A Nation's Team

Ok, so what I am about to do is going to be really hard for many reasons. 

A.      Because I am trying to explain a feeling that has taken over me and a whole nation, without having you guys here.

B.      Because I am about to cover in GREAT detail a day that lasted an entire 24 hours  for me. 

C.      Because I haven’t slept much in the last 24 hours.

Yesterday (still meaning Saturday) ,  I took off into the city to renovate my national ID before traveling to Buenos Aires to see Uruguay play in the final of Copa America.  Already, there are so many crazy things about this sentence.  First… it was just luck that when I got my date for renewing my cedula, they gave me a day that would allow me to travel, because NO cedula means NO travelling to Buenos Aires. The second crazy part is that I GOT TO GO TO THE FINALS OF COPA AMERICA!!!!!! It is surreal.

Soon after leaving Elena’s house the atmosphere and spirit took over.  The city was on a high! The people on the bus were talking to strangers, the flags had taken over, and there was even music and dancing at the mall…. It was crazy!

Upon arrival at my uncle Emiliano’s house (and aunt Alexandra, cousins Diego, Felipe, and Cata),  I handed out some scarves for the trip (so that we would all be wearing blue)  and we went to sleep anxiously  awaiting the 7:00 am departure for what awaited us in Buenos Aires, and believe me, none of us knew what that would be.  Emiliano, Diego, Feli, and I got on the bus at 7:15 to Colonia, where we would get on the boat to go to Buenos Aires.  Already the energy was in the air, people were decked out in all of their celeste (sky blue, color of Uruguay), and the world was cracking jokes.  By the time we got to Colonia the multitude had multiplied.  In Colonia there were cars parked on sidewalks from the people that had driven and taken the boat.  The people at the port were more than ready.  There were constant cheers from “soy celeste” to “vamos a ser campeon.”  It was thrilling and invigorating! The boat ride was incredible…. If people were cheering at the port, I don’t even know what to call what went down on the boat.  There were blow horns, there were vuvuzelas, there was face paint, there were wigs, here was more than one person per flag, and most of all there was pride.

Upon arrival in Buenos Aires, we had a bit of a wait before our bus got there to take us to the stadium.  This was just enough time to start soaking in what we were witnessing.  It took me a second to realize how incredible it was that all you could see in Buenos Aires were Uruguayan flags, because at first it didn’t click that we were in a different country.  The streets were PACKED with Uruguay fans and some scattered Paraguayans in between… Both fans were out to have a party and they got along just fine! As we made our way slowly to the stadium we stop at the obelisk, where Uruguay had taken over… There were flags and people  in celeste EVERYWHERE! 

Once at the stadium, we got off and started walking.  The spirit and pride just kept increasing with every step.  On the way there, the cheers were heard from miles away, the drums led our footsteps, Uruguayans were heard helping out the Paraguayans with some cheers, and the smiles plagued the streets. It was incredible! As we got closer to the stadium everything kept getting better! There was suddenly music, the Uruguayan broadcasters were there, there were juggling contest, and people were just ready to enjoy the gift that our team had given us.  Though we were going in as favorites, I don’t think anybody was expecting a sure win. 

Entering the stadium was, for me, the biggest shock.  Though Alexandra had told us we were on row 2, I had expected to either be on row 2 of a very high section, or be soooo close that we wouldn’t se anything.  It was the opposite!!!! The seats were incredible! We could see the players expressing, watch them warm up, and almost hear what they yelled to each other (or we would have been able to, had there not been between 30,000 and 40,000 Uruguayans yelling their guts out). Between our seats and the fact that we watched for 2 hours as that stadium filled up with Uruguayans, I did not have much to say.   I couldn’t take it all in,  it was too much.  Then …. The players came in…

The players that I have been following religiously since the world cup, the players that have given this little country so much pride,  it just all took my breath away…. For the first time, I think, I heard the national anthem sung with feeling and pride, and it sounded GREAT!!!! We were sooo close to it all!  And then… Suarez scores!!!! Point for me (since I predicted Suarez (1) Forlan (2) Palito Pereira (1))!!!!!!  It was crazy, he scored so soon into the game, could it be that Uruguay would go through a game without suffering?!?!?!?! Then…. Forlan scores! After a year of not getting one in the net!!!!!  It was just crazy, the crowds were eating it up!!! We went to half time full of smiles but worried, since we have always had to before. But just when we thought our guys were done for the night, Forlan comes back at it and scores!!! UNREAL, two in one night after all of the things they had said about his lack of scoring.  It was too much.  After it was over, we stayed some and then … we stayed some more!!! After all,  we HAD to watch them get their cup and see Coates get his Best Young Player Award and Suarez get his Best Player Award.  It was crazy, the put the cup in the goal and all ran into the goal, then they did it on the other side, then they look the victory lap, and this is where my most incredible memory come from.  Lugano’s face… that is basically all I have to say.  Except, this time it was full of price, surprise, tears, happiness, and disbelief. His face said it all!  Amongst the overplayed Copa America song the cheers were heard until the very last moment.

