Oddities and confusion.

Despite the fact that I went to bed early around 3 a.m. last night, I neglected to wake up until 1:08 p.m. today. I jumped out of bed, threw on some clothes that were on my floor and ran down to the kitchen, as I had to be in class at 1:30. Hustling down the street, I flagged down the bus, which left while my left foot was still on the sidewalk. The buses here tend to be in a hurry. Normally, I have my bus money of 18 pesos in my hand, ready to get on the bus. Because I was running late, smellin´unshowered and my hair a mess, I had to rummage through my bookbag for my money, as a line of poeple were waiting half-patiently behind me. Every Uruguayan knows that the rules to riding the bus are, one, don´t wear your bookbag on your back so that it hits everyone in the face; two, have your money ready before you get on the bus; and three, never pay with big bills. Unfortunately, I broke all of those rules, for all I had was 500 pesos. I told the money collector man, with a nice smile, that I unfortunatley did not have any change. A little upset, he waved me through, saying that I just should not worry about it. Wow, this is one of those times in life where being late and acting like an idiot actually pays off. As we reached our stop and I plowed through groups of giddy middle schoolers who were oh so excited that it was Friday, a small lady looked at me and asked me if I was getting off at the next bus stop. I told her yes, and asked her if she was too. She told me that I should get change when I get off at the next stop. I was a little confused- Yes, of course I would have loved to correctly pay for my bus ticket, but did she really think that the bus was going to wait for me to go walk to a kiosk, as for change, get the change and walk back to the bus? She knows that buses there leave you if you hesitate for even half a second. I blew off the situation, got off the bus, and hustled to class, as I was already about ten minutes late. 

Naturally, I decided it would be a great idea to stop into a supermarket to grab my new favorite drink, Fanta Cero Naranja (Orange Fanta Zero). I grabbed the delicious treat and marched to the cash register. "I only have a 500 peso bill, is that okay?" I asked the lady, who of course smiled and told me "tá, no pasa nada." (That´s okay, no problem). I told her that obviously trying to use a 500 peso bill on the bus does not imply "no pasa nada." She laughed and asked what happened when I tried to use a 500 bill on the bus. I told her the bus driver let me go for free. "Es probablemente porque tenés un acento," ("It´s probably because you have an accent") she told me. She asked me where I was from, and right before I was about to tell her the United States, "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus blared from the speakers. Life could not have been more coincidental. Laughing, I told her I was from the U.S., just like Miley Cyrus, the singer who was currently on the radio singing "hay una fiesta en los estados unidos." The lady looked at me as if I just told her there was a dead animal lying on the floor next to her. I guess she was not familiar with the song. 

Fanta cero en hand, I hustled past the group of businessmen at the busstop I pass everyday on the way to school. They could not look more bored. Hey, at least it was Friday. 

I ran into the back way to my university, where the lady yelled at me for going through the exit that cars used instead of the entrance that humans used. That´s proof right there that I attend a private university-- where else in Uruguay would they actually care? 

Once in my literature class (only 20 minutes late), I was prepared to talk about Maní, the story our professor told us to read. Instead, we talked about random things that happened in the world during the 20th century. There is just such an overwhelming amount of structure and organization in my classes that I don´t know what to do with myself, cough. An hour and ten miserably boring and confused minutes later, I left class and headed downstairs to pick up photocopies (there are no textbooks. Anytime a student needs class material, they pay for photocopies) for my friend Rob. In Spanish, I told them I need to pick up photocopies for a friend, and they told me they would get someone who speaks English. I guess they did not realize I spoke Spanish to them. When the "English speaker" arrived, he spoke Spanish to me. I was very confused. Why would they send me an "English speaker" who actually only speaks Spanish when I spoke to them in Spanish in the first place? Anyways, as they were finding what I needed, the lady behind the desk asked me where I was from and if I liked Uruguay. I told her that I loved Uruguay and that Uruguayos were very nice. She then went on a rant about how I was too nieve and had obviously never met any Uruguayos, as most of them were not nice at all. She instructed me to not talk to anyone on the streets, for the only nice Uruguayos work at the University. 

Hm, I believe this lady neglected to remember that sometimes she walks down the street, herself. A little thrown from the actions of the day, I left the university and left on the bus to go home. On the bus, a group of middle school aged girls said, "Mira a la chica grande con la mochila!" and pointed at me. Her friends turned around and they cracked up. 

Hm. Happy Friday! 

