And we came full circle...

Our last days in Chile returned us to where we began... Santiago. I, again, enjoyed the welcoming home of Enrique and Ute. Walking into their apartment that first day really felt like I was coming home and as I entered "my" bedroom and stepped onto the balcony that overlooks their little part of their big city, I felt both joy and heartache. It was so wonderful to be back with them and in this city our team had grown to know so well, but in our return it also marked the final days of this extraordinary adventure.

There were still things to do and see and incredible people to meet, but our time was limited. I had an agenda (and a willing partner in crime) to pack all that we could that last full day. Erin Sebelius, friend and team mate extraordinaire! She and I took Santiago by storm and in one day we shopped for final gifts, visited the Cerro Santa Lucia, went back for killer seafood at Augusto's, and visited the National Art Museum. You would have thought that we worked for Rotary with a schedule like that! ;)



That night our mama duck, Berta, had a surprise for us. Our host families all drove us to a farewell party, thrown in our honor (or in honor of our departure- hmmmmm?). We had one final night of pisgo sours, steak, pebre, folk dancing and live music. Berta and Jorge danced the Cueca for us and then the live band began to play and we danced until they stopped! Our group of gringos partied like our fantastic Chilean friends until, literally, the restaurant turned the lights out on us. Looks like we learned a few things!


And although the clock had already struck 1:00 a.m. the team was not yet finished with our last night together. Javier and Jimena (Adair's host parents) invited us back to their home to enjoy the absolute best pisgo sours in all of Chile and to have some final bonding time. We circled up on their porch and talked until 5:00 a.m. It seemed impossible to close out this time together without some sort of ceremony and so as the night turned into morning we shared with each other our feelings about each team member. Without spilling all of my insides onto this blog page, I will simply say that in the short time I have gotten to know each of these amazing individuals I can say with all honesty that I love each one. They will remain in my heart as the core reason why this experience was so poignant and rich. Thank you Mike, Adair, Erin, and Michael, my team mates, my friends, and my teachers.