Home sweet home! We have made it back to Columbus safely. It has been a little over 24 hours since we landed in Columbus. While I was excited to see my friends and am excited to see my family next weekend, I can’t help but miss Chile a little bit. When we got off the plane in Columbus and I looked out the window, all I could see were gray skies and brown, leafless trees, the total opposite of the lush, green parks of Santiago that I loved. I have to say that this has been the best trip I have ever been on, and Chile is now my favorite place.
I have spent the last 24 hours trying to get back into my normal routine. I unpacked, did laundry, cleaned a little, and went to class today. Going to class was good because I got to see all of my friends and we got to share our spring break stories. Just about every person asked me “What was your favorite part of Chile?” and every time I have to pause because it is such a hard question. So many answers immediately come to mind- the food, the weather, the mountains, the views, the parks, Valparaíso. There are so many things I loved about Santiago that I can’t decide. I was excited for the trip, but this trip greatly exceeded all and any expectations I had for it.
The food I found to be incredible. I loved the idea of fried eggs on everything and I also loved the fresh fruit. It was some of the best fruit I have ever had. I also really enjoyed the empanadas, tres leches, and charquicán (Chilean stew).
The weather was incredible, and stepping off the plane into 30 degree weather was probably the saddest part of being home. No more sunny, blue skies, flowers, or green trees. Everything thing here looks dead and sad. Hopefully spring gets here fast because I miss the warm weather (Today was the first day of Spring, but it wasn’t very promising).
I still can’t get over the views. Just about everywhere we went had amazing views. Cerro San Cristobal, Cerro Santa Lucía, Costanera Center, Universidad Adolfo Ibanez, the Benedictine Monastery, Innovation Center, and Cousiño Macul Winery just to name a few. I miss the mountains. Ohio is so flat.
The parks in Santiago were amazing. I can’t get over how many trees they had in their city. Whether they were just lining a street or scattered throughout a park, there was a ton of greenery. I loved it. I often felt as though I wasn’t in the middle of a huge city, but rather a forest or just out in the country. In Columbus, our parks have trees, but usually you can still see from one end of the park to the other through the trees. The trees in Santiago parks were so dense that this would never happen. I wish Columbus had more parks like this.
Valparaíso was like nothing I have ever seen before. I loved all of the colors and how the houses covered all of the hills facing the ocean. The street art was amazing as well. It was a very cool city to see, and was very fun to jump over to Viña del Mar and sit at the beach for a little while. We even saw seals! We just have traditional suburbs and the Olentangy and Scioto. Nothing compared to Valparaíso’s neighborhoods and body of water.
Chile is a place I definitely want to visit again. Maybe next time I will explore the natural aspects more like the mountains, desert, Patagonia, and Easter Island. I keep joking that if I could speak Spanish I would move there. I mean, the Adolfo Ibañez Graduate School was really cool, who knows? Until next time Chile, adiós!
Go Bucks! (Sunset from the Costanera Center)