I Miss Los Estados Unidos

America. The US of A. The land of the red, white, and blue. I miss it terribly today. I think I´m experiencing culture shock because I definitely find myself frustrated over little things lately such as the fact that a hot dog here does not taste like the hot dogs I´m used to. I´m tired of people always brushing up against me and walking to the left and not the right. And I want to have an amazing homecooked meal with American Coke (even though it tastes better here but doesn´t have as much of a kick) that ends with chocolate chip cookies.

But at the same time I still love it here. We finally found housing. Hooray!! Life should be way more stable now and if you want to send me packages of cookies I can give you a solid address now ;).

Our new apartment is pretty small and there are a total of five people living in it, but the two people who own it won´t be there much and guess who has her own room? Yup, I have my own room mostly because I´m a light sleeper and I love my own personal space. We have to buy our own food but Chef Hayley, will hopefully be fixing a lot of meals, so I should start eating much better now. I can tell I´ve already lost weight because my belts almost don´t fit me anymore... I think it´s in large part due to the strange meal times here (breakfast=before 10; lunch=1-3; 5ish= tea time or snack time; dinner=around 10). Well, dinner is mostly different with the added tea/snack time but that´s what´s killing me. At about five I´m ready to EAT, but a bunch of places aren´t serving dinner yet.

I think it´s funny that Hayley, Kelsey, and me have already gotten a rhythmn going after only a week. Hayley is the forgetful one. She is no longer allowed to hold keys to any of my locks as she is always misplacing them or almost losing them.

Kelsey is the FML (F*** my life)one because things are always happening to her and it´s hilarious. For example, somehow on the bus someone stole her passport from her purse and the lady called to ask for money in exchange for the passport. Well, Kelsey had to call the embassy and the police and in the meantime she´s passport-less which is definitely not good. It´s not really a funny story, but when I add that the same day, if not the day before, we had orientation where they told us all the things that we should not to do, like carrying your actual passport on your person, then it makes you smile. Also, one of the number one rules when you go abroad is do NOT carry your original passport on you! Make copies and carry those instead. So, it was an FML moment for sure.

And, me? I´m the one who knows where to go and just general info about Montevideo. I did the most research and am the most advanced in Spanish so I have most of the answers. We`re like the three musketeers.

So, I´m sitting in the computer lab typing this up as I wait for my 7:30pm class. Most of my classes are really late and I need to ask someone why classes are so late here. I´m not really complaining though. More sleep for me.

And I think it´s so awesome how I am a foreigner here. All the things we do to foreigners in the US is what they do to them here and my obvious accent is not helping. Plus, I don´t look like most people here and especially at my school so I alone stand out. Someone did ask if I was from Chile the other day (even after they heard me speak Spanish) and I almost said yes.