A month home

Well it has been a long time since I have been on here, but I have been busy getting back into the routine of the home-life/work-life apart from the life in Santiago. I have been home for a month now, coming back into the US on July 7th. Today is my 21st birthday and right now I kind of wish that I could celebrate it with everyone that I met in Chile as well as my friends here.

I have been working at my old summer job off an on over the last four weeks while getting ready for school to start in 2.5 weeks. I have just finished my online classes for the summer and that means that I have finished my history minor.  The approaching time of graduation (in may...long ways away but still close) is in the back of my mind. I have done so much in the last 3.5 year that I have been in college and for all the support I am forever grateful.

I have been able to volunteer, work with the Upward Bound/Trio program, taught elementary students spanish, completed 3 years of college, completed a history minor, and spanish major, travel abroad and learn so much and grow. By stating these few thing that I have done it blows me away by how much I have accomplished. But doing all these things did take hard work and a lot of time from me and those who continuously support me.

I have been running into many people back home who have heard about my travels and also those who have been reading my articles in the local paper. It is very encouraging when people give me feedback and tell me that they are proud of me for doing what I have done and that everyone in our community is backing me on this endeavor. I am in the process of writing my last article and making the last of my video blog movies. I would like to make a movie also to reminisce about my experiences and how I can hopefully encourage other people to strive for what they want. I would not be here talking about this without the Gilman scholarship and for that I am in their debt. They helped me immensely and I am finishing up my follow up project to raise the awareness of this scholarship and how so many people have and can benefit from this program.

So this month has been filled with visiting family and friends, catching up on lost times, wedding events for friends and family members, working, finishing summer classes and now enjoying the last bit of my free summer before my final year of college starts. I wish to revisit Chile someday and am hoping to reunite with many of my new made friends in the near future. I have a spring break this year that I am using for my pleasure and hoping to go see some girlfriends from my abroad trip and within the next few years hopefully just a short time getting out to Europe.

These friends with always hold these memories with me and I will cherish them forever. I have friends from all over the world and wouldn't change it for anything. I love what I have been given, who I have met and what I have done. Only thing now is I want to get back into practice speaking and listening to Spanish because it is hard coming back to an area where I am no longer surrounded by the language and culture and I miss this the most. So here is a thanks to everyone and everything. Viva Chile y saludos a todos mis amigos mundiales.