In Conclusion...

6.27.2015 Saturday

It's the end. My last day in Chile. Five weeks later, it still feels like day one, like I have so much to see and do. However, my heart can't handle these emotions right now, so my toast to Chile and my reflections will have to wait until I'm back in the States. For now, here's how I spent my last days in Santiago.

Wednesday night, I headed to Elfos, a restaurant bar, to watch Chile's match against Uruguay. To continue Drink Week, I sipped on a mojito. It was yummy.

The match proved to be a nail-biter. Yellow cards, two red cards, and a final score of 1-0, a point that wasn't won til late in the second half. Needless to say, when Chile scored their goal, the world went nuts. 

At Elfos, we had a fairly large group, probably about 15-20 people, including Profe, my Spanish professor at MLC. There were plenty of laughs, cheers, and excellent conversations. And, of course, I took advantage of the opportunity to take more selfies with Profe. 

God bless his gigantic heart. He sneakily paid for the entire bill and then left the restaurant before any of us realized and could say anything. The man's a saint - hence why his name's Paul. Thanks Profe. You da man.

After the victory, some of us headed to Mito Urbana, the club that's free for gringos on Wednesdays. Walking the streets after such an important Chilean victory was a blast. High fives, cheers, kisses on the cheeks: South America does sports better, folks. The atmosphere is always tingling with electricity. What I would give to be in the stadium for a game... Copa America Centenario will be in the States next summer... Mom, Dad, family vacay? 

Mito was, as always, crazy. But that's okay because it was a super good time with friends and plenty of dancing. I even met a couple of girls in the bathroom, a Mexican and a German. We had some laughs, talked for a bit, and now we're friends on Facebook. The 21st Century is so dang cool. Overall it was, by far, the most fun I've had at the club this trip. Thanks for the send-off Mito. 

Thursday, we returned to Los Buenos Muchachos, a restaurant that puts on a dance show while you eat. For Elizabeth and me, it was our second time there because we went a few weeks ago with some students in the school that we didn't know. After our rave reviews, it became an added activity for my college group for FREE. Good food, wine, a show, and friends - of course we had to go again! This time, after the show, we stuck around for a little bit and danced. I didn't realize the last time that there was dancing following the show, but it was a welcome surprise. We danced with people from all around the world and even took a selfie with the band's singer. 

And, in the end, there came Friday. My last day of classes in Chile. The last day that I will see some of my friends for over a year. The day I said goodbye to so many wonderful new friends and teachers, people whose love knows no bounds. 

Nope. I can't write about this right now. 

Anyway, Friday night we had a farewell toast at the school. We ate decadent hors d'oeuvres prepared by some of the teachers, sipped champagne, watched a slideshow of photos of the trip, and received our diplomas. It was a blast, but still hard to say goodbye to so many wonderful people and realize that my time here is coming to an end.

After the party wound down, Elizabeth, our friend Jason, some of the teachers and I stayed at the school to talk and drink more sangria (we basically had an endless supply of it). We even gathered around the guitar and had a mini pow wow for a little bit. 

At around one in the morning, Jason and I walked Elizabeth home and then headed to Mito Urbana for one last time. On our walk to Mito, Jason decided he wanted something to eat so we popped into a convenience store for hot dogs. The sauce on my hot dog was super spicy so I only made it through about two bites before I gave the rest to Jason. But, we did take the opportunity to take a selfie in the shop and show our Chilean pride. 

Are you seeing a trend here? It's been a week of selfies. 

After a bit of dancing, we headed home at around three in the morning. A perfect last night in Chile full of many unexpected adventures. It's good. Unexpected adventures are my favorite kind.

Today, I'll be staying in the house, spending some time with mi Madre and packing. I'm glad I have a little bit of time to relax before I head to the airport at five for my overnight flight. 

I'm not ready to leave yet, but that's okay. It just means it was the right decision to come. 

Ciao!

"A goodbye isn't painful unless you're never going to say hello again."

Mi corazón está rompiendo... Pero yo volveré.