I did recently have the opportunity to travel to Brazil for a week. I was required to get a visa for the trip. So now if I want to go to Brazil in the next 10 years, I'm set. The trip was long, about 12 hours by car, but it gave me some great bonding time with my family. I understood a lot more Portuguese than I would have ever imagined but still not much. It made me thankful for Spanish! The beaches were beautiful and the town was quaint and peaceful. I ran everyday on the beach and got some great pictures.We spent a lot of time on the beach and after getting two bad sunburns, I finally have a nice tan. The food was a bit different there and I have to say that I like Uruguayan food better!
Before Brazil, I went with my family, minus Antonio, to the ballet in Montevideo. We saw a performance called The Corsario. I never really thought of the ballet as something I would enjoy but I'm happy to say that I have been proven wrong. The dancers were very talented and the music was great as well.
I don't really have much to tell about Easter customs here as my family doesn't do much to celebrate the holiday. The customs seem pretty similar to the customs of the US. They get candy and many people attend a church service. The entire town gets shut down for the day and it's near impossible to find an open store or bank. The only real difference is the candy. Giant chocolate eggs filled with smaller chocolates are popular.
Now it's time for questions and answers with Maddie. Thank you to everyone for the questions, it makes writing a lot easier!
How is the town you're living in?
I love Melo. It's a small town with a big city feel. The houses are all close together and there's a cute little downtown with a bunch of shops. Almost all of the streets are one way but I still have a habit of looking both ways before crossing the street. There are three main plazas: one big plaza, one smaller plaza, and one sketchy plaza. I spend the most time at the smaller plaza because it's closest to my house (about 3 or 4 blocks). The people here are super friendly and everyone knows each other. This is generally a good thing, but it also means that everyone knows everything!
What is the legal driving age?
In Melo the legal driving age is 18 but most kids drive at 16. Most of my friends and my sister can all drive here. With AFS I am not permitted to drive while on my exchange.
Do most kids attend college?
Yes, most kids go to Montevideo for college as it's the only city in Uruguay with colleges. There are public colleges and private colleges. The public colleges are free but the private colleges are not. I'm not sure exactly what they cost but I know that it's no where near what college costs in the US. There are no dorms on campus here and the students have to pay for an apartment and food. These are the biggest costs associated with universities here.
Do you ever just think "Wow, I'm in Uruguay. This is amazing."?
Believe it or not I get this question all the time. From people here and in the United States. Yes, sometimes I get that "I can't believe I actually did this" moment. Before I left it didn't really occur to me that I would be able to call somewhere completely different home. When I was in the car on the way back from Brazil, I caught myself thinking that I just wanted to be home. I then realized that when I thought home, I was thinking of my home in Melo.
