Sententia

Thinking a lot about my upcoming trip to Chile. I leave a week from this Friday on the 29th, which is coming on really fast. I've decided to not think about any logistics or packing until Sunday, and just enjoy the peace until then.

I don't think I've ever felt as deserving of a summer break as I do now, which I think is a very good sign that Valpo is a good school for me. I got involved in a lot during the year, and stuck my toes in a lot of activities. I found a lot of things that kept me busy that I'm stepping up next year like the Torch (school newspaper) and the Social Action Leadership Team. I got super lucky and landed the photo editor position for next year. The last week I've done a really good job of taking things slowly, and just relaxing. During Christmas break I went nuts trying to see as many people as possible and I just got myself exhausted really fast. Recently I've been reminded by some friends of the importance of enjoying everyday life, and relaxing our focus on the future and ideas like "I'll be happy when I achieve x." It's important to have those aspirations, but not to get so caught up in them that they are the only place we find happiness.

Back to Chile:

Here's an