So there hasn't really been much too report. Other than I am absolutely falling in love with this country. And I might possibly die from grief when I leave. It is a very, very serious possibility. I don't know what it is but as of late I am loving EVERYTHING about this place. Maybe not the trash on the streets, and the fact that they lack my hair products, but that is a very, very small price to pay for everything that is wonderful about this place. Everyone is SO nice. Seriously. It's not a fake nice either. People genuinely care about you. Every single waiter or waitress I have had has been so lovely and kind and friendly. That includes cashiers and strangers and dogs. Everything. For example, in a HUGE twist of fate, I stopped in a bookstore where a horrific moment ensued due to Eric Bana. However, when Eric Bana left, the shopkeeper and I talked for a while after I bought my book on Che (don't judge me) and she was SO nice. She was my age, if not a tiny bit older, and was just very, very friendly. The second time I went in there with the doctor and the lackey and sans Eric Bana, aka mortification central, the shopkeeper, whose name I still do not know, offered us coffee and tea. I mean, come on! So nice! The lackey almost had a conniption because they had Twinings breakfast tea. That is how great this place is. And of course at Bacacay, all of the waiters and waitresses know us there. Ha. It's because we are there once a week, if not more; ordering all of those delicious cortados and coffee infused brownies with ice cream. It is my favorite cafe in all of Montevideo. And they are just lovely.
Montevideo also has a very relaxed atmosphere. Everyone is just very relaxed; things will get done when they get done, no worry really fusses or worries. And it's nice to be people around that all the time. It's seriously a refreshing atmosphere, where people just let things be. It is turning me into a hippie and it is terrifying me. I am just mellow and whatever about everything, instead of getting worked up about every little thing. I mean, I still joke around and whatever, but I don't get seriously really angry, and I just love everyone. Good heavens, I am turning into a hippie. This is so scary. I bought a headband the other day. Once you look at this picture, you will be taken back to the good old days.
Yea. Terrifying. Freaking handmade hippie headband from Ciudad Vieja.
This epic realization of me being a hippie has also made me realize another thing. Another thing which is that I am too eclectic for words. Seriously. So. Flipping. Eclectic. I am a walking contradiction, an enigma of sorts. In every aspect of my life. I have a growing affinity for Che Guevara and the Latin American reasoning behind Marxism, yet I have a very strong, almost unhealthy addiction to supporting that which is known as capitalism, through my terribly strong draw to beautiful headbands and manicures. I am an alarming realist regarding national security and defense, and yet India holds the most tender spot in my heart. I have been to five of the seven continents, and yet I am getting so excited to go to Lubbock and visit my friend Alayna. Like, way excited. Probably too excited for Lubbock, but I want to go. And go I shall. I can rock out to Lady Antebellum as hard as I can rock out to a Portuguese song I found on a cd for three bucks as hard I can to Michael Jackson. I drink maté with the equal affinity that I drink bubble tea. I could switch topics of discussion from art to pop culture to firearms to broadway musicals without thinking much about it. I want a pet owl, octopus, or tarsier. Seriously. It's flipping weird. I am myself and I still think it's weird. I am a flipping weirdo. I don't know what to do about it. So far attempting to embrace my affinity for life is what I am trying to do. And there have been a few times where I have utterly relished the fact that I am all of these things. I hope as time passes it will just be a natural thing, to love all my eclectic nature completely.
I am rather surprised as to how much I adore Latin America. At first I was paranoid that I would come here and I would simply abhor it, and then begin to tolerate it. But it is the quite opposite. I love every single aspect of it. It has embraced me and taught me, by living here I can begin to untangle the knots of history and truly understand how Uruguay came to be. Argentina and I hit it off very well too. I could definitely see myself working there in the future. Doing what, I have no clue. But I could see myself there, talking in loud Spanish with exaggerated hand movements about futbol or the newest legislation regarding import taxes, being fabulous and cosmopolitan, and then peacing out to Montevideo for vacation, hopefully in La Paloma or Cabo Polonio, where I exercise another facet of my personality by living with some hippies for a few weeks and all we talk about is love.
Oh, South Ameican, you will be the ruin of me. You have unleashed a travel bug of epic proportions. Folks back home, you best be buying yourself a backpack. I will need a travel buddy. I cannot venture to Bolivia alone. Nor can I go to Lebanon alone either. Now come to think about it, I can't go to Japan, because I speak no Japanese. Hm. Guess I need someone to go with me...
K. I need sleep.
Final thought: Motorcycle Diaries rules. Gael García Bernal is my favorite human as of this moment right.....now.
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