Trouble Fitting In

This weekend I went to my friend's house in Solymar about 45 minutes outside MVD.  It was HOT and Lorena's house is about 6 blocks from a beautiful beach, so our afternoon plan was clear: we were headed for the beach!  Unfortunately for me, I forgot my bathing suit (malla de baño).  Unfortunately also for me, Lorena has 2 suits.  I wouldn't call what I wore a thong, but I would call it uncomfortably revealing.  My booty has never been so bare on the beach before!  It was a full moon on the beach at 2 in the afternoon!  Needless to say, I was a little embarrassed and, thus, tanned only my front side that day.  Naturally, Lorena's whole family laughed at my apparent discomfort and teased me affectionately for being so conservative.  I am admittedly pretty conservative with what I wear and always have been.  BUTT, it's experiences like this one that make me question why.  It's also adventures like this that make me appreciate the great differences between Uruguayan and American culture.

Lorena's family loves to tease me, and I would expect nothing less.  They have always been wonderful to me, and I am grateful to have met them.  There's a lot of joking, loud talking and eating as a family at their house, so I fit in we

ll (although I still probably talk the loudest) and feel comfortable there.  The family is big, ranging in ages from 3 to 60.  Add 5 dogs, 4 cats, 2 birds and a couple of bottles of whiskey and you'll begin to understand the chaos of this house, but I love it!  We've done a couple of delicious asados, and I got to try sweet morcilla for the first time.  I had only eaten salty morcilla in Spain, which is good, but the sweet version is super tasty! 

Also, the other day they gave me my very own mate.  This is a very personal gift, and I wouldn't want for it to have come from anyone else.  I love my mate!  With my new mate in hand, you would never know that I'm an American in Uruguay (until I open my mouth, of course, and my gringo accent comes spewing out).  Therefore, the only problem I have fitting in in this country is into the bathing suit bottoms!