Traveling and arriving in Uruguay

I am sooo glad that the past couple days are over!! My traveling was completely smooth, but it is still never fun.

I drove up to Fort Worth to meet my dad and one of my sisters (Rachel) at my grandma´s house. Then my dad and I somehow managed to eat at Red Lobster and then get to the airport on time. There was next to no one at the international side of DFW.

My first flight was to Santiago, Chile. It was an overnight flight and I woke up at least once every hour. American Airlines flights going overseas are not fun. When I got to Santiago I had to wait five hours for my flight to Montevideo. I watched pretty much all the video I have on my Zen(ipod.) Too bad all that I had was Bambi II (don´t ask) and episodes of Daria and the Wonder Years. I hated not being able to get online, but airports charge for that.

The next flight to Montevideo was gorgeous. You could see mountains everywhere you looked. I had to buy a jacket in the Santiago airport because, of course, I got cold. The flight was fast and the LAN South American airline was actually very nice. I think it is up there with AirFrance, which is amazing. On this airline you can pick what movie you want to watch and fast forward, etc, if you would like. The food was amazing too. It was a nice change from American.

When we were boarding the plane I noticed a girl with an American passport. I told her that her bag was cute as we were getting on the plane surrounded by South Americans, but she just said thanks. As we got off the plane I struck up a conversation with her. She goes to University of Penn and her family lives in Uruguay. We talked for the rest of the time through customs, etc, and she has my home number. She said none of her friends are in Uruguay now so we are going to hang out. I was sooo excited to already have a contact who knows her way around Montevideo!!

A very friendly man was at the airport to pick me up and take me to my new home. It was a long drive, but he was very nice. I just realized how limited my Spanish is. The Spanish in Montevideo is different from Mexican Spanish in the first place. It is very confusing and I haven´t studied Spanish for a couple years, but I guess that is why I am here.

The man dropped me off and gave me a friendly kiss and I went in to meet my new ¨family.¨ The owner of the house is a sweet widow who only speaks Spanish. There is also another girl who is living there who is in the program. She goes to University of Penn and seems really nice.

I thought my apartment in Florence was small. It was nothing next to this. I will take pictures soon because it is amazing that we are all fitting into this small apartment. The kitchen is maybe 3 steps deep as is the bathroom...no joke. Fun!

I am really excited to be here. I haven´t had time to really see anything, but I am sure there is plenty of time to do that. I have to take a placement test tonight and be at the school at 9 a.m. tomorrow for an orientation. From driving around and all the people I have met I really like South America and Uruguay. It is very different than any other place I have been, but it´s a good different. I am sure I will really get to see it tomorrow.

I miss you all and I hope you are having a wonderful time back in the states.

But yes, I am here and I am alive!