Los terremotos!

drinking terremotos (pineapple icecream with white wine) at a vegan cafe in Valpo with my dear gringa buddy Jeanette last night and contemplating what tangible thing we will take with us from this unbelievably paradise of a hell hole! As we get chatting we concur that we both desperately need sunlight to keep our moods stable and this whole rain for 3 days thing sure gets us down, so we opt to make a list of things to do on Winter Blue Days.
Some of these things include:
Sand Surfing
Climbing aboard the ships that port
Have a cake-off
Go fishing on the Pier
Pick up a spray can and contribute to the street art

After we are through with half a pitcher of terremotos and the rain has yet to let up we dig deeper into our analytical lives here. We vent back and forth about our unruely students and their inapropriate yet hilarious behavior. How we desire to be professional but maybe we just ain't gonna cut it. How different the way of life is here and how absurd the system. We pat eachother on the back for our impecable progression in cultural assimiliation as we spit chilean slang back and forth, dressed in our unmatching clothes, hand knit scarves bought at the plaza, and matted 3-days-no-shower hair. We exchange our "realities" that await us at home and though difficult life can be here at times, we are not exactly dieing to get home yet either. We start to wonder...Are we fighting to survive here each and everyday, Struggling to decode what is being said to us And yearning for the hispanic accent...only to come out alive? If only to say, "I survived" ?????
HELL NO! We are here for adventure. To learn. To grow. To gain. To love. and yes, to overcome. But it's not the challenge to be focused on but the victory we will posess! Victory is ours with every new word we learn, every ounce of patience we have with our students, every clenched fist we hold in aggravation, and every negative thought we smother with a smile.
I don't want to go back to the U.S. and just fall back into place. Blend back in witih everybody else and do things by tradition or by default. I like the challenge here...I like sticking out and being questioned for who I am. I like that I have to think before I talk and that I have to focus to understand. That my patience is constantly being tested and everything that once made sense being quesitoned. Even though at times I feel like I am barely keepin my head above water...my character is being strengthened and my mind become wiser.
With the last drop of Terremoto left in our glass we compromise in our gringo/chilean personality battle. We plan a 4th of July Celebration that is going to whoa all of our chilean pals..one full night of nothing but gringo goodness: hot dog roasting/smores making/drinking games/and ENGLISH cussing! All to celebrate our country's independence and for just one evening permitting us to be US..Americans!! And when all is said and done we can all appreciate the other for their ridiculous customs and outrageous culture!