El Final
The last couple of days have been a bit nostalgic. I have
been replaying various events that happened throughout the last four months in
my head. I started out this journey being anxious and excited, with a whole lot
of nervousness. I thought some of you might enjoy some of the stories I have
experienced in the last semester. I am currently on a 9-hour flight, trying to
stay awake so I can adjust to the time back home a bit easier. One of the
awesome things about studying abroad in a place that doesn’t speak your own
language is that you have to have complete faith. I had to learn that lesson
this semester. I was able to see God in a whole new way. I attended a church
called Centro Cristiano Montevideo this semester and one of the wonderful events
that took place, there were many, was that they invited a man off the streets
who had a kind spirit and gentle eyes. You could tell he had lived a hard life
and was struggling to survive, but this community of believers welcomed him
into their family with open arms. They offered to help him find a job so he
could then find a place to live. It was so beautiful to see a body of believers
doing the work of God.
Some other interesting things that have happened to me this
semester is the fact that while my Spanish improved immensely my English
definitely decreased. I at times invert the order of sentences, using my
Spanish grammar with my English sentences, which becomes very confusing at
times. God has truly blessed me this semester, our group was so dedicated to
God’s call, we were such a musical group that a spontaneous worship would take
place. I remember one night, we had just had a group of Uruguayan friends over
and we were all trying to pitch in to help wash and dry all the dishes, there
were about five of us, and we broke out into praise songs. This was one of the
more beautiful experiences I have had in my time abroad, you are able to fully
commit to worshipping Christ when you are not worrying about flipping to number
463 in the hymnal.
What I missed while in Uruguay:
1.
Obviously friends and family
2.
Dr. Pepper
3.
Three musketeers
4.
Taco Bueno
5.
La Popular breakfast burritos
6.
Free refills
7.
Free bathrooms
8.
Spaces actually made for tall people (Every
bathroom I went to, I would always ram my knees into the walls also the tables
were tiny, so I was constantly bumping into whomever was sitting across from
me)
What I will miss from Uruguay:
1.
Papiro’s (a wonderful pizza place that I became
a regular at, they in fact knew my order by heart)
2. The little bakeries that could be found on every
street corner
4.
Squishing my feet into the sand on the beach
5.
Being able to fall asleep anywhere (Every bus we
would get on to, I would immediately fall asleep, I have no idea how but it was
so relaxing I suppose)
6.
Our ACU Casa community
7.
Being able to wake up for class only a few
minutes before it started
8.
Raquel’s food
9.
Speaking Spanish
And last but most definitely not least the wonderful people I met!