4 Days!

That's right people, I only have 4 FOUR cuatro days left until I board my plane and head back to the land of the free, home of the brave!! I literally cannot believe it: I feel like I've been here for 2 weeks and 2 years at the same time.  I feel like I've changed so much as a person. If I could go back in time, this is the advice I would've given me 10 weeks ago:

1. You are going to be ok!  10 weeks may feel like an eternity, but it's not. It's not even close to an eternity.

2.  You are going to be able to understand the spanish spoken here! Heck, you'll even like it in 10 weeks!

3.  You are going to see some of the most beautiful places on Earth with some of the best friends you'll ever have.  It's ok to lay in bed every Monday, but don't anymore than that because you're missing the exciting (and terrifying) city!!

4. Maybe don't drink so much...
(yeah right, embrace the culture!!)

That being said, here are the things I'm going to miss, miss, MISS about Chile:

1. My weird meals.  Here in Chile I put aside being picky solely for survival.  If (for example) I wasn't really in the mood for zucchini soup, that meant I wasn't going to eat for the next 2 days because we had zucchini soup for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  I'll probably go right back to being a picky eater in America the moment I land (because it's so convenient to be an American!) but I'll never forget just picking up my fork and eating what was in front of me without question.

2.  My family.  ISA couldn't have put me in a better house. Without question. These 2 ladies have been beyond compassionate, caring, helping, and loving***.  My spanish grew leaps and bounds with my CM and CS helping me along the way, and it'll be strange to not wake up to Cami singing Justin Beiber loudly and not having my CM iron my underwear (at first it freaked me out and now...it still freaks me out, but I just go with it)

***The second or third week I was here, CM and I were having once alone because Cami was at a friends house.  I expressed to her that I was really missing my family and America.  Without a word, she got up from the table and got out a bottle of mango pisco.  She brought it and two glasses to the table and said "let's talk about it". Man will I miss that woman!

3.  My friends I've made here.  Bar none, the people I've met here have been exactly what I needed to make it through the difficult times, and enjoy the fun ones.  From hiking the worst volcano in the world together, to laughing about failed micro attempts, to closing down multiple bars and clubs, to sitting and sharing testimonies of faith, and experiencing an array of "hispanic panic", these people have been absolutely fabulous to come to a foreign country with.   I love that I came not knowing anyone and I'm leaving with a fresh new treasure trove of individuals I get to call my friends.

And of course, here are the things that I can't wait to never see/experience again:

1. THE FREAKING COLD WEATHER ALL THE TIME!!! Gah, its July right now! And I'm in 2 sweaters, gloves, and 3 pairs of socks- no lie

2.  The buses honking at me. Literally, every SINGLE time a bus honks I jump about 5 feet out of my skin. Not to say roads in America are quiet, but the Aggie Spirit Bus never scares me while I'm waiting for it's arrival.

3.  Talking/dreaming/thinking about Pablo Neruda, Chile's #1 man.  If you're saying to yourself, oh, I wonder who this interesting character she's talking about is let me google it...DON'T! I will tell you all you need to know about him and more.  Literally, I'm an expert.

It makes me sad to realize that I probably won't ever come back to Chile again.  Not for lack of desire, just that there are so many other places in the world I want to see and experience!  Maybe one day my kids can come here and experience the same thing I got to: a chance to free yourself from the daily routine of life in America, be truly uncomfortable and grow as a person in so many ways.

To everyone I've met here: thank you. You have all been fabulous and I can't imagine not getting to know each and every one of you.

To everyone who read this silly blog: thank you. I hope you enjoyed the adventure with me and loved getting to see literally one of the most beautiful places in the world.

Thank you to everyone who prayed for me, texted me, facebooked me and thought about me while I was here.  It definitely made the entire experience easier knowing I had great people like you to come home to while I stretched my wings and learned a lot about myself.

And to Chile, thank you the most.

