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!