America Latina, Mi Amor.

I am in love with South America. I love the people, the history, the slower rhythm of the city, the beauty of the Uruguayan countryside, and the way it feels to relax on the beach after a long day in class. I love the smell of the rain in the courtyard at our casa and the taste of Raquel and Mariela's homemade food. I love the way it seems like there's always at least one person in our house playing guitar or singing and the way it feels to finally know my way around the city. I can't believe we're already a third of the way through our time here. Right now I think I'll never want to leave.

Yesterday we went to a palace! Well, sort of. We went to the Palacio Legislativo, which is where the Uruguayan Congress meets, and it really was like a palace! Uruguay's Palacio Legislativo is the most expensive legislative building in all of South America. It was built in the early 1900's, when Uruguay was incredibly wealthy--even wealthier than the United States (it took two U.S. dollars to equal one Uruguayan peso!). I'm not even exaggerating when I say that all of the walls are made out of marble. There are 53 different kinds of marble making up the walls in one room alone, and all of the stone used was from Uruguay. The whole palace is just absolutely beautiful. We didn't get to spend much time there because we misunderstood the time our tour started and arrived halfway through it but I'd love to go back sometime to look around, and it's only a twenty minute walk from our casa.