Since my last post, the university continued in Paro and Toma and are still fighting for their education rights today. Luckly, I was able to still complete all of my classes, with a few on the fly meetings with my teachers to wrap up the semester. I'll have you know that I passed all of my classes here and have been able to receive a good amount of credit towards my degree at CU. So that's it... I'm done.
Just to fill you in with the last few weeks of my Chilean life....
One night the guys of the program got together to hang out and make some empanadas. (out of about people in the program, there are only 10 guys.)
I also went off traveling solo a bit north of here to La Serena and the Elqui Valley. I had about 3 nights of travel, 4 fun days. This area of the country has some of the clearest skies in the world and is known as the Astronomical North. In one night I saw more shooting starts than I had in my entire life. It was absolutely beautiful. I tried to do some long term exposures with my camera, but I am not quite set up for that so my photos didnt turn out well. But that is alright, I have the memories :)
I had originally planned to travel this whole past week, but while in the Elqui Valley I realized that I wanted to spend my last few days in Chile in the city I have come to love. So I hopped on one of Chile's thousands of buses and got myself back to Valparaíso.
Since I got back I have been taking advantage of my time and getting around to walk though the hills and take some last pictures of the murals and houses perched through the city.
Last night was my host mom's 50th birthday. We had a huge party for her that also doubled as my going away party. It was a ton of fun to be together with everyone and chat away for hours and hours late into the night. (the old folks even out lasted me... I turned in at 4am, while they kept going with the music and dancing!)
My time here in Chile has been remarkable. In just 5 short months I have learned so much. Some of that learning was done in the classroom, yes, but the great majority of it was out interacting in the Chilean world. I have also stepped out side of my comfort zone quite a few times and have had one amazing experience after another. Through this process I have actively seen myself growing both physically (manjar and empanadas...), and personally. While I couldn't possibly go into the detail of where I have grown and what I have learned I can share one of the most important points with you. Before coming here I had a tendency to allow myself too much stress, becoming worried about minor details. I have learned to let that go and know that all will be ok and that the stress is just that; stress. No one wants it, No one needs it. I have done well to reduce it. In this sense I learned that I don't necessarily need a plan to have a great time. Some of my best days and nights in the country have happened without ever knowing what was coming in the next hour. I love that feeling and I plan to embrace it when I return back home.
Above all I have met some incredible people here and have certainly made life long friends.
I leave Chile tonight around 9pm. I can't believe that this day has actually come. It was so long in preparation for this adventure, so much time and effort in getting here that I never really thought about the end. And all of a sudden here it is. Being here has been of amazing importance to me and it is an experience I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
Thank you so much to all of the people that helped me get here. You know who you are and you laid the foundation for me to have a wonderful experience studying abroad in Chile.
Take care everyone,
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