Bienvenido a Miami

I'm writing this from a cool, dark, semi-quiet corner of the Miami International Airport, about to jump on a nine-hour flight to Montevideo, Uruguay. I paid $9.95 for wi-fi here, and I'll be damned if I'm not going to get some productive use out of it. It is an overnight flight, and I arrive in South America sometime mid-morning tomorrow. When I get there, I have the rest of the day to tend to the 70-mile trip from the airport to my hotel in Punta del Este utilizing my broken Spanish and combating a lack of sleep. It can't be too hard, he says self-assuringly.

I have been looking forward to this trip since the day I was told about it, but I have just recently become a bit... intimidated by the responsibility I have taken on. I pause because I'm not really intimidated, but I'm becoming ever-more cognizant of the importance of doing a good job. I am on this event all alone, with no one but myself to do the reporting, chip counting, interviewing, photo taking, and blog updating. I certainly feel that I am capable of handling the duties, but I understand the need to really perform at a high level on this one. As far as my mindset goes, I have been a complete slacker in the four days since I returned from Las Vegas, and now I need to flip that switch back into work mode for a solid, long three days of reporting. I am confident, but aware of the weight on my shoulders.

Those three days are going to be spent working awfully hard, but the rest of my time there is all for me. I have an extra four days after the event concludes to loiter around the country, and I have no direction or plan in particular. I will eat wherever happens to smell particularly inviting when my stomach growls, and I will sleep wherever I am able to stumble to when I am feeling tired. Having never been in South America -- or any truly "foreign" country, for that matter -- I am curious about how easy it will be to get around and how readily available the things I need will be. I have no idea what to expect, and I have no lofty preconceptions to be disappointed by. Regardless of where I find myself over the course of the next nine days, I will be lugging around my trusty camera, and I can't wait to show you the high points of my little adventure abroad.