Culture Shock

A common misconception about culture shock is that it's some kind of unavoidable disease that you catch when going to another country that goes away within a few weeks. Recently I have come to realize that culture shock is a situation in which something in your new country is different than in your old country and it causes you to mess up. This can continue to occur up until the day you leave but usually becomes less and less frequent. It's like when I didn't know that women in Uruguay wash their own underwear and had to have an awkward talk with my host mom. It happens to everyone.

My family here consists of my mom (Cecilia), dad (Juan), sister (Federica), and brother (Antonio). Though I usually just call my host parents mama and papa. Fede is 16 years old (almost 17) and Antonio is 12 (almost 13). Both of their birthday's are this month and I already have gifts (and I hope they don't read this)! My host family is Catholic though they only go to church on Easter and Christmas so that works out for me as I am not Catholic. They are all very welcoming and we spend a lot of time together. 

Now to try and answer some popular questions. 

The weather is fantastic, thank you all for asking! It's in the 70s or 80s and sunny just about everyday.

The food here is really good! Beef is eaten with just about every meal and desert is common as well. It's safe to say that I am not starving; however, I did have to eat liver once. I can't say that I enjoyed that too much. Milianesas are a common food here, eaten a few times a week. They're kind of like a thin fried steak and are usually really delicious. Asados are also really common and are like giant BBQs. Meal times here are a bit different. Breakfast is at the same time but lunch is around 2 or 3 in the afternoon and dinner is around 11pm. Every time I meet someone for the first time, they ask me what I eat for breakfast. It really threw me off at first but now I realize that it's because eggs and bacon are not breakfast foods here and everyone associates them with the United States. 

The language is a bit difficult for me but it gets better everyday. The accent causes me to misunderstand a lot of basic words; like when I was on the plane and the flight attendant asked me if I wanted chicken (pollo in spanish) and I had no idea what he was saying. In Uruguay, the letter y or a double L makes the "ja" sound. It took awhile to get used to. I also don't have a large vocabulary yet so sometimes I have to try and piece words together using root words that I already know. For example, once, I tried to tell my sister that my legs were itchy (from mosquito bites) and ended up telling her that my legs were spicy. 

I can't say that I have much of my own social life yet but I do go out with my sister and her friends just about everyday. I arrived in Uruguay just in time for Carnaval, which is like 5 straight days or parades and parties. Dances are really common and occur just about every weekend. The dances specifically for Carnaval were really popular and several hundred people attended. Even with 3 buildings and a courtyard, there was still barely enough room for everyone. The parties started around 1 or 2am and end around 8 or 9am. Everyone attended, from the elderly to children younger than me. Despite the crowd and the lack of sleep, they were still a lot of fun!

Relationships between people here are somewhat different than in the US. There are much less public displays of affection among the young people than among the adults. Teenagers rarely hang out alone with their significant others and group dates are common. Also, dances are attended with a group of friends, not the boyfriend or girlfriend. 

At a dance for Carnaval with my sister and her friends. (Fede is the one next to me)

Hanging out at home! My friend Naan (on the far left) is an exchange student from Thailand.

My friend Maria and I at a party.

For my friends back home, I'm spreading the culture.

Saw this on my run yesterday. Just wandering around. No big deal. 

All of the milk and juice here comes in bags. 

Before attending my first Quinceanerea. 

Milianesa with a fried egg and french fries (eaten with a fork here). 

Tortas Fritas and pasteles (both deserts).

My host bother, the Ohio State fan!

Asado and my host dad.

Me in Costa Azul.