#22
* we fly out tomorrow *

It´s hard to believe that our final day in Chile is nearly upon us. There have already been some tears shed and everyone has been trying to cram everything they bought into their suitcases. We will be at CPH-CJA school tomorrow ... all the girls wanted to come for a last bit of time with their new friends here. We´re torn between wanting to stay and being ready to come home.

It has been an amazing experience, this month. Yesterday we cooked our "breakfast" - cranberry or blueberry coffee bread and hot chocolate with marshmallows - for the directors, English teachers and chilean siblings and friends. Ms. Dubi and Leonora had a meeting with the Directors of the whole school and the directors of the Exchange program. We reviewed the objectives, expectations, and initial evaluation of the present Exchange. We also analyzed some possibilities for the future ... including a common web page for shared language activities between the classes! Many ideas to be considered and worked out.

Leo: So today is our next to last day :( At the beginning of the month, I really thought this would go by slowly, but as the month progressed on, I felt like one of the family and I understood more Spanish. I really do not want to leave because I have made new friends and a new family. A family that i have never had and always dreamed of having. Now i have two great familes in two great places.

Today, FIRST period, i got to teach my little brother, Benja, in english class. He is in third grade and the teacher is awesome. The class is so sweet and they all were asking wonderful questions. I got to spend time with my little bro and took many many pics. The teacher told me that the kids will never forget this day or me. That made me feel wonderful....I love them.

This month has been so life changing, I have seen so many different places in Chile. I am definitly going to come back. I hope many other girls at McAuley get to experience this wonderful journey like the 6 of us did. I know all of us in a way want to go home but in another way don`t want to go ... But memories have been made and they can never be erased.

Some times in life you have to leave a familiar place to go to an unfamiliar place to find out where you came from. Everyone here has taught me something about this place that i will cherish forever. Tomorrow will be sad, but it will not be goodbye...It will be a thank you and cya later...I am looking forward to sharing all my memories and talk about my great new friends with my family back home...`

Peace 1
::Leo::

Nat:
So I started packing last night and I was amazed to find how much I have bought. I decided to separate all of my gifts from they´re massive bags, into smaller packages. Each one, made me smile and hope that the person recieving it loves it. During this trip, I have spent money, ate food, had fun, and grown as a person. I had my 15th birthday here, and that day, I learned who my real friends, that I have made here, are.

The hardest part about leaving this wonderful place, is that I have grown attached to Chile, its people, my family, the customs, and my new found Chilean friends. I have been going out with the other Gringas all weekend long, and the most repeated thing, that we all agree on is this: "I am ready to go home, but I am not ready to part with Chile". I think about getting on that plane, and I shed a tear at the thought, of leaving this chapter in my life, behind me.

Chile holds a special place in my heart, and I will never, truely, leave it behind. This is not "goodbye" its just a "hasta luego" and we will meet again.....someday!

Corinne:

July 27, 2005 seems like a whole lifetime away. I cant believe that it has been 4 whole weeks simce we left Maine and tomorrow we will be on the last leg of our trip. Thinking of it now it is all i can do to try and think of all the happy memories i will leave with instead of all the people i will be leaving behind. Packing last night and seeing all of the things i had bought brought both tears to my eyes and a smile to my face. Everyone here has been so welcoming especially all the families that opened up their homes to us, and all of the new friends we have made here.

The phrase that best describes the felling in all of us is "We are ready to go home, but we are not ready to leave Chile." It will be one of those bitter sweet moments when the best way to say good-bye is not good-bye but simply "ciao" for now, until we meet again!

Marissa:

In an English class today, I was asked whether or not I'd recommend this exchange experience to other people. I thought about it, and realized that I would try to convince others to go to another country, because it's more than I ever anticipated. It's not just what I thought it would be, which was studying and improving my knowledge of Spanish. It's been completely educational, in that I've learned more than I think I ever have in just one month.

I've discovered the universal things between people, that no matter what language they are speaking, the goofy moments and the showing of one's love to another is the same here, as I realize it must be worldwide. And it's necessary to be taken out of your country, to gain a whole new perspective. I know now with certainty how the Chileans, as a whole, feel about President Bush and Americans (or United Staters, as it is more politcally correct to Chileans but grammatically incorrect to us.)

And while the language is most obviously an element to being an exchange student, it's only a small part of the whole experience. Yes, I understand Spanish more, and yes I've got the verb tenses drilled in my brain, but it's almost negligible to the entire point. To learn about a whole culture, country, and more about my own country, is something that can only be done on a trip like this.

Daphne:

The day before we left Maine to come here to Chile, I was upset. I was disappointed to leave home, and I really thought the timing was wrong. I just didn't want to go. And now, the day before we leave Chile for Maine, I am distraught. I feel the same as I did before we came here, only it is more poignant.

I really, REALLY, do not want to leave here. I have met so many amazing people, and had so many great times, that I don't want any of it to end. My family and I went out on a limb to send me here for the experience, and I can safely say that I realize now that I have only lived because I came here. I am going to miss my 'family' here, the Mendias. They were always there for me, making sure I was comfortable, and treated me as a part of the family. Sure, they spoke in a different language some of the time, but that made it all the more interesting.

Everything I did here challenged me, tried to make me step out of the box that living in one environment has created for me. I feel that I HAVE stepped out of the box, maybe even jumped out. All the people I met at school, out of school, just everybody, helped me do this. Being here in Chile for a month has changed who I am, in a way, for the better. I am still me, but I have a different outlook on life and on just living. There is so much out there for me, and I can not wait to explore it all and find out what life has in store for me.

I want to thank everybody for making this such an experience for me, and I can assure you, I promise everybody that I am coming back. I don't know when and I don't know how, but I want to do it and I feel I need to. That is one of the things I learned here...

... if you want to do something, and you feel that you should, do it. Chances are, it's the only chance you'll have, so take adantage of it!