The word return keeps popping into my head around this trip. It seems the root word tying together main lessons I gathered from my time in Santiago.
A big group of us hiked 17km to this beautiful waterfall. It was well worth it.
Returning to South America brought a new, unexpected relationship with the city and culture we were dropped into. I felt far less giddy and nervous about the fantastic newness of this world than I was two years ago in Rio de Janeiro, and I think I saw the city clearer for it. It was wonderful to listen and talk with people with a context of Latin American city life. Bouncing my perceptions of these two great cities and people around each other in my head was a great joy, and I felt great joy in returning under different circumstances. If any young students read this, I would implore them to try and get abroad more than once in their time at school.
Kaz overlooking Valparaiso from Pablo Neruda’s back porch.
Returning back to the hotel with my best friend and roommate Kaz was a great comfort, and I am glad that I had him there to be my confidant. I think having a close friend in the larger group made it so fun to reach out to everyone else, just knowing that I had him by side. We made some amazing friends on this trip together. Returning to that feeling of fast friendship was heart-warming, and I feel honored to have such fun and bonding experiences with them. I shared some incredible views and unforgettable events with Kaz, Bryan, Rico, Megan, Carly, and several others; memories I anticipate returning to for years.
This animated .gif (click on it!) shows our self-appointed guard dog while we played at Bustamente.
Returning home after this time feels strange by the absence of strangeness, if that makes sense. I always learn life-shifting lessons while travelling, and coming home has a rocky process of incorporating those lessons into my new life at home (or forgetting them completely). But this time I feel back at home already, with Valparaiso in my heart and Santiago in my hands. I think I’m learning how to carry places with me better, how to stitch Santiago into my bones faster.
Returning home wasn’t the shock of reality I was expecting.
I hope to return. We all fall in love with the great cities we visit, but I feel like I’m ready for an adult relationship with South America after this trip. I could very much see myself spending a long time in Santiago, and I certainly aim to become fluent in Spanish after tasting the frustration of being so close to connecting deeply with people there. I want to know Plaza de Armas on a calm rainy morning. I want to correspond with Universidad Catolica professors about urban forestry and data in Santiago. I want to return with a friend to these special places, and stay awhile next time.
Santiago in my hands, Valparaiso in my heart.