The End

Well, here you have it. Five months in Chile has gone by in a blur and it is now time for me to depart and head back to the mother land. Unfortunately, my plans for leaving have kind of been thrown into an uproar since my counsins were diagnosed with the H1N1 virus. Yay! My aunt, uncle, and cousins were supposed to be leaving today and then I was to meet them in Santiago tomorrow, but then the boys got sick. By law they had to be isolated for 7 days after the diagnosis and so that threw the Bolick's travel plans out the window. We, and a lot of people back home, have been praying that none of us get it and have to delay the trip even further, but so far we are all still perfectly healthy and so grateful for all the people who have been praying for us. The family is now leaving next Sunday, and I am still leaving for Santiago tomorrow and the U.S. on Tuesday provided that I don't come down with the flu between now and then. It figures that I have been looking forward to this day for a long time and now that it's finally here I wish it wasn't. I think having to say goodbye to people does that to you. I have fallen in love with the people down here and I am going to miss them a ton. Yesterday my aunt and I went to a big gathering of all the Girls' Clubs in the area. Once a year they all get together and have a big day retreat where they can all get together and get to know each other. We were only there for about an hour just to say goodbye to everyone and to the girls, but that hour just about killed me. As soon as we walked in we were put up in front of all the girls to say our hellos and goodbyes and then they kept us in front to give us both a going away present and then they all stood up and sang a sending off song. It was so sweet and the both of us were standing there trying our best not to lose it. After they sang it was pretty much a mob to the front where we had to say goodbye to all the girls and the leaders and kiss everyone. It was wonderful, but it just makes me sad to have to leave. The other night some of the Bolick's good friends were over just to hang out and one of them paid me one of the highest compliments ever. He said that is was a shame I had to leave so soon because it was obvious that I belonged in their circle of friends. Five months really was a bad length of time. I have found that it takes about 5 months to really start to feel comfortable in another country and culture and to start finding your niche, but now that I have just started to feel comfortable and truly connected, it's time for me to leave. It really is a shame. I know that I have not always had the best attitude about this trip and my experiences here, but I do know that it was all worth it. God blessed me with this opportunity and I will never forget it. I am sure that I have grown and changed since I have been here, though I'm not sure I will really realize the extent of that until I get home. Either way, I am heading off tomorrow and will be home very shortly. I'm very excited to get home and see everyone, but I will definitely miss Chile and all of the people here who will always have a place in my heart.