El camino es la recompensa (The way is the reward)

Flying into Montevideo (Photo by Sam)

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​Hooray! I made it to Uruguay! After 24 hours, three hours of sleep, two layovers, and one sleepy viewing of Moana, I landed in Montevideo on Monday afternoon. Almost a week later, I finally had the time to sit down and reflect on orientation and my new home (for the next four months).

¡Hasta luego, Minnesota!

The morning of departure, I felt strangely calm as I strapped my awkwardly bulky suitcase together one last time. . I waved “goodbye” to my childhood home as the the car pulled out of our driveway, the one stoic spruce tree in the front yard vanishing too quickly from my peripheral vision. When I looked out the car window, I absorbed the scenes of lingering snow on green grass, corner stores of Ethiopian food and big-brand coffee shops, and the forest-green street name signs of familiar highway exits. 

The airport was almost empty when we arrived early. I checked my bag (which was successfully under the weight limit) and printed my boarding passes in just minutes. The airport worker posed the standard inquiry, “How are you?” to which I honestly replied, “I am feeling a lot of things right now: excited, nervous. . .” and trailed off, looking over my shoulder at my parents who stood across the first floor. I walked over with my heart heavy; the moment I was procrastinating for had arrived. It was time to say goodbye. We sat on the hard, black chairs out front of the security entrance, holding each other in one long hug. My eyes teared up, and I allowed a few tears to fall. 

“Well, is it time?” my dad reluctantly offered after a few minutes. I stood up to assemble my two backpacks on my shoulders and wiped my eyes. After one last group hug, they escorted me to the security entrance. I recall taking deep breaths as I walked through the security line, turning my back on my twin pillars. I was on my own.

. . .

The first order of business at the airport was, of course, buying my last Caribou coffee for the next eight months. (For those of you with a Caribou nearby, I highly recommend an iced hazelnut crafted press, less ice.) After my top priority was checked off, I navigated the hilly corridors of the MSP airport to my gate. 

I have found that some of the most unexpected stories and connections are sparked in airports. While sipping my crafted press, my eyes flipped between people watching and The Mountain Is You, my current read on Kindle. A family of two young children settled in the seats next to me. And so, as an extrovert in need for connection, I started up a conversation. The mother shared that she was from Minnesota and studied English education at UMD, my alma mater. She and her family were returning home to California after celebrating Easter. I was even more surprised when she commented that her brother recently traveled to Uruguay for work! “Small world!” I thought – only at the precipice of further expanding my world view. 

. . .

The first flight to Dallas was bumpy but thankfully lasted only a few hours. My phone lit up with a message from August, another Fulbright grantee, who had texted to coordinate a rendezvous at our gate. Fulbright fortunately organized travel itineraries so the grantees traveled together after our first layover. The two-hour layover flew by, and before August and I knew it, we had to board our next 10-hour flight to Sao Paulo, Brazil. 

One of the best ways to stay entertained on long flights is conversation, especially with a stranger. August and I covered almost everything under the sun as it set below the horizon that rested thousands of feet below us. We shared the same level of excitement for the next chapter that awaited us across the equator. I was grateful to sit next to someone who already felt familiar although we were still strangers to each other. 

When the plane landed in Sao Paulo, we stretched our sore legs and began the 2-mile long trek to reach the rest of our group who awaited us at the gate. We met the six other tired yet smiling faces in the crowded, stuffy basement part of the airport. Exchanging small talk and travel stories, we embraced and prepared for the final three-hour leg of our day-long trek.
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We made it!

I was surprised by the level of energy I sustained throughout the day. The view of Montevideo outside our window was the dose of hope I required. The rest of the day was a blur, but here are the highlights. First, driving alongside la Rambla –the famous boardwalk stretching along el Río de la Plata– for the first time. Locals drank mate on the scattered benches, leaning in close for intimate conversation. The “Montevideo” sign welcomed us into the city with the stunning skyline of palm trees, red brick, and thin buildings. This was my new home.

Second, the group’s adrenaline-packed adventure on la Rambla at sunset. Looking back, I wonder how on earth we had the energy to venture out of our hotel and stroll down la Rambla in rows of two. 

Third, our first dinner. With no plan in mind, I pulled up “restaurants” in Google Maps and chose a local parilla (grill) that advertised Uruguayan asado and cuisine.
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Orientation

(from left to right): Sam, August, Jack, Meghan, Ryan, Denisha, Jacqueline, Brody in la Plaza Independencia

The three days of orientation were busy, to say the least; there was hardly any time or excess energy to respond to the considerate messages from loved ones. However, I was grateful for the support and guidance shown by the commission to prepare us for living and teaching independently. Here is a typical schedule of orientation:

8:00 or 9:30: eat breakfast in the hotel dining hall
8:30/10:00: orientation begins
10:00-1:00: two hours of discussions and presentations by various members of the commission or related government officials (and a coffee break with medialunas, or croissants)
1:00: lunch break!
2:00-5:30: discussions and presentations continue
5:30-7:00: merienda, or afternoon snack, rest, explore the city
7:00-8:00: chat with other grantees and track down a spot for dinner
8:30-11:00: dinner and sobremesa – a post-meal talk
12:00: go to bed

Orientation consisted of constant movement: from topic to topic, from the bus station to a walking city tour. My journal is filled with scribbles of notes from the various seminars: support networks, safety and security; identity in Uruguay; mental health; culture shock; and Uruguayan culture, language, and geography. 

