Feliz Navidad

Feliz Navidad, Merry Christmas!

To say the least, Christmas was very different this year for me. To start things off, I am in the opposite season than I am used to. Summer here and winter in Vermont, that just makes everything a little weird. On the afternoon of the 24th my family headed to the country house. Here, Christmas is celebrated in the night of the 24th. It was just my family, so the four of us, which is very different because I am used to being with all my aunts and uncles, cousins and grandparents. So it was quite. We had a nice family dinner and then it was time to wait for Santa or here, "Viejito Pascuero". And trust me we were all waiting. Juan Pablo, my 9 year old host brother, was destined to see Santa that night. He was pacing back and forth, waiting outside and staring at the sky for hours. He did not want to leave the house when we were supposed to go over to say hello to my host Mom's parents. He wouldn't budge. It was funny for me to watch all of this. At one point he ran outside and ran back in and he thought he had heard something and was certain that Santa was here. It was very entertaining for me! We finally did get him over at the grandparents house and that was around 11:30pm, and when we came back around 12:30am, Santa had stopped by and it was time to open gifts. And that was about it. Yesterday when we got back to our house in Chillan I finally had the opportunity to see my family and wish them a Merry Christmas. Unfortunately I was quickly reminded that the connection from South America to Vermont is pretty awful and skype wasn't going to be an option. Overall it was a whole new experience, and maybe not one of my favorites, but I quickly reminded myself that I have many more holidays in the future with my family and not to worry.

Buena Suerte Mayck!

Just the other day my host brother, Mayck, left for the United States for four months to work at a ski resort in Vermont. My home state. My parents picked him up in New York at the airport. He is spending a couple of days with my family in my house before he starts working. It's a very strange feeling for me to have, that one day I was saying goodbye to him in Chile and the next day he was meeting my parents for the first time in the United States. I am really happy that he is able to meet my family and some of my closet friends too. As much as I had wished that I could have sneaked into his suitcase and had gone with him to Vermont and seen my parents and friends I am truly happy here in Chile. It will be weird without him in the house. Mayck and I have truly become like siblings in a short four months. This weekend at our country house in Ninhue we had a going away celebration for Mayck. All of the family gathered together to wish him the best of luck. His grandfather started with the first toast wishing him luck and a safe trip and then Mayck's older sisters both said something and his best friends and then they asked me to say something. Obviously there is so much I wish I could say to him, but I just can't yet with where my Spanish is at right now, but I tried my best. When they asked me to say something I basically just lost it. All I had time to say before the waterfall of tears came was, "Gracias por todo y tu eres como mi otro hermano" (Thank you for everything and you are like my another brother [to me]). He came over and gave me a hug. It's a bittersweet moment, like I said before I am so excited for Mayck. It will be quite an experience for him, but I am a little jealous that he is seeing m parents as I have been a little homesick with the holiday season and him leaving. It's a weird thing for me to grasp, the fact that one day he was with me and the next he was with my parents. It's hard for me. Later that night Mayck pulled me aside and he said he wanted to personally say something to me. Of course the tears came again. This exchange has made me quite an emotional person! Mayck thanked me for helping him learn, about a new culture, how to live with another person from another country, and a little English. He also thanked me for being another sister to him. He said how he liked how we are able to have genuine conversations and work together. More was said, but I was to busy crying and only understood parts of it. It has just been a short four months in Chile, but Mayck has truly been like another older brother to me. He has helped me when I'm homesick and communicate within the family. He has made me feel at home. He's great, and it will be weird the next four months without him in the house. I wish him the best of luck in the United States. There will be plenty of times were I am going to miss him, but I know he will miss me too! Can't wait to see him again in March! I hope he has a great time, which I am sure he will! Buena Suerte Mayck.. Feo! (Good luck Mayck.. Ugly!)

South Trip Photos

A Sur de Chile Viaje (Trip to Southern Chile)

I just got back from my first big Rotary Trip, we went to the South of Chile. It was a long trip with lots of traveling by bus and by airplane as well. Every minute was worth it though. The trip was absolutely amazing and it was spent with awesome people. Seeing these incredible mountains, lakes, animals, and views in general reminded me of how grateful I am to be here and have the experience to travel to Patagonia. I was there for just a short week, but we fit a lot into the schedule!

It all started with a 9 hour bus ride to Puerto Montt where my district was all meeting.  It was so great to see everyone again. It is always a good time when we are all back together again because we have all become pretty close in a short amount of time! From there we got on another bus all together and toured the city and went to see some monuments. After that we headed to Punta Areans by plane. It is very far south! When we arrived in Punta Areans we did more city exploring and stayed in a Hostal that night. Early the next morning we headed to a cemetery, it was actually gorgeous with these huge trees and each tomb had a "garden" of some sort. It was different than a regular cemetery in the States. From there we got on the bus for quite a long ride to one of the most southernmost points you can go to in the world to see wild penguins! It was extremely windy with a mix of snow and rain and it was freezing, but it was worth it to see the penguins! After seeing the penguins we experienced a sheep shaving, very interesting to say the least. The man did it in less than 5 minutes. I was impressed! The next day we went on a boat. It took a little more than 3 hours to get to the Balmaceda Glacier.  But on our boat ride we saw another beautiful rainbow and more gorgeous mountains and more penguins as well! When you arrive to the glacier you walk up a little path and then it comes to a clearing and in the distance is this amazing glacier right in front of your eyes. I couldn't believe I was looking at it! It was amazing. I had never seen something even close to a glacier in my entire life. We then took the boat to another place to have lunch and then after lunch we took the boat back to the harbor where we started! It was a perfect day. We also went to Chiloe Island for part of  a day. It is the second largest island in Chile. It is very different from where I live in Chile. But that is the best part of these trips, you get to experience more places in the country that you are living in. We went to a museum and did touring of the city!

I have to say though my second to last day on the trip was the most exciting. We got up bright and early that day to go to Torres Del Paine, the national park in the South of Chile. It is breathtaking as you are driving through and seeing these mountains, and these gorgeous lakes that are the perfect blues. Our first big stop in the park was another waterfall with these gigantic white cap mountains as the background. I'd pretty much say picture perfect. And of course the waterfall had a rainbow. Rainbows were a big trend this trip! From there we went to another glacier. It was also absolutely gorgeous. And went you walk all the way to the end there are parts of the glacier that have come to the shore and there is an important tradition. It's a very big attraction, the whiskey tradition. You bring whiskey with you and use the millennial ices directly from the lagoon where the glacier is and have a nice drink! So of course we all did! I learned that day that I am not a fan of whiskey at all! All for the experience!

Of course I didn't write about all of the other amazing sites that I saw on my trip to the South of Chile, but the trip in general was pretty unbelievable and incredible. I hope to return someday to Torres Del Paine and hike there. It is supposed to be amazing. But I highly recommend Torres Del Paine if you ever have the opportunity to travel far south, it should be a stop on your trip! The world that we live in is beautiful and incredible and I am so grateful I could experience an amazing place on it!