One month in Uruguay!! It went by so fast just like I knew it would. I’m starting to get the idea that everything here, not just the food, is definitely an acquired taste. Its possible that everything in the world is an acquired taste in its own way. Language is a big one, and unfamiliar food as well. But a taste that I have not acquired yet here in Uruguay is the family closeness. My extended Uruguayan family is really close and although they have continued to welcome me with open arms, sometimes I struggle to remember the fact that this is my host family as well. It is such a different mentality and one of the things that is going to take me a long time to get used to.
The reason for that is because in my home community, families often lack loyalty and structure. In the US, If I don’t want to be close with a member of my extended family, there’s nothing stopping me from never seeing them again. I probably spend time with most of my extended family no more than two times a year. This is seen as a pretty significant cultural flaw but from my perspective it feels almost like a positive thing. Regardless of if the lack of family closeness in my country is good or bad it’s something that I’m incredibly used to and therefore a huge acquired taste for me.
Another acquired taste apparently is having bare feet. Since the day I arrived if I’m ever without socks or shoes, including inside the house, my host mom entertains me by acting like it’s the most crazy thing in the world. It took a while in India to get used to being barefoot as much as possible and I feel that here it’s going to take the same amount of time to do the opposite. I’m starting to acknowledge and appreciate the importance of bare feet to me. From India I’ve continued to carry the idea that being barefoot more often can make you more open minded. This is surprisingly a challenging cultural aspect to get used to here.
Lastly, Florencia and I finally finished La Casa De Papel all the way up to season 5 and now we are in waiting for the rest of the series to come out in December. I won’t spoil it for you don’t worry, but I highly recommend watching it. Anyways, there’s a part in the last season where one of the characters dies and their last scene is talking about how many lives they were able to live. “Cuantos vidas estas capas de tener?” As you can imagine I super resonate with this because I’ve started a new life at least 3 different times so far. I just think this idea is super cool and I want to spread this message to my friends from Leavenworth who are just starting college, my mom who is about to get married, and my sister who is also starting college and relearning how to be an only child, that you are capable of starting over, making new friends, joining a new family, having new hobbies, living in a new place, speaking a new language, playing for a new team, or all of the above.
Besos a todos.
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