Aire Libre

How to sum up this last week?
Well, I went and tried out all of the classes I was interested and at the beginning of week two I have finally

decided! I am not taking one of the classes that I really wanted to, Philosophy of Language, because I think it will be a little too much. I have never taken Philosophy before and the think the theme would be challenging even in English, so the class I am taking to challenge myself this semester is Psychology of Religion. I didn't want to take all easy classes, but I don't want to take so many challenging ones that I miss out on all of the other things I want to do while I am here.The classes that I am taking with the Uruguayan students present a different kind of challenge as well. The content of the readings, although they  may take a little longer for me to get through, I have no doubt I will understand them. Where I fear I will fall behind is during in class conversations. I tried my hardest this last week to keep up, but it gets difficult when 2..3..4 people start talking about a topic. It gets especially hard when the person is passionate about their statement, the more they mean what they are saying the faster and louder it gets= much harder for me to keep up! I guess in the end this will be a good thing, but for now it is something I am really going to have to concentrate on.

A glimpse of the countryside

 Along with classes I have signed up to do community service here, I am trying to get in on an after-school photography club/ class and samba. Unfortunately they both have limited openings and I am not sure if I got there in time, but I put my name down anyway and I will see what happens. I am also actively researching places I can take Tango lessons! I found once place really close to my apartment, a little expensive, but then again when else am I going to be able to take Tango lessons in one of the Tango capitals of the world!?

View into backyard

This past weekend I spent time with three friend I made at Uni, Harriet and Imogen are from England and Paul is from Germany. We went to Paul's family's house in Punta del Este to spend  sometime away from the city, take in a little aire libre (fresh air) and just relax for the weekend. Punta is basically surrounded by the ocean and right now, since it is winter, there is hardly anyone there. Many of the shops, restaurants, and bars aren't even open right now. As disappointing as that may sound, it was actually awesome to get away from the crowds of people. What we thought was going to be a tiny 
vacation home turned out to be a beautiful house
with a spacious back yard and two swimming pools (not that we could use them in the 55 degree weather). We were fortunate enough to see the sun while we were there and we went walking along a few of the beaches. The waves on one side of the island were amazing, there were a lot of people out surfing when we went by! There is also an amazing bridge there and if you drive fast enough its almost like a rollercoaster :)
    On Saturday night we managed to find a bar and a club that were open so we went out that might. I mustered up the strength to stay up until a little after 6am.. not as late as some, but its progress. Then on Sunday we spent the say lounging around, reading, watching movies, and eating ice cream. I would say that was a day well spent!
And now I begin week two of classes: ready, set, learn!

Un beso