The End

It is 2:00am and in three hours I will be leaving to head to the airport and make my way to the United States, leaving Chile and the life that I had led for the past 2 1/2 years.  This, of course, means the last blog post and the end of Michelle's South American Adventures.

Funny to think that if I would have stayed in South America this entire time (I went back to the US twice, once for a week and once for three weeks), today would have been my 1000th day in South America.  Instead, it is my 960th and last day.

This week has been so incredibly busy and exhausting, as my goodbye is not only my personal goodbye but the end of the Holy Cross Associates program.  Regardless, this time has allowed me to realize how much I truly love my life here and how much it will be missed.  As expected, the goodbyes with the orphanage kids was the hardest task of the week and leaving John and Brian here will no doubt be difficult as well.

I am so incredibly blessed for the experience that I have had here over the last few years, both good and bad.  It has been truly life altering and I cannot imagine the person I would be without this experience.  As I leave, I know that this experience has soaked into my bones and Chile will always run through my blood.  It is a large part of who I am now and who I will always be.

Thank you to all my friends and family here in Chile for your kindness, friendship, and generous spirit.  Thank you to my friends and family in the US for your love and support while I went on this crazy journey.  

Until the next adventure,

Michelle

Gracias a la vida, que me ha dado tanto...

Chi Chi Chi! Le Le Le!  Viva Chile!!!

The last week

I have this nervous/anxious/amazed/sad/excited feeling in the pit of my stomach.  This morning I woke up and I thought "wow, it is actually here."  One week from today I will be permanently leaving after almost three years in South America.  I simply cannot believe it.  It seems like just a month ago I was on the roof of my apartment building in Cochabamba, Bolivia looking out over the city, enjoying a beautiful sunset against the mountains, and journaling about how my life might possibly play out during the next two years. That time has passed and then some.  All I can say is wow and, while the life I live now did not exactly turn out as expected, that I would not exchange this experience for anything else in the world.

As I have seen and heard, the last week for any volunteer is a difficult one.  It is full of goodbyes, last visits, and finding time to get your life in order and bags packed before the scheduled departure date.  It is even more difficult in Chile, where social custom is not a final goodbye, but more of a "see you when you return" kinda thing.  As I discussed with my spiritual director last week, while US custom generally acknowledges that one may not see the other again and that seeing the other person again is an act of fate, thus saying goodbye accordingly, such understanding does not exist in Chile.  As a result, when Chileans ask if you will return to visit them, you must show the desire to do so with the answer "Si Dios Quiere" or "Ojalá" (If God wants/God willing.)    No doubt the last few weeks I have said those phrases often, knowing that unless work brings me back here, I will not be returning in the future.

So, as all volunteer last weeks go, mine will follow the same format as shown below (last week was just as crazy.)  I look forward to all these events and the people I will share them with, while looking forward to the next step in life, knowing I am on the right path and that this path would have never been discovered without my time here.

Monday

Noon: meeting with Father Erwin to speak to the owners of Los Buenos Muchachos, where I will have my final going away party on Friday

2:30pm: meeting with both Directors of the International Student Program (exchange program I created for two high schools in Santiago)

5:00pm: tea with Consuelo

7:00pm: onces and playing cards with Marta and Cecilia

Tuesday

10:00am: Skype meeting with Juilieta to discuss Saint George book (another project I started, haha)

After: confirming final details for Friday's party with restaurant

2:15pm: meeting with Director of International Student Program at Saint George's

5:00pm: Saint George's College (one of the high schools I work at) goodbye party from the English department

9:00pm: dinner at Jacinda's

Wednesday

10:30am: go to the feria (fruit/vegetable market) for the last time :-(

noon: meeting with both directors of exchange programs and the travel agency

After: meeting with Villa Maria Academy's director of the exchange program

After: errands around Santiago

7:00pm:  mass at Parroquia San Roque (local parish where I used to live, with 20 or so Señoras coming to say goodbye.  At request of the priest, I will be conducting the homily (eek!) reflecting on my experiences and connecting it with the reading of the day.)

After: last community night with Brian and John :-( 

Thursday

Morning: packing

2:00pm-5:00ish: lunch and playing cards with good friends Michelle and Jenny

6:00pm: Onces (tea, bread, conversation) at Señora Sara's house with her granddaughter Amanda

After: slumber party with John and Brian (haha, inside joke thing)

Friday

At Saint George the whole day, saying my goodbyes to good friends, having lunch, etc.  I think I want to go and get one more very cheap pedicure after, we will see...

