once upon a time...

Winter vacation has arrived! I officially survived a week of el Campiemento de Invierno with 100 Chilean high-school students! As a volunteer counselor, me and the others were put up in a hotel in Viña del Mar - and despite the lack of hot water, it ended up being pretty nice! Winter Camp itself was an experience for sure! The kids who attended this camp gave up a week of their vacation to learn English - and for Chilean students this is a huge huge deal! So they were very intelligent motivated kids who in the end I think really had an amazing week. On the other side of things, the camp was run by MINEDUC, and therefore was "slightly" disorganized and at times, very challenging to work with! 

Alas, I am home and enjoying days of sleeping in, having enough time to go for long runs, and sit outside and read:) Ely and Carlos also received some great news this week, that are having a baby girl! I am super excited for them - Ely looks great and has the cutest baby bump - almost makes up for missing my own sister's pregnancy! Last night my extended family got together for onces and we played cards for several hours - I lost 900 pesos (don't worry, that's less than 2 dollars!)...but nonetheless had a good time with everyone! I feel as if I am soaking up as much time with them as possible...as I only have one more week here at the house before I begin my travels with Luke. It is all very bittersweet indeed.

Today after lunch, Ely, Carlos, I and some other Chilean friends are heading out to el campo for the night! They have a small adobe cabin out in Colliguay, and we are heading there for some time in the mountains! I am really looking forward to this. The weather has been quite cold in the night time (mid-30's) but during the day its about 50, bright, clear and crisp. It feels like late September in Minnesota, and I really love that time of year. The mountains surrounding the town are covered in snow now, and i never tire of looking at them. 

I'm off to hang my laundry on the line and make another cup of instant coffee with powdered milk (there are some things I miss VERY much from the US!!!). At times I cannot believe I have been here and done this. I have learned another tongue and lived another life entirely; made a new family and experienced a new job. When I came to Chile, I think I would have had a really hard time knowing exactly what was pulling me here, and driving me to make this leap. But now, as I look back at the months past, the experiences I have had, the places I have seen, and the number of times I felt truly lucky in this life - I know that these are the reasons I came here, I just didn't know it then. And for that I have nothing but gratitude. 

til next time,

lck