The last two weeks in Chile included reflection and a lot of fun. The second to last weekend the roomies and I had a "Friendsgiving" on our roof top. We had never used the roof before, and the space turned out to be great to have a get together. We decorated the roof with orange and yellow streamers and brought up chairs from our apartment. We grilled chorizo, and made a pasta salad, potatoes, and decorated sugar cookies with little turkeys on them! We had about fifteen friends in all there, it was great!I said good-bye to many of them, since it would probably be the last time I would see them. The last two weeks in Chile included reflection and a lot of fun. The second to last weekend the roomies and I had a "Friendsgiving" on our roof top. We had never used the roof before, and the space turned out to be great to have a get together. We decorated the roof with orange and yellow streamers and brought up chairs from our apartment. We grilled chorizo, and made a pasta salad, potatoes, and decorated sugar cookies with little turkeys on them! We had about fifteen friends in all there, it was great! I said good-bye to many of them, since it would probably be the last time I would see them. Sunday evening Erin and I went to see the Hunger Games at the movie theater in the Costanera center. It was the first time either of us had gone to see a movie in Chile, so it was fun.
The last week at school was nice and easy. The school year is ending for the kids, as it is getting hot and almost summer here. Most schools in Chile end in mid-December, right around when kids in the U.S. would go on holiday break. This week I got to do more fun things like teaching English Christmas songs, and coloring ornaments. Wednesday was my last day with many of the kids so I brought in over 200 little ornaments. Erin and Emy helped me write "I love English" and "From Miss Ciara" on them with permanent marker. Also, that morning when I woke up, my roomies had dozens of yellow balloons all over the apartment with cute little sayings like, "Last full day of work!" "5 more days in Chile" "We already miss you!" and more. It was so sweet of them! Thanksgiving day was my day off here, so I started packing. Erin and I also went to eat at a place called Lime, which is similar to Chipotle with one of her friends from school who is also living in Santiago. I then finished up some souvenir shopping and bought Erin and Emy little Christmas presents since they will be here until the end of December. Friday was my last day of school...and I almost missed it. My alarm sound wasn't on, luckily Erin happened to wonder if I was up yet, and knocked on my glass door at 7:15a.m. I shot out of bed and literally ran out the door, since my ride picks me up at 7:20a.m.! Luckily I made it. Friday I visited my kindergarteners and they gave me a little book full of drawings they made for me. I went through each one and had them tell me about them. One drew a picture of him and I walking on a rainbow, and his "Papa esta escalando las escaleras, y mi Mama esta manejando el auto." (My dad is climbing the stairs and my Mom is driving the car!) Kids are so funny. I then had classes with the second graders, who were definitely my most challenging groups. But, they all made me really sweet cards...including some that said, "I'm sorry if we behaved badly, I really love you," and my favorite one was a picture of an American flag with, "This flag is special, because it's YOUR flag." So cute! I kept them all. The hard teaching moments were made worth it when they gave me their cards and asked when I was returning. After the kids left for the day, my boss Alicia, told Noah (my good friend who got me the job at San Nicolas) and I that we had an "important meeting." We went to the English room, and our colleagues, our boss, and the principal were all there and they had a special lunch of Paella, which is a delicious Spanish rice and seafood dish. We toasted to Noah and I's future and they thanked us for a great year. Then, they gave us presents, which was a picture of the English team singing karaoke at the teacher appreciation dinner. It was really sweet. Then, Kevin, who will replace Noah and has been shadowing the last month or two, prepared a slide show for us. They showed all of Noah's classes and colleagues saying what they appreciated about Noah and saying bye on the video. Then they went around to the classes I taught and filmed the kids saying, "Good-bye Miss Ciara!" I got teary eyed! And then, suddenly Bill's face popped up on the screen! He said "Happy Thanksgiving, and see you soon!" My co-teacher Pamela (we share and teach the same grade levels, and she is so awesome!) had Facebook messaged Bill and asked him to send in a short video for me. Then I REALLY got tears in my eyes. Everyone was so thoughtful. It made me feel really loved and like I made a difference. That night, our friend Dave was having a Thanksgiving dinner at his house. Erin, Emy and I made two huge pots of yummy mashed potatoes. Riding the metro with the huge pots of potatoes was exciting too! We had turkey, asparagus, a green bean casserole, potatoes, and an interesting Chilean apple pie. It was nice to eat some typical American foods. I still really want stuffing, sweet potato casserole with marshmallows all over them, and homemade pumpkin pie. I'll have to have them at Christmas! The next morning, we woke up early and met up with another girlfriend, Taylor and headed to a little area outside of Santiago in the mountains called Cajon del Maipo. When I was researching what activities to do, bungee jumping caught my eye. "Let's do it!" I told Emy and Erin. They agreed almost without any hesitation, (this is why I love them.) When I told Bill about my exciting plans, I think he almost had a heart attack. He brought up some good points about how the safety regulations might be different here, and tempting fate...(since it was the day before I was suppose to come home) But, you know me. Instead of saying no, I just researched the likelihood of dying, and read some articles and sent some horrifying videos to Emy and Erin. Don't worry everyone, it's like 1:500,000 or 0.0005% chance...something like that. Hehe. The metro ride took about forty-five minutes, but it was beautiful. We then took a colectivo taxi up into the mountains. The taxi dropped us off by a dirt road and we followed the "Bungy" signs. A guy about nineteen years old was in charge. He had a Steelers hat on, so I trusted him. Ha, NOT! Anyways, we all had small heart attacks when we saw the contraption and the river far below us. Emy bravely went first, then Erin, who lost a shoe into the river, then Taylor, then finally me. With each girl that went, I got a little bit more nervous! After being strapped in and me asking about five times, "Is my harness tight enough?" and "Please don't let me die! I'm going home to my fiancé tomorrow and he'd be really mad if I died."On the count of three and a slight hesitation I jumped. I'm not a screamer...but wow, the scream that came out of me surprised me! It was absolutely terrifying! The free fell felt forever, and after the first bounce you soared right back up, which was equally as terrifying. After I was safely back on land, I was relived. But, it was a trill. I would totally do it again! After bungee jumping, we went and ate lunch in the cute little town of San Jose. I ate a shrimp and cheese empanada-my favorite!
