What a week.

This past week has been crazy and full of new experiences. Everyone here at Casa ACU is trying to get used to the work load (2 hour Spanish lessons everyday are a lot) as well as really get used to actually living here. I am slowly mastering the bus system which is the primary means of transportation within the city. We even made a successful trip to the grocery store and have been cooking some great meals!

Early in the week we took a tour of Montevideo, getting some of the more "touristy" things out of the way early on. We visited several historical sites, memorials for fallen soldiers and my favorite, the historic cemetery. Anyone who is anybody is buried here and it was just very surreal to be surrounded my so many above ground graves both hundreds of years old as well as brand new.

More importantly, carnival was this week. Every South American country has its own carnival celebration, the most famous one takes place in Rio, Montevideo however, has the longest carnival. Think like a parade...but better. Carnival features dancers, singers, drumming groups and many other interesting acts. It started at 8:30 and went past midnight! 

Me and this singer bonded 

That Sunday we got invited to a traditional Uruguayan Asado, or BBQ. The food was absolutely fantastic and the house was right on beach. It was awesome to get some very traditional food and see what rural Uruguay looks like.