Chao and besos,

Aves

THE Bucket List

13: the number of days I have left until I board a plane and return to the ole' US of A!! It's so crazy to think that I've already been here 8 weeks- time really flies when you're trying to speak a foreign language and explore every inch of vina and valpo! Ha!

Like my sweet mom posted previously, my family came to visit me!!!! It was seriously the best week ever- we ate, drank, slept, walked and shopped like kings. I told them on their first night here after an exceptionally good dinner and getting tucked into my bed in the hotel that I hadn't been full or warm since I came to South America. It was so fun getting to show them around the area and explore new things with them. Definitely the best travel buddies ever!

Look how cute and South American they look! 

Since they left, I've been dedicating all of my time outside of going to school to exploring! Right now, all of the university students in Chile are really mad at the education system because 1) school is expensive (all of the American students are like yeah and your point is...?) and 2) it's not fair (still...what's your point Chileans. Welcome to North America) so they've been having lots of protests. Aka they take over the school building. Aka we don't have to go to school!!! There's some law somewhere that says if an American student is involved in protests they'll be deported, so the school has had to cancel our classes to make sure we aren't given the slightest opportunity to be involved in a protest. Yippee! So far we've missed 2 classes- that doesn't sound like much but we only have 25 days of lecture so we've missed a lot of information. Fine with me, I didn't come here to study anyway! Ha! 

My friend and I decided to make a bucket list of all the things we want to accomplish in the Valparaiso/Vina del mar area before we leave, so that's how we've been spending our days. Who knew such a small town would have so many things to do?! Here are some pictures of our progress so far:

Drink a pina colada: check

Explore Cerro Alegre in Valparaiso (a pretty hill that has lots of cool paintings/views): check

Eat (and demolish) breakfast at a place that serves breakfast all day long: check

Castillo Wulff: check

Avenida Peru: check (at sunset was an added bonus) 

Drink 9238749823 margaritas: check (ok not on the list but we did it anyway)

Take a million pictures with this girl doing all things bucket list: check! 

As you can see, we've been pretty dang busy! This week we get Monday and Tuesday off for some holiday so we're going to go north to the beaches and try to catch some rays because it's been so warm here lately! (yes, sadly we think 65 degrees is warm) and then next week is my last week! What?! Where did the time go?! As my own personal goal, I'm dedicating the rest of my time here to drinking as much Chilean wine as I can. 

Wish me luck!

Chao,

Aves 

TankerToes visit Avrey!

{Being a guest blogger makes me nervous!  How can I ever be as cute, funny & informative as Avrey?  I'm hopeful that it is true, a picture is worth a thousand words!}

This is the story of a brave, redheaded gringa named Avrey that went to Chile to study at the Universidad Catolica.

 

From her vantage point on the big Pacific ocean, she invited her family for a visit!

Avrey took us via taxi,

Micro, subway, ascensor (elevator), trolly and FUNicular to see the sights.

We saw the famous Reloj de Flores (flower clock) in beautiful Vina Del Mar.

Avrey took us to an amazing (and fairly disgusting) fish market, where we all determined there is no FDA in Chile! 

We saw fishing boats that had just brought in their catch of the morning.

Our terrific guide even arranged for us to see sea lions frolicking on the beach!

Avrey and her gringa friend, Jamie, took us to Valparaiso ("Valpo") for a fabulous day!

It’s a town known for its incredible street art and the famous piano stairs.

Avrey took us to the Fonck Museum (and, yes, we way overplayed every Foncking joke we could) to see the Easter Island exhibits.

Along the way, our fearless leader managed to wine us.....

....dine us......

and, most importantly, churro us!

We drank traditional Chilean cocktails – Pisco Sour, Pisco Blanco, wines and Terremotos (the word for earthquakes and this crazy drink)

 

THANK YOU for letting us share in your great adventure!! We couldn't be more proud of you or more excited to see what you do next (can we come there too?).

Love you to the moon & back -- Jan/Mom/Guest blogger