Leaving the stadium, it seemed like all of the Paraguayans had switched shirts, because the celeste was EVERY WHERE!  We  walked to our bus amongst the festivities and enjoyed the feeling unity that hadn’t been seen amongst the people of Uruguay in many years.  Our bus took us back to the port, and we headed to dinner on a beautiful boardwalk.  There were even Uruguayans there that had chosen, like us, to skip the crazy streets and head to dinner (since we were STARVING).  On our way we saw a million of celebrating faces and whether you knew them or not, everyone was friends for a day.  After eating very slowly we still had almost 4 hours to wait until our ship left at 1:45 am.  At this point, we left Feli at the port and went on a walk.  It was beautiful out and my uncle gave me a lovely tour of Argentina by night, since we also lost Diego to the cold along the way.  It was lovely and by the time we got back to the port we were ready to sleep. 

At the Buquebus station (port) there were a ton of Uruguayans that had been out all day and had decided to nap on the floor until the late ships left.  It was a great sight… There were still some cheers going on even at 1:45, when our ship left.  The ship remained silent (aside from snores)  and the bus back to Montevideo also.  The celeste was still seen everywhere and grandparents kept telling their children what a historic moment they had witnessed.

It is so hard for me to explain what this was like.  The people, the joy, the full stadium,  the Uruguayan crowds in Argentina, the Argentineans cheering on for Uruguay, the victory, the player’s faces, and what this meant to this tiny little nation.  Soccer, here, is like a religion, and for many years there have been only disappointment for us.  Now, with this leadership that the team has, it serves as an example for everyone of how hard work pays off…  They are just full of humility, it is soooo impressive.  The work that they have done is very obvious and they are such a professional group that they serve as an example for the growing kids that look at them as heroes.  It is magical what they are doing, and I am soooo grateful, which is why I am glad they won this!

On another note, though there were a TOOOOOONNNNNNN of Uruguayans in Buenos Aires, we knew it was about to get crazy back home.  People in Montevideo were waiting for the players at 10:30 when they arrived at the airport.  From there it took them way over 4 hours to get through the cheering crowds in the city and make it to the stadium, where there were over 60,000 Uruguayans ready to welcome them.  They made it there when it was almost 3 am (we were in Colonia).  This route that took them 4 hours, usually only takes about 30 minutes on a sloooowww day.  IT WAS CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Everyone stayed up, everyone was thrilled, everyone celebrated, and they got to be received like they should be after giving this country so much joy.   I am also soooo grateful to my aunt and uncle that invited me and gave me this wonderful present!!!!

I know this is the craziest summary ever, but it is now 8 o’clock in the morning, and I only slept the 2 hours on the bus, but I really wanted to post something before I fell asleep!!!!  Hope it makes sense, but it is REALLY hard to explain the joy and pride that this has brought me!

U RU GUAY!!!!!!

After the visits it was hard to get back in the work state of mind….  The first days were a drag trying to figure out how to format this story, where to start, what to include, what to exclude, etc…. For now, I am taking the easy route and going through it chronologically.  The beginning, Berlin in the 30s, has been tedious because most of it was written already… Oma had stories everywhere and they are soooooo detailed!  There are stories in letters, in documents to a museum, in emails, etc.  This section alone has taken me all week!! And let me make something clear, I have done NOTHING else, well…. Except watch 2 soccer games…  (I’ll get to that in a second!)

The first days of formatting involved a lot of fact checking, researching, and reading.  In between all of this, I realized that one of Oma’s cousins, Evelyn Garbatti, should still be living and in the United States.  As I searched for her, I came across a lot of adds searching for her, and I got in contact with the man searching for her.  He is a researcher from Yale that has been researching the other side of her family.  He sent me some information on Heini and Helen, Evelyn’s parents, and in return I sent him some dates that I had from their trips from Shanghai to Montevideo.  It is truly fascinating to realize that someone else is looking for the material that I’m finding.  This was enough to get me all fired up again!!!

Since then, I have outlined the entire book, written the first 7 pages (still on Berlin)of the book, and really hit a bump on the road.

 On Wednesday, I met with Hanne for the first time.  At that point I realized the amount of letters that I needed help with, and after an hour of watching her struggle, like I do, with the letters, I realized that I am pretty much alone to figure them out…  This is one of the scariest thoughts up to this point, but I have decided that I am going to focus on the hundreds of letters that I have read, the stories I have, and the legible material I still haven’t read.   With this material, I will continue to write the story and the book, later I will fill in the book with the details in these letters that I haven’t been able to decipher yet… But it is going to be very rough and long, VERY LONG!!!!

On another note, it was wonderful to start learning about Hanne’s story.  I was very surprised to find out that she is technically not Jewish…. Well, the issue is that her mother was not Jewish, just her dad.  Though her mother converted to Judaism, when the Nazis came she renounced it and they would have been safe staying in Frankfurt.  However, her father was taken to a concentration camp, Buchenwald,  and her mother refused to stay in a place that he would be persecuted.  Hanne’s father was let go from Buchenwald because he had the iron cross that signaled he had fought in WWI.  When he was released, he still did not want to leave and had to be convinced by Hanne’s mother…  As Hanne said, “he was more German than Jewish, most of them were…”   Though I couldn’t get as much of her story as I wished to get in 3 hours, I will be meeting with her again. 

Now the rest of the week was just tedious details that I don’t care to share, because, truthfully,  I’m over it!!!  I am ready to focus on the big picture, and I am doing well doing it. 

