There's a certain amount of time that one needs in life to adjust to new situations. I have found that mine is about three months, and things start to go smoothly. I always seem to be getting a hold of my professors and classes three months into the semester. My summer job as a CNA became fun and a piece of cake by the end of July. Chile is starting to completely click after a little over three months...
And there's only one month to go.
That's the bitter-sweet part. I feel as if I have lived in Chile for years! I can make plans without needing to ask Nelly and Enrique about the little details. I have a regular workout schedule. My body can process all of the unhealthy (but so good) food that Nelly cooks me. I clean my room regularly every morning (so Nelly doesn't do it for me). And life feels strangely normal and unexciting.
This isn't a disappointment! In fact I enjoy the normalcy of it! I had missed the feeling of waking up to " just another day." Sometimes you get sick of having the mentality that time is running out, and this is a once in a lifetime opportunity that you must take advantage of everyday, every hour, minute, and second! It's tiring after 3 months! It's nice to wake up and walk downstairs, say hi to my Chilean mom, feeling totally bored without any idea what you're going to do today. Maybe I will go to Valpo for some shopping, maybe I will knit and be lazy, or maybe I will just go sit on the beach and read a book. I may sound crazy (and a bit lazy) but when life starts to feel normal in a place that's not your normal, it becomes exciting. This is my life. This is my chilean family. I am sitting at home just as clueless about what to do today as I would be on a Saturday morning in Fort Collins.
Yet home and Fort Collins feel like a totally different world. Though technology can span the distance between my family and friends, there's something unnatural about skyping and skyping and skyping. Where we don't even make eye contact because the webcams are angled away. I can't give them a hug goodbye, or punch my brother when he's being annoying. My dog doesn't recognize my voice over skype. I've met Marc (Swedish study abroad student at my parents) but haven't really met him. They feel like stories that I have read in a newspaper. I get updates on day to day things, but I am completely removed and uninvolved. My roommate got into PA school and I wasn't there to celebrate! My other friend is finishing up her last semester of college... and I'm sitting here in Chile.
I'm not complaining. Not in the slightest! Have you seen my pictures? I am so lucky and blessed to be here. Chile is heaven for a gal like me. It's just a strange feeling when your home in Chile becomes more familiar and normal than your real home in the States. When I know more about what's going on at work with Enrique than my own Dad. It's simply strange. Yet comfortable. Because this is my home. And in a little over a month, I will be saying goodbye to my home. Just like I did when I came to Chile, I will hug my parents goodbye but this goodbye will most likely be forever. Bitter-sweet. That's the only way to describe what my "one month to go" mark feels like.
So here's prayers and hopes to a good month to come with many memories, laughs, and empanadas! Salud!
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