Friday, February 15, 2008

A Surreal Whirlwind

It is a beautiful summer day here in Santiago and as I sit down to write this blog entry, I simply cannot believe what a whirlwind my life has been the last three weeks.

On January 17, 2008, 11 Saint George students and I left the very warm summer whether of Chile and flew to the very cold winter weather of Washington, DC USA. We bundled up in newly purchased hats, scarves, and gloves and had a wonderful time, visiting all that there was to see in the nation’s capital. Highlights of the trip for the students included a private tour of the capitol building, a trip to the National Holocaust Memorial Museum, dinner in Chinatown, ice-skating for the first time during a very chilly night in front of the National Art Gallery, buying souvenir t-shirts from a street vendor, and eating a spicy chicken sandwich at Wendy’s. After a successful two day visit, each student left DC and flew to their various locations around the country where they will remain until March 15th as exchange students. So far, no problems at all (knock on wood) and students, schools, and host families all seem to be having a great time.

As for myself, I stayed in Washington, DC for three more days in order to visit with some friends, former co-workers, and former bosses currently living in the city. It was great to be in DC again, the first time back since I worked there during the 2005 summer. My wonderful friend (and fellow 2006 SMC grad) Danielle Taylor was gracious enough to host me for those three days (and two days after my KC visit). She was as great of a host as she is friend (thank you again Danielle.) The highlight of my entire time in DC was not just being with the kids, showing them around a city I love, and teaching them how to ice-skate, but seeing everyone again. The culmination of this experience was a fun SMC get-together at an Irish pub one night with friends Danielle, Ashley Enright (2007 grad), Sarah K. Brown (2005), Abby Raegan (2005), Sarah McIlduff (2007), Maria Corso (2005), and Liesl Yost (2005). Go Belles! :-)

Yet, the majority of my time away from Chile for the past three weeks was spent in Parkville, MO visiting my family and a few friends. This was the first time that I had been back home since I left for HCA program orientation in July 2006. As everyone pointed out, it had been a long time. New buildings, new stores in my town had been built, new roads paved. Certain events happened, people were a bit older and lives were a bit different. I knew to expect all of this because I had changed too. Regardless, I was happy to find that the basic comforts of home were right there waiting for me when I returned.

I want to say that nothing significant happened while I was home, but at the same time want to write about each day that I was there. Everyday I had different plan and different itinerary of things to do. Spending time with each of my family members and family friends was certainly the best part. I was able to spend a day with my grandparents, eating lunch and shopping. I went to mass – twice – with my grandma, always one of my favorite things to do. I spent several days with my one year old niece who was born while I was still in Bolivia. Seeing her for the first time will be one of the things that I will never forget. Amazing how one person can change your view of things, how you can love them just by meeting them. It was incredible seeing each of my parents hold her, their grandchild. I went to work with my Aunt, spent the day chasing after 15 little 5 year olds , speaking in Spanish to 6 of them. I made a Chilean dinner for my family complete with pastel de choclo and pisco sours, and ended the night by acting like bad girls, smoking and drinking with my sister, aunt, and mother while playing pool. I ate amazing Kansas City barbecue ribs and drank beer while watching a great game of the Superbowl at the American Legion. I went to a party with my other Aunt and Uncle, and being the only person there under the age of 40, played pool and creatively invented shots along side a bunch of bikers proud of their motorcycles. I ran errands with my cousins and sat in the back seat while they drove. Went to Wal-Mart and subconsciously said the word “whoa” aloud when walking through one of the isles. I had lunch with my Dad and his new girlfriend. I went to an awesome Christian heavy metal/scream at the top of your lungs/bang your head/mosh-pit rock concert with my sister and brother, hearing the band members’ stories of being called to God in between songs and meeting them afterward, seeing their impact on all who were there, including my siblings. I played bingo with my mom, sister, Aunt, and “the girls” at the American Legion. I sat in front of the TV for hours on end while it snowed 8 inches outside, absorbing cable television and becoming addicted to “Make Me a Supermodel,” “Project Runway,” “Cash Cab,” and the Food Network. I visited some good friends, one who is a masseuse and gave me a must-needed deep tissue massage. I absorbed all the politics I could get, watching CNN from the start to the finish of Super Tuesday, and checked the channel and headline news at least 30 times a day. I went to a service at my sister’s church and met all the wonderful people who have had an impact on her life, even going to lunch with her friend Pastor Alex and ate an incredibly huge and delicious burger at Fuddruckers after the service. I even picked up the two Saint George exchange students who are in the Kansas City area and took them to Coldstone Creamery in the Plaza and after to Crown Center for a little shopping, meeting their host families later for dinner at a Japanese steakhouse. Oh, and eating Sunday breakfast at the American Legion. I looked forward to that for so long and to see everyone there – yes, that should certainly make this list too.

Okay, okay, I’ll stop. No, this isn’t everything, nor do I plan to bore you with another long list again. But, no worries – when my sisters and cousins finally send me pictures, I will post them on here and be sure to recap everything again, haha.

From the moment I stepped off the plane in Kansas City to the day that I said goodbye to my mom in the airport to make my way back to Chile, my time home was very very surreal. When I left in July 2006, I never expected to be back in Parkville until December 2008 and had mentally prepared myself to not return. The opportunity to go back for a visit, virtually paid for, was a blessing and an opportunity I am glad I did not pass up. Yet, the entire time I was there, it felt like an outer-body experience - I was home, I was sitting in front of, talking to, and having a great time with family and friends. I was experiencing a completely different, although familiar, culture I did not expect to experience for another 11 months. And, just as I started to believe it was real, the time came to leave.

I am glad to be back in Santiago. Glad to be back living the simple life I have learned to love, glad to see the people I have learned to love. The funny thing is, my first few days back here were a bit surreal too. Life moves fast, as you all know, and technological advances in transportation, among many other things, make moving fast an easy feat to accomplish. There is no doubt that these remaining 10 months in Chile will move just as fast as the last 1 year, 5 months, and 23 days I have been in South America. I must be kidding myself to think the surreal whirlwind has come to an end.

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