Now, on to those two soccer games that sound like they mean NOTHING.  Oh but they do mean something, they actually mean a lot.  They mean that our little Cinderella story of a team beat Argentina, the host of Copa America, out of their out tournament, and then beat Peru to move on to the finals.  THE FINALS!!!!!  It is unreal. This country is up and they are happy, they are PROUD.  The word is that Uruguay is a favorite, since Paraguay has made it thus far but hasn’t won a game… This scares the entire country and the ones that are the least sure are the players.  They have maintained an incredible humility and have to be some of the most humble and respectful people I’ve seen on tv in a long time.  All they keep saying is, “this is for you guys, enjoy it.  We are going to do what we can, but it is for you Uruguay.” 

Here, there are flags everywhere, which is not the norm here.  The people seem happier and all the headlines are about the 20,000 Uruguayans that are heading to Buenos Aires for the final.  Though everyone wants a win, they are more than pleased with the results thus far.  Supporting and Proud, those are the words that I would use to describe this nation today. 

With a crisis over tickets, since Argentina release almost no tickets to Uruguay and Paraguay, there  are still an incredible number of Uruguayans making the skip across the puddle to Buenos Aires to watch the big game.  Best part of all, I GET TO GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   I can’t even believe it,  however, my uncle Emiliano is going with my cousins Diego and Felipe, and they invited me to go.  Though we were not guaranteed tickets until last night, we have them now.  It is unreal! When Alexandra mentioned it, I hesitated, but then whether they expected it or not, I gave them a YES!!! Now we are leaving tomorrow at 7:30 in the morning to Buenos Aires, and we will return at 6:15 a.m. Monday morning.  It is going to be CRAZY but unforgettable…. I get to see this country at its highest point, and it is wonderful.  Though I will miss the caravan in Montevideo if they win, I will be at the stadium wishing and praying that these players get to have the victory that they deserve after giving this little country so much pride!    URUGUAY NOMA!!!! VAMOS ARRIVA LA CELESTE!!!!!!

Continuation from the last post... the last updates with pictures!

Thursday July 7^th –

On Thursday we woke up early to go to my aunt and uncles house in Atlantida.  When we arrived, my aunt Silvana was  making homemade spaghetti for all of us. 

Silvana's Pasta!

 We enjoyed the wonderful lunch together, but then she had to leave for Montevideo since her grandmother (90) was in the hospital.  After lunch, my cousin Rodrigo (11) took us all on a tour of Atlantida.  It was wonderful! After spending so many days in Montevideo, it is nice to enjoy a beautiful sunny day in Atlantida!  After walking around the center, to the beach, and to “the Eagle” (picture below).

The Eagle

 Then we continued through the beach to the center and had ice cream. 

The beach!

Then we headed to la feria (the weekly outdoor market in Atlantida).

Add caption

Here is where we met my uncle Rubito and shopped around for food.  It was a blast! We all split up (Rubito, German, Rodri, Sarah, Maia, and I) and we raced to get our things done faster. When we got back to their house, we all watched the U-17 team as it beat Brazil and made it to the finals of the World cup.  Again, the pride and happiness were refreshing.  Family, soccer, friends, joy, and pride are not a bad combination.  When we returned to Marianne’s that night, it was time to introduce Sarah to “El Cuento Chino” (a Chinese story, which is a movie).  Though we had to translate a little bit, it was totally worth it!  I think the humor shone through because we all had a blast laughing.

Friday July 8^th-

In the morning, we all woke up relatively early, grabbed some breakfast, and left.  Well, actually it wasn’t that easy to leave… Since I am apparently “key challenged,” we spent about 30 minutes trying to get the key out of the door… Priceless. We had set the alarm and I was terrified that it would go off at any point.  When we finally succeeded, we headed to the supermarket to get our lunch, which would be eaten on the bus ride to Montevideo, since at 2 we had to be at Omi’s house.  Our plan included a stop at Elena’s to drop off our stuff, however, since the bus took FOREVER, we went straight to Omi’s.  Her apartment is spectacular! It faces the port and has a magnificent view!  Omi, I repeat, was my grandmother’s best friend, who I will interview starting on Tuesday.  With the breathtaking view of the sailing boats, we sat down to chat.  Seeing Omi was like jumping back in time.  She looks the same, sounds the same, and still knows absolutely everything there is to know about Maia and me.   When I acted surprised about the amount of things she knew, she started telling me how she would talk on the phone with Oma every single night for about 2 hours.  As she started telling us how hard it is, since she lost her husband and best friend with only 10 days in between, I started to tear up.  Next thing I know, Omi is asking Sarah if she has a cold, and Sarah replies sniffling, “no, it’s just that when Martina gets upset, I can’t help it.”

With Omi!

That had us all laughing, and after a couple of hours we headed to Elena’s to get ready for the Uruguay vs. Chile game.  After cleaning up the mess we had made at Elena’s we headed down to “La Pasiva” again.  The stress level had increased for everyone.   I really thought Sarah was about to have a panic attack! Again.. we didn’t lose, but we didn’t win either…  A tie was sufficient and the crowd seemed pleased, and I was just happy it was over, Sarah hadn’t passed out, Maia was happy, and the rest of the group had survived! 

Maia was ready for the game!

After the game we returned to the apartment to finish watching the documentary D.F.  Also incredible! It is so well done!  I am going to try to bring back a copy with subtitles because I know more than one professor that would love to have it!  After the movie we all retired to bed in order to get some sleep before our Saturday adventure to Punta del Este!

