Sunday, June 30th

Today we celebrated mass with all the students who are going to Pachacuti and their families and teachers. It was a beautiful mass and the message to help the less fortunate in this country. Tomorrow morning Milo and I will see them off as they are leaving for the various sites. We plan on renting a car to be able to visit each camp. What an experience for our students! And what an immersion in Spanish!

Saturday, June 29th

A beautiful, warm and sunny day in Montevideo. The temperature has been around 60 degrees and for the upcoming week they forecast temperatures in the mid 60s, which is very nice for the Pachacuti camp.
Milo and I walked along La Rambla all the way to Punta Carretas where they have a shopping mall very similar to South Coast Plaza. We had lunch at a wonderful restaurant, El Fogon, where we enjoyed una paella with a lot of seafood. Then we had un cafe con leche at an outdoor cafe in the same area. Uruguay has wonderful, European food with plenty of seafood, pasta, BBQ, fresh fruits and vegetables! We look forward to seeing our students tomorrow during mass for Pachacuti.

Punta Carretas

Enjoying a beautiful day in Montevideo. No, I am not mad at Milo!

Friday, June 28th

Today we met for a quick photo of all the students who had previously visited Santa Margarita, the host students, and our own group. On the picture are also the principal of Colegio Seminario, Juan, English teacher/chaperone to SM, Fabiana, and the Director of the exchange program/English teacher, Eugenia.
Now we can rest over the weekend until we meet on Sunday evening for the mass for Pachacuti students.

Top left: Matilde, Ines, Nelson, Max, Mirko, Ryan, Sarah
Middle:  Florencia, Gaston, Diego, Juan Luis, Zach, Greg, Natalie, Mrs. Garcia
Front: Fabiana, Valentina, Ivan, Lucia, Lucas, Augusto, Eugenia, Juan

Thursday, June 27th

Hello!
Today we had another fun day here in Montevideo. Together with the team from Loyola we had a tour of the Old Town - La Ciudad Vieja, guided by the Santa Margarita "alumni" Diego Ripa and his friend Maria Jose. In Spanish and English they talked about the architecture of different cultural buildings such as el Teatro Solis (named after the man who discovered El Rio de la Plata). This theater was first opened in 1856 and still looks very much like it did originally. We also saw the Mausoleo de Artigas, a 30-ton statue of the country's independence hero. Below street level, an honor guard keeps 24-hour vigil over Artigas' remains. We continued to the Iglesia Matriz,  Montevideo's oldest public building/church that was completed in 1799.
We ended the tour with lunch down at the Mercado del Puerto, a waterfront inside/outside market place to eat the famous parrillas. The principal from Colegio Seminario joined us for lunch.

The principal of Colegio Seminario, JuanMartinan, and the Director of the Immersion Program, Maria Eugenia Balseiro

Now the students have only one day left of school before they depart for Pachacuti! Milo and I plan on renting a car so that we can visit them during the week.

Diego Ripa and Maria Jose, our two guides for the city tour

Natalie and Sarah trying to catch the sun in the Palacio Estevez, the Governmental house till 1985.

Greg is excited about the tour today!

Natalie and Sarah shopping for some presents

Students from Santa Margarita and Loyola High School outside the Teatro Solis

Wednesday, June 26th

Today we went to the Uruguayan Parliament. We had a bilingual tour of the building together with the students from Loyola High School in LA. The building, which external parts were made by the Italian sculptor Giannino Castiglioni and the Uruguayans Jose Belloni and Gervasio Furest, was amazing! The construction started in 1908 and finished in 1925. We visited the Honor Hall, the Senate, the House of Representatives and the library.
After the tour we took the omnibus back to Colegio Seminario where we had lunch. Tomorrow we are going to visit La Ciudad Vieja - the Old Town.

Tuesday, June 25th

Today Milo and I had a meeting with our students at Colegio Seminario. Everyone is doing well. Ryan seems to have recovered from his cold. A couple of students from Colegio met with us to discuss the important things for Pachacuti service camp. We went through the whole schedule: wake up around 7:00 am, have breakfast, start working with either construction or painting, have lunch, some free time, work again, snack time and continue working till about 7:00 pm when they cook and eat dinner. After dinner they will have a short debriefing/devotional and time to just "hang out."

