School is in Session

"In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson."  ~ Tom Bodett

My Family - Yes, I really live with all these people :)

It's finally the weekend! Many of you are probably thinking "this girl is crazy, it's a Wednesday." However, don't doubt, because for me it is in fact the weekend. One of the many great things about ORT is that there are no classes on Friday, and it is quite easy to create a three day a week schedule (like mine!). I am taking four classes this semester - two are about different aspects of marketing, one on human resources, and one on society in Uruguay. They all seem to be pretty interesting, at least according to first impressions this week.

Because of the season reversal, summer just ended and school has started! Also - Uruguay, unlike some other countries in South America, recognizes daylight savings time. Here we turned our clocks back an hour (fall back) and in the states, "spring forward" just happened. Why am I telling you this? Because instead of a 3 hour difference between USC and here, it's only an hour difference! How convenient :)
These past few weeks have been filled with getting to know my fellow housemates and friends. We have celebrated birthdays, shared some pretty awesome 'asados' (barbque), and enjoyed a few nights in with a movie. Most of our movies are in English (thank you Hollywood), but we always have Spanish subtitles. 

So one of the reasons I decided to have the blog is so I wasn't so tied to home. I wanted to be fully immersed in where I am right now. After three months away, let me tell you, it's easier said than done. It's so simple to just FaceTime my mom or Skype my friends back home. I find myself still connected to my life back home. Not that it's a bad thing, but I cannot imagine what it was like before all of that. Nowadays it is a lot harder to "disconnect." I still haven't decided if this is a good or a bad thing. 

With only three days of classes, you may be wondering what I will do with all my free time. That is a great question. One I am still trying to figure out.  I'm looking into ways to get involved in the community and take advantage of the opportunities here. Who knows, I might even work out if I get desperate enough :D.*Side note - quite possibly the best investment I have made was purchasing Spotify Premium ( and I’m not even being paid to say that). I am always listening to music, especially walking by myself down the street. Having music available 24/7 has been amazing. No shame bopping along to your favorite song in public :D.

If you are considering living/studying in Uruguay, or South America in general, then know the experience is going to be very different than one in Europe. The amount of English speakers is very small. Also, traveling can be very expensive. I recommend studying in SA if you are truly looking for culture and local immersion. It isn't like Europe, with a plethora of cheap(ish) travel options to 20 different countries. Many people (that I have met) use the semester to also travel. THIS IS NOT A BAD THING - we are IB students, you should definitely do that if you desire.  HOWEVER, sometimes, staying in one place long enough to truly get a local experience is worth it. For example, I'm on a first name basis with the guy who owns the local convenience store, I see the same people every week in passing.  I say good morning to the guy who works the taxi booth on the corner. 

Really, Uruguay is as friendly as you want to make it. It has a competitive edge to it, especially in ORT, which is a private university. But overall, it's been great.

A few weeks ago, after my first week of classes, I had the opportunity to meet with a group of post grad students from USC who were visiting ORT as a part of a 10 day travel program.  It was really cool to be able to meet with them and talk about why I love ORT and Montevideo. 

More to come:)

New Home - New Adventure

Never make your home in a place. Make a home for yourself inside your own head. You'll find what you need to furnish it - memory, friends you can trust, love of learning, and other such things. That way it will go with you wherever you journey.~ Tad Williams

So it is incredibly hard to keep up with a blog. Those of you who can do it religiously – well done. For me, it has become something that I know I have to do, but I am either too busy or too lazy to do it. In fact, I have three weeks of blogs typed up – but just haven’t posted them yet. Weird right?

Well, this post, which will be the first of three or four consecutive posts, contains some pretty exciting news. After this post, I will upload photos and entries from my adventures. You’ll learn about my classes, my friends, and the lovely beaches that cover Uruguay.

But, first and foremost, I have officially decided to make Uruguay my home until Christmas. Many of you already know the exciting news, I could hardly contain myself when I found out. This decision was one of the easiest, yet most difficult decisions I have had to make.

Let me explain – It was easy because from the moment I arrived in South America, it felt like home. Yes there are plenty of things I've had to get used to, like milk in a bag instead of a carton and wind that makes the Windy City look like a summer breeze. Before classes here even began, I contacted my adviser and the study abroad office and asked them if it was possible to continue for a year. Their answer: NO. There was one tiny fact I was unaware of: IB students cannot study abroad for more than one semester in an IB school. It makes sense when you think about it. These schools are direct exchange programs – meaning for every student we send, they send one to USC. If someone studies for two semesters, well, that’s two spots for one student. For schools in high demand, this can be problematic. However, this is the first time we have had a student at ORT, and so thanks to over month of discussion about my different options, I was granted special permission to remain in Uruguay.

A decision like this does not come without its fair share of negatives. The negative that weighs most on my heart is how much I will miss my friends and family. Not a week goes by that I don’t talk to my mom or some of my Delta Sigma Pi fraternity brothers back at school. Sure we have the internet, which makes it infinitely easier to communicate, but there is something to be said for being there in person. It’s as if I am constantly watching the highlights from last night’s football game, but I can never watch it live. I get the play by play, but it’s so much better to see it in action. This brings me to my second negative – I will be missing my final Carolina football season. If you don’t understand how important your senior year football season is, you haven’t lived college. It is the last big “hoo-rah” before the real world starts. Football at Carolina is a lifestyle. It is a full day event filled with food and drinks, friends, cowboy boots, pearls, and of course Williams Brice Stadium filled with tens of thousands of cheering fans (and some outsiders from the opposing team). First game of the season sends chills down your spine (right next to the sweat from the good ol’ Carolina heat) and the final game brings tears for the end of an era. I’ll be missing this. Believe me, it’s a hard realization.

What makes it easier is the notion that this is where I belong. I can’t shake the feeling that Uruguay is going to help me figure out what on earth I am supposed to do with my life. Unlike many IB students, I don’t have it all figured out. Coming into school, I thought I wanted a big multi-national corporation. A corporate liaison between HQs in North and South America was the dream job. But, in typical Savannah fashion, my mind has changed (although to what, I do not know). I am hoping that this year abroad will help me clear my head, narrow my options. If I can’t figure out what I want to do, at least I can narrow the options by deciding what I don’t want to do.

But this is off topic – friends and family, I miss you all terribly. However, I am thrilled to call South America home for two semesters. 

See you all in 2016!