algun dia...

Well good friends...
It has been about 5 weeks since we got back from the good ol America del Sur. All week I have been thinking about Uruguay like crazy. I mean the whole time since I've been home, not a day has gone by without something of the last semester popping into my mind. But this week...it's been like that TIMES A MILLION!

I have started to blog several times since I have been home, but I haven't been able to get very far. I am always thinking about things I want to say on here and thoughts to share, but there are too many so I always feel overwhelmed. I have put this off so that I can sit down and collect all my thoughts and write one really long post. Well, this is me throwing that idea out the window. There will never be a time when I can just think about everything I've learned from being there because I continue to learn from being back. Last semester will continue to teach me for the rest of my life-just like my semester in Oxford. There are constantly things I think about from that trip as well. So this Sunday afternoon, I decided to light some candles, listen to "Jesse y Joy" for a little Latino inspiration, and camp out on the floor of my bedroom to collect just a few of the thoughts that have been racing through my head.

My goal for today's post: To compare my feelings from leaving Oxford to leaving Montevideo.
There we go- that last sentence was mainly for me. I tend to go on tangents so if I can clearly see my goal then maybe, just maybe I can stay close to that topic. I'll let you be the judge.

People ask me all the time, "So which did you like better? Oxford? or Uruguay?" I thought by the end of the semester I would be able to give an answer. But the truth is, the experiences were both literally and figuratively worlds apart. When someone asks me that question they might as well ask me which I like better, chocolate or cheese. Impossible. I like them both for different reasons and I eat them at different times. I would never fill a plate with chocolate and cheese and enjoy them at the same time. Yet separately, I can thoroughly enjoy them and I can certainly compare them, but I couldn't tell you that one is better than the other because they are two completely different types of food. They accomplish different purposes, so to speak. Wow- I kind of can't believe I'm using this as my metaphor. Hopefully you can sort of see the point I am trying to make. God used both Oxford and Uruguay at different times in my life to accomplish different purposes.

The experience I had in Oxford was fabulous. It was an enchanting place to live, almost mystical. The group of students I went with became family to me and to this day many remain my closest friends. I traveled to eleven different countries and experienced cultures from Morocco, Africa to Greece, Portugal to Sweden, and many places in between. I traveled almost every weekend and bonded so closely with the other ACU students. We saw the world together, or so it felt. Those people will never be forgotten, and the places are moving pictures in mind. I saw the beauty of Almighty God all around me. As the semester came to a close, I was sad to know that these deep friendships and connections were forced to part, at least a little. There was no denying that those dynamics would never be the same again. It was the sad but true reality. I knew we would all still love each other so much, but we wouldn't be living life together. I could no longer run over to House 9 to the "GSP room" and Jam to music with Ben Rogers and Jason Toy. I couldn't sit with KrisAnn Christian in the empty room of House 10 and sing and play guitar. I couldn't make breakfast, lunch, and dinner with my precious roomy Daley Niederhofer. I coundn't sit in the stairwell until the wee hours of the morning just waiting for passer-byers to snag and chat with until they were sick of talking. I would no longer have two houses full of students to complain with about the papers we had to write because we had just spent the entire weekend in another country. I could no longer make midnight runs to Ali's for burgers 'n chips with Grant Vickery. I would no longer have Zach Smith to make sure I made all my buses and flights and had all my confirmation numbers and important documents. Little did I know, however, that I would STILL have my precious little Jessalyn with me...I miss you already mi compañera de cuarto. (I have only seen her twice since we've been back. It's rough.)

I could go on forever about the things I continue to miss from that semester in Spring 2008. I loved every moment of it. I didn't even want to leave. I felt like I could come back to the States, spend some time with the fam, and head back to Oxford and keep living with the same people, in the same house forever. It was truely an incredible experience and I learned so much about myself, my strengths, my weaknesses. I learned about art and architecture, government, war, and the common threads that tie history together. I saw God in some of the most beautiful places my eyes have ever seen. It truely was altogether beautiful.

When I first sit down to think about the two experiences, I realize it was harder to leave Uruguay than it was to leave England. En serio, I realized that the last few weeks we were there. I wondered why I so badly wanted to stay and I realized what set this semester in Montevideo apart from the semester in Oxford was the relationships with the Uruguayan people. I had incredible relationships with the people on my trip to Oxford, but those people were coming back home with me. True, I didn't want to leave that wonderland with those people, but I knew I would see them again. This time, there was no guarantee to see my precious friends again. Not only was I leaving place and experience, I was leaving relationships. Strong, tuggin'-on-your-heart-strings relationships. When that reality began to set in the last few weeks, it made me want to stay there even longer. It made my heart even heavier to spend time with them. I didn't want to leave. I don't know when Jess and I will get to take Mikaela to a Spanish movie. When will I play volleyball with Mathias in the courtyard again? When will Andrea, Martin, and I sit and laugh in our room impersonating the "gangstas" of Montevideo? When would Morgan, Lawson, Stefanie, Ema, Grady, Diego, Jessalyn, Rachel, Andrea, Martin, and I go back to the steps of the banco to take mate and watch Diego dance? When will we get to go spend the night at Andrea's house? When will I ever go back to the Vino Nuevo Church and sing songs and play guitar with Pablo and Andree? Every day I think about one or more of those times. A few nights ago I stayed up until 2 a.m. just watching video from the semester. Why would I do that to myself??? SHEESH! And no, I did not tear up...

The pretty places I visited all across Europe and into Africa were incredible. The moments I shared with those people from ACU, I would not trade for the world. The things I learned about the world outside the United States and the sheer knowledge I attained while abroad in England are invaluable. It still makes me sad to think about times I shared with people there that, even though we still go to ACU together, life and circumstances don't allow the same types of bonds and memories to be created. (I realize that last sentence is poorly structured, but I don't feel like thinking about how to rearrange it- thanks for your understanding).

The relationships with the Rodriguez family, Andrea, Emanual, and the people at Vino Nuevo are eternal friendships. I am confident in that. We will remain friends and will think upon each other forever. Sure I still talk to them via email and facebook, but it's hard because you can only go so deep with a computer screen. There was just a peace about when we were all together that just fit. It just made sense that we would be close. And those of you who followed us all semester know so many of the things these people taught us that are things I never would have learned had I not "done life" among them. I am eternally grateful to my Uruguayan friends.

It's funny because when I got home from Uruguay I spent the first few days in Abilene. Guess who the people were that I first went and visited after family time...my fellow Oxfordians. The people I went to Oxford with are the ones who I've talked to most this summer. I have found they are the most interested in my excursions to Suramerica. They ask questions about what it was like in comparison to our semester together in Oxford. Then we laugh and tell stories of OUR excursions abroad and make fun of each other for all the embarassing character quirks we uncovered about one another- all in good fun of course. And there is a depth with those friends that I don't have with others.

SO...I did a pretty terrible job at telling which was "better." The truth is, I was swept off my feet by both experiences. I have grown tremendously and a lot of that growth is simply realizing how much more growth I have to go! Isn't that exciting? I'm halfway facetious, halfway genuine.

Throughout the summer, as Jess and I go through more pics and video we will be posting more goodies for you faithful followers. Actually, I have one video already in the making and I plan to work on a lot more stuff on the 20th during our drive to Port Aransas, TX for a little family vacation. I mean, IF I'm not thoroughly enjoying the 7 hours of all 7 us sitting on top of each other in my momma's Suburban. So keep checkin back for more fun Uruguayan LOCOS!