Saturday July 9^th

We woke up at 8 (too early for me, since we went to be at about 2) …  At 9:25 we were in front of Alejandra’s apartment with breakfast (bizcochos!)  Maia and I met Alejandra in the U.S. when she came with her sweet daughter, Matilde, for  a year to teach Spanish at the university.  Alejandra volunteered to take Sarah, Maia, and me to Punta del Este, a very famous destination in Uruguay during the summer.  It has incredible beaches and when it’s pretty is plagued with tourists from all over the world.  Though the morning was cloudy (the first one since Sarah had arrived), it cleared up.  Before getting to Punta del Este we made a stop half-way at Piriapolis, also an incredible place ! 

View from "el cerro San Antonio"

 Here we stopped at the little puertito (port), saw two sea lions, and then went up the cerro (which to me is between a mountain and a hill… ).  Here we had a coffee, enjoyed the view, and rested before we continued our drive to Punta del Este. 

Puertito

The whole gang!

Our first stop in Punta del Este was “Punta Ballena,” (point of the whale, because it sort of looks like a whale).  The view here is awesome and we also got to visit the museum inside “casa pueblo,” which is the house seen bellow (very famous).

Casa Pueblo

View of Punta del Este from its own Puertito

After this stop we headed to the center of Punta del Este and its own puertito.  Here we ate outside by the beach and then headed to find more sea lions for Sarah.  Though we did not find that many, we got to see the fishermen as they brought in the catch of the day.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen that many fish.  CRAZY!!! 

View from where we ate

 After that we headed to the famous “mano,” (hand) which is located at the beach. 

One of "la mano"s fingers!

After taking some pictures with the hand we headed to the other side of Punta del Este through a very famous bridge that has a very unique design…

Didn't take this picture of the bridge, but wanted to give an idea

Here we watched the sun set and enjoyed some ice cream before we headed back to Montevideo!  We truly had an incredible time in a truly breathtaking place!  I’m soooo glad that Sarah got to see it!

Sunday July 10^th

With Maia’s last day approaching (Tuesday) things started to get hectic, because she had to see it all and visit with everyone.  The day started off pretty early with breakfast at Yenny’s, a bookstore we have gone to several times that is on the beach. Here we met with my mom’s childhood friend, Begona. After getting breakfast we went to “la feria Tristan Narvaja.”  This is a very famous outdoor Sunday market that has everything you can imagine.  Since Sarah was with us, we started with the animals.. Puppies, cats, turtles, birds, turkeys, snakes, lizards, bunnies, EVERYTHING AND MORE.. Then there is food, books, antiques to last 50 lifetimes, clothes, music, movies, EVERYTHING!!!  It covers more blocks than I could counts and it includes many many antique shops that are open with millions of things.  Sarah was in love.  I can’t count how many things she told me that she collected, but we came to the conclusion that when she returns, she will make this a regular visiting spot. 

After this we walked down “18 de Julio,” a very famous street.  We visited important monuments and then visited my aunt Elena, who was working hard at the hospital.  After chatting with her and getting to see the place where she works every Sunday, we headed back to Pocitos to Emiliano’s house in order to have lunch with the cousins before Maia left.  We had a lovely time chatting with everyone, and after lunch, Sarah, Maia, Cata, Emiliano, and I headed to a museum to see the works of some Uruguayan artists.  We loved them all!  After that we hung around for a little bit, and then my aunt Alexandra took us to Zoraida’s house.  She was also one of my mom’s childhood friends.  Here, the three of us and her 4 children watched the finals for the U-17 world cup (Uruguay vs Mexico .. IN MEXICO)….  Though they played well… it wasn’t quite enough, and we lost.  We had a blast though! We visited with the 6 of them and left around midnight.  Once at Elena’s, Sarah had to pack her suitcases because her plane left Monday!  After finishing everything we finally went to bed.

Monday July 11^th

At around 9, I was abruptly awakened by Sarita saying, “um… I just woke up, I wasn’t paying much attention, Elena was speaking in Spanish, but I think she said my flight is cancelled.”  I promise I thought I was dreaming…..  But I wasn’t.  I woke up to find the wonderful breakfast that Elena had bought for Sarah’s “last breakfast” here and Elena on the phone on hold with American trying to see what we could do.  Due to the ashes from the volcano, the flight from Miami had not come in and the one that night had been cancelled.  At that moment my instinct kicked in and I got on skype and called American in the U.S… In 30  minutes we had Sarah booked on the Thursday flight, since the one on Tuesday was already overbooked… After calming down, we proceeded to make improve itineraries for the next days!

At around 2, we headed to “el centro” to buy some things for my dad and walk around, since it was a wonderful day!   We went to the artisan’s market, which blew us away, and then took a bus to meet my aunt for coffee.  After eating some ice cream with Marianne, we proceeded to Lucia and Nacho’s apartment for Maia’s farewell dinner.  We had a blast!!! The funniest part of the night, I think, was when Elena starts telling Maia how she no longer likes Cavani(soccer player who we’ve been obsessing over all this time) because she’s found some things that surprised her.   Little does she know that Maia had just bought her his book as a thank you present…  At that point Maia goes to Lu’s room, gets the book and brings it out.  We all laughed for about 30 minutes!!! It was priceless and Elena loved it!  After enjoying the company of  some of the people I love the most, eating some yummy food, and watching a soccer game we headed back to Elena’s at around midnight. 

Tuesday July 12^th

Maia’s last day.  The day of the big game…. Would the plane leave?  Would Uruguay beat Mexico and move on to the next round of Copa America…. It would all be decided before midnight…. NERVES!!!

