Today we are leaving Chile and it is definitely bittersweet. I have had such an amazing time here and I think the hardest part about leaving is knowing that we are not going to see many of the Chilean students we got to know again. However there are some advantages in the United States that I am most looking forward to- mainly my clean bathroom, hot water, clean drinking water, the food we are used to, and my bedroom. I am also going to enjoy my clothes not smelling like smoke everyday as well. I am looking forward to being home, yet at the same time I am definitely going to miss Chile. I am so glad I have had this opportunity. I absolutely loved seeing the country and getting to know the culture. It truly has been an eye-opening experience.
We celebrated our last night yesterday by going to one of our favorite places, Hollywood, and then by going to a discotec right on the ocean. Its location was perfect. There’s nothing like dancing on the dance floor while simultaneously watching the waves crash on the beach. It was great. However, there were hardly any people there besides us. Connie had said to me “not many people come here, I don’t know why.” And I don’t either. It is interesting how a place with such a great view does not have much demand. On the same note, another night we had gone to another place near our hotel that I thought had a great atmosphere. Yet again, this one was empty. I wonder what it is that makes a place popular because after this place, we headed to Alcazaba, a block away, which was filled with people. As Professor Atkin told us in MCE, bars and restaurants tend to come and go, not lasting for very long. It would be interesting to explore this idea further and to figure out what it is that makes a restaurant/bar/club popular.
Not having to meet up with our “family” for lunch till 1, my roommates and I woke up, went to Starbucks, and then packed up the rest of our belongings. As we were on our way back to the wonderful Hotel America from Starbucks, men working on the Ruby Tuesday’s shouted down to us, calling out “Gringas, Gringas.” I had noticed in the past few days that more occurrences like this had been occurring. For my whole life I have only been in the United States, as this was my first time travelling internationally. Thus I always belonged. However, being from America, I am used to seeing people of different cultures all the time. It was definitely weird to have the roles reversed and to be the foreigner myself, the one who is unique and stands out. When we went to Santiago many of the middle school groups that were touring for field trips got really excited when they saw us because they had never seen Americans before. I actually thought this was really neat. They all wanted photos with us which I thought was cool. I really enjoyed being from the United States and having people wanting pictures with us because of that. Also, when we were playing soccer at the University they called us team Gringo. It is weird because I am sure the Chileans have a certain way in which they see Americans and certain things they think of when they hear about the United States. It is just weird for me because I have always been with Americans and it is weird to be with people who probably see us differently than we do and view us a particular way.
After our family lunch we headed off to the Santiago Airport. It is unreal that this trip is ending. For so long I was always saying to people “I’m going to Chile, I’m going to Chile” over and over again. I can’t believe it has now actually happened. This has been an incredible experience which I am so thankful for. I learned a lot along the way and met some amazing people.
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