Aventuras...en Uruguay

The horn of the bus jolted me awake.

I blinked, and forced my contacts to focus. Where was I? The weight of nearly two days without sleep, too many goodbyes, and my overstuffed backpack sat heavily between my shoulder blades. The driver was still honking his horn, and I pushed myself up to see out the window.

Outside my the glass lay the capital of Uruguay: Montevideo. The city was dark at midnight, but the streets were alive with music and flags. People packed the streets, singing, dancing, and waving a blue, white, and a red striped flag. It was officially election day, actually the day of the election run off for presidency, and everyone was out showing their support for Jose Mujica, a former leftist rebel who spent 15 years in jail.

The driver pounded his horn and my fellow passangers stood up and pressed their faces against the glass, pumping their fists and yelling in support. Our bus stood at a dead stop as everyone celebrated, and as I watched, the supporters raised their hands in the universal sign for peace, and before I knew it, we were all raising our hands in the two fingered salute.