goodbye host family....hello real family

After four months of living with someone or multiple people you really get acquainted with them. You know what you shouldn’t do in order to not push any buttons. You know how long lunch is going to take. You know what the best meal is. You know the laundry and cleaning schedule. What you don’t realize is how much you’ve become a part of the family instead of just a house mate.  I really did like living with a family even though the lack of independence was hard to adjust to and the language barrier sometimes doesn’t let your personality show through. My family overall was kind and wanted me to have a good experience while in Chile. We had conversations about Obama, legalization of drugs, traveling to Alaska, religion amongst many other topics. I got to learn about not just another person’s perspective, but another culture’s perspective.

wine tasting

Valpo

Barbara and her boyfriend

two families coming together

            It’s also amazing how quickly you can pack up your life. In a matter of a couple hours I had packed up my whole room that I’d known for 4 months.  On Wednesday night my real family come to my host families house for ceviche and drinks to say good-bye. It was a fun conversation watching my mom use her hand signals and 10 Spanish words she knows and my dad saying “muy bueno” for everything.  It’s amazing how you can communicate with people even if you don’t speak the language perfectly or even at all.  Barbara and her boyfriend were there so it made translating the conversations easier.  We talked about Chilean politics, holidays in our own countries and having me as a daughter. My host dad laughed about how I was always smiling and would always say “hmm” whenever something was interesting.  I gave them some presents from Utah and then it was time for the goodbyes. It was hard leaving a family I’d lived with while watching my real family see me attached to another family. It was a good experience with them, but I was also ready to leave.

dad bungee jumping

       

largest swimming pool

    The rest of the week with my family was spent on a walking tour of Valpo and touring 3 wineries which my parents loved! Kelly and I showed our parents around Vina, Con Con, and Renaca.  We ate at 2 of our favorite empanada places, showed our them the school where we obviously spent lots of time working hard, and the flower clock.  Kelly and I took our dads surfing in the morning which was quite a riot.  It was not the best place to surf and definitely not the warmest, but who cares when you’re having fun. We went to the largest swimming pool in the world after I told the security guards we were looking at renting a place there but wanted to check them out first (it’s all private so you can’t go there unless you are staying in an apartment).  We went into a National Park in the Andes for sunset and saw a sign for bungee jumping so obviously we checked it out.  After seeing about 10 people watch their loved ones jump off a steel platform dangling from a crane I asked someone how much it cost. It was $40USD and there was only one more person in line.  I told dad the news and he asked who wanted to go. Since TJ thought he was too big to go, mom is afraid of heights and I have already bungeed in Costa Rica it was dads turn! He went to the platform and met the 19 year old solo worker who spoke no English and got harnessed in.  He made the 50m fall and loved it.  What a cool dad I have! He said he always wanted to bungee jump, but never thought he’d be 54 years old and in the Andes Mountains doing it.  We went to Big Mary, Bellavista, and the Mercado in Santiago and squeezed in a trip to the Emporia Roja (voted top 25 best ice creams in the world). The trip ended with dinner at the Hard Rock Café.  It was fun to go back to some places I had been at the start of my time abroad 4 months go and think back to those first few days.  In some ways it seems like yesterday I was taking pictures with Paul, Brandan and Murphy and sitting next to Logan on the bus, but at other times it seems like years ago seeing all that I’ve seen and how I’ve grown.

            The highlight of the week and one of the best of my time abroad was Thanksgiving day. Kelly, Meghan, Jen and I had been planning the feast. Andy, Kelly and I made pumpkin pies on Tuesday using no measuring cups, no can opener to get the pumpkin open and no electric mixer. We spent lots of time preparing to have some of our closest friends come over for a traditional Thanksgiving meal complete with 2 turkeys, stuffing, deviled eggs, mashed potatoes, cranberry salad, green been casserole and pies! Classic dad moment having each of us go around a circle saying what we were thankful for before we ate.  I can say the common consensus among all of us was the love we have for our families and the appreciation we have for the incredible friends we’ve made here. Oh and being thankful we are all healthy! Rob’s parents and Kelly’s parents were there to join us 13 kids.  None of us had seen that much food for the past 4 months and could hardly wait to eat out on the deck overlooking the ocean while watching American football on my laptop.  Following dinner all the kids headed to the dunes to watch the sunset one more time. A perfect culmination to a great day.

Thanksgiving

            It was great having my parents here for a week. I’d realized how well I really did know my way around and how much Spanish I do know. It was funny seeing them in the chaotic groceries stores and crossing the busy streets that I’d learn to navigate so easily.  Leaving Viña and the friends I had gotten so close to was a bizarre feeling knowing the chances of me being back to Viña is probably pretty slim.  I’m off now to hike the W trail in Torres del Paine National Park in Patagonia.  I came to South America knowing I wouldn’t leave until I had been to Patagonia and here I am.  Dreams coming true every day.