I'm home!

Well, I'm back home in Gringolandia, land of the gringos. It’s good to be back, but strange to think that my time in Chile is over. I learned so many things that were fun to learn and worthwhile, but now are completely useless; such as how to use the transportation system, the money, all the chilenismos (Chilean words), and where everything is in Viña and Valparaíso. My host parents kept telling me that my time there would seem like a dream when I came back, and they’re probably right. But it was a good dream while it lasted!
Here’s a list of my favorite things about Chile, in no particular order, to end this blog. Thanks for reading!

• My family. They are amazing people. They really love each other, which was obvious, so it was a great environment to live in. And they cared about whether I had a good time or not, and went out of their way on a regular basis to make me feel at home.
  
• Chilean food! Manjar, chirimoya, helado de lucuma, panqueques, carbonada, palta, la salsa de fideos y la marmelada que mi familia hace, conitos, alfajores, frutilla, pebre, pan chileno, and of course empanadas de queso/jaiba queso, etc....and learning all those words
• Making videos and interviewing lots of different people for projects in TV Journalism and my final project for Spanish class, where we interviewed a graffiti artist
• The trips I took, especially to Chiloé and Machu Picchu
• Speaking in Spanish most of the time, including with German and French exchange students
• Using different money, buses, recognizing different brands: being in a foreign country, essentially
• Living by the ocean and going to the beach in November, December
• The hills and elevators and personality of Valparaíso
• Meeting new people, especially my friend Daniela and her family (her little sisters are really cute!)
• Bad subtitles and dubbing on TV

with my mamá chilena, Ximena