The day started with Maia enjoying the last bits of Elena! Then she headed to the hair salon to get her hair cut, styled, manicure, etc.  She came back about 3 hours later, we ate, and started closing the suitcases.  At around 4:30 Elena returned and we enjoyed our last hours before Maia left.  At 6:00 the four of us took a taxi to the airport.  When we arrived, Elena helped Maia to do the check in and we sat down to eat the yummy pastries that Marianne, who met us there, had brought.   At around 7:45, we said our goodbyes and Maia left us.  There were many repressed tears as she walked in through security.  At that point Elena, Sarah, Marianne, and I sat down and got a coffee.  The plan was to stay until we were sure that she had left.  Since Maia is still underage, we were scared they would ask for a parental permission form, which she didn’t have.  Therefore, we sent her with a cell phone (which Courtney will bring back when she comes) and after everything was ok she let us know.  At some point Marianne left and the three of us waited… At around 9:30, when her flight was supposed to leave at 9:00, the status was still “closed.”  The three of us were still there waiting very frustrated since the big game started at 9:45.  After asking and getting no answers, the American Airlines website updated that it had  taken off.  We informed the airport of their mistake on the sign and left… On the bus, we were too nervous to turn on the radio… We waited and then received a call from Marianne that we had scored!!!! AAAAHHH! And, once again, it was Maia’s least favorite player! Toooo funny! She was so upset that she couldn't watch the game, but at least the pilot announced, when they landed, that Uruguay had won!

Once at home we ordered some food, finished watching the game, and celebrated the win!

Wednesday July 13^th

Supposedly Sarah’s last full day in Montevideo.  The day started earlyish… We headed to another feria (market) first! After buying what we were searching for, we headed back to Laura’s house (this is the family that has hosted many students from the University) for lunch.  It was a blast!  There were 3 of their exchange students and we all got to chat! They are a great family and I can definitely see why everyone loves it!  After being there for hours, Sarah and I headed to the Blanes Museum in the zone called “el Prado.”  It was a gorgeous place!   It is located in a beautiful garden and behind it there is a very peaceful Japanese garden! The exhibits were great.  Sarah was very interested in one called “double thinking,” which depicted propaganda from the dictatorship.  VERY interesting!  The painted were breathtaking, and I now know that this will be a must for the other two that are coming!  After the museum we headed back to Elena’s, where we had dinner and watched a movie (Mundialito) together.  It also had to do with the dictatorship, but it was focused on a soccer tournament done here during that time between the teams that had won the world cup up to that point. Also VERY interesting! 

Thursday July 14^th

Sarah’s last day! We started the day a little earlier than usual because we wanted to surprise Elena with a pancake breakfast, and we succeeded!

After that, Sarah hung around spending her last minutes with Elena, packing, having lunch with Marianne, and resting for her big trip.  At 5:40, Sarah and I headed to the airport, where she checked in, we ate some, we waited, and then just like that… she left.  Poor thing fought back the tears, but as she told me it only lasted until she couldn’t see me anymore, because then… she had to run off to hide in the bathroom because she was crying so much… Oh poor Sarita! 

After dropping her off, I headed back to Elena’s… I was exhausted and the back part of the apartment was soooo quiet.  It was truly sad.  That’s when  I realized it was work time!  After enjoying dinner with Elena, I headed to bed and didn’t get up until 2:30 in the afternoon on Friday

Friday July 15^th

Shortest day every! I woke up and it was already night!   It was the first rainy day since Sarah had arrived in Montevideo.  I woke up so late and it was soo gross outside that it was already night time!!! I used this rainy day to read my notes from the letters and submerge myself once again in the research.  At night, Elena and I watched a movie and a tv show, and then we headed to bed!

Saturday July 16^th

TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!  I finally caught up!!!! Ok, so today has been mostly spent reading letters and writing this NOVEL, in order to catch up.  I am starting to write today!  I shall start with the beginning… Family, life in Berlin, etc…. Starting tomorrow, the updates will make more sense, be more detailed, and NEVER again this long!!!  Now, I'm off to start writing!!!

Did not take it, but wanted to provide a visual image!

Very late, long, awfully written, confusing, and unfinished post... [NOW PICS INCLUDED]

DISCLAIMER:  My attempt to catch up has failed.  Here is the first part of a very long post that will attempt to retell what ocurred here during the past two weeks.  It will be long, it has no pictures and it is NOT finished.  Tomorrow, during a work break, I will take the time to add pictures and finish.  For now.....

Goodness… There is so much catching up to do that I don’t know what to do.  I have two options, stick to few random events and give details, give a brief overview of all of the days, or just act like they didn’t happen.  Since I plan on using this as a sort of “travel journal” (since after reading my grandmother’s I realized they are fun to read later on) I decided to give a brief (but not so brief) overview of the days I missed.  The last day I talked about was last Monday…  whew… I can, however, sum up the past month and a half with a few things I’ve learned.   Immigration has always been a huge topic in my life.  My grandmother was an immigrant, I am an immigrant, and we both have this problem with identity…  Where do we belong?  Where is home?  Are half of us in one place and the other in another? 

