Chau Chile

Presentations have been given, papers have been handed in, tests have been taken and somehow, just like that, my semester studying abroad in the wonderful land of Chile has come and gone.

I just got back from my last study abroad seminar class at the end of which our director brought almost all of us to tears. Vilma has led many study abroad programs and thinks that this may be one of her last but she’s at peace with that because she said if her travels end with us then she can say she quit while she was ahead. She said she was so proud of how well we took care of each other and how open we were to everything Viña had in store for us. She has been an incredible pillar of strength and support for all of us but to hear we were the same for left us all a little chocked up. She gave each of us a hug, told us she loved us and asked that we not forget her when we find our “fame and fortune.” A group hug ensued and more tears as we bid each other adieu before heading out on our travels. We haven't been apart much at all this semester so it's bizarre to think that I won't see some of them until January.  

My last night in Viña could not have given me better closure. I helped my host mom and sister put up the Christmas tree and then we had probably the best meal I’ve had in Chile. My host dad grilled some awesome steak and bought spicy brown mustard for it, which is easily one of my favorite condiments. My host parents talked about their impressions of me my first couple weeks here and described the look of shear terror on my face every time they tried to talk to me. They congratulated me on how far my language has come and thanked me for being a part of their family when in all reality, it is I who owe them all the thanks in the world. While I had my moments of frustration in my home stay this semester I could never express my gratitude to them for taking me into their home, welcoming me into their family and sharing some great laughs with me in the last 4 months. 

After dinner I met friends at the bar that we went to our first weekend here. We did some serious reminiscing, sang some karaoke and commiserated about how much more packing was waiting for us. On my last walk home, an overwhelming awareness for how blessed I am to have had this time abroad hit me. While it feels like I was packing for Chile last week, when I take the time to realize how much I have experienced and learned this semester it feels like I’ve been gone forever.  I wouldn’t trade my time in Chile for anything and know that the memories will truly last a lifetime.

In a few hours I will be boarding a bus to the airport in Santiago to begin a journey that I have been looking forward to for months. When I was accepted into the Chile program I vowed I wouldn’t leave South America until I saw Machu Picchu, well, I’ll be there on Saturday. In the next 2 weeks I will also get to see the Sacred Valley, Cusco, Lake Titicaca and La Paz before returning back to Chile for 24 hours to grab the rest of my stuff and then I will be on my way home. I am thrilled beyond words to see my family and friends that I’ve missed dearly during my time abroad but I'm also pretty pumped for my trip with friends that I honestly didn't know before all of this happened.

I want to thank all of you that have followed me on my grand Chilean adventure and that have calmed my mom down during her moments of panic, you da best. I’ll probably post about my trip once I’m home so check back in a couple weeks for pictures of Peru and Bolivia if you’re interested!

All my love and cariño,

Mackenzie

Se queda poquito

Today I gave my final presentation for my Study Abroad Seminar class. The task was to describe in 15-20 minutes how my semester in Chile has affected me, what I’ve learned and experienced and what I’ll take away from it. Saying that it is hard to articulate these things would be the understatement of the century and provides a serious dose of nostalgia. Surprise surprise I talked for 35 minutes and had tears in my eyes when I finished.

Our director passed out sheets today explaining how difficult “re-entry” to home can be, trying to verbalize to everyone back home what happened to you in the last 4 months can be frustrating, isolating and quite frankly shocking. And I believe it. A couple of us were talking today that we’re so grateful that we didn’t do an external program because if we had to go back to “life as usual” at school without one another to talk to when we’re going through Chile withdrawal we would probably be some pretty lost souls. I don’t mean to sound dramatic, I’m just trying to explain what’s been going through my head the last couple days.

As difficult as it is to believe that our time here is very little we have not been wasting a single moment in the past week.