Then we walked down to a river where we sun bathed and waded in the river. As we were enjoying ourselves, some younger kids were messing around and hurled a television set into the river! I couldn't believe it! I waded in as fast as I could and grabbed the t.v. and hauled it to the shore. The kids stared at me, and in my best Spanish I yelled to them not to throw trash in the river. They then picked up a tire and tried to roll it in as well. But, I grabbed my camera and pretended to take pictures of them and told them I was going to call the "Caribineros" or the police in Chile. They all dropped the tire and ran away. Yay! After laughing about the t.v. incident and properly disposing of it, we ate ice cream and then headed back to Santiago on the metro. That night, since it was my last night in Chile, the four of us went out for Pisco Sours. My friends Noah, Simon, Laura, and a few others all came to to say good-bye. It was a great last day!
Sunday after hitting the gym for the last time, the roomies and I walked to a special bridge where couples hang up locks. Bill and I talked about doing it together, but didn't quite have time, so I took my gym lock and wrote our initials on it to put on the bridge. Before I left, Erin and Emy got me a little going away present. The got me some snacks for the airplane and a cute ornament that says "Chile 2013, love Erin and Emy." It was so sweet! I got them gifts as well, that I told them they could open on Christmas. Then, after doing a few inspections of the apartment to make sure I had everything, our friend Simon came with his car and picked us up. The gang helped me into the airport with my three huge bags and then we said good-bye. I got a little teary eyed as we hugged good bye. I was sad to leave the best roommates and friends I lived with for six months. On the long flight home, I had a lot of time for reflection and contemplation. Chile was an absolutely amazing and life-changing experience. There were many times I wanted to give up and come home. I really learned a lot about myself. Above all, I'm proud of myself. One of my dreams since I was young was to live abroad in another country. I always wanted to learn and speak Spanish. I wanted to have an adventure and be on my own for a while before settling down. And I did just that. It wasn't easy, and I questioned myself. But looking back now that I'm back in Colorado, makes me realize all the personal growth and strength I gained. It is so clear to me that I wouldn't have made it without the amazing support of my fiance, my family and my friends who encouraged me and had faith in me. Another thing I'm completely clear about, is that I made life-lasting friendships in Chile. I feel so incredibly lucky to have met and lived with Erin and Emy, my roommates. We had so many great times together. We all truly connected and I know that our friendship will last forever. I'm thankful for meeting the group from Notre Dame and all the fun times we shared: Fourth of July party, going to Los Moelles, Flannery's, Snowboarding, the Color Run, dancing, and much more. I'm thankful for Noah, who was also a part of the Notre Dame group. We all met at the grocery store, Jumbo and got me a teaching job at his school. We became great friends while working together at San Nicolas as English teachers. Overall, my experience in Chile was an amazing, life-changing journey and I will cherish the many memories, adventures and amazing friends I made. For now, I'm on to applying for my teaching license, looking for teaching jobs, and wedding planning. Since I've been back Erin, Emy and I have sent videos and talked everyday! It's been an adjustment being back. The weather, for one thing-85 degrees and sunny to -8 and snow is a change! Driving my car again, and Bill and I deciding who's doing the dishes, (which I remembered after a few days of doing them that we have a dishwasher, since I'd been doing them all by hand, ha!) It's been fun meeting Bill's new friends and seeing old friends as well. Thanks to all who followed my blogs and kept in touch while I was in Chile. Now, on to the next adventure!
The last two weeks in Chile included reflection and a lot of fun. The second to last weekend the roomies and I had a "Friendsgiving" on our roof top. We had never used the roof before, and the space turned out to be great to have a get together. We decorated the roof with orange and yellow streamers and brought up chairs from our apartment. We grilled chorizo, and made a pasta salad, potatoes, and decorated sugar cookies with little turkeys on them! We had about fifteen friends in all there, it was great!I said good-bye to many of them, since it would probably be the last time I would see them. The last two weeks in Chile included reflection and a lot of fun. The second to last weekend the roomies and I had a "Friendsgiving" on our roof top. We had never used the roof before, and the space turned out to be great to have a get together. We decorated the roof with orange and yellow streamers and brought up chairs from our apartment. We grilled chorizo, and made a pasta salad, potatoes, and decorated sugar cookies with little turkeys on them! We had about fifteen friends in all there, it was great! I said good-bye to many of them, since it would probably be the last time I would see them. Sunday evening Erin and I went to see the Hunger Games at the movie theater in the Costanera center. It was the first time either of us had gone to see a movie in Chile, so it was fun. 
