Program Wrap-up

It was very strange to return to Santiago and stay in the exact same hostels I had stayed in about eight months prior when I was just beginning my time in Chile. However, the Ministry put together a very nice program for us, with much less bureaucratic nonsense than I expected! It all began on Wednesday the 26th when we gathered for a Thanksgiving dinner. I was surprised at how authentic it was: we ate turkey, mashed potatos, stuffing, and there was even pumpkin pie! Of course, it was nothing like the delicious home-cooked meal I would have eaten in the US, but it was a nice substitute, and it was nice to be with all the WT volunteers once again. The night ended with a display of native dancing from Easter Island. Thursday we gave feedback to the program, took a Spanish test (I improved...duh!), and listened to some presentations, and that night a bunch of us WT volunteers went back to The Piojera, our favorite local bar, to drink terremotos together one last time (white wine, Argentine liquer, pineapple ice cream). We ended up at some crazy house party dancing in the living room, and thus commenced three days of partying one last time with all my volunteer pals.

Friday the Ministry hosted a ceremony to give us our certificates and say thanks for the work we did. It was a really nice ceremony, and it was broadcast online, so my dad and stepmom got to watch me "graduate" from my program! Then, they hosted a huge lunch for us at a a beautiful countryclub-type place in the outskirts on Santiago. It was really relaxing, and as a surprise they gave us letters from some of our students saying thank you for all our hard work. Then, in the evening, we went to a WT-only dinner at a fancy restaurant, where I again ate myself into a near-coma. The place was really cool, the food was rico, and the music was happening, so we ended up staying there to dance to American music (which I will admit I was starting to miss a little bit) like James Brown, Prince, Michael, the works. After all kinds of dancing with the other volunteers, I ended up at an electronica club in Bella Vista with Jason and Andrew Cook, where we danced some more.

Saturday Sarah and I checked out the Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera exhibit at the museum next to the Presidential Palace, which was amazing. That night, we had planned for all the remaining volunteers from our group to go to Jammin Club one last time together, since that was where all the madness had really started back in the beginning. It ended up being Sarah, Andrew, Andrew, Jason and me, a solid group, and we drank wine on the roof of the hostel and then hit the club. We had such a good time at the club and I think everyone went home satisfied that we had properly closed our time together. Santiago this time around really grew on me, and I am excited to go back with my mom!

Sunday I went home to see the quarter final for the U-20 Women's World Cup, and witnessed the US smash England 3-0. (In case you didn't hear, the US went on to win the final against Korea 2-1, a game I caught the last two minutes of on the tele in Pucon with Ashley!) I spent Monday packing up my room, getting prepared to live out of a backpack for three months, eating Chinese food with Ema, and then took an overnight bus to get to the airport by 6 am to pick up Ashley. My time as a volunteer in Chile was officially over, and I was now embarking on a new adventure in a new role: tourist!