only a month or a week at others, I made the choice in January last year to uproot myself and I haven't stopped moving since. How can I feel homesick when I keep my home with me? The people I have met and shared my experiences with, the people I love, and the people I should have loved better stay closer than a memory because when I walk into the courtyard at Casa ACU and the smell of open air reminds me the courtyard at a hostel in Morocco, the people I shared that sensory memory with aren't just a memory but they're here in smells, the sounds, and the sights of Uruguay.
If there is anything worth knowing about me that surely tells you something.
The wind blows where it wishes and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.
John 3:8
when I was little and people asked me what I wanted to be when I grow up I said "the wind."
I still say the wind.
Chao for now.
jessalyn
It was hot in Montevideo as we got onto the bus that was going to take us to the Ciudad Vieja (The Old Town.) I found a seat on the back of the bus and sat under an open window. I've never been to South America before, I've only studied spanish for two months (mas o menos,) and it was only my second day in Uruguay and even if this place becomes home, it isn't yet. As I was sitting there enjoying the smells and sounds of the city and thinking about what I could say to sum up who I am in a blogger's paragraph, a warm breeze hit my face and I felt a wave of comfort run over me as I was reminded of what I assumed to be home. But what I realized was that I wasn't reminded of my home in Texas but of the hot summer month I lived in Italy this past summer. At first it struck me as strange that the thought of my brief time in Italy was what was aroused to comforted me in this new place, but it caused me to reflect a little on life... and so I'll share with YOU what I found out about ME.
In January I picked up my life and moved it half way across the world to Oxford where I stayed for 5 months and in my time there I found myself in France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Ireland, and Morocco and took a piece of each with me. Then I moved to Italy where I spent a month traveling and painting, and I met Tuscany through the smells of oil paint and the unexpected rain. I met my Dad in London on the last night of June and flew to Zambia to meet up with mom and bro to end what was the grandest of world tours... or so I thought. Even when I made it home in August I temporarily moved into an apartment attached onto my parents house had just enough time to get used to it before I made the decision to leave again.
The past year of my life I've been a wanderer, and in some ways displaced. On the bus I realized that I was no more or less at home at any of those places than I was here in Montevideo because even though I spent five months at some and only a month or a week at others, I made the choice in January last year to uproot myself and I haven't stopped moving since. How can I feel homesick when I keep my home with me? The people I have met and shared my experiences with, the people I love, and the people I should have loved better stay closer than a memory because when I walk into the courtyard at Casa ACU and the smell of open air reminds me the courtyard at a hostel in Morocco, the people I shared that sensory memory with aren't just a memory but they're here in smells, the sounds, and the sights of Uruguay.
If there is anything worth knowing about me that surely tells you something.
The wind blows where it wishes and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.
John 3:8
when I was little and people asked me what I wanted to be when I grow up I said "the wind."
I still say the wind.
Chao for now.
jessalyn
Kara
Kara
Live Life to the Fullest! This is my motto. I seek abundant life and thus far, that is what I have found. I have had so many incredible opportunities, especially since I have been at ACU. I have been stretched, challenged, and I’ve grown in so many areas over the past two and a half years. I’ve been to several different countries in several different continents and have had experiences that I will reflect on, cherish, and learn from for the rest of my life. In each place, a small (or sometimes grande) piece of my heart has been left behind- left me longing to return to the people and the places whether physically or only in my memories. I’ve loved getting to build relationships with people in so many different places and I so look forward to building relationships with the people here in Latin America. Though the language barrier is intimidating, there are other ways to communicate and I’m determined to be bold in trying to speak.
You could probably tell by the profile picture that I love music. I have a passion for singing and playing guitar and I hope to write music here a lot more than I did in Oxford, though many places in Europe inspired my music. I plan to write some in Spanish and maybe even translate one of my already-written songs to Spanish. I will be sure to keep the blog up-to-date on any musical advancement!
It may very well be that I will be a nomad of sorts for the majority of my life. I was made for adventure and at this point, I feel that God is moving me toward a future requiring a bit of moving around. The times when I think I am right where I am supposed to be, God opens a door to something new. Being the stubborn human I am, I usually resist for a while but the times when I surrender I end up loving the next thing more than the previous. And then I don’t want to move on to the next thing. Such is the cycle of my life & I know that wherever the Lord leads me I can trust that he will give me the strength and courage to venture through life with boldness. “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of a sound mind.” -2 Timothy 1:7- Living life with this truth inside of me, gives me the faith to trade my normal life for the abundant life he offers.
-Kara
Live Life to the Fullest! This is my motto. I seek abundant life and thus far, that is what I have found. I have had so many incredible opportunities, especially since I have been at ACU. I have been stretched, challenged, and I’ve grown in so many areas over the past two and a half years. I’ve been to several different countries in several different continents and have had experiences that I will reflect on, cherish, and learn from for the rest of my life. In each place, a small (or sometimes grande) piece of my heart has been left behind- left me longing to return to the people and the places whether physically or only in my memories. I’ve loved getting to build relationships with people in so many different places and I so look forward to building relationships with the people here in Latin America. Though the language barrier is intimidating, there are other ways to communicate and I’m determined to be bold in trying to speak.
You could probably tell by the profile picture that I love music. I have a passion for singing and playing guitar and I hope to write music here a lot more than I did in Oxford, though many places in Europe inspired my music. I plan to write some in Spanish and maybe even translate one of my already-written songs to Spanish. I will be sure to keep the blog up-to-date on any musical advancement!
It may very well be that I will be a nomad of sorts for the majority of my life. I was made for adventure and at this point, I feel that God is moving me toward a future requiring a bit of moving around. The times when I think I am right where I am supposed to be, God opens a door to something new. Being the stubborn human I am, I usually resist for a while but the times when I surrender I end up loving the next thing more than the previous. And then I don’t want to move on to the next thing. Such is the cycle of my life & I know that wherever the Lord leads me I can trust that he will give me the strength and courage to venture through life with boldness. “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of a sound mind.” -2 Timothy 1:7- Living life with this truth inside of me, gives me the faith to trade my normal life for the abundant life he offers.
-Kara
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