Random food for thought (if it´s Uruguayan food, it´s not spicy:)

Five Interesting occurrences in the city and other beautiful parts of Uruguay:

• I happened to awake at exactly 5:55 a.m. Sunday morning in Punta Del Diablo. I arose from my bed in my carpe-diem-themed hostel and after takin´ care of business, I stumbled out of our dorm styled bathrooms and into the upstairs lobby. Our outdoor porch featured a refrigerator with magnets from around the world, representing visitors from diverse backgrounds and nationalities, but whom share the one goal of traveling the world. Next the refrigerator was food from late night get togethers and piles of dishes that residents neglected to wash. After all, nobody travels the world with the hopes of doing dishes. Once I was able to look past the clutter, I saw the horizon in the distance. The sun was peaking over the black line that divides the ocean from the sky. Half awake, I searched for my camera amongst ten sleeping girls and stumbled down the stairs of the hostel as I made my way to the ocean. There, in my long pants still wearing my socks, I plopped on the sand and stared at the ocean. An hour later, the sun rose. It was by far the most beautiful sunrise I´ve ever seen in my life, despite my soaking wet socks and the boys who asked me if I was drunk on the beach, in which I responded no, just enjoying nature, thanks.

• One morning, I was sleeping in, for my class "Idioma Español B2," or Spanish Language class, was scheduled to visit "El Museo de Juan Zorrilla de San Martín," which is in the house of Juan Zorrilla de San Martín, the national poet of Uruguay, later that day. I woke up to World War III, as my roommate calls it. Construction workers were hammering on the direct other side of the wall of our room. My roommate Shantala yelled various phrases, such as "cállate," "shut up," slept with three pillows on her head, her headphones in her ears and often even banged on the wall in response to them.  Later, I was awoken by my host dad, DuDu, marching into the room. He decided it would be a grand idea to throw water on my head and on my bed. What a wake up call for a Monday morning! Then he presented me with a beautiful gift: "orejas negras," or "black ears," which is a type of seed literally shaped like a black ear. I ran away and took a shower.
• Walking around the city with Americans often causes a scene, for it is often obvious we are not from Uruguay. ("How do you know of Uruguay?" many people ask us, and we politely respond that we have brains and a map.) It is not uncommon for men to stare at us as if they have never seen the female species. A very Uruguayan example of this follows: One time we were walking down the street. An ambulance, with its lights on, slowed down. Both the driver and the passenger seat turn their heads to look at us. Note that they were both socially drinking Mate. I just pray this was not a life or death situation.
• It is not rare to see men walking about 10 dogs at once. It is truly impressive, especially since some of the dogs here look more like they are from the large cat species. For example, there is this huge dog on our way to school, who we call "el tigre," or "the tiger," because he´s so giant.
• The other night, we went to a boliche, or a night club, called "Opa." My roommates Uruguayo friends work there and he got us in free, as they are pushing for a lot of people since it just opened. It was around five a.m., and we saw our host brother and his friends who had just arrived. I was talking to one of his friends, who asked me if I had ever heard of "Carmelo." Sí, I told him, as Carmelo chocolate is one of my favorite chocolate. He nodded his head and told me that Carmelo makes him happy, relaxed and he wants to take me and my friends there one day. I was slightly confused. Was he trying to take us to a Carmelo factory? After he said that he has a house there (which he does not, people always lie to convince you to hang out with them), I realized that Carmelo is actually a place in Uruguay. Yay for once again falling victim to the language barrier. One would assume that being in a country for over a month to eliminate part of the language barrier. We finally left the boliche with our host brother and his friends, who said they could drive us home. The Carmelo guy offered for us to use his car, too, as there were too many of us to fit in one car. I jumped into my host brother´s car, as did the rest of my friends. Turns out we could totally fit in one car. My host brother stepped on the gas, and the Carmelo guy was waving behind us. I asked my host brother why he was leaving the his friend the Carmelo guy. My host brother proceeded to tell me that he had never met that guy in his life. Yay for lucking out on not getting in the car with the Carmelo creeper. 

