- You could probably guess my first one from all my other blogs. My chilean family has to be the best thing that happened for me here. I had been praying for about one month before coming to Chile that God would bless me with a host family that would feel like a real family. Well, God is good and spoils me, and He gave me a family that will be hard to leave. I now have a second set of parents in the world... and I am going to miss them very much.
- La Naturaleza de Chile. Chile's nature has got to be some of the most beautiful in the world! Heaven on earth looks like Chile and Colorado. I got to go to so many amazing and stunning places in Chile, but I am still missing out on so much here! I would not turn down a trip to come back and see the parts of Chile that I didn't get to this time. Of it all, southern Chile is my favorite!
- The beautiful churches! I don't really understand why the U.S. missed the memo on the pretty churches and all, but they did. Nearly every Catholic Church here is beautiful, and when you enter you can't help but think of Something greater than yourself. Then the church's architecture purposely points your gaze towards the altar and the crucifix, then all of a sudden that Something greater than you is a Person. You recognize Him as you Savior and God. His name is Jesus. This is what a church should remind you of. In a way the architecture itself is a prayer that points to God. I will miss this beautiful part of Chile and South America.
- Street food... ok this one's not so profound... but I love the street food here! They've got Choripan, BBQ meat, empanadas, soapapillas, churros, and so much more! I may cry a little when I walk to class at CSU and won't be able to buy a soapapilla! What!?
- Cheap, yet quality chilean wine. Enough said.
- Learning a new language. I mean that's why I came here! It's been so fun seeing my spanish get better bit by bit. It's been frustrating at times, but by about 3 months for me it just became normal to speak. Not fluently. I don't sound very pretty, but I can handle about any conversation, and that feels great!
- The occasional temblors. This really shouldn't be something I enjoy, but I love the little earthquakes that happen every now and then. It's kind of fun! And something I have never felt before in my life, so it's thrilling. I like thrill rides, so there you go.
- Our vecinos (neighbors) are some of the coolest people I have met here! They live right across the street from here, and they come over often! Luis is an English professor, so he is fluent in english, which means he has been a great teacher for Carrie and I. His wife is just as sweet as Nelly, and when you get the four of them together (Nelly, Enrique, and the vecinos) the night gets a little loco! They're all very close friends. We always have awesome conversation, and the neighbors have had us all over many times for BBQ's and drinks. They really showed their generosity this past Thursday. They knew that Carrie and I didn't have plans yet for Thanksgiving, so they got all of us a table at the Club de España, which is a really nice country club/restaurant and took us out for some great food and pisco sours! It was an awesome night! I am really going to miss them! It's funny how even here in Chile I can be a home-body. Why go out when I have my Chilean parents and neighbors to hang out with at home? Too fun!
- Something I haven't mentioned in this blog is the concept of an after meal shot. It's a cultural custom in Chile to have a shot of mint or amaretto liquor after a fancy meal at a restaurant, and you just sip on it. I don't know why or where that came from, but it's the icing on the cake... and I think the U.S. should look into adopting this custom.
- And of course seafood has to make this list! All of Chile is coast. It's the skinniest country ever! There's good seafood everywhere, and each region of the country has their own way of preparing it. I've never seen seafood cooked the way it is cooked here, but all of it is very rich and yummy. I may be a bit of a snob when I get back to the States, especially in land-locked Colorado.
There it is! Some of my favorite things about Chile! I really cannot believe that it is all coming to an end. It's the same thing as it was before leaving for Chile. It felt like a cool idea that was never going to happen, even a week before leaving I couldn't quite grasp what that meant. Packing was what really started it, so maybe that will be the same here. But let's not talk about packing... that make me too sad.. and nervous. I may have accumulated some things here.
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Ciao!
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