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The API group!
Together for the farewell dinner. As strange as the title is to type, it is true. It’s crazy to me. I am down to my last two weeks. Besides being strange because it is the end, it is also weird because many of my friends who were here abroad with me have already left to go back to the US! I tried to convince them that it wasn’t allowed to go back without me, but, alas, they didn’t listenJ
Though it was sad knowing we would all be parting ways, we made sure to take full advantage of our time by doing several things as a group. One night last week, we all went to a Mexican restaurant together for dinner. It started out just being an idea of a couple people but then more and more people decided to join, and almost everyone from the API group made it. To me, the place was basically like Taco Bell but more expensive, but obviously it was spending the time with everyone that counts😉
Then, on Wednesday evening, we had our official API farewell dinner. It was at a restaurant in Valparaíso. We all dressed up and then met a metro station in Valpo. We
had about a 10 minute walk from there. Needless to say, we attracted a bit of attention; a 16 person group of entirely well dressed gringos walking through Valpo (generally seen as the “sketchier” city) at night. I think we were the definition of strength in numbers! The dinner itself was wonderful, with a soup, fish and rice, and then some awesome desserts with reminded of oreo fluff from HyVee (does anyone outside of my immediate family know what I am talking about?)! It was delicious. It was also a bit of an emotional night, especially for our director, as it was her official goodbye to all of us. The farewell dinner was something we had always talked about as a thing of the future, so it was weird to have it arrive! All in all, it was an awesome time for all of us to get together and reminisce over some the some of the wonderful memories from the semester.
With our last official API get together over, we decided to have a couple more unofficial ones. On Thursday, we had an “once” (remember, pronounce it like the Spanish number) at Tijana’s house, and then on Friday we
Last day?
Ice cream time. all got together one last time at Heather’s. We all put in some money for the once, which was a wonderful idea, because we were all full and content by the end! We had chips and guac and cheese and crackers and wine and beer and pizza and tacos and cookies and cake. And looking back on it, I think I ate some of all of that. Of the many things about me that have changed whilst in Chile, my ability to consume large quantities of food has notJ
Finally, though, the time came to say goodbye to the people leaving. I have been so blessed to be surrounded some awesome people from my study abroad group these last few months. It will be strange to go from seeing them often (some almost every day!) to not seeing them for a long time. However, as I have learned before, that is how goodbyes work. People come into and leave my life, just as I enter and leave the lives of other people. The important thing, at least for me, is that we are good people and kind to each other, and that we learn from one another. I have
made friends on this trip who I know I will see again, and with whom I will share memories with for the rest of my life. And that is a beautiful thing.
So now, with half my group gone, and much of the other half leaving within a week, what remains for me the rest of this trip? Well, I have asked myself that same question quite a few times. Basically, I just want to soak up every second I have in these two wonderful cities. Yesterday, I spent three hours at the lookout by house, with a beautiful view of the ocean. And that was three hours well spent, let me tell you. With senior year of college on the horizon, I am going to take some time to relax. I know I will be home before I know it, so I am not too worried about it. There are plenty of places to explore, and I have friends (both Chilean and study abroad) who will still be here, so I will be busy. Or, as busy as I want to be anywayJ
So, as this awesome crazy adventure comes to end, I ask you
tacos from Lime
They came with chips:) to keep me in your thoughts and prayers. I’ll probably post one more update before heading back the good ol US of A. Thanks again to everyone who has been hanging in there with me on these blog posts, you all are awesome!
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