One thing is for sure, when I left, I felt like I was losing everything and gaining nothing.  As time went by I realized that I had gained a lot, but I never lost the feeling that I had lost more.  When I first got to Uruguay in May, my parents were here and we were vacationing.  After they left and Maia and I started working, it became our new life and Uruguay became our home (again).  Then… Sarita arrived, and we started showing her around. It was like sharing our special sacred place, our home, not our vacation spot.  We took her everywhere and she fell in love with the place and the people that raised us. With skype and the internet, as she felt more and more at home, we all lost notion of how far we were from what we each now call home.  The boundaries and the miles between the countries seemed to fade.   As Maia left on Tuesday, things changed and the idea of goodbyes came back.  I’m not quite sure if what did me in was Maia leaving or Sarah fighting back the tears as she waved goodbye and walked out of Uruguay and into the plane.   I remember now, sitting here waiting for Sarah’s plane to leave, what it felt like to sit on that plane in 2001… I’ve heard people talk of being a citizen of the world, and today as I spoke to Sarah, remembered 2001, and watched people say goodbye at the airport, I have come to understand the meaning.  Skype, emails, and phones have made the boundaries almost invisible to most that have moved, travel, or have friends around the world.  The more places you call home, the more you understand this…  As I listen to Maia (at home) describing the emptiness and strangeness that she feels now that she is home, I already panic thinking of what I will feel after being here for 3 months.  This emptiness, I have concluded, is experiences by anyone that calls more than one place home, but I also realize that I don’t have half of my life in Uruguay and the other half in the U.S. , I am lucky enough to have 2 separate lives. Sometimes my lives get to mix (like when Sarah and Amy came to Uruguay or when my family come to the U.S), and sometimes, due to things like Skype, I feel like the two lives almost touch. Those moments are priceless.

Anyhow… Now that I’ve said way more than needed and probably have made zero sense…   Here is the summary of most of Sarah’s stay here!

Soooo… here it goes.

Monday July 4^th-

After returning from seeing Laura and Eduardo we rested at Elena’s and headed to “La Pasiva” at 5:30 to reserve a table to watch the Uruguay game.  It was a blast, they came and handed out Uruguay merchandise (flags, whistles, blow up toys,etc).  I think it was a great experience for Sarah to see.  Though we did not win, we tied, Sarah got to see the craziness that is Uruguay when the teams scores.  For that one second, everyone forgets their troubles and has pure joy and pride for their country.  We enjoyed the night and then all (excluding Marianne who had to head home) returned to Elena’s for something sweet!

Ready (way too early) for the game

Tuesday July 5^th –

Tuesday morning Maia and Sarah headed out early to go spend the morning with Diego.  They chatted for hours, because when I woke up (close to noon since I was beyond tired) they were heading back to meet for lunch.  After lunch, we headed to “el teatro Solis” to watch “la escuelita de Rada” (Rada’s little school).   It is a show that is done for little kids by the singer Rada.   I was really excited to go, because since I was in Uruguay I’ve listened to his music.  One song in specific about Montevideo makes me cry every time.  The show was a blast, and I think Maia, Sarah, Cata, and Diego at least enjoyed it half as much as I did.  Though I felt like a fool for liking it so much, it was a blast, the theater was packed, and the energy was incredible!   After the show, we proceeded to get some ice cream and headed back to Elena to learn about the dictatorship.  Elena is a specialist, she knows it all.  So, since we wanted to know the stories and the details, we set aside this night to hear it all.  After a good summary, we sat together to watch a documentary called d.s. (destino final or final destiny), which talks about the murders of Gutierrez Ruiz and Michellini.  All the information was extremely interesting and we learned a ton!!!

Wednesday July 6^th –

The plan for Wednesday was to go visit the Legislative Palace. The morning tour would get us into the chamber of senators but not of the “diputados” since they were in session.  Though we were all curious to see the inside, I don’t think any of us expected to see the beauty that we found.  It was gorgeous!!! So much marble, gold, and art!!!!  The tour guide was wonderful and she spoke clearly enough for Sarah to understand.  I was blown away by the public library that is inside.  Anyone can go, all you need is to show an I.D. Everything published in Uruguay HAS to send a copy to this library, therefore, the visitors are guaranteed a great variety of material.  Fun fact:  Uruguayans get in to “El Palacio Legislativo” for free, Americans pay almost nothing.  However, the workers at the front refused to charge Sarah simply told her to enjoy. 

In front of el Palacio Legislativo

Inside "el palacio legislativo"

After we visited there, we headed to el barrio Reus.  It is known for its Polish/Jewish population, its beautiful colorful houses, and for having stores that sell in bulk.  After walking a bit, we headed back to Elena’s for lunch and took off for Atlantida.  This little trip took no less than 1:30 minutes, and we rode standing the ENTIRE way! Once in Atlantida we picked up Marianne’s laundry from the laundry mat (4 HUGE bags) and we headed to her house.  Upon arrival, we found a box with the futon that we were about to put together.  Though we were under the impression that it came with instructions, it did not.  We fiddled around until we figured it out, and we put it together before Marianne got home. 

The futon!!! We slept on it, and it did not fall apart!

 After spending time with her and eating the most wonderful meat that she had prepared, we finally got to bed!  

Magic.

