We are in the Southern Hemisphere!

Below are several pictures that I have taken over the last week. We got into Uruguay in the early morning of January 27th. That started our adventure and our realization that we could possibly be the only English speaking people for miles around. Now it was 5:30am in the morning and we had been up for 24 hours traveling with ALOT of baggage and kids, but it took us 3 attempts to get the paperwork right to get thru customs. "Oh she wants us to fill out 2 forms for each of us". Anyway...we made it! But, it is true not that many people speak English and we are fumbling our way thru. We can order at a restaurant, buy groceries, and do the day to day stuff. However, don't try to have a conversation with me because I don't know what you are saying and you don't know what I am saying. One of our goals on this adventure was to learn more Spanish so we are going to find a language school for us to attend. Last week we just got organized and figured out the lay of the land, where do we get groceries, where is the local cafe, where is the beach...basically how to live. The weather is beautiful this time of year but it was cold and very raining for about 3 days last week. They really needed it because it had not rained here in 5 months. We think we brought the Oregon rain! Big changes compared to Costa Rica - the ocean is cold here! It was about 78 degrees in Costa Rica (tropical) and the water here is about 65-68 degrees. And...it is only about 80 degrees here not 90! But, the biggest of all is that we have a women by the name of Karen (from Chicago) who is the kids homeschool teacher. She has been here for only a day and she is great. She is living with us as part of her pay. We have a "maids" quarter out back which is her space. We call it the "teacher" room! She is fluent in Spanish, so that should also help! That is about all we have been up to this week. Uruguay is a very beautiful place. Beaches, sand dunes, long ocean grasses, pine trees, and crisp ocean breezes. From our house you can be out in the country with in 5-8 min ride. All the development is along the coast line. Oh, also a big change is we have internet at the house! So, you should see more postings from me. Chow!