Last Thursday was Thanksgiving, as all of you know, and while Chile doesn’t celebrate this wonderful day of feasting our university put on a dinner for all of us, our families and our professors. Thanksgiving is easily my favorite holiday (probably because my mom is a killer cook and my grandma makes enough pie to feed a small army…which I guess you could call my family….anyway J ) so I was worried that the Chilean version wouldn’t measure up but I was pleasantly surprised. I missed the stuffing and pumpkin pie and my host family couldn’t make it but we made a little “orphan” table and had some great conversation. It was the warmest Thanksgiving I’ve ever experienced (right around 80F) which made for some great picture taking. I found myself very thankful for the people that surrounded me this year.

Chilean Thanksgiving without mayo, score. 

On Friday I went to this great seafood restaurant in Concón with my family for dinner. This is the first time we’d been out to eat since I’ve been here so it was really fun. We didn’t leave the house until after 8 and didn’t pick a restaurant til a little before 9 so by the time our food came I was starving but it was worth the wait. I’m not a huge seafood person but when your dinner comes out of the waves that are crashing underneath your stilted restaurant, you try something new. I ordered pastel de jaiba which was basically shredded crab in this kind of creamy sauce with a flaky pastry on top. It was divine. We also had mango sour and wine, I felt so grown up J One of my dad’s tennis buddies is living with us indefinitely. My host dad is 35 and this guy is 19 so my host parents refer to him as hijo and joven. My dad’s daughter Cata was also with us for the weekend so my parents thought it was awesome that all 5 of their “kids” were out with them. They kept making jokes that it seemed like so many but our little bizarre family still wasn’t as big as mine back home.

Candid taken by one of my sisters. 

My little bro who we call Poopy.
He has officially entered the terrible 2's as demonstrated by our time at the restaurant. 

Me and my sisters Cata and José. 

On Saturday I made my second trip to the beach town of Maitencillo. It was kind of a crummy day but we had lunch at this cute café with great sandwiches and sat on the boardwalk talking for a while. If nothing else it was a great way to evade homework.

Saturday night our art and culture prof invited us to an espectáculo at the Quita Vergarra, which is this great park near my house that has a giant stone stage that kind of reminds me of the Grand Stand at the state fair. The show was a Chilean group called Los Tres accompanying the Santiago ballet. The music was really interesting and the dancing was awesome. We all enjoyed it a lot more than we expected to I think. Here's a video of it, not the best quality but at least you can get a taste for it. 

Monday we went to the beach to celebrate Anna’s 21^st and after nearly 4 months of living in Viña I finally got in the ocean, the waves were strong and it was cold but we had a great time and made a total scene, as always.

Tonight a small group of us ventured back to the sand dunes to watch the sunset. The ascent was quite comical but once we got to the top, the view was more than worth it. I can’t say how much I will miss nights like tonight.

Cariñas,

Mackenzie

Paraíso

This past weekend 13 girls from our group, 3 of our Bolivian friends and a guy from Arizona that goes to our university here headed a little south along the coast to Algarrobo to stay at the resort that has the world’s largest swimming pool. We were there a while back to visit Isla Negra and glimpsed the pool and vowed to return.

To say that it was paradise would be an understatement. We had been a little worried about the weather since it had been overcast the past few days but Saturday and Sunday were 85 and sunny and absolutely gorgeous. (Yes, while snow fell like crazy in Minnesota I was sitting on the beach with some fabulous friends) The kilometer long pool sits about 100 feet from the ocean and contains about 66 million gallons of filtered salty seawater that is continuously pumped in and out. The water is amazingly blue and complete with water trampolines. You can even rent small sailboats to take out in the pool!

The 17 of us rented a 4-bedroom apartment for the night with a breathtaking view of the coastline. This place was probably nicer than anything I will be able to afford on my honeymoon. The weekend also kind of served as a birthday celebration for me, Anna and Micho, what a perfect way to celebrate my 21st! We had a great time and it was wonderful to get a break from all of our final projects. I have just over 2 weeks left in Viña and I’m trying to soak up every second. 

Cariñas,

Mackenzie