Magic, to me, is when something wonderful happens and catches you off guard.  Yesterday, we started the day off by sleeping late, making lunch, and slowly getting ready.  By 1 we were heading to la feria (an outside market) to shop and look for souvenirs.   Though it was windy and cold, the sun was out! After la feria we headed to a little bookshop on the coast that was super warm and had the best view! After buying some books and reading a bit, we headed to Catalina’s house for a “te de primas.”  (girl cousin’s tea)  When we arrived it was incredible….  It was magical… The three of us were surrounded by warmth. My aunt, my uncle, my grandma, and Cata were all sitting waiting for us to watch the U 17 Uruguay soccer team beat Uzbekistan.  (luckily they did, 2-0)  Close to the end of the game Nacho and Lucia arrived,  she was the only missing prima (girl cousin).   When Lu arrived it just got better.  With Alexandra’s lead, we set up the food and ate together.

Alexandra getting the tea together

 Diego and Feli took turns coming in and out, and we all just sat and enjoyed each other’s company… Joking, laughing, and eating.

At some point I noticed that my aunt Alexandra was getting things out of a box.  It took me a good 10 minutes to figure out that it was the game “a minute to win it.”  The craziness was so enjoyable.  Between trying to win at tic tac toe with golf balls, cups, and water , and trying to stack cups and put them up in less than a minute, the laughs could be heard from a mile away!  We all played! (Sarah, Maia, Alexandra, Nacho, Lu, Cata, and I)   Maia was the CHAMPION ( :

First game of a minute to win it

Just hanging out!

Minute to win it

Time flew by and I realized how much I missed spending time with my cousins.  We spent the whole afternoon together and then Maia and Alexandra went to get a movie for us to watch. 

When they returned Nacho and Lu had to leave, but Feli and Diego came down and we all ate dinner together.  It was all of us together, including Sarah, just talking and laughing as if it was the most normal thing in the world.  After 10 years of being gone, it felt as if we’d never left, actually it felt better.  That is magic, that is love… As everyone scattered off, Diego stayed downstairs with us.  Cata watched a movie, and Diego played his guitar and updated Maia, Sarah, and I on his life.  As I finished watching the movie with Cata, Diego showed the girls how he made bread and made sure we would have enough for breakfast. 

Diego playing his guitar

Diego making bread

When we woke up this morning, the bread was ready because Diego had woken up at 6:00 to put it in the oven.  He also had a mate ready for Sarah to try.  We finally headed out after an incredible day at around noon.   I can’t explain how happy yesterday was.  It was a complete surprise that we all ended up together and enjoyed it so much…

After leaving all that behind, we headed to find Laura and Eduardo’s house.  They are the couple that has hosted most of the Ole Miss students that come and study in Montevideo.  That was also very comforting.  They are both full of love and that house has a life of its own.  Between Eduardo’s stories, sarcasm, seriousness, and care it was hard to walk out.  It was TRULY hard, since he wouldn’t allow us to leave and wanted us to come watch the game with them!  I promised I would go back and visit before I left, but I was ecstatic to have finally met them, and I completely understand why everyone loves them!

Policia! Policia!

So…. Yesterday we woke up at 6 and headed to the bus station at 7.  After getting our tickets and some breakfast, we got on the bus  and headed out at exactly 7:46.  I’m pretty sure that the three of us were asleep by 7:47, and we did not really do much talking after that.  After arriving in Colonia we went straight for the maps. The lady there was so excited that Maia and I were Uruguayans visiting Colonia that she told us where the locals eat and what we couldn’t miss.  After that we went and rented some bikes.  I still haven’t decided if that was the best idea, but we talked Sarah out of renting a golf cart or some mopeds.   We started out by biking to the beaches in Colonia, seeing the port, and visiting the market full of handmade crafts.  After that we continued to bike, UPHILL, to the historic district, where we tied up our bikes and headed to see all the that was left from what was once the only Portuguese colony in Uruguay.

We got a wonderful view of it all once we made it up the 100+ steps in the lighthouse.  The view was breath-taking, but for Sarah and I, who both hate heights, it was a little too much.  The way down was terrifying, but once we made it back, we grabbed our bikes and went to “Sal y Pimienta.”  This was the restaurant the lady had recommended, and it had a special.  We ate meat, meat, meat, and then some meat.  By the time we were done with dessert, we could barely get on the bikes.  After making the nice gesture of paying for the dessert even though it wasn’t on the ticket(thanks to Maia), we pedaled off.   

We (meaning me) were tired of the bikes, since the seats were impossible!!! So I thought it would be a good idea to return them and keep walking.  Little did I know that the man was out for lunch from 2-3:30. ….   So we continued riding and stopped at the tourist visiting center.  This stopping part sounds like a piece of cake… But we were actually watched and pointed at for like 10 minutes as we struggled with the locks on the bikes… Once we went in, they told us that it is the place where all the Argentinean boats dock, so everything is designed to introduce a foreigner to the country.  The first thing we read was a cartoon of the history of Uruguay.  This little reading session was interrupted as a glass sliding door shattered in front of what looked like a very confused Argentinean.  As the poor shocked workers cleaned up the mess, the three of us snuck off and went to return the bikes.  Once the man arrived, the rest of the process was a piece of cake and we changed our returning tickets for a 4:00 bus, since we had already visited most of everything.  Again, we quickly fell asleep!  We were awakened an hour and a half later by a very large snoring man behind Maia.  I made eye contact with the man sitting next to him and could barely keep in the laughter.  At that point he says very loudly “POR FAVOR”!!!!!!   The sleeping man got up and quickly stopped snoring, but by then we were home and awake.  Back at Elena’s we watched the opening to Copa America and enjoyed the first game as Bolivia almost beat Argentina (the host)!  Too funny! Sarah was very happy Bolivia had such a good showing!

