Day 4-12: Getting Settled in and Adjusting to Life in a Foreign Country

After the trials and tribulations of our first 4 days, it was so wonderful to have a welcoming place to stay for a few days. The Campbell family, Aaron and Emily and their five children, have been living in Montevideo for the past 9 months. Aaron spent a couple of years in UY when he was younger and always wanted to return with his family. Andrew and I met them when we were visiting Uruguay in March, and we have kept in touch. Chris and Elli became email pen pals with their children, and when I was trying to figure out the best place to stay for the several days between the time we arrived and the time we could move into our rooms at the Spanish school, they very kindly offered to let us stay with them.

Uruguay has had very cold weather this winter. (Remember, the seasons are reversed in the southern hemisphere.) Fortunately, they got a warm spell when we arrived. So after we woke up Friday, we all went exploring and took in some of the sights and sounds of the city.




















































































About the photos: These are assorted photos of the local park and Rambla. The first photo is a typical neighborhood fruit stand, the next three are of the local park, and the rest are from the Rambla. The odd looking castle is sandwiched between two apartment building across from the Rambla.























First we went to a local park nearby (the city has lots of parks) and then we headed to the Rambla. Montevideo in located on the Rio de la Plata which is a huge river that separates Uruguay from Argentina. All along the edge of the city for many, many miles, there is "the Rambla," which is essentially a very long wide paved path where everyone in MVD loves to go. There are lovely white sand beaches, parks, museums, restaurants, etc. It is definitely unique to find something like this on the edge of a city of 2 million people. It sure felt great to finally get some exercise after days of being cooped up in planes and airports.

The next day, on Saturday morning while the children slept in, I went with Emily and Morielle to the local neighborhood feria (not sure on the spelling). These are held at various locations in the city through out the week and are a great place to shop for fresh fruits and vegetables. The feria we went to can best be described as a combination of a farmer's market, crafts fair, and an open air department store all rolled into one. It was huge. Just about any basic item you might need was there from yarn and clothes to pots and pans. Emily bought herself a nice pair of leather and wood clogs, and we found lots of great fresh produce at very reasonable prices. Emily is quite fluent, so initially I let her do all of the talking. Then when she wanted to sit down for a while (I suspect it might have been her attempt to force me into talking), I finished up the shopping I needed to do on my own. This was a tad intimidating as everyone speaks in rapid fire Spanish with an Uruguayo accent. For example, the word Uruguayo is actually pronounced "ooroogwayshow." In this part of South America, the "y" & "ll" are pronounced with a sh or jsh sound. For those of us accustomed to Mexican Spanish, this is a bit of an adjustment. One of the most confusing words for me is "ella," meaning female. Here it is pronounce like the word "Asia."

On Sunday afternoon we were able to move into La Herradura, the Spanish school we are studying at for a month. We piled ourselves and as much luggage as we could fit into two
taxis and headed the several miles to our new homeIt is in a large old house in a residential neighborhood called Parque Rodo. There is a large, beautiful park by that name close by as well. The house has seen better days, but is certainly adequate. We are using 3 of the 5 upstairs bedrooms, have use of the living room and kitchen, and only have to go downstairs to get to our classes. It is really very convenient. Since Chris and Elli are in classes for an hour less than the rest of us each day, they can just go upstairs to play. There is a patio out back with banana trees and several levels of usable roof space with a bench and table. Christopher, in particular, loves to hang out on the roof. At home he was always asking me to let him sit up there. Here, because the roof is flat, it is just part of the available outside space. It also has a great view.

All though the neighborhood is very quite in terms of traffic, you do have an interesting assortment of noises outside. For example, as I type this I can hear the clip-clop of horses hooves going down the street. These are the recyclers in Montevideo; the very poor that support themselves by collecting recyclables from the dumpsters on each block. (The photo above is a cart we saw on our way to the park on our first day.) One of the first nights we were here, around 12:3o a.m., there was some random band with tambourines, drums, and singers that went by under our window. The next night around midnight, someone decided to set off fireworks a couple of houses away. Why, I have no idea. It seemed totally random to me. And then there are the dogs, lots of them! Usually they are quiet, but if one of them starts to bark they all get going for a few minutes. Speaking of dogs, one of our daily annoyances in MVD is dog poop on the sidewalks. It is everywhere. You literally have to watch your step or else. All of the houses come right up to the sidewalk with no front yard, so people living in houses without a backyard or those living in apartments, just send their dogs out front to do their doggy business. To be fair, I have seen many responsible dog owners picking up their dog's droppings, but it is still an issue, especially since we, and most of the other residents of the city, walk everywhere.

Our first week of Spanish classes are finished and everyone seems to be enjoying the experience. Christopher and Elisabeth have their own class for 3 hours a day. Julia, Fiona, and Morielle are together in a class, and Genevieve and I are in the same class. There are several other students in each of our classes, except Chris and Elli's, so it makes for a nice mix of people. The teachers are great! We have four classes each day. Some are geared toward grammar and some are mostly conversation. Everything is in Spanish, although if we're really stuck they will give us some help. The grammar has been very helpful as I am finally beginning to learn past and future tenses, but truthfully, the Spanish conversation is the best part of the experience for me. It is one thing to study Spanish, it is another thing to feel comfortable using it. Here we have a safe place to try out our tortured sentence constructions with out fear of misunderstanding or embarrassment.

In my next post I will include more impressions and photos of Uruguay, but for now I need to get this posted and get to bed. All of us have picked up a cold, so I am in need of a good night sleep. Chau!

(Pronounced "chow") This is the most common way to say goodbye in Uruguay; and yes, for those of you familiar with the Italian spelling of the word, it is spelled "chau" here.)