Happy Birthday, Emilee!

Happy birthday to my sister!

Oh Happy Day!

So, it is hard to believe that I have been in South America for over a month! It does not seem like that long at all, but at the same time it seems like I haven't seen my family and friends in FOREVER! I survived the end of winter in Montevideo... I had to purchase a couple sweaters to layer with the two I brought, but all is well now. Today, I got to wear short sleeves for the first time since leaving a beautiful week in Buenos Aires.
Friday after returning from La Obra, I went to a Murga with Sebastian and his girlfriend, Andrea. What is a murga? I had no idea until after I went, but I looked it up. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murga While I had no idea what was going on and didn't really understand much, I enjoyed the singing and environment. However, I am old and go to bed early and this lasted until 3am, so I was quite tired.

Yesterday I spent the day with Wilma. She took me to a produce market in the morning, then we had lunch and later went to an artisan fair. It is the best artisan fair in Uruguay apparently. There were so many beautiful things, but I decided it was too early to start buying things. We went back to Wilma's house and she made bread (I watched) and that is what we had for communion today.

Today with the beautiful weather, I had a beautiful day. I understood pretty much all of the worship service and sermon today. Wilma preached on the parable where a father asks his two sons to work in the field and one says he will not and ends up doing it and the other says he will and does not. Since the worship attendance rarely is over 20 people, it is a comfortable setting and there are good discussions during worship. It is a new way to worship, but I am enjoying it. I am really starting to feel like part of the Nuestro Salvador family... Everyone in the congregation is so friendly and welcoming. I am very blessed with the placement here. Thursday was Wilma's birthday, so after worship we had cake to celebrate. Also there was a man who was celebrating his 50th wedding anniversary with his wife this week, so we celebrated that as well. A young boy, Lukas (about 15 years old), who attends church and Tuesday Bible study without encouragement from his parents, asked me if I could tutor him this week in Math! I am happy to get involved with the congregation outside of worship.

After church, I got on the bus to go to Milton and Carla's house for lunch. On the bus was José, the secretary/treasurer of the church. I was looking at my bus guide to make sure I didn't miss the stop, so he asked me what street I was looking for, and I told him. Three other people near me were very quick to speak up and say they were going in that direction and could point me where to go- even though I was pretty sure I knew, I thought it would be nice to be sure. We had a nice conversation and I told them where I was from and what I was doing here. They were all very friendly. One girl, Cecilia, was getting off at the same stop, so she got me to where I was going. So I got to their house with an enjoyable bus ride. I just cannot ask for more friendly and welcoming hosts. Milton and Carla have already made me feel like a part of their family. Milton is the coordinator of La Obra. Agustine, their 2 year old son, is opening up to me and plays with me when I go over there. He even understands me when I talk to him! We had lunch and then ice cream and coffee. Milton showed me a photo album of a trip he took to Europe when he was 18. Milton even let me use his phone to call home... but no answer :(

Food for thought

As I spend more time with Wilma, I realize how much I take for granted. Wilma is a WONDERFUL person and cares so much for everyone she comes in contact with. She and her husband are both pastors and work hard. Anyway...

Think about what you ate this week. How many meals were from a restaurant? How many were just heated up in a microwave?

Wilma and her family go out to eat at a restaurant one time A YEAR! The rest of the time, they eat at home. The average Uruguayan family does not eat out regularly.

Also, I asked her about a microwave and if she knew of anyone who had an extra one that I could use for the year. She said no, microwaves are very expensive and very few people have them here.

So, next time you go to eat, thank God for what you have, because I know we all can take things for granted. Maybe even think about eating in more often and saving money and donating it to a local charity. :)

¡che!

Che is the word of the day... it is an expression used for "Hey!" or "Dude!" or the likes. It is a word that I haven't gotten to use yet, but I like hearing it.

Anyway, pictures are up on http://community.webshots.com/user/maryrk45 I have uploaded some for the past few days. I hope you get a chance to check them out.

Yesterday we went for a bike ride with all of the kids at La Obra. All of the kids were asked to bring their bikes, which obviously didn't happen. One girl came with a completely flat rear tire, and others rode on the cross bar with a partner. No helmets were worn and there were several falls, but it was a good time. The poor girl with a flat tire wanted to ride her bike anyway, so she did... and never complained, but I sure felt sorry for her, because she was always in the back of the pack. Yesterday morning I was told I explain math very well by one of the girls I was tutoring... and this is in Spanish, so that made my day.
Today we took the kids to a park and played with them. The music teacher brought her guitar and sang with the kids, it was a nice spring day and I only wore one sweater instead of my usual two and a jacket!

