Carmela Jenckes, Penn Abroad
GRIP: Entrepreneurship in Montevideo, Uruguay
Of the many stories I carry from my years in Spanish classes, one that has stayed with me and has proven to be surprisingly relevant during my time in Montevideo, was told by my sixth grade Spanish teacher. She had been living abroad in Spain and was recounting her day to her host family, describing a moment of embarrassment. Unfortunately, she added to her embarrassment by accidentally saying she was embarazada (pregnant), instead of avergonzada (embarrassed).
Armed with that cautionary tale and several similar ones from friends and a past experience abroad, I arrived in Uruguay naively assuming I’d be immune to the classic mixups. But not even a week into my internship, I realized just how wrong I was.
My first hint that language blunders were inevitable came when I tried to ask my host family about Candombe, the traditional style of drumming in Uruguay, and had an unfortunate misspeak– instead asking about something very different. Though I was briefly embarrassed, the mixup prompted one of my first moments of shared laughter with my hosts.
Now, I can pretty confidently navigate Montevideo’s bus system. Twice a week, I take the 151 bus to the end of the line to reach my internship office. On off-days, I explore the city using other bus lines, often heading to unfamiliar cafes or parks and finding my way home from there. I still rely on the trusty Moovit app to plan my routes, but even when my phone dies after a long day in the city center, I usually know at least one reliable route back.