Yerba Mate

Yerba Mate is a piece of Heaven in one's mouth. Part of it may be because it makes me feel like a true Uruguayan, y otra parte es porque the tea leaves son muy rico. Last night, el padre de este casa, Pedro, offered me yerba mate which is basically a way of saying "we are friends." The Uruguayans drink mate (pronounced w/ 2 syllables, ma-te) all day long. Today on the bus, there were at least 2 men carrying their mate gourd in one hand and a thermos of hot water in the other. People drink it in houses, on the street, in classrooms, etc. Mi madre aqui, Nelly, teaches at a seminary here, and I went to her class today that she taught on the Psalms. I understood maybe 70% of what was said, which I thought exciting! Classes are VERY small...I was the third student. Everyone greets everyone with kisses on the cheek, even the students in this class that I'll probably never see again. Just a heads up, I'm bringing that back.

I went on a run this morning on this walkway called the Rambla that goes for miles alongside the oceanfront. It was the first time that I was out by myself, which was a lovely taste of freedom. Everywhere in the city, no matter where you go, smells kind of dirty. But the water is fine to drink. So far. The guys here wear very fashionable jeans, different from the women's jeans, but still very fashionable. If an American man wore what these guys did, he would probably be labeled gay, but not here. I tried explaining this to Nelly and she got a kick out of it.

Last night we had a meeting with all the leaders of the different house churches that meets under this one church called the "simple church." They came over to our house and we drank coffee and tea, ate banana bread and they indulged in the Hersheys Kisses I brought from the States which I heard is a rare commodity here. They were so kind and stopped the conversation to catch me up on what was said, but spoke so fast and often times at the same time since it was a round-table meeting where everyone interrupted everyone, although I saw no tension among them. Uruguayan adults continue to surprise me with how much fun they can have, laughing during typically serious and stressful times like in the meeting or in line with strangers in an airport after our plane being delayed numerous times. I love that about this place.

Voy a leer. Aca, ellos usan "ir + a + infinativo," no usan el otro tenso del futuro.