Old Town Montevideo

Trying my first post from an internet place -- usually I write my posts at home and jump on the slow school internet for a few minutes to upload them, but am having various technical issues, mostly with photos. I keep planning to go back and correct the photos and formatting. In the meantime, many of the photos can be viewed at

http://picasaweb.google.com/tacman/

Second day of class went very well. Every hour the instructor changes, and the variety is good. It´s mostly conversation for me, with some grammar. Becky´s making great progress and really enjoying the rapid learning and remembering her Spanish from 20 years ago.

After classes and lunch, we planned to study and read, so heading toward the old part of the city along the water, before deciding that wasn´t very practical. So we grabbed a bus and eventually made it to the port, a nice area with some shops and restaurants. We were just about to head to the old part of town when a fierce rainstorm hit, we helped the vendor selling us some leather goods put his wares in boxes so they didn´t blow away.

Looking like drowned rats (alas, no photo), we went into the nearest restaurant and snacked on french fries with mushrooms (tasty!) and a fruit licuado (becky) and beer (me). Eventually, we pulled out the books we had been lugging all afternoon and did a bit of study. When the rain stopped, we finally made it to our destination. The outdoor areas really are pretty quiet until about 10 at night, when people start eating. For me, this is great, I love late dinners, but Becky prefers an American schedule. Oh, well, when in Uruguay...

So it´s about 10 15 now as I finish this post, we´re finally starting to get hungry after the earlier snack, so we´re off to one of the many excellent restaurants around here.