A Week in the Life

Life here pretty much doesn't change all too much. Which, ironically, is one of the things I love about it. It can be as fast or slow paced as you want it (although I will say that McDonalds here is PAINFULLY slow. The concept “Fast Food” is more of a dream than a reality).

My typical week looks like this:

Monday:

I have two hours of class in the morning. After that, my day is pretty much free. I spend the day doing laundry from the week before, cooking some larger meals to last for a couple lunches or dinners, and going to the gym (this is a new thing. I actually just joined a gym for the months of May and June. It’s a little pricey, but much needed.)

Tuesday:

Tuesday is my long day for school. In the morning I have three hours of class, followed by a break (most of the time a nap), yummy leftovers, and then three more hours of class at night. By the end of the day I am exhausted, so I usually crawl in to bed with my good ol friend Netflix pretty early.

Wednesday:

This middle of the week killer can be tough. My most boring class starts bright and early at 8am. It’s easy, but that doesn’t make it any easier to motivate myself to get up and go, especially now that the weather is turning a bit colder. My bed often feels like the better alternative, but being the good student that I am, I get my butt out of bed and go (most of the time :D). Four hours and two classes later, it is finally the weekend. The three days of classes may not seem like a lot (and it’s really not), but I find myself ready for the four days of relative relaxation ahead.

After class, I head to the street market that sets up every Wednesday morning two blocks from my house. Here I buy most of the fruits and vegetables I will need for the week, as well as the local honey, bread and eggs when I need them. Today is also a running day. On these days I run through the tree-lined streets of Montevideo down the La Rambla, which is the street that runs along the miles of beach and rocky shores. I average about 6 km when I run. Which is pretty good, and for English conversion, is roughly 3.5 miles.

Thursday:

This day is rather flexible. Sometimes we go to the beach, sometimes I sit in a read a book, sometimes I have homework to do that I don’t want to put off until Sunday night (even though sometimes I procrastinate regardless). Always, I can expect a few hours of classes at the gym, and a fun night of friends and drinks to commence weekend festivities. Some Thursdays last until 5 am, while others end at the early strike of 2. Regardless, they hardly ever disappoint.

Friday:

I sleep until noon, or later. Today, we hang out and recover, and sometimes host a party at our house. The last party we hosted had over 100 people, can you believe it?? It’s a great way to get to know other international students, as well as the local Uruguayan students. One of the best things about living with 16 other people that attend 4 different universities, is that there are always new people in the house, which means new friends and more fun.

Our most recent fiesta was a celebration of Sevilla, Spain. This corresponded with and actual celebration happening in Spain. Three of my housemates (from Spain), were homesick, so we brought aspects of their home to Uruguay. 

Saturday:

Repeat Thursday and Friday. Somehow fit a run in.

Sunday:

The day of rest. The house is usually dead quiet until later in the day. Everyone is either sleeping or doing the work they didn't want to do before. There is also a huge street market on Sundays, so sometimes we go there. The market is fun because you can literally buy anything you want there – from cats and chickens, to fruits and veggies, to old school record players and silly-string. It can be stressful with the high volumes of people, but if you find something you've been looking for at a great price, it’s worth it.

Sophie and me

And that’s my week. Other additions to my week are the periodic Skype with friends, the DAILY FaceTime with my mother and her new puppy Sophie, and my French classes, courtesy of the friends I am living with.