Minding Montevideo with Marisa pt 2

What makes meat in Uruguay & Argentina incredible is that there is an art to the cooking and barbecuing. The people who work the grill are very specific on the amount of time the meat is on the grill and each type of meat gets a different treatment during it's time on the grill to ensure that the full flavor has been brought out. And every so often one of the workers will stop by and toss a few more logs into the fire to keep the flame strong.  As I quietly gnawed on an asado while watching the flames roar over the meats on the grill at at the Estancia del Puerto in Montevideo's "Mercado del Puerto", I couldn't help but feel like that fire was symbolic of my relationship between me and Marisa.

Minding Montevideo with Marisa pt 1

I turned and looked at her one last time as I made my way up the steps of the Pocitos Hostel and as I did,  she flashed a look in her eyes.  It was just for a single moment but a single moment can tell you a thousand things. I had seen that look before multiple times on my first trip.  It was that dreamy look that every mother has in her eyes when she gazes upon the countenance of her baby for the very first time.

Playing House....

Image by barnabywasson via Flickr

Today I have the ultimate tip to surviving a Cross-Cultural relationship..........playing "house"!!!!  Yeah, you heard me right, that game we all played when we were kids and we pretending to be someone else. Seriously,  how do you think I've hard to survive in a friendship where I have a different language, culture, social class etc.  I still pinch myself wondering if I'm in a dream or could it be true that despite all these differences., we have NEVER fought or get offended with each other, not even once!

While chewing on this thought....it began to occur to me that perhaps one of the secrets to our relationship is that we constantly have to walk in the other persons shoes, literally like playing "house". I'll admit that early on there were several times where I wanted to react to some of her actions or responses....it would have been so easy to be judgmental. But in that moment I chose to keep my mouth shut and instead just wait abit. And you know what? God was always faithful when I took that path.