I can’t believe that in about 12 hours or so, I’ll be sitting in a plane waiting to take off from Chile. These past several months have been filled with their share of ups and downs, lefts and rights, and turnarounds. However, all things considered, the experience has been well worth it and I feel like I’ve learned a lot about myself, and others, in the process.
I was always working, so I still haven’t seen many of the things that I would like , nor have I experienced all that I want to. However, (1) regardless how long you spend in a different place, it’s rare that you do EVERYTHING that you would like, and (2) I have accomplished my main goals for coming out here: meet and learn from interesting people; learn more Spanish through immersion; step outside of my comfort zone and grow as a person; help others reach career goals by teaching them English; open future doors through new personal and professional experience abroad. Back home, I spent 4 months trying to find a new job. Here I had two within a month, one of which at an international law firm. I guess I can’t complain too much.
The main question people are asking me is: Is there anything that you will miss from Chile? So with no further ado:
Things I Will Miss From Chile (in no particular order)
- Ramitas de Queso (Chips)
- Frugelé (Gummy snacks – this will be no surprise for those who know me)
- Mote con huesillos (Peach drink with wheat grain in the bottom)
- Bread (funny how the first things that come to mind are food)
- People (Seriously, people are #1, but I’m working on a specific post for that)
- Geography (volcanoes, ocean, mountains, desert, forest…it’s all here)
- Being able to walk EVERYWHERE
- Being able to buy anything I need off of the street within block of my apartment
- The view of the Andes mountain from my apartment window
- Being compared to Will Smith or Michael Jordan every time I walked outside.
- My Chilean family (I love you guys)
Thanks, Chile, for opening up a completely different world.