Sunday, July 20, 2008

Less than 24 hours to go!

The final moments have arrived. I just want to say thank you to everyone who supported me during this amazing experience of my life. I appreciated the cards and care packages, they really meant so much, especially being thousands of miles away. I look forward to seeing everyone when I return. Calls and texts will be very much appreciated, I have missed them the past 5 months.

I had my last night out in Chile last night leading me to go to bed at 3:30 this morning. However I was so anxious I woke up at 9:30. That is the earliest I have woken up in weeks. I still have my last minute packing to do and thank you presents to give. It seems so surreal that I was even in Chile and now that I am leaving. Studying abroad was a goal/dream of mine since high school and now its over. I am so glad I did it and recommend everyone to step out of their comfort zone and do something like this. Living in another country is a challenge itself and speaking/learning another language is quite a defeat. I still don´t know how/why I picked Chile, I dont even remember making the decision that Chile was where I wanted to go but I am so glad I was here. I made great friends, learned great lessons, and had one of the best times of my life...and I am only 20 years old. I feel like I have a lot to look forward to. It really is true...if you put your mind to it, you can do it.

Thanks again for reading my blog and staying in touch. Love you all!!

Saturday, July 12, 2008

So close, I can almost taste it

I am in the final stretch now. I leave a week from tomorrow. I still feel like Chile is a dream and I just haven´t woken up yet. I assumed time has stopped and when I return home it will be March 3 and Spring is around the corner. But instead I get to step off the plane in 90% humidity and temperatures in the upper 90´s. This will be far from Spring weather. I am very excited though to sweat instead of shivering. I am tired of being cold, having 2 winters this year was not my idea of delightfulness. And living in a country where central heating does not exist did not cross my mind until I was already living in it.

This past week has been uneventful. The first half was full on Econ. I had a group project for that class and also a final exam, our prof made it easy on us since we took it early and she was so busy she didn´t have time to make us a real exam, instead we had a multiple choice one which I prefered. I don´t know how I did but I felt better about it than the last one I took. I feel like I have to write about school since a lot of adults are reading this and they are concerned with my education :-)

So something rather eventful that happened to me this past week is my laptop is no longer working. Its rather a tragedy for me because I rely so heavily on it for entertainment and communication. Luckily it did happen my last week here when school is over and I only have to wait a week before I talk to everyone at home who I have been talking to online. However since I am on a prepaid cell phone plan here, my friends here and I use facebook to make plans. So thats the only thing that has really been bothering me about not having my laptop. Fortunately, my host sister just got a new laptop so I can still continue my sitting in bed with a laptop. I just can´t do it all day, which is a good thing. Everyone knows I am addicted to the computer, so when I lost mine, its like losing a friend. That sounds so crazy but I hope you know what I mean.

Hope everyone is doing well. I look forward to calling or seeing everyone when I get home. Don´t complain about that heat I am so excited about :-)

Friday, July 4, 2008

No fireworks here


So I have to say it is a bit strange not to celebrate July 4th here, of course it is still July 4th but you know, its not JULY 4th! I really would love to see some fireworks and hot weather. My friends and I were going to have an asado (bbq) and celebrate with some American culture. However the cold gloomy weather and lack of funds stopped us from being traditional Americans on this day. Instead we watched Anchorman. I knew I probably would not like it and I was right. I just don't have an appreciation for that kind of humor. It was nice to see clips of San Diego though.

So not much has been going on. I am now done with 3 out 4 classes. This week I will be done with Econ, probably on Thursday. I still have to do a group project, quiz and final exam...boo! I finally got to see the Sex and the City movie. When I first found out it was coming out while I was here, I was very sad I wouldn't get to see it but then it finally came here and I went to the pre-showing. I don't know if thats a word but thats how I can translate the Spanish word for it. I was so excited I couldn't help but smile during the first half of it.

Anyways I am a little over 2 weeks from home. I can almost taste it, its so close. I know 2 weeks may seem like a good chunk of time since some people may come to Chile for only 2 weeks. But when I have been here for over 4 months now, 2 weeks seems like a very short time. I can finally say I am ready to go home. I wasn't sure how to get ready for going home but thinking about warm weather, my favorite foods, and seeing my friends and family, I think it is time for me to go home. Also I have ran out of money and need to get back to having some kind of income. My friends are also starting to leave so Chile just won't be the same without them.

Well I thought I would just write a little to let everyone know I am alive and well. Tomorrow I am going to Santiago to do some more sightseeing. It would be sad to live in Chile for 5 months and not really see much of the captial. Hope everyone is having a fun 4th of July!!