Montevideo, Uruguay and Porto Alegre, Brazil

Well the adventures keep on coming my friends! I suppose that's how I like it though :) I had my student orientation for la Universidad del Salvador (oh yeah, there is school involved here in Argentina) in the morning. It was a basic orientation, telling us about swine flu and some student visa things we needed--no big deal! We finished by noon and Willie and Molly, two other orientators, and I went to lunch at a cafe. I had my interview to "select classes" as a preliminary thing. I headed back to the house at around 4 and packed my bag up again, as I was leaving for Montevideo, Uruguay that night on a midnight bus! I spent some time with my rommmate playing Playstation and eating some dinner.

I headed out on my own and took a bus to Retiro to catch my bus. I slept the entire way, and when I arrived in Tres Cruces my CS friend, Hugo, was there with his wife and mother to welcome me! I spent the entire day with them and enjoyed myself immensly! We saw all there was to see in the city (museums, buildings, the old downtown, the new downtown, the soccer stadium, the fortaleza Artiga (the national hero) and more!). We went back to Hugo's house for some Carne Asada--meat grilled; this meal was probably the principle one in Uruguay; Uruguay and Argentina dispute who has the best beef, but I'm happy either place :) We had carne, salad, tomatoes, sausage, and quality wine. After lunch I had to take a nap and rest my stomach! We left at around 3:30 and went and saw the rest of the sites I listed above, and by the time we were finished it was time to go! They said good bye to me at the bus station and all was well!

My bus to Porto Alegre, Brazil was another over nighter, so I met a girl named Paula who spoke Portugues, ever so slowly, and we were able to communicate. I slept again on that bus and woke up in Brazil! My CS host Alex was going to take some time to pick me up, so Paula and I hung out at the station. She had to get some money exchanged, and we went to a internet cafe. It was fun talking to her in Portuguese, but we were like very small children talking so sloowly to understand the two languages! Alex arrived and I said goodbye to Paula. Alex lived close, in a cozy apartment with 2 rommmates, neither of which were home, so I stayed in his rommmates place with bed and private room. Nice :) That evening there was a fútbol match wiht one of the Porto Alegre teams, Gremio. I found another CSer who was a fan, and we decided to go. WOW what an experience. Brazilian Campeonato Serie A Futbol is quite an event! The crazy fans, made all crazier when a goal was scored, and the entire atmosphere, was something that is rarely replicated by American sports. Gremio won, so we were all smiles afterwards! Alex's birthday was that week and he had a party, so we all went there for a bit. I came back and went to bed.

Sunday, although I didn't go to church (I don't understand Portuguese THAT well), was still beneficial because I have the Bible on my iTouch. I spent some time reading and praying and just hung out. Alex and I went out at about 3 to eat lunch and see downtown. I met up with another guy, Ralf from Germany, and we all ate together. We spent a few hours afterwards discussing politics--mainly the U.S.'s role in Afghanistan and Iraq, and if they were justified in invading them. It was quite interesting to hear these other guys know so much about the US, and we had a great discussion. We ended up at an old power plant that was the spot of a magnificent sunset! It was truly beautiful. We continued to walk until we headed to an authentic Brasilian steakhoue. Similar to Texas de Brasil, except probably the original one, dad :) It was WONDERFUL--and only $20 for all I could eat! We spent 2 hours eating and eating. We returned back full and content, and I slept like a baby..

Monday was my last day in Porto Alegre. I was lazy waking up, and while Alex was at work I went out to discover some more of the city. I spent a few hours walking and discovering, and made it back to the apartment at about 4:30. I watched some soccer highlights and dozed off. I woke up at 6:30 and Alex got home. We hung out a little before heading to another CSer's house for dinner and socializing. I stayed there until 11:30 and caught a cab to the Rodoviaria--the bus station. I again took a night bus to Florianópolis, Brazil--and island full of beaches. I again slept the whole time and arrived at 6:30 a.m. What adventures await me here in this small beach town? You'll have to read about it next time! --Benjamin