I can't believe how quickly this week has flown by! We have had an amazing time each and every day of our trip so far and I have a great feeling the best is yet to come. Our week started with a tour of downtown Uruguay, compliments of Gianfranco and the rest of the Globoscope staff, followed by a trip to a local supermarket and topped off with a delicious meal with the Uruguayan students. In my opinion, the downtown area was very rich with culture and history. We were given a lot of information from the students about the different monuments and statues that represented historic figures for their country. Tuesday was the first day at 'La Ruta' where we participated in some of their weekly activities, such as trivia with the students who come there on a weekly basis. Later that day, we went to 'la playa' and were introduced to a new game called "9 square in the air", which is essentially an elaborate game of 4-square constructed out of PVC pipes. How creative! Although the weather was a bit windy and rainy, by no means did it dampen anyone's spirits and we still had an amazing time. Wednesday was also a very exciting day. We had an opportunity to go to a local campus and talk with students that have yet to hear about 'La Ruta'. There was noticeable curiosity amongst the students and towards the end of our afternoon at the campus, some of the local students invited us to hang with their group in order to ask questions and share Mate. From what I've heard about past outreach opportunities, this was a great sign indeed. Thursday was the day for Mate a lo Gringo. I was blown away by the willingness of the students to be so open and vulnerable about events that are happening in their life even though they had just met us a few days ago. Thursday was capped off with a costume party in spirit of the upcoming 'holiday' of Halloween. Just a few days left and again, I feel as though the best events are still yet to come! Thank you Lord for this tremendous opportunity and for continued safety on our trip. Amen.
-Matt
-Matt