More then three months

It doesn't feel like vacation anymore. It is more like daily grind in another language. I think this is a hard point in the adjustment because it is the point when it's not all new and exciting. Instead you feel you should know more but you are not that sure of anything. I still have a hard time ordering the right thing, taking the right bus or understanding the answers to the questions I am able to ask. It's frustrating but I knew this wasn't going to be easy.

I move in a week to a new apartment. I worry about moving out of my little room and changing my routine. I love routine and there is so little of that with this teaching job that my little room is the most stable part of my daily life. I keep telling myself that this is going to be a good change but I don't think I can fully convince myself until it actually happens.

One this is for sure... I am going to be frying up a whole lot of onion and garlic :)

Monday after a difficult week

Another busy week of running around. The weather here has been unpredictable last week was beautiful. We has a week of 75 degrees and sunshine. It was a good thing too because many things kept going wrong for me and if it hadn't been for the sunshine I would of taken it much worst. I kept forgetting stuff places and having to go 1hour or more out of my way to get it back. I continue to be lucky though because I keep getting all I loose back. I had many students cancel on me for a day or a month and some maybe forever. That was difficult because sometimes I had traveled all the way to the class to just wait for nothing. I also had a frustrating friday when i got lost and just wandered for over an hour looking for the class. I never found it and with much regret gave up and made my way to the other side of the city for my next class.

In my wanderings in saw a crazy thing. I saw a taxi driver jump out of his car and through a huge rock at another car. He (the taxi driver) then tried to get away in his car but did not in time. The other man ( the one who had the rock thrown at him) came after the taxi drive with a huge stick and started beating him through the window. I didnt stick around to see what would happen but it made me feel awful. I am not use to such violence it it really made me miss home.

As one of my students told me I must be thinking negative for so many negative things to be attracted to me. I am starting this week with positive thinking and will see where it will take me :). So far the beautiful weather is gone and it is cold, windy and rainy. Jaja maybe it's a good sign ...

I have been working this last week. I am teaching classes which means that I spend about 30 percent of my day on public transportation and another 10 percent walking. This city is too big. I think fondly of the days that I went to work in one building and was there all day.

Ururguay and getting mugged a day of firsts

My trip yesterday ended up being quiet an adventure because while I was walking to catch the ferry I was mugged. Two guys attacked me, one from the front and one from the back trying to get my phone. They grabbed my purse and literally ripped it off me breaking the strap and started running away with it. Now is a good point in the story to stress that I was going to ururguay to renew my visa so I had my passport in my purse along with everything else. I was not going to let them get way with my passport so I took off after them and started yelling (who knows what) so someone might stop them. I chased them into the subte and then back out. While I was coming out there was my purse on the ground. I'm not sure why they dropped it but I am so relived they did. At the end of the fiasco I only lost my map and apple. I am so lucky!!

So after that I went to the ferry to find out that my friend had slep through her alarm and hadn't left her home yet. Now I decided that I could only be zen because I had already been so lucky that morning and patiently waited to see if she would make it in time for us to go. (did I mention that she had my ticket too?) well... it all worked out in the end, margo arrived with plenty of time thanks to a very fast taxi.

It was an absolutly beautiful day and colonia ururguay was a very relaxing place to enjoy it. I didn't realize how nice it is to be in a small town away from the noise of the city. We had a long slow lunch at a charming restaurant with very well played live guitar music. We went to the top of a lighthouse and checked out the view. The best part of the day we just sat by the water and soaked up the sun. In the end it ended up being a great day.