Chiquilines

PICTURES... I have been having trouble uploading pictures on my blog (obviously). I am going to try to start posting more pictures on this site: http://community.webshots.com/user/maryrk45

"Chiquilines" is a word used in Uruguay to refer to the young children. It is not used so much in Argentina, but here it just rolls off the tongue. It is used quite often in La Obra. It was especially used this Thursday when 5 of us took 48 chiquilines to El Prado in Montevideo for a farm expedition. Imagine a county fair so crowded that you can't walk fifteen steps without saying "perdón." And now imagine taking about 50 children with you and having to make sure they don't wander off to get a better look at the miniature horse competition while the rest of the group is walking in a line to go see the cows and bulls in the barn. So, basically, this was like any field trip a teacher has taken kids on-- very stressful. I was told I should go back to this exposition with the responsibility of watching the children and I would enjoy it much more. The kids seemed to enjoy the field trip, though, so I cannot complain too much.
In English class this week, I had the kids tell me how to spell their names by saying the letters in English. This was too cute. In Spanish "E" is pronounced like our "A" and and "I" like our "E." Every time they would say the Spanish pronunciation, I would write the letter they said in English, and they just thought that was hysterical. But, they did learn a bit about pronunciation, so we will see what they remember this week! I am working with the older kids on writing a letter in English to Alicha's students in the United States, so they will have penpals from Vienna! They are all really excited about it, and so am I.
In October, I will have a visit from our neighbor in Parkersburg. I am really excited to see a familiar face, even if it is only for a day.
I went to the "Grupo de Jovenes" on Thursday. It is a group of young people at Alvaró's church. We played volleyball, and it was nice to spend time with people about my age and just hang out. Last night, I was invited by the same group to a free concert. Apparently the guy singing is really well known in Argentina and Uruguay. I was even told that he was the best singer in the World. Well, the guy sang for TWO FULL HOURS! It was nice for the first part, but I am old and I got tired of standing. And when he came back for the Encore he sang four more songs! I guess I just need to study up on my Uruguayan music, so I can enjoy myself next time.

Buenos Aires, Argentina Pictures from Aug 24-Sep 1

The four Argentina/Uruguay YAGMs with Alan Eldrid, President of Iglesia Evangélica Luterana Unida

Walking to the Plaza de Mayo

Las Madres marching in La Plaza de Mayo

Eva Peron spoke to the Argentine people from the balcony of this Pink House of Buenos Aires in La Plaza de Mayo.

Argentine tango show.

On a boat museum in Buenos Aires

Talking with a group of Bolivian immigrants. They shared a bit of their culture with us.

The Lutheran Church in Buenos Aires. It was youth Sunday and afterwards they fixed lunch for us and we had a birthday party for two of the kids.

At a park in Buenos Aires on a beautiful day.



Cemetary in Recoleta.





We experienced a bit of the Gaucho culture just outside of Buenos Aires and had an asado.

Los ninos

It is so neat to do Bible studies in another language, and with young children. Today, I went with Alvaro, Wilma´s husband to a woman's house who hosts a children's Bible study every Saturday. There were five boys there. They were so excited to read the Bible and sing praise songs. They all participated and seemed to really enjoy our time there. I cannot wait to go back next Saturday!

Baby, it's cold outside!

