It's been Six months!!

And that's that. Today was my last day in the classroom and I cannot believe how incredibly fast the time has flown by. As I was sitting my my classroom today, I tried to recall everything that had been done there and that now I hav to leave. This trip has done exactly what I wanted it to do and more. It gave me the opportunity to realize how great a life I live, how great of family and friends I have, that I can actually speak Spanish and get a point across, that my beard in indeed a Ron Weasley orange, that 'liztaylor' means 'ready' in Chile, futbol can be a game for the USA, Phase Ten is just as cool in Chile, and finally I have a refreshed viewpoint on the world around us. Especially after seeing the 33 miners come out of the mine in Copiapo, anything is possible.

I have become so comfortable in this country, not only in my school with my colleagues and students, but with transportation , communication, and just being myself. Chile is a unique country that has much social, political, and economical development and it's national pride swells from the far northern tip in the San Pedro de Atacama Desert all the way south to Punta Arenas and Tierra Del Fuego. It has been great to be apart of such pride in this country and 2010 has been year to remember here in Chile.

I feel quite fortunate to have found my program via the internet. Ingles Abre Puertas truly is a worthwhile program trying to educate every Chilean with the English language in hopes that within in generation everyone in the country (16.7 million), will know and speak the language. While the task sounds entirely too far-fetched, the program is still in existence after 7 years and into it's third presidency. If anyone knows the importance of English, it's President Pinera, who speaks English and studied at Harvard. In a world where English dominates the business scene and one can skype from one end of the world to the other, the language has never been more important.

My host family has been an even better experience than my school's. Never did I imagine I would enjoy a host family as much as my familia Jara. They welcomed me with open arms and now they send me off not wanting to let go. The feeling is mutual. I will never forget their hospitality, love, and the conversations we had over meals, BBQ's, and other activities. I am truly grateful to the Ministry of Education and Rocio (my regional boss) who interviewed and placed me with this family. I absolutely had the best luck of my entire group, I feel, and will share stories of this family for a long, long time.

Andres, Diego, and Daniella were the greatest host siblings I could have asked for. Diego even came home (a 12 hour bus ride from Santiago) this past weekend for my going away party. Andres showed me his hospitality when I visited him in Valdivia one weekend. When he was in Osorno, he always invited me over to his friends house for drinks and cook-outs and to play futbol. Dani showed me Osorno, how to get about and always entertained me during lunch. Her English made me laugh and since she did not attend school during these six months, we hung out frequently.

For the parents, I cannot say enough. Their open arms, willingness to do nearly anything for me, and kind hearts only made my time here more enjoyable. Ivan and I would watch Colo-Colo, the best futbol team in Chile, during the weekend's, and drink Escudo's. He took me to a pro futbol game here in Osorno one Saturday, and introduced me to his military friends. Veronica was an angel in every sense of the word. Not only is she an excellent cook (pretty sure I have gained 7-10 pounds), but her ability to put others first made me feel like a part of the family. It is true that hospitality in the Latino culture is incomparable and Veronica demonstrated that every day. I can and never will forget how the accepted me into their family. Presents, words, nothing can let them know I appreciative I am for how they have made me feel over the past six months.

With all that said, now I get to see my FAMILY. My dad arrives this weekend in Santiago and we are going on a two week trip throughout South America. The highlight of our trip is a fly-fishing trip for three days. Thank you all for reading my blog and I will have a few most posts before I wrap it up. Happy Thanksgiving and God Bless Chile.

Bariloche, Argentina

This past weekend we enjoyed the Monday off and traveled to Bariloche, Argentina. It's the second Monday day-off Chile has had in the last month. Holidays here rock and happen as frequently as the Cowboys lose football games nowadays. Too soon?

Friday afternoon myself and some volunteers in my program boarded a bus to take the 5 hour trip to Bariloche. The bus drive included incredible scenery as we passed through Puyehue National Park. Thank goodness because the bus showed 'Titanic II' as its feature video. Didn't know what was going to happen...Anyways, with snow of both sides of the rode, the bus drove quite slow until we got to the border. Once I got my passport stamped and was asked what I was doing in Chile and coming to Argentina for, we re-boarded and drove in darkness until we arrived in Bariloche a little after 10pm. Our hostal was a solid recommendation from a previous volunteer as we had a penthouse hostal for only $10 USD a night. The view, which I saw for the first time when I woke up Saturday morning was a panoramic view of all of Bariloche and Lago Nahuel Huapi. There were mountains, mountains, and more mountains.

Also since the town is a very tourist driven city, English is as common as Spanish. It is always a treat to talk English with Latin Americans and I even managed to get a business card from a 35 year-old international marketing manager from Buenos Aires. Email her or no? On Saturday we walked around the city, visiting many chocolate stores which Bariloche is known for, saw St. Bernard dogs who pose for pictures with people for a small fee, ate delicious pizza, and celebrated Halloween at a local Irish pub.

On Sunday myself and Laura, a fellow volunteer went on a 15 mile bike ride through the mountains. The views for absolutely incredible, as southern South American always provides, and until my camera died I managed to snap some great shots. I ate a pancho, which is simply a hot dog and at this particular place, a hot dog with potato chips on top, then resumed my bike ride. Great energizer. For every downhill we cruised down, and cruised down fast I tell you, there was a nice-sized uphill waiting after. Along the trail we met students who were studying abroad in Buenos Aires, Israeli's who had just gotten out of the army (and in a conversation with each-other I heard them called me Ging-Ging. I asked them if I was Ging-Ging and they confirmed it. The beard doesn't disguise anything..), a South African, and many Europeans. Aside from losing my Nalgene of three years, all went great. Argentina is a beautiful place, and Bariloche is equivalent to the Aspen of South America with all it's tourist attractions, high-priced hotels, and skiing attractions.

I thoroughly enjoyed Argentina, its people, and the distinct accent (much easier to understand them than Chileans or maybe that's my five months on this continent talking), and the beautiful scenery it provided. I now enter my last month in South America with trips lined up for Cochamo, Chile, called by many the Yosemite of Chile because of its huge stone walls famous for climbing, a hike up Volcan Villarica in two weeks with a volunteer, and then off to Santiago for the closing ceremonies and to meet my dad at the airport as we embark on the fly-fishing trip of a lifetime in Southern Chile. He also gets to meet my host family and students!

Some quick notes:
1) My host family has put pictures of me up on their family wall. There is a picture of me solo and also with the family. This will no doubt be a difficult good-bye.
2) I gave one of my students a Twizzler last week courtesy of a package sent by my mom, and as soon as he put it in his mouth his loose tooth fell out. He told me he was going to get $15,000 CHP (roughly $30 USD)
3) I showed a Man vs. Food episode to my students. Not a good idea when you miss American cuisine.
4) Host family said I look like Shaggy from Scooby Doo. Not the first time (Dad...)
5) The dog is peeing in the picture with the church.