Uruguay, I'll miss you

Well, this will probably be my last post from Uruguay. The next few days look like they're going to be extremely busy (full of food, fun, and lots of fotos) and I don't think I'll have internet access until I get back to Utah. I can't believe that it's been three months. I guess to a certain extent it's like a mission. I mean, I feel like I just got here but at the same time I feel like it's been forever since I left. It's definitely a bittersweet goodbye. I am SO excited to see my family and friends and, let's be honest, I've been craving Cafe Rio for quite some time now. Also high on my list of things that I'm so excited to get back to are the summer weather, swimming pools, the gym, grass, and carpet (I know it sounds weird, but you don't know how much you love it until you don't have it). There is SO MUCH that I'm going to miss about Uruguay, however, and that makes it a hard goodbye. Among other things, I'm going to miss:

• alfajores
  
• seeing the sunrise on the beach


• handmade pasta


• the fresh fruit and vegetable stands


• public transportation


• the entertainment on the public transportation - singers, guitar players, people selling all sorts of treasures, actors reciting poetry...never a dull day on the bus


• chivitos (that heart attack on a plate steak sandwich)


• the dog walkers - there's something so entertaining about watching a guy walk down the street (more like get dragged down the street) with 15+ dogs


• the fact that I can strike up a conversation with anyone...and that they'll talk to you as if you've been best friends for life


• walking along the Rambla (the walkway along the beach)

However, I'm going to miss the people here more than anything else. The Uruguayos are unlike anyone I've ever met. They are so kind, accepting, and loving...even to complete strangers. I remember one of my first days here sitting on the bus when a blind man got on the bus to beg for money. Well, he wasn't really blind and everyone knew it. He could see just as well as I can, but was trying to get money out the people because of his "disability". Even though EVERYONE knew he wasn't blind, almost every person on that bus dropped some money into his can. No judging, no confrontation, just sympathy for someone so down and out that he pretended to be blind. That is so typical of the amazing people here and I'm going to miss that. The friends I have made here are definitely friends for life and I am so thankful for each and every one of them.

This picture so perfectly depicts our ward here and I LOVE IT!!!

Kind of a dark picture...what do you expect from a picture taken with self-timer?? Pati and Jime came over to merendar with us

Yvonne and I at the CRE