One thing that makes this environment different from the United States is that the seasons are the opposite of the seasons in North America. Here in Uruguay, summer happens from December until March and winter is from June until August. Other than that, though, I am surprised at how familiar the countryside looks compared to the land back home in Minnesota, with its flat land, green cornfields, and many cows! It's crazy to me that a country so far away from my home, with completely opposite seasons, could have such a similar landscape.
When I first arrived in Montevideo, I was thrilled to see sandy beaches and gentle waves breaking along the coast. (That part was definitely different than Minnesota!) Based on the map, I knew that Montevideo sits on the coast of Uruguay, right on what appears to be the salty Atlantic ocean. On my second day here, though, I found out that the body of water along most of Uruguay’s southern coastline, including Montevideo, is actually a river! It’s called río de la plata, and it is the freshwater that flows out from the Uruguay river into the Atlantic ocean. There isn’t a defined line that divides the salty ocean water from the river water that flows from río de la plata, so on a map it all just looks like the ocean.
