Gringa vs. Chilena. The life of a tourist.

First of all I want to encourage all of you to TRAVEL. I can't stress enough how much you will learn and gain from your experiences abroad. Some of my friends think I am crazy to be living here in Chile for 5 months! So if that sounds insane to you then you don't have to commit to something so extreme. But seriously, I think that it is one of the best ways to put yourself out there in the world. If you are reading this and you are a student of some kind try and study abroad. Anywhere! =) Change your environment for a summer, a semester or even a year! And most importantly, escape your comfort zone!!

Gather up the courage to break the safety bubble surrounding you. Sometimes it is easy to become so caught up in our personal lives that we forget about the rest of the world, waiting to be explored. Honestly, I don't think that television or the internet does justice to so many of the amazing parts of this earth. My family just went to Peru and visited Machu Picchu. I was just looking through their photos and it looks amazing, but after doing some traveling of my own I know that it probably so much more breathtaking in person. As a tourist you are given the opportunity to learn about other cultures, languages, people, and customs. You are able to share some of your culture with others as well. Usually people are as equally interested in learning about you and your customs. However, these experiences will also offer you the opportunity to learn a lot more about yourself. Self-evaluation is really important too.

As a tourist you have to make a decision. Do you live the life of a tourist during your stay? Or do you want to try your best to live like the locals and blend in? Now, I think there are a variety of options between these two extremes, but this is the blunt question you need to ask yourself before any trip. My dad who also writes a blog captured this idea perfectly, so I am going to quote him a little bit. He said that we have this, "overwhelming tendency to seek comfort in things we know and trust. In the extreme, when abroad, we stay at the Hilton hotels, get coffee at starbucks, and never try to utter a word other than English." Thanks dad! But it's so true! Sometimes we go to such extremes what is the point to even travel. If you are going to stay in a 5 star hotel and only live the luxurious life. Then stay home hahaha. At least in my opinion. Because you will miss so much!

For me I wanted the FULL Chile experience. Well almost =P. As best as I could. As some of you know I am living with a Chilean family. I am trying to take classes with mostly Chileans. haha and ALL of my classes here are completely in Spanish! I know it's kind of crazy, but so far I'm surviving. I am trying my best to fit in. Trying to be more of the Chilena than the really obvious Gringa. hahaha. I am really happen with my decision to come back to Chile for a semester. Some of my friends did not understand why I wanted to go back to the same country. And they are right, there is still a lot of the world I need to explore. And I plan to. Eventually. But this trip was really for me. I wanted time to learn about myself as well as another country.

My goals:

-learn more spanish! I want to be close to fluent!

-travel! I want to see more of Chile and more of South America.

-meet more Chileans and make new friends!

-Enjoy life here.

I have been thinking alot about my choice to come here, and I honestly have no regrets so far!

That is all I have for you right now. Talk to all soon.