It is has been raining all day and very cold! I don't think I packed enough layers for the weather, but I am still enjoying myself! I have been staying busy these past few days, but am finally starting to get into somewhat of a routine.
Sunday was my first worship service in Montevideo. The Lutheran church is not well-known here. The attendance at this church averages about twenty, but Sunday was low because it was raining outside and most people walk to church. It was interesting to have a small crowd, because after reading the scriptures, we had a discussion about the passage and everyone participated. I basically listened. It takes me a while to decide what I want to say and how to say it and by the time I am ready to add my insight into a discussion, the topic has changed. After church, I went with Wilma and her family to Milton's house. Milton is the director of La Obra Ecumenica (the school where I volunteer). I met Milton's wife, Carla and their 2-year old son, Augustine. Carla is expecting another boy in January! We had an Uruguayan asado. An asado is a technique for cooking various meats on a grill. It was all delicious and the company was fabulous. After dinner, Wilma and her husband, Alvaró drove me around Montevideo and showed me La Rambla which is the path that runs along the coast. It is gorgeous!
Monday was my "free day." I slept in. It is exhausting hearing and speaking a foreign language all day every day. I did go for a long walk/run to La Rambla. While I was running, I tripped over a broken sidewalk while changing the song on my Ipod. Apparently there is a saying that wherever you fall, you have "bought" that land. So everyone told me I chose a good place to fall. It only cost me a few scrapes and bruises!
Tuesday I spent the day with Pastor Wilma at the church preparing a Bible study and doing various things. Pastor Wilma was preparing to leave to be with her mother in Argentina, because she had surgery (the surgery was today). So keep Wilma's mother and the whole family in your prayers! Since Wilma won't be at church this Sunday, I met with two other women to plan the service. I am supposed to pray and read a scripture! I am a little nervous about that! Tuesday evening, Wilma and her family and myself were invited to dinner by Marco and Teresa (an Italian couple that has been here for 2 months volunteering at La Obra and Marco has been preparing to write a thesis.) We went to an Italian restaurant and it was very nice.
Wednesday was my first full day at La Obra. Milton came and picked me up so I wouldn't have to take the bus the first day. I spent the morning at el Centro de Estudios where students can come and get tutored when they need extra help. I met Virginia and Claudio, who work in the Centro de Estudios. They are both very nice. While we talked and worked with the three students there we shared mate. MATE (mah-tay) is big here. It is a beverage prepared with dried leaves (kind of like tea, but not really). A special gourd and hot water thermos are needed for mate, and everyone here carries them around everywhere. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mate_(beverage) to read more about it. We had lunch and then I met some kids who were amazed at my height and wanted to play basketball with me, so we shot around after lunch before the younger kids arrived. In the afternoon, I taught English (Wednesday is English day). We learned the alphabet in the first class and numbers in the second class. The kids are so much fun, and have LOTS of energy. Sometimes they forget that I do not understand when they talk fast or mumble, so it takes patience to have a conversation with me.
Today, I rode the bus to La Obra. I waited for a long time in the cold rain this morning for the bus. I arrived and had mate with Virginia and Claudio before the students came. Today, I worked on math with Carlos. For the most part, he understood me, and that was great! He likes attention, and would ask for approval from Virginia and Claudio, but he seemed to be okay with working with me. Since it rained all day, the kids played inside. Normally on Thursdays, they go outside for walks, but today they cut out pictures from magazines and wrote stories about them. It was fun to walk around and talk to them. I got to read a book on colors (in English) with some kids and they practiced their pronunciation. Aaaand that is about it. I have not quite figured out the easiest way to post pictures. I promise they are coming... some day!

Colonia Valdense

I went with Wilma today to Colonia Valdense. She did a seminar on the natural development of the church. It was very interesting, from what I understood. On our way back to Montevideo (a two-hour drive) we stopped at a family´s house who Wilma knew from before. They have a 10-year-old daughter who has been wanting a television and that has been her only wish for a while now, and a television was available and we got to take it to this family. It was beautiful. The family works hard for what they have, and the wife was very welcoming and made us all coffee. It was great to see their faces when they opened up the box with the tv in it. I cried.

Ludoteca

So, I met Milton this morning and we sat down with Wilma and Beatriz, the president of the church council and discussed how I am going to spend my time. Wednesday and Thursday, I will be spending all day at La Obra Ecumenica teaching Math in the mornings and English in the afternoons. Tuesday and Saturday I will spend at Nuestro Salvador Lutheran Church doing Bible studies (when my Spanish improves) and visiting with children in a community.
After we figured that out, Milton took me to La Obra for the day. Milton was in Europe until Wednesday afternoon. He is married and has a 2 year old son and a baby on the way. They will find out what they are having soon and the baby is due in January! He said I am going to be a part of his family, so I am really excited to play with the new baby.
Today was a special day at La Obra, even though I didn´t know before I got there. This week was the anniversary of the death of Padre Cacho, who did a lot for this area. So, to celebrate his life, they have a Ludoteca. I also had no idea what a ludoteca was until today. It is basically a carnival. There were probably about 15 schools invovled, and each school set up games for the kids to play, then the kids walked around and did what they wanted. The games La Obra Ecumenica brought to play were TaTeTi and Ludo. Ta Te Ti is Tic Tac Toe. However, this was human Tic Tac Toe. Two teams put on two different colors and played this game. Again, like kids in the US, they were very excited to play, but not to listen. But somehow, soon after this game began, I found myself to be the only adult around. With my limited Spanish I had to organize these kids to play this game and keep them under control. This was hilarious for everyone involved except for me. I can laugh about it now, and wish I had been on the other side of this. Anyway, the kids had fun, even though it was FREEZING and drizzling the whole time. I can´t wait for spring! They keep saying it won´t be cold for much longer, but I am starting to have my doubts.

Every day is a new adventure.

