Chancho

Mom and I are headed to Chapod (where I lived for the month of May) in the morning -- there are about a thousand words I could use to describe how excited I am about returning to my amazing family there . . . but let's just sum it up with this:

I think we are going to be eating this big ol' chancho (pig) that arrived a few days before I left last week.



Yup, we are excitied.

How do I even start?

BUENO. . . my program finished today. Most people left on flights home to the USA. This weekend we all presented our projects we have been working on for the last month. My mom comes on Wed to Chile until June 19th. It's a surreal feeling. To be close to the end of this incredible, wild semester. I hope to blog a few more times to try and recap some of the experiences I was able to have. I can't even begin to explain how wonderful my time in Chapod, in the south of Chile in a Mapuche community, with my incredible family was. I worked in the school and had a blast with all the kids. My 13 year old brother there, all my sisters and my parents from Chapod were unbelievable. They made me recognize the importance of conversation and togetherness. My students learned about the world and made maps of chalk outside and were crazy. I watched lots of soccer and a ridiculous but addictive telenovela (soap opera) and had my 13 year old brother explain the parts i didn't understand. I turned in a 42 page research project in spanish -- let's be real, I didn't speak spanish before I got here. Thank you Chile and everyone here for teaching me. People loved me really well in that community. We laughed a lot. And then I came back to Santiago and was welcomed so well. I got to hang out with my amazing peers from my program. Now I am looking forward to sharing the places and people of Chile with my mom and then coming home to the USA. I have a much greater pride in my country after being away from it. It's really great, you know? -- we have a lot of freedom. I will work on writing a more descriptive and eloquent post soon . . . the problem is I am so overwhelmed by all the things I could say and also a little confused sometimes as how to write well in English. I should get on that. Looking forward to seeing people when I get home. Love from Chile!