Below are a few of my key takeaways from orientation!

• If you need help, ask for it; “the only problem we cannot solve is a problem we don’t know about”
• The best way to navigate Montevideo is through the bus system or Uber (which is very affordable!). It is not recommended to drive in Montevideo because drivers are more aggressive and car theft is common.
• Mental health is about balance – about coming back to center
• Copado = very happy, proud/recopado = even more so
•  What can I do that is familiar? Find a safe space that can be home temporarily.
• Most of my protective factors are with others; the one encompassing risk factor is isolation
• Choose regular activities that release emotion: track gratitude and achievements, engage in creative expression, set achievable goals, and prioritize tasks
• There are two different kinds of work-life balance: integrators –who integrate their work and personal lives– and segmentors
• Food unites and is a fundamental part of the cultural experience
• 96% of Uruguayans live in cities and only 4% live in the campo (rural areas)
• The question every Uruguayan asks is: ¿Nacional or Peñarol? (soccer teams)
• Uruguay is a high-context culture (the U.S. is a low-context culture), meaning individual identity is important, relationships build slowly and with trust, productivity depends on group process and relationships
• Most Uruguayans live in the same province where they grew up!
• Escaramuza is the best bookstore/coffee shop in Montevideo
• There are four stages of culture shock: honeymoon, crisis (frustration), adjustment (recovery), and biculturalism
• The three spheres of Montevideo: Montevideo, el interior, and abroad
• «El camino es la recompensa» (the way is the reward)

On the last day of orientation, we met our mentor teachers in person! After walking through the heavy doors of the conference room, I quickly picked out the faces I recognized from the first Zoom meeting amongst the sea of welcoming grins. I crossed the room and received warm hugs and besos from strangers, which solidified the beginning of our kinship and partnership. We crowded a long table and chatted boisterously about the details of the school day, mate, soccer teams, books, and school projects. One of my teachers even greeted me with a bag of mate essentials! ¡Qué lindo!

When the day’s activities came to a close, the other grantees and I would rest, go out for a merienda (usually some kind of empanada), and walk on la Rambla. We had no plans except for spending time together and becoming acquainted with our new home. Over plates of bistec, asado (a style of cooking over a grill, or parrilla), and pasta, we relinquished our raw emotions with one another. They spoke eloquently of their aspirations, hesitations, and motivations. Together, we intently listened to one another share their life’s story during sobremesa, sharing a table and time without limitations with each other. 

In one of the seminars, our lead coordinator taught us many Uruguayan slang words, including barra, which refers to a group of people. Our barra of ETAs and researchers became best friends in hours. It is a very rare yet potent kind of friendship that requires a particular kind of environment. In our case, we were a group of strangers from across the U.S. who shared nothing in common at first except our passports and our wild decision to move across the world for eight months. 

We are compañeros: partners, companions, family, and friends all in one. I wish I had written down more of the insightful things my compañeros shared this past week. But I was more focused on being in the moment, listening to shared wisdom while capturing candid instants of laughter and community. However, here are a couple of my favorites that I recall.

The first is from Jacqueline, my roommate during orientation. After the first night, we began a routine of late-night deep discussions. She is a bubble of energy and light with one of the most infectious smiles I have encountered. She always enters the room with a burst of energy. To begin these midnight talks, we would both collapse on our beds, and we lay on our sides, facing one another propped up on an elbow. She’d say, “Ok, can I get gushy for a moment?”, and we’d reminisce about the special bonds between our cohort of role models. I appreciated her instinct to define her gratitude; she was always the first one to recognize when a small moment spoke volumes. 

The second is Jack, another ETA from New York City: “I feel grateful to be here but also deserving.” This was an important reminder in my various moments of imposter syndrome or temptation to compare myself to others.

. . .

Before we knew it, orientation was over, and it was time to transition away from the vacation portion of the trip. Unfortunately, this also meant saying hasta luego to Denisha, Jacqueline, Jack, and Brody who commenced their experience in the interior of Uruguay. We wished them well and held each other for a while, muttering affirmations in their ear before releasing them to the next step of the journey ahead. 

Me siento copado de estar aquí en Uruguay con una barra tan maravillosa. I feel so happy and proud to be here in Uruguay with such a marvelous group of people. 

On Monday, I start teaching at one of my three school sites. I will work in school A on Mondays and Tuesdays, school B on Wednesdays and Fridays, and school C –an administrative center– on Thursdays. I am still working out the kinks of the bus system (I bought an STM card at one of the local malls), so hopefully my first school trips will go smoothly. I am so excited to meet the students and be greeted by their questions and hugs.

What questions do you have about orientation? Leave them in the comments below!

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Thanks for joining in the chaos!