4:00pm: Sarah, Vicho, Tasi, and many others arrive from out of town

8:00pm-4:00am (maybe later...):  PARTY!!  Goodbye party with about 40 people at local restaurant Los Buenos Muchachos, where Chilean food is great and comes with a 2 hour show of traditional Chilean dances

Saturday

Recouperation from the night before, finding time to pack

5:00pm: leave Santiago and go to Telegante to spend the night with the orphanage kids

Sunday 

Have breakfast with the hogar kids, say my very difficult goodbyes

After: spend time with Sarah, Brian, and John while packing

Monday

5:30am: arrive at Santiago airport for 7:30am flight back to the U.S.

A Day in the Life of Michelle in Chile - Sundays

Hi all, here is a two part short (and low budget) movie to show you my adventures in visiting the orphanage kids in the countryside each Sunday.  Enjoy!

Adventures in Talca

Well, today is May 1st and that marks exactly 17 days until I am headed back to the US permanently. Time is simply flying by and I still have much to do on my to-do list, such as places to see, foods to eat. etc. Yet, as the days get colder and winter creeps in, I am glad knowing that nice weather awaits me in just a few weeks.

Work itself is a bit mundane, as the transitioning of all of my projects to new coordinators is coming to an end. As a result, I find myself with time to complete the things on my to-do list, although I seem to keep adding things to the list every day. I also find myself with time to visit people, which is nice. The best is that I am spending more time at the orphanage, playing with the kids, although each time I attempt to leave the kids there are always a few tears from some that are worried I will not come back before I leave for good, despite my assurances that this will not be the case. Last Sunday, I realized that departing from them will by far be one of the hardest things about leaving my life here.

Today is the feriado, or federal holiday, of Labor Day. As happens in the United States, no one works and everyone travels. A few days ago I decided to spend the long weekend visiting my very good friend Sarah who is a Maryknoll volunteer in Talca, about three hours south of Santiago. Last night, after spending the day visiting Señora Sara and her granddaughter Amanda for Amanda's 7th birthday, I made the trip to the bus terminal to buy a ticket and make my way to Talca. Silly me, I forgot that it is usually wise to buy a bus ticket ahead of time on holiday weekends; the terminal was packed and I found myself squeezing through people and fighting my way to the front of the line (line etiquette does not exist in Santiago and it is a survival of the fittest thing.) For those that knew me when I first arrived in Santiago, and how the large city overwhelmed and scared me a bit, they would be amazed at how I managed everything so calmly last night - in fact, it was really just second nature. Anyway, long story short, I was told there were not any buses for the night at the company I wanted and ended up walking around the terminal talking to every bus company, finding out they too were sold out of tickets to Talca for the night. As luck (or God) would have it, I heard a man telling a salesperson that he did not want his ticket to Talca for the night and that he wanted a refund. Needless to say, I jumped at the opportunity and found myself with a ticket for a bus two hours later. Sitting against the wall of the terminal, waiting for the two hours to pass, I thought to myself how much I had changed in the last 2 1/2 years and how comfortable and ready I feel about moving to New York City, which is great.

Arriving late last night, Sarah and I talked and walked to the corner for some late night food (love random corner food stands in the countryside!) This morning, we had a very adventurous day, walking three hours to and up the local "mountain/large hill" of the town, where a huge statue of the Virgin Mary looks down on the city with a fantastic view. After, we headed into town and ate at the restaurant "Las Viejas Cochinas," (The Dirty Old Women, haha.) Las Viejas Cochinas is a must-stop for anyone who comes to Talca. For a whole 10 dollars a piece, we had more food than Sara and I have both eaten in long time, including a liter pitcher of Ponche (white wine, sugar, and fresh strawberries), a huge steaming clay bowl of 20 clams and mussles along with a half of broiled chicken and broth, and a huge portion (that we could not finish) of bread and sopaipillas (fried squash bread) with a delicious tomato, garlic, salt, and oil salsa. Needless to say, we felt pretty good leaving (in large part due to the ponche) and were happy about the two hour walk back home.

And so, I am hanging out here until Sunday morning, when I will return to Santiago and travel directly to the orphanage to spend the day with the kids. Monday I will have my last spiritual direction and will continue to work on my to-do list throughout the week, stopping by the various schools I work at to get some things done and have a few meetings. On Friday, the priests and brothers of Holy Cross will be having a goodbye dinner for me, which I am very much looking forward to. They have been a large part of my experience here and have always been so supportive of all that I have done.

One of the things on my to-do list is to make various videos of my life here. It is not exactly top priority, but I am hoping I get to them sometime before I leave. If I do, I will certainly post them on the blog - stay tuned!

Until next time,

- M