It's a good thing I didn't come to Montevideo to be a professional blogger! I apologize for the lack of blogs, but hope you've been able to check out the pictures.

We've been busy taking everything in and doing a little traveling around Uruguay.

The first weekend in June, we did a trip to Colonia del Sacremento. Colonia is very important to Uruguayan history. We left Montevideo early Saturday morning and stopped at multiple places along the way, including a museum that houses the Guiness Book of World Records largest collections of key chains, pencils, phone cards and more. It was pretty neat! We also stopped at a small farm/zoo. Refer to the pictures of the crazy monkey! The monkey ate caramels and loved them. After the random stops we headed to Santa Ana, the beach were our resort was. It was so beautiful. I can only imagine how amazing it is in the summer! That evening we toured Colonia and even climbed the famous light house there. The next day was a relaxing, finishing with our trip back to Montevideo in the early evening. It was an amazing trip to see more of Uruguay ... and eat some of the best food since we've been here!

Back in Montevideo, Ryan joined the field hockey team at Club Bigua. It was very interesting to watch the practice. Everyone there is so nice and they were quick to help explain the game (it is very different from ice hockey!). There aren't enough guys for their own team, so the guys and girls practice together. Now we're just waiting for Ryan to get his team jacket!

We also checked out another soccer game, this one more intense than the last. The Classico was between Penarol and Nacional, Uruguay's two biggest teams. Outside the stadium we saw so many people and at one point they were signing and chanting for the teams, the next people were throwing rocks and trying to beat each other up! There were police on horses every 10 feet or so, and they even had a tanker which sprayed water on the people who were out of control. Just another day in South America!

This last weekend we went horseback riding in Costal Azul. It was beautiful. The ride was almost three hours long, and we rode from the ranch to the beach. Everything was so pretty and peaceful. Although I am rather sore, it was definitely worth seeing the scenery. The craziest part of it was on the beach, there were no beautiful homes or resorts. There were tiny little shacks and fishing boats, almost like a little fishing village. There are so many "undiscovered" beaches here it is ridiculous! What you could do with a surfboard during the summer...

Ryan and I are now three weeks into our internships and it's interesting, to say the least. Ryan is learning a lot of Spanish and is getting much better in conversation (since his boss only speaks Spanish!). I am spending some time doing marketing research and this week I will begin teaching classes. The classes I am teaching are mainly kids or adult one-on-one. Both will be interesting. Any suggestions of games, songs, riddles, etc for kids (boys 10-14) are appreciated! Both our jobs have allowed us to get a better insight on the differences between business in the US and here ... and it's very different. People here tend to focus their time on socializing with co-workers rather than working. A good part of the day is spent drinking mate (the national drink) and talking. Things aren't rushed, and if it doesn't get done today, well no big deal.

On a more exciting note, we have booked our trip to Buenos Aires with Jasmine and Alyssa! We leave Friday at 7:15 am! It will be a nice change of scenery. Jasmine heads home next Tuesday and Alyssa next Saturday, so it will be the last weekend all four of us will be traveling together.

I promise there will be a blog update shortly after! Everyone take care, and keep in touch! Miss you all!