This is it...or is it?

Last time I couldn't end it, but this time I'll come through; beginning the ending is tough. Rather than endless photos, (un)inspiring music, and generic adjectives like "incredible, unforgettable, etc.", I think the best way to sum up the experience is to kick the tires and light the fires the way my Spanish professor, Scott Larsen, always did, "sum up Don Quijote in 25 words or less". I went to uruguay with the intense desire and vague intention to work in development. While there, "lo vague" faded away as I met and began to work with others with an equally intense, if not more so, desire to help. We all learned about the talents we have to share and formed more-solid ideas of how to use them. Everyone has something they can share. As they say, a candle feeds the flame, and together we started something that god-willing won't burn out. Work and Fun, many times hand in hand. Then come the airplane and the goodbye at the airport along with mixed emotions, knowing that I will miss and be missed, knowing at the same time that I'm no longer needed.

Clearly I used more than 25 words; trying to sum up Don Quijote in so few words was always a task un tanto quijotesque anyway. My professor also used to say that one of the most important things is to be able to put a finish to an asunto. Start it, work it, and you've got to end it. Take for example the Beatles song "I want you(She's so heavy)". No one ever discovered the way to end it. So here goes,

I not only Yankeed them, they Uruguayed me. Watch the video on the Youtube bar to the left. Click on the top video or search "Axl Rose cantando cumbia". If you like it, you might be a little Uruguayan as well. If you don't, drink some mate, eat some asado, swear off fruits and vegetables for life, and stay up until 5 in the morning more often than not. Then try again!

I'm back stateside?

I've been sitting here for twenty minutes, stateside de nuevo, trying to find a way to sort through all of the work, places, emotions, people; how do you sum up an entire year? And I just found my way out of the conundrum...I'll put it off. I'll take you on a quick trip through Brasil, one moraleja.
After shutting up shop in Montevideo, I went to see what I could see in Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina. Rain plagued me 10 days, more or less in a row. This is the view of a spectacular canyon just before a 20 kilometer hike, Itaimbezinho.Don't despair, when there's no way to appreciate the big stuff, it might just be an opportunity to take a look at the little.

These are fotos taken throughout the trip in different places. Enjoy them and the fact that your socks are not soaked and muddy =-D (Arriba Itaimbezinho)

Outside of the city Bage, o galpao de pedra. (Arriba y abajo.)

Back in Itaimbezinho. I watched the little? guy cross the way. He also was not very impressed with the excess of water.

This is another foto that may not fit the theme. There is a little something you should see. Look to the right of Gabriel (his name is Gabriel as well) and there is something a little larger than a basketball in the corner. !Avispas! There is another insect, Marabondi that is an aggresive bugger that packs an arsenal and flies around with long legs like a helicopter. Taking a picture of them is not recommended. The proper procedure is to close your eyes and pretend your not there.

Although you go in search of the big, keep an eye out for the little as well. I promise that next time I will put a close to the scholarship year for you as soon as I manage to do so myself.

Merry Christmas! !Feliz Navidad! Feliz Natal!

It's time to close up shop, at the moment