Author: Reina Watanabe | Major: Environmental Science, Spanish

During the spring semester of 2022, I decided to study abroad with the USAC program in Montevideo, Uruguay. As a Spanish and Environmental Science major, I chose this program largely because the courses offered would allow me to receive credit for both of my degrees. I was also intrigued by the location in Uruguay and its capital city, Montevideo since it is a rich cultural and political center. Uruguay is also known for its prominent agriculture industry with more than half of its exports coming from the agricultural sector. This highly interested me because I am passionate about sustainable agriculture and agroecology, and it is an industry that I hope to work in professionally. 

I attended 3 Spanish courses a week, which were Composition I & II and Spanish Conversation and Oral Skills. These courses not only helped me to improve my writing skills and knowledge of Spanish grammar but also my informal use of the language through practicing daily conversations and skills as simple but necessary as ordering food in Spanish. I loved that my Spanish Conversation class encouraged experiential learning outside of the classroom. In the first week, the professor took our class on a field trip to a local bakery and our assignment was to practice the phrases and vocabulary needed to order food. I also completed an assignment in that class where I conducted an interview with my host mother about the local politics within Uruguay. It was obvious through the coursework and the format of the classes that the professors truly wanted me and the other students to gain fluency in the Spanish language and to have the opportunity to learn about Spanish culture outside of the classroom. Coming from lecture halls and classes with over 100 students at the University of Arkansas, I appreciated that my class sizes in Uruguay ranged from 5 to 10 students. This allowed the professors to give a lot of individual attention and focus to each and every person. 

Outside of my Spanish classes, I also took 6 credit hours in 2 courses that would go towards my environmental science degree. The courses I took were called Global Food Challenge and Sustainability. In Global Food Challenge, I learned about global food systems and the challenge of feeding the world’s exponentially growing population in a sustainable manner. I also learned about the extensive agriculture industry in Uruguay and the local issues they are facing to feed the country. In the sustainability course, I gained a greater understanding of the alternatives to development that are being practiced in South America. Both of these courses gave me immense insight into the field of environmental science through a Latin-American lens, and I look forward to exploring and building upon the ideas I learned in Uruguay as I navigate my honors research in the future. 

I gained firsthand experience within Uruguay’s agriculture industry by volunteering at a community farm. The farm was located about an hour outside of the city, and I used the public

transportation system in Montevideo, which was extremely convenient and simple. I would take the bus about once a week to volunteer at the farm, and it became one of my favorite activities outside of my classes. Some of the activities I participated in were weeding, harvesting, attending a composting workshop, and leading a field trip for local elementary students! Working with the farm allowed me to gain insight into sustainable agriculture being practiced in Uruguay. Despite researching Uruguay’s culture and history as much as I could before arriving, I was still confronted with many culture shocks on my first day. I remember after more than 24 hours of flights and layovers and walking out of the airport in Montevideo. I instantly felt the 90-degree heat and sticky humidity in January. This served as a quick reminder that I was no longer at home or even in the same hemisphere as my friends and family. 

Another culture shock was the Uruguayan schedule. The day starts later and ends later there and my first dinner was eaten at 9:30 pm, which is a common dinner time for most Uruguayans. Upon returning, it felt strange to eat dinner at 7:00 pm because I now view that as early! Also, Uruguayans live a more laidback lifestyle than the fast-paced lifestyle and jam-packed schedule I was accustomed to in the United States. One of the biggest differences I noticed was how laid back my academic schedule was. It was common for a class I had at 2:00 pm to not start until 2:20 pm or later, and that meant the professor would not show up until that time too. I was constantly having to remind myself to slow down and be “tranqui” or calm as many Uruguayans like to say. I also felt very lucky for the free time it gave me to seek out cultural activities and events around the city. 

Namely, during the first month that I was in Uruguay, the country was celebrating Carnaval, which is a celebration that consists of street parades, parties, and musical events. Uruguay has the longest Carnaval in the world, and it spans from early January to mid-March. One of my favorite Carnaval events that I attended was El Desfile de Llamadas or “The Calling Parade”. It was recommended by one of my professors who told me that if I could only attend one Carnaval event, it had to be that one. I can still vividly remember the drummers and dancers who lined the streets and played Candombe music, which is a traditional folk music and dance that originated in Uruguay from the enslaved Africans. This was just one of the many ways in which I got to experience the rich culture of music and dance within Montevideo. I also had enough free time to participate in a dance class every Friday this semester where I learned the basics of tango, salsa, and bachata! I fell in love with how central a role music and dance play in the daily lives of Uruguayans. I am already missing my dance class, and one of the first things I did when I got back to the States was look for Latin dance classes here! 

One of the most enriching aspects of my experience abroad was having the opportunity to live in a homestay. I lived with 2 other American students and a host mother named Ana who was 76 years old and spoke no English. Conversing in Spanish and cooking meals with her was one

of the key ways in which I learned about Uruguayan culture and practiced my Spanish. We talked about our favorite foods, books, politics, and our families. Even our small talk was beneficial in my language practice, and I always left each conversation with a greater understanding of what Uruguayan life was like through her stories. One Saturday, she taught my 2 roommates and me how to make homemade gnocchi, which is a common dish in Uruguay due to a large portion of its population having Italian ancestry. I look back on that day with fondness because of the conversations we shared while cooking and leaving knowing how to make a traditional Uruguayan meal. 

My host mom also introduced me to “mate”, which is a traditional tealike drink that came from the indigenous peoples of the region. Drinking “mate” for Uruguayans is an important social activity for the people because pre-pandemic, families and groups of friends would gather around and share a “mate”. My host mom and I did just that during my first week when she made my roommates and me our first cups of “mate”. My homestay experience was one of the highlights of my semester, and I highly recommend it to anyone else who is looking to study abroad. Living in a homestay gives you the ability to experience and learn about the culture firsthand, and it also gave me the language immersion I was looking for out of a program. As I reflect on my semester, I can say with confidence that Uruguay was the perfect location for my studies as it gave me the opportunity to both gain fluency in the Spanish language and learn about farming through a global and Latin-American lens. I recommend this program to any other students that are studying Spanish and are looking for a study abroad location that carries such a unique culture and history. I learned that I cannot assume what the culture or people of a country will be like without living there, and I was surprised by how different Uruguay was compared to the other Latin-American countries I had traveled to. I have learned that it is incredibly important to understand that Latin America is not a monolith and Uruguay showed me the individuality that each region has. For anyone else that is also interested in studying abroad, I encourage you to take that first step and reach out to a study abroad advisor and the Honors College for resources and guidance!