Living as a Trotamundos

I hope you all had an amazing Christmas and that tonight brings you a wonderful New Year! This Christmas was a tough one for me, I missed my family. Every year there are thousands upon thousands of people who don't get to spend Christmas with their families. And let me tell you...as one of them now....It really stinks. But I was also one of the lucky few and I had an adoptive family that took me in and made me part of their traditions. It is in moments like this when I am reminded that family goes far beyond a blood line. It's a secret I've always known but one that we can all use a reminder of. My host family took me from decorating the house to Christmas day, to New Years, and really everyday since I have arrived. Christmas in Chile is WAY different than back home. Big Diffy Number 1: IT'S SUMMER! That's right it's summer over here on the southern hemisphere which means no white Christmas. Now I haven't had a lot of white Christmases back home ...

To give you a little bit of background information, I have been known to have an old soul. Like go to bed at 9 pm and wake up early, spend my time with my nose in a book and drinking tea kind of old soul. I love my old soul, I've had a good life, with nothing to complain about. Throughout my life there is one thing I have noticed though that seems a little strange. Little old ladies quickly become my friends. It is almost as if they are drawn to me or that I am drawn to them, I'm not sure which. From Arizona, to Colorado, and now to Chile I have become friends with little old ladies without ever meaning to. I'm telling you they find me. I took a bus to a little port town a couple days ago and when I got off the bus so did two little old ladies. They quickly asked me if I was traveling alone or if I was going to be meeting up with a friend. Once I let them know that I was traveling alone, they asked me if I wanted to walk with them along the beach. I said yes, after all ...

I'm sorry it's been a few weeks, life got hectic and there was just a lot going on with little time. So per my mom's request I'm going to do my best to get back on track for my few avid readers. As of yesterday 12/8, I am done with university! All of classes done, finished! Don't ask me what grades I got because I really don't know....I think I passed though. The end of the semester was just as confusing as the start... I didn't really know when my classes ended. I had no finals. And the dates and times of classes would change at the professors whim. I have always known that having English as my primary language it is a privilege but I didn't realize how much until I studied at university in Chile. Academic papers that I would be given to read would be written in English, software programs that I would use operated in English, figures on power points would be detailed in English. It really is a blessing, and I hope to always remember it as such...