Since I have gotten back from Uruguay, I have seen several people who have asked me, “How was your trip?!” Unfortunately, I had just a few minutes to give them an answer. How on Earth do I summarize four months in just a couple of minutes? How do I summarize four months in just 500 words? I could go on and on and on about my semester abroad, but I will limit myself to what I found to be the highlights and the most important lessons I learned.
Within the first couple of days being in Montevideo, I reached the frustration stage of culture shock. I realized how little Spanish I knew and was frustrated with my inability to communicate. Luckily, I was able to use this frustration as motivation to improve my spanish, become accustomed to the culture, and make local friends. I signed up to have a language partner, which was the best decision I made during the semester. I was able to practice Spanish with her and she practiced English with me. She quickly became my friend and introduced me to her family and friends, showed me around where she lives in Montevideo, and taught me more about her culture while I taught her about mine. I also made local friends through a college organization called “La Ruta.” We went to several of their events and were able to hang out with a few of them during our last couple of days in Montevideo. Through La Ruta, I also made four friends from the US. I find it funny how God uses a country so far from home to bring people together that live in the same country.
During the semester, we also had the opportunity to travel to other countries around Uruguay and even different cities within Uruguay. In Uruguay, we traveled to two beach cities, Punta del Este and Rocha, where we experienced the relaxed aspect of the Uruguayan culture. We traveled to Colonia, the oldest city in Uruguay, where we learned about the rich history of the country. Lastly, we traveled to Piriapolis, where we hiked a mini-mountain, went to a zoo, and spent more time at a beach.
In terms of other countries, we took a group trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where we spent a few days learning about their history and experiencing a culture very similar yet very different to that of Uruguay. We also took a group trip to Peru, where we spent two days in Lima surfing and learning about their history, four days in Cusco, exploring different Incan Ruins, museums, and various cultural events, and one day at Machu Picchu, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, where we learned about the Incas and hiked up a giant mountain where we saw Machu Picchu from the top. My favorite trip was my week-long trip to Patagonia with Ashleigh and Autumn. To shortly sum up my experience in Patagonia, I can only say that I truly started to realize how powerful God is and how vast His creation is. We walked on a glacier, ate lunch on a mountain in the snow, and visited another national park with several beautiful mountains that look like they came out of a painting. All of our travel experiences were fantastic opportunities to learn about other cultures, see the world, and experience God in different ways.
There is so much more that I could say about my semester, but I will leave it at this: my semester abroad was the best time of my life. It taught me so much about myself and about other cultures that I could not have experienced through a textbook. I am so thankful for the opportunity that I was given and hope to use my experience in a multitude of areas of my life.
