Sorry not to have written. I’m afraid my personal life has taken over my travel and adventures a little bit. But things have been good. I’ve been learning a lot about this small little town I live in. I’ve been learning about this country, and this place in general. I have recently realized that you only get to see a small amount at first. You only get to see what people let you see, what this place lets you see. Recently, I have caught more significant glimpses. The old, weathered and paint-peeling fences are occasionally left open, and I can peek in past them. I can see what lays inside the crumbling, graffiti covered walls. I can see the green courtyards, with brick pathways, and statues, and flowers, and laughter.
When I first came to Chile, I was told I would have culture shock. I was told that I might have a breakdown caused by the frustrating cultural differences. This has not come. In fact, I have experienced the opposite. The new discoveries don’t seem to stop coming – each one opening up my imagination and expectations more. The people I have met have played a huge part in this. I don’t think I could be more fortunate in the connections I have made. They are the ones, after all, who open the doors and guide me in these new experiences. I am saddened that I have very little to share with them in return. All my favorites, my secrets are back in the states – In New Mexico, Oregon, California, and even Colorado. I will show these to my friends, someday. But right now I'm going to talk about what they have shown me.
I will recap just a few:
Viña del Mar and Valparaiso: I went with my friends Luca and Noora, who found a great little hostel to rent with several of Noora’s university mates. We wen’t out at night to a very typical little bar in Valparaiso: two stories with the upper floor looking over the lower, led up to by old wood banisters. There were the wood barstools, and a loud and rowdy crowd filling them. In the day we left out to the beach in Viña. We laid towels out on the beach and took in the sun. We kicked a soccer ball around with some guys on the beach, then later, meandered to a local grocery store to buy food for a picnic. Later, I rode the bus back to Rancagua. I could feel my skin stinging. My first sunburn meant it was summer.
Santiago: This is unfair, to write Santiago into a paragraph, since I have had so many nice times visiting friends there. Each time is something new, although, I always return to familiar places. I’ll sum up Santiago by saying this: it is the center of my new adventures, where my friends stay, and where my heart is, for the time being.
Rancagua and the surrounding area: Beyond the doors that hold the secret courtyards there is a mountain range. In the foot of this mountain range are the homes of some of my best friends. I have been fortunate to go to their houses, to receive their hospitality, to feel part of a home again, while so far from my own. Nacho’s birthday, lunch at Joaquin’s, a barbecue with Antonia’s family – these have been some of my favorite experiences.
Pichilemu: Pichilemu was fantastic. Perhaps it was too wild. I can’t say I wasn’t given fair warning, because I was. But perhaps my friends Joaquin and Alejandro, who I went with, felt the need to make it an extra crazy visit, just to live up to the lore of the land. In the end, it was a completely unique visit - walking the streets of Pichilemu during the day, trying to squeeze into any restaurant possible to catch the Super Clasico, going out to the club at 3 in the morning and later watching the sun rise from the beach, basking in the sun all day and then doing it over again. It was all part of an experience so full that it was almost draining and that left us speechless for the car ride home. You leave this type of trip recalling all your favorite things that happened, and all the memories you made – the type of memories that you hope you can hold on to, even when others begin to fade.
So that’s it for the travels. Thank you to everyone I have met who has opened up a new door to me. Thank you for showing me this place – your favorites, your secrets. It is amazing that you can travel all the way around the world and meet people you feel are your brothers and sisters. To all my new friends, to all my old friends, to my family:
I love you.