Today was CRAZY! That is all that can describe it!

The day started late as we headed to La  Ciudad Vieja to take a tour of the Teatro Solis (Solis Theater), which has been recently renovated. Before that we had the pleasure of walking around the area with a clear sky and some great sun!  

The tour was wonderful, the theater was impressive, but the guide spoke too fast! Hahahaha! I wouldn’t have cared if it hadn’t been for the fact that Sarah was with us, and it was torture to understand.  All in all it was great!  After that we headed to “El Museo de Carnaval,” where Sarah got a great tour and explanation from the one and only Nacho! It was great

After that we headed to the “Mercado del Puerto”  (Market of the Port), where there are tons of parrilladas and a great atmosphere!  My aunt Elena invited us to some “Medio y Medio,” some sort of champagne and wine, and then we found a table and ordered A LOT OF MEAT!  It was all wonderful and the atmosphere was great!  On the way out it was Elena, Maia, Sarah, Nacho, Lucia, Marianne, and I.  However, Marianne left and the rest of us continued to walk toward the cathedral.  At some point, as the 6 of us are walking nonchalantly a guy tries to take Sarah’s purse, she hits him, and Nacho yells, “que haces boludo!”  (equivalent to what are you doing dumbass?) At that point the older one of the two pulls out a MACHETE!!!!! Yes, a long silver HORRIBLE sharp thing. The six of us freeze! The guy is separating Lucia and Nacho from the rest of us. He asks Nacho to give him his money, but my aunt yells "Nooo, Nacho don't give him a thing!!!" Lucia starts running, telling Nacho to run.  Nacho is checking that we are ok.  The man says “then give me the camera,” to which Elena responds with some very loud “policia,policia!!!!” The guy with the MACHETE seemed shocked to discover that we were not tourists. He froze and then he and his friend ran off down the opposite street. That is all it took for everyone in the surrounding areas to ask what they could do..  We were in shock, but really didn’t have much time to freak out.  After that, we continued to the ice cream shop in a little park, and took the bus back home. 

Now looking back on it, we realize how dumb it was to walk with 3 cameras out in the most touristy part of Montevideo without paying any attention. We gave the obvious idea of being clueless tourists.   As my aunt informed us that in her 52 years of living in Montevideo nothing has never happened to her, we realized that we legitimately drew the lucky number (or unlucky number) today.  Today, I also remembered a story from an Ole Miss student that had come to Uruguay and had the same thing (in the same exact place) happen to him.  He swore never to return to Montevideo, and he is now living the second semester here.  He came for one and stayed for 2!!!

I am very glad that all of us took the event lightly and that Elena, Nacho, and Lucia responded so well.  It has truly added some spice to our experience.

Day 1 (tour)

DISCLAIMER!! TOMORROW  I WILL POST PICTURES TO GO ALONG WITH THIS!!!

Success success success!!!!  Great day!   We started our day at 8 today…  We had a wonderful breakfast of bizcochos provided by Elena, and then we headed to Portones.  That was the beginning to the walking tour that was planned.  Portones is a mall named after the gates (portones) that are there.  We took a random bus that had Portones as its final destination, but we did not realize that it took us through the worst parts of Montevideo.  It was nice to see that since the rest of the day was going to be spent looking at one of the richest parts of town.  Once we got to Portones, we started by seeing our old house, my grandparent’s old house, my grandmother’s house (recently sold), and the house I lived in until I was 5.  Then we continued our walking tour through la rambla.  There, we walked a bit on the beach and sat on some rocks… Sarah took the chance to mark territory and we continued to my favorite street, Arocena. 

Here we met up with Maia’s friend, Sol, and her sister Tini (Martina).  It was soooo nice to see her again and catch up.  Sarah got to try her first Chivito!!! (if you don’t know what this is, look it up, it’s worth it!)  Then we walked to Sol’s house together, and we got to meet Sol’s little sister who is 3.  After spending some time with them, we headed back on the bus to Elena’s to catch our breaths.  After 30 minutes we headed back out to Hemming-way for tea time and the sun set!   My aunt Marianne joined us and then we headed on a night walk and a trip to the grocery store in order to kill time before going to “cantar de todos.”  This is the choir that my mom was in since she was little and all of her friends are still in it.

There is one thing I have learned these past weeks, and that is the fact that music truly brings the world together.  I thought it on the bus the other day as I heard a guy sing beautifully in spite of his horrible cold and as I watched the choir sing today.  When we arrived, Daniel (the director who gave my mom guitar lessons as a child) introduced us and told everyone that we were Irene’s daughters and that they would sing some old song so that we would recognize them.  He talked about how my mom was one of the founders of the choir and how much they missed her and hoped we would get to sing with them some day.  As soon as they started the first song I started to cry….   This was the song that a lot of them sang when the surprised my grandmother for her 80^th birthday.  I will never forget her face when she heard the voices coming from the backyard…  Song says it all…  The songs continued and Daniel picked ones that would mean something to us… All I could do was cry.  I can’t really explain why… Maybe it was because of how great of friend they are to my mom, or how much they cared about us.  Or maybe it is simply because the songs were so beautiful and sooo filled with emotion.  As Daniel said before starting  “Irene would cry with these song”… well, apparently the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, cause I was a wreck.  After the rehearsal we headed back home at 10 pm.  Our day will start at 7:45, which is the time that our bus leaves for Colonia!!!!  For now, I’m off to sleep!