Hello from Montevideo!
We're going to start off with an announcement: I have gotten my SIM card so anyone looking to contact me please please please use WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger. You can search me on WhatsApp by my US number and it should pop up! | this will save both of us some $$ :) |
Title: My travels and the first day
Before I tell you all about my first day in Montevideo I wanted to share a little story about my Flight from ATL to GRU (Sao Paulo in Brazil). The flight started out kinda rough, there was no overhead space left in the compartments, the flight was fully booked and I was in the middle of a group of 4 seats. I knew I wasn't getting any sleep that night. Knowing I was flying out of English speaking territory I was fully prepared to be sat by someone I may not be able to communicate with especially because most of the passengers spoke Portuguese, which turns out to be similar to Spanish but still very different in some aspects. Long story short (kinda), I was sat by a woman, probably in her 70s, who spoke no English and spoke very fast Portuguese that I could not understand. She was traveling alone and wasn't communicating well with the other flight attendants. I could tell she wanted to talk to me and I felt so badly that I couldn't understand so we sat in silence for a little. Finally when we ordered dinner I could tell she was a little lost by the menu as it was in English, I ended up having to order the same thing I got, for her. This marked us finally trying to communicate and building a relationship, she would speak to me in Portuguese and I would communicate back in English. I really don't think we understood each other one bit but we helped each other when we needed it, we even got on the same bathroom schedule to keep things easier for both of us. This interaction made a huge impact on me and made me realize the importance of understanding each other, being compassionate, and learning another language. I could help this woman with the necessities and get basic points across with a lot of hand motions but had I known even the slightest bit of her language I could have actually gotten to know this woman's story. It made me realize I'm not so crazy for going 5,000+ miles away from home for 4 months because in the end I will be able to meet and get to know so many more people through learning this language.
Which brings me to my first day in the city. I have officially been in Montevideo for a full day. My flight was as good as 20+ hours of travel time can be. I made it safe and met my amazing host family. I'm living with one other USAC student who has been beyond helpful in getting me settled in. I'm speaking okay (??) Spanish and to top it all off, I'm already establishing some pretty dope friends. We spent the later half of the night exploring the city, specifically Pocitos. The people are great, the beach is beautiful and the food is even better.
Life. Is. Good. | I am right where I am supposed to be.