photos!

So sorry it took me a little longer than expected. I forgot how much of a pain moving in and dealing with reverse culture shock can be. Not to mention that I am starting nursing school already this week and I have been trying to switch off "vacation" mindset get myself remotely in the mindset of being a full-time student again, which has been trying. It still feels a little funny to be here, to be speaking English all the time and to know my way around (well, almost...). I catch myself mentally preparing to have to address problems in my second language before realizing that I do not in fact have to speak in Spanish to the clerk at the help desk or what have you. And every so often a little stutter slips into my speech as I catch a Spanish word right before it pops out of my mouth. Oh and I still can't get used to the sun setting at 4:30pm... But otherwise it is business as usual here in the (very cold) city of Denver. Summer and Montevideo seem far away and the huge stack of nursing school books sitting on my desk are an unavoidable reminder of what awaits me in the coming months. Lots of learning! Lots of new things! Lots of studying... not much sleep!

Anywho, I finally uploaded some pictures from my trip. The easiest way for you and me both was to put them in a photo album on Picassa- in case you aren't familiar with it don't worry, it's really user friendly. Just click on the link below and it will take you to a slideshow type thing where you can click through them as fast or slow as you'd like. There are in relatively chronological order... So enjoy! Hope you like the show:

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=c.capsalis&target=ALBUM&id=5430530566148503313&authkey=Gv1sRgCMf-u5yLmNKlIA&feat=email

saying goodbye

On Thursday morning at 4am my plane took off from the Montevideo airport and I felt my time in Uruguay falling away below me as we rose up into the foggy dawn. In order to numb the odd sensation inside of me I immediately reclined my seat and slept for the next 6 hours of the flight. But sitting in the Panama City airport during my 7 hour layover I had plenty of time to think. With no book, unable to connect to the wireless internet, and about 20 different duty free shops but no magazine stands, I was forced to do one of two things- think or sleep. Thus I did plenty of both and came to several sweeping conclusions at this official close of my 4 month trip...

Simultaneously the best and worst part of traveling is having friends all around the world. The worst because a goodbye is never "see you next week." A goodbye is always "I hope I see you again soon" knowing that it could literally be years... And the best because you have this wonderful friendship with someone who lives half way across the world, who speaks another language, and who grew up in a totally different culture than your own. That despite all these differences and distances, these friends are no different than any others you have in your own country. It gives me this sense of satisfaction and amazement when I think about it, because the truth is that the distances are very long but the differences are, in the end, very few indeed. And a good friend, no matter where they are in the world, is someone that you know in your heart of hearts that you will always see some time again.

When I look back over my trip, I am content with what I accomplished. As per usual, my long list of things I want/ed to do down south was not really shortened at all. I still haven't made it to Iguazu Falls or to southern Patagonia. I still haven't gotten to Columbia. In fact every trip to South America only seems to add to my list rather than subtract from it... but that's ok. It is an excuse for more adventuring in the future! For me this trip was deeply marked by the people that were involved along the way. My visits back to my old stomping grounds in Chile and Argentina served to reconnect me with the people that were the cornerstones of my experiences during my year abroad. My time in Uruguay and my unique living situation were nothing if not for the people that I spent it with.

Leaving Montevideo was one of the most difficult goodbyes I have had yet because upon my return to the states I am facing a different reality than I have in past years. I am no longer a carefree college student with time to travel and a savings account best spent on plane tickets. Though I know my return to South America is imminent, I have never before left without some fairly concrete idea of when I would be returning. Though I hate to be dramatic, it was a very odd, and fairly gut-wrenching feeling to leave that way this time. Luckily, the question is not "if" but "when" I will be back, and I have no doubt that as soon as I am able I will again find myself immersed in the distinctly southern rythm that I have grown to know and love.

My last week in Uruguay was a whirlwind and 5 of those days were spent in small beach towns without internet, so I know there is a bit of a gap in my blog postings. Over the next week or so I will be filling in some of those gaps, and also doing several blogs with pictures posted. Then I guess I will sign off of Don't Stop Her Now until the next adventure. Or maybe not. Blogging has grown to be a bit of a habit. Maybe the blog will change directions and I will post my observations from my up and coming first semester in nursing school. Thoughts? Let me know... after all this blog has been as much for you as it has been for me!