Our students were happy to learn that they are paired up with one more student from Santa Margarita (Natalie and Sarah looked especially relieved!) This is going to be a fun week where they are in a team of about 20 students from other schools as far away as Chile and Argentina. The Uruguayan students said that having visitors from the United States is something very special and they will be welcomed and treated almost like "VIP"!  They talked about the three most important parts of Pachacuti: Faith, Teamwork, Service. I think that it will be a very good experience for these students to see what it's like to work and live like the less fortunate people in this country.

After the meeting our group had lunch together in the school's cafeteria. We are "hooked" on the yummy desserts in this country: alfajores, biscochos, media ulnas: almost always filled with dulce de leche, a caramel made with eggs and sugar.

We bumped into a couple of students that had traveled to Santa Margarita previous years: Diego Ripa and Sol Monteverde (see picture of me with Sol). On Friday we will meet all of the "alumni" from our exchange program.

Tomorrow we are visiting the Congressional building. Another fun day for SM students and chaperones!

Monday, June 24th

Another sunny but cool day in Montevideo. Students are back to school after a weekend of activities. We are gearing up for next week's Pachacuti service camp. Tomorrow we have a meeting at school where we will address the necessities that the students need to bring with them: mattress pad, sleeping bag, blankets, pillow, warm clothes....Milo and I will buy some extra blankets, just in case. Our plan is to rent a car for a few days next week and visit each campsite where our SM students are staying.  Ryan Sandell is recuperating from a bad cold so he has been staying home for a couple of days.
In all, I think that students are enjoying their new culture and getting to practice their Spanish!
I e-mailed the students in English, and Mirko wrote back in Spanish saying that he had to use a Google translator to understand English since he habla solo espanol!

Saturday & Sunday, June 22nd and 23rd

On Saturday we visited an Estancia, a ranch called Renacimiento. It was about an hour's drive from Montevideo into the country side. We had a delicious asado with a variety of different grilled meat: beef, chicken, sausages etc.  Plus pancakes with ice-cream and dulce de leche for dessert! We were able to ride on a tractor, ride horses and step into a train wagon from 1910. We also fed and petted some of the farm animals: cows, bunnies, and chickens. The weather was sunny but cool. Today's temperature range between 37-46 degrees.

Friday, June 21st

Today we met with the students and their host brothers/sisters for pictures. We are all excited about going to an Uruguayan Estancia tomorrow. We will get to experience rural life on a ranch, go horseback riding and eating their delicious "asado" (BBQ).  More information will be coming tomorrow.

Thursday, June 20th

Today my husband Milo and I visited the students at Colegio Seminario. We were met by smiling faces! All our students seemed well rested and happy in their classes and with their families. I asked them to send me e-mails with photos and information about what they are doing with their families and new friends. Hopefully I can post some interesting stories soon!  Sarah said that she and her host sister Valentina went to Ryan's host family to spend some time with Ryan and Ivan. They had a great time!

Ryan was standing outside the classroom when we passed by,  eating one of the numerous snacks that he needs to stay so "strong" looking! We asked him if he gets enough to eat, and he responded that he gets plenty! Ha, ha!  I checked the school's menu and saw that they have a variety of tasty options. Zach said that both his family and the school serve him exactly the food that he loves!

We passed by the classrooms where Mirko, Natalie and Greg were sitting and listening attentively, and all three were showing thumbs up, indicating that they were having a good time in class:)

Tomorrow we are meeting at school for a group picture. I will post it tomorrow! Next week we have two field trips: one to the old town and one to the parliamentary building. That should be interesting!

Wednesday, June 19th

Today the students have a relaxing day off since it's the celebration of the birthday of Jose Artigas, a national hero who died in 1850. He is considered the father of Uruguayan nationhood.
Temperature right now is 48 degrees!
MIRKO AND ZACH
SARAH AND NATALIE
GREG AND RYAN

Tuesday at Colegio Seminario

Milo and I went to meet the students at Colegio Seminario for a lesson about the history of Uruguay.
After the class we went to have lunch at the school: delicious sandwiches and alfajores for dessert.
The students are very popular at the school. Everyone wants to get to know them. Being from California seems to be very interesting!
Sarah and Natalie said that it's a little hard to understand their "fast" Spanish with the Uruguayan accent, but I think it's just a matter of time before they get the hang of it.
Tomorrow they have a day off, an official school holiday. They can catch up on their sleep and really hang out with their new friend.

We arrived - at last!

After a 12-hour delay we finally arrived in Montevideo. Today the students are getting a tour of Colegio Seminario high school.

Montevideo - Las Ramblas