Hamburguesa con queso, por favor

So one week down and I feel that this is going to be a pretty fun semester. So far I’ve been able to get around quite easy with the map Kelsey Young gave me that she used last semester. We have been to the beach and have enjoyed a gorgeous afternoon at the park where I read underneath a huge shade tree. It is fun just to get out of the house and see what you’ll find next.
Last Saturday we went in search of a fast, cheap meal around Casa ACU. We found a Hamburguesa cart…stall…street vendor…I’m not exactly sure what you call it. We walked up and ordered. “Hamburguesa con queso, por favor.” Which was followed by a “huh?” or say it again. We repeated ourselves and they understood. Let me back up. There are three girls about my age working at this stand and we are the only customers at the time. So they then asked something in Spanish that I guessed was asking what we wanted on the burger. I took a chance and got the “chimichurri sauce.” One of the girls figured out that we don’t speak much Spanish and she tried to use her English skills with us. It was fun trying to order and the hamburguesa was pretty good for a dollar. Since then I have been back several times and the girls always laugh when they see me or someone from our group.
Classes are going fine. We have lots to read, but very interesting readings (and if you hear that from me you know something is up). One thing about the actual classroom is that it is hot and small. Also the desks are very small and hard to get comfortable when you have one class after another. Our Spanish teacher Amelia is very funny and is whipping us through our Spanish book at lightning speeds. She makes it fun, but I can tell it is frustrating for some that have never had Spanish before.
Our final story for the week is quite funny. Last night was the first parade to start the Carnaval season. This is the lead up to Fat Tuesday and lent things…I believe. Well we walked down to a part of Av. 18 to get seats right before the opening float came by at about 8:45. Then we sat and sat and didn’t realize that there would be 10 minutes between all 71 floats. We watched as little kids ran in the streets squirting confetti stuff everywhere and on everything. We saw different “acts” that would come down the street dancing or doing some routine. It was fun just to watch the people around us and see their reactions to the things going on. Around 10 o’clock several of our group decided to head back to Casa ACU because we knew the parade was not going to be over until at least 1 or 1:30. After they left we watched a group of tango dancers come by and then a truck drove by with “dancers” decked out in feathers and scandalous costumes. As the trucked passed by there was a pole in the middle of the truck where a “dancer” was doing her thing. Everyone’s reactions were hilarious. It was funny to also think about how ACU paid for us to see this since they are the one who bought us the seats. After a few more floats we head back through the crowds of smoking drunken people to arrive again safely back at Casa ACU with funny stories to tell.
No class on Fridays so we have been kind of lazy this morning. I woke up about 10:30, but this afternoon we are going to the Pre-Colombian museum for our INTS class. Tomorrow we are going to Punta del Este, a resort beach town. Chau!