I want to thank all of you for reading. I hope you have enjoyed following them as much as I have writing them. In my two day "layover" in Los Angeles these last few days, I found that my friends were referring to my blog postings in conversation. I am happy to know that people have not only read my musings over the last few months, but that they are continuing to serve as conversation points now that I am home again.

Back in Boulder I am unpacking and repacking for my move down to Denver. While I am still adjusting, it feels good to be back and to see my family again. Looking forward to seeing YOU soon! Much love and Happy New Year!
Cate

feliz navidad!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

I am back "home" in the hostel... feels like just yesterday that I left. I enjoyed a wonderful week in Buenos Aires and La Pampa, full of bar-b-qs, poolside sunbathing, christmas shopping (even here I am not immune), and fun filled outings. From Wednesday evening through Saturday night I stayed with Antonela and her wonderful family at their home in Santa Rosa, a city about the size of Boulder that is about 6 hours east of Buenos Aires. I was at her home two and a half years ago when I was living here for study abroad, so it was wonderul to see her parents again, and to spend Christmas with her extended family.

The traditions surrounding christmas here are just similar enough to be familiar, and just different enough to remind you that you are not in the US. On Christmas eve we enjoyed a "mesa fría" [literally 'cold table'] which consisted of a wide variety of cold salads- from beets and pineapple to tuna and mayo. Some of the combinations were new to me, and some were tried and true. Fortunately, being vegetarian, I was not pressured to try the tounge platter...

In many countries in South America, Santa comes at midnight. Dinners are thus timed either to finish right before he comes, or to start right after... The whole shebang happens in a matter of seconds- one of the adults appears saying they swear they just saw a fat man in a red suit run out the front door, and all the kids run into the living room to find their presents. It is not the usual mountain of gifts that you might see under an American tree- instead each person receives a couple of modest gifts, all of which say from "papa noel" even if your aunt hands you the bag and says "I bought this for you!" The modest gift giving is partially due to the fact that here people celebrate "Reyes Magos" or the day of the 3 kings. On the 6th of January kids leave out food for the three kings who pass by the houses and leave presents in the night.

The most surprisingly different tradition surrounding Christmas here, however, is that christmas eve is a big night out for the young folk. For days beforehand, Anto was texting with friends trying to figure out where we would be going out. You see, once the dinner plates are cleared, the sweet breads and toffees have all been eaten, and the presents are all opened, anyone aged 16 and older hits the town. The "kids" go out to clubs, bars, or enormous fields in the middle of nowhere (like we did). Not to be left out of the fiesta, the parents head out to make the rounds at friends' houses too.

The most impressive part of the whole night was probably the tremendous party we went to after dinner. Imagine going to a huge house with a couple acres of property around it, a DJ in the front yard, a DJ in the backyard, another DJ inside and about 2000 people dancing, drinking, and reuniting all over the place. Now imagine that almost every single one of those people either currently attends or graduated from one of the two high schools in your city! It is like a tremendous reunion of anyone age 16-30 who has decided to go out on christmas eve. We rolled up to the gates at about 3:45am (a very normal time to be arriving, mind you) and the place was packed. We stayed for about 2 hours and scooted out under cover of daylight, just before they shut off the speakers at 6am... The whole time I was there, I just kept thinking "I can't believe it's Christmas eve..."

It was a bit wierd, I must admit, to wake up Christmas morning to a more or less normal day, without the frenzy of present opening and the excitement of it all... Instead we ate a bar-b-q in which literally a whole small pig was roasted. It seemed like just another meat filled grill, until Antonela and her cousin started fighting over the tail of the pig and Anto won and I suddenly found myself watching her chomp away on a thuroughly roasted, very familiar looking corkskrew tail. Shortly thereafter the meat platter passed around again and I looked down to see the unmistakable jaw bone, teeth and all sitting there. Anto's dad cheered with excitment upon discovering it as I passed him the platter, and I just focused on my delicious salad and politely declined offers to try some of the "professionally cooked" piggy...

In all it was a great Christmas and I was greatful to be with Anto on such a family oriented holiday. Though I don't know if I would ever really be able to get used to the summer weather and Christmas eve party traditions, everything else was more or less christmas as usual!

I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful holiday season. On to New Years!!

cate