Y, ahora, en Español: 

Cinco ocurrencias interesantes en la ciudad y otras partes hermosas de Uruguay:

• Por casualidad, me desperté exactamente a las 5:55 de la mañana de Domingo en Punta Del Diablo. Levanté de mi cama en mi hostal de carpe-diem-temático y después de terminar algo, tropecé de nuestros baños que similares de los en dormitorios, y tropecé a cabildear arriba. Nuestro porche exhibe una heladera con imanes de alrededor el mundo, representan visitados de fondos diversidades y nacionales, pero comparten la meta de viajar el mundo. Al lado de la heladera había la comida de reuniones tardes y montones de platos que residentes descuidar de lavar. Después de todo, nadie viaja el mundo con las esperanzas de lavar platos. Eventualmente, vi detrás la desorden y vi el horizonte en la distancia. El sol encumbró encima la línea negra que divide el mar del cielo. Un poco despertaba,  busque mi camera por diez chicas dormidas y  tropecé a bajo las escaleras del hostal mientras caminé al mar. Allá, en mis pantalones largos, me senté en la arena y me quedé mirando al mar. Después de una hora, el sol se alzó. Fue lo mejor a amanecer he vista en mi vida, a pesar de mis calcetines mojadas y los chicos que me preguntaron si estaba borracha en la playa, en que les respondí  no, sólo estoy disfrutando la naturaleza, gracias.

• Una mañana, estaba durmiendo muy tarde en el día, porque mi clase se llama "Idioma Español B2," fue a visitar "El Museo de Juan Zorrila de San Martín," que está en la casa de Juan Zorilla de San Martín, el poeta nacional de Uruguay, luego eso día. Me desperté a la tercera guerra mundial, como se dice mi compañero de cuarto, Shantala. Trabajadores construcciones estaban martillando  el otro lado de la pared de nuestro cuarto. Shantala gritó varios frases, como "cállate," "shut up," durmió con tres almohadas encima de su cabeza, sus auriculares en sus orejas y tal vez golpeó ruidosamente en la pared en una respuesta a los trabajadores. Luego, me desperté de mi papá uruguayo DuDu que marchó en el cuarto. Decidió que fue un idea genial tirar agua en mi cabeza y en mi cama. Que una manara despertarse en una mañana de lunes! Luego, me presentó con un regalo hermoso: orejas negras, un tipa de semilla moldea como orejas. Me escapé y me duché.
• Caminando alrededor la ciudad con los estadounidenses tal veces cause una escena, porque es obvio que no estamos de Uruguay. ("Cómo sabe de Uruguay?" muchas personas nos piden, y respondimos amigables, "tenemos los mapas y los cerebros.") No es inusual que los varones nos quedan mirados como nunca ven las especies de chicas. Un ejemplo uruguayo de eso sigue: Una ambulancia con sus luces encendidas baja mientras caminamos por la calle. El conducir y la pasajero doblaron sus cabezas de mirarnos. Nota que ellos estaban tomando Mate al mismo tiempo. Sólo orar esto no fue una situación que determinada la vida o la muerte.
• No es rara ver varones caminando diez perros simultáneamente. Es muy impresionante, especialmente porque algunos perros acá parecen como ellos son de la especie de los gatos grandes. Por ejemplo, hay un perro grande en camino de la universidad quien le llamamos "el tigre," porque el es tan gigante.
• La otra noche fuimos a un boliche se llama "Opa." El amigo de mi compañero de cuarto trabaja allá y nos permite entrar gratis, porque el boliche quiere muchas personas de entrar porque acaba de abrir. Era cinco en la mañana y vimos nuestro hermano uruguayo y sus amigos, quien acababa de llegar. Estaba hablando con uno de sus amigos, quien me preguntó si había oido de "Carmelo." "Sí," le dije, porque Carmelo chocolate es una de mis marcas preferidas. Él asintió con la cabeza y me dijo que Carmelo le hace feliz, relajado y quiere traer mis amigos y yo allá un día. Estaba un poquito confundida. Él trataba de traernos a una fábrica de Carmelo? Después de dijo que tiene una casa allá (fue una mentira, las personas dicen eso siempre para convencer las chicas de reunirse con ellos), di me cuenta que Carmelo es actualmente un lugar en Uruguay. Por supuesto fue una victima de un problema con entender la idioma Español. Asumiría que estar en un país por más que un mes para eliminar algunos de los problemas con Español. Finalmente, fuimos el boliche con nuestro hermano uruguayo y sus amigos, quien dijeron que nos manejaría a la casa. El hombre Carmelo ofreció manejarnos, también, porque había demasiado de nosotros de caber en un auto. Brinque en al auto de mi hermano uruguayo, y mis amigos entraron, también. En actualidad, cabríamos en un auto. Mi hermano uruguayo pisó en el acelerador mientras el hombre Carmelo estaba gesticuló sus manos detrás de nosotros. Pregunté a mi hermano uruguayo porque él salió a su amigo el hombre de Carmelo. Él me dijo que él nunca había conocido el hombre Carmelo en su vida. Teníamos suerte porque no subieron en el auto del creeper.