I feel like I am writing too much on the blog, but I just am so excited to be meeting so many brothers and sisters in Christ each day I am here. I joke with Pastor Wilma and her husband, Alvaro that I need to write down everyone´s name as I meet them so I can keep them straight, but in all reality, I am not joking about that! Everyone is so friendly and welcoming. Today I accompanied Wilma and a girl about my age to a women´s meeting in a part of Montevideo that is (I believe) called Mision San Jose. We did a Bible study with two women who grew up their whole life in this neighborhood. One woman married when she was fourteen years old. It was difficult hearing their stories and imagining my life and all the unnecessary things I have that I never thought I could live without. While, I am still brushing up on my Spanish, I feel like I can understand the gist of conversations going on, so I can´t give details as to what was talked about, because I am sure I misunderstood some of it.
When we returned to the church, Wilma prepared for the church council meeting. I have never attended a church council meeting in the United States, but I imagine aside from the different language, they are very similar. I will spare any more details on that, too.
I am meeting with the head of La Obra tomorrow morning and we are putting together a schedule for me. YAY! Well, I am off to bed.
I love the comments, by the way, so keep them coming.

Hello! Hello! Hello, my friend!

I have been meeting so many people in Montevideo and cannot remember anyone´s name! Pastor Wilma has taken me under her wing and into her house and family for the first couple days. Yesterday I met Teresa, a woman from Italy who is studying Spanish and also teaching English at La Obra (where I will be volunteering). She teaches English in Italy and is returning at the end of next week to start work again. After talking with her last night, we decided it would be a good idea for me to go with her to La Obra today and help her teach English. I spent a second night at Pastor Wilma´s house and awoke to a chilly morning. Wilma and her husband LOVE coffee, so I fit right in :) Wilma showed me around the rest of the church building. The church was built by Lutheran missionaries 50 years ago. It was built under the assumption that the congregation was going to be huge and they would need lots of space. However, this is not the case. The building is quite large, but they make use of the extra space by renting space out for a dentist office (on the first floor) and holding dance classes and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings every evening in the basement. There are two apartments in the basement and one on the second floor. I will be staying in one in the basement at the beginning of next week. There is so much to do here, it is great.
At 11, Wilma went to pick up her daughter, Karin at the airport. She has been in Europe for 3 weeks. I was dropped off to meet up with Teresa so she could take me to La Obra. We took a bus to La Obra. When we walked in, we were greeted with hugs and kisses by dozens of happy children. They are so much fun to be around, and so excited to have new people there. Everyone was very friendly. The first class Teresa taught was 5-7 year olds. We talked about body parts in English and sang a "Hello" and "Goodbye" song. Next, we sat in on a class where they were talking about discrimination. It is interesting to hear th same comments from kids in a different language. It just makes me realize how much everyone has in common, no matter where they are born. I really enjoyed listening to the children´s comments and prayer requests when we ended the hour in prayer. Afterwards, we had some time to play with the children. Somehow I got roped into playing a game where you use two hands to hit a basketball that is rolling on the ground and the goal is to hit it between someone else´s legs. If it goes through, then they only get to use one hand. If it goes through the same person´s legs again, they have to turn around, then they are out if it goes through a third time... or that is how I interpreted the game. The game ended when a young girl got out and took the ball with her because she was upset. I tried to reason with her, but I don´t think my Spanish is that good that I can reason with an angry 7 year old girl to let us play a silly game with the ball she has. It´s hard enough doing that with a child that speaks English!
After "recess", Teresa had a class of 10-11 year olds for English. Here, they asked me (with Teresa´s help) in English my name, where I am from, how old I am and where I come from. It was fun to talk with them in English and Spanish. Then we played a game with adding and subtracting and they had to give me the answer in English. In Spanish, they don´t use the "th" sound, so it was fun to hear them say "three" and "thirty". We practiced saying "th" a lot. Then we talked about animal names and the kids played charades to figure out names.
Overall, it was a great day, and I am very excited to start getting more involved in the activities around here. As for now, I am having dinner with Wilma and her family again, and I will meet Karin, her daughter tonight. I miss everyone back home and would love updates!

Montevideo

I made it to Montevideo last night after a three hour boat ride from Buenos Aires. Pastor Wilma and her husband met me at the Port and took me to their house. They are both very nice and I felt like we communicated very well. I understood almost all of what they said and even could respond and hold a conversation! We had dinner at their house with their son, Sebastian, who is 18. Chorizo (sausage) is what we had for dinner. It was good. They don´t put butter on bread here, they use mayonaise. So, I eat my bread plain. I stayed at their house last night and will again tonight. I am stayin in their daughter, Karin´s room. She is in Europe until tomorrow. She went to Italy and Germany with a group of students here for some conference. Everyone has been so friendly and welcoming. I fel like this will be a great experience! We are having a bible study with women from the church in a few minutes, so I will try to update more soon! I miss everyone from home. Feel free to send many emails and updates :)