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Over the last few days, there has been an eerie silence here in Las Condes – our neighborhood didn’t suffer the proportion of damage others did, thanks to newly constructed buildings that could withstand the force of the earthquake, but the magnitude of the disaster can be felt all the same.  We are here waiting for things to return to normal.   I am truly lucky to be in a house that has food, water, electricity, and even internet.  So, in these days waiting to hear news of a plane to take me back home, I can reflect on all the things I have to be thankful for.

I am so lucky to have such wonderful food to eat!  I found a small grocery store and cafe called La Chakra, where they have many fresh, whole, and organic foods.  I imagine if I were to stay in Santiago longer, I would frequent this place as often as I go to the Earth Cafe and grocery store in Norman.  I enjoyed a glass of a fresh mint lemonade, and the best avocados I’ve had yet in Chile – which is quite a title in the country of palta.

Some of my best moments in Chile were spent with these women, pictured at the end of our third week of class.  Four women, from four different continents, all in different stages of life – I think I learned more in these conversations than I could from reading a wall full of books.

I’ve seen amazing landscapes, buildings, things here in Chile… but the people I’ve come to know here have impacted me in a way that can’t be measured.  These two girls, in particular, I will never forget – Vanessa and Annette, thanks for staying with me in a moment of crisis, while we found our way home in the dark, in a city that, for one night, saw the stars.

Yesterday I visited the center of Santiago and learned quite a lot about Chilean seafood, which as it turns out is delicious, and a bit about the country’s history and architecture as well.  The center is certainly the most chaotic part of the city I’ve been to so far – a mix of religious and folk tradition with modern globalized commerce, as well as people from every age group and social class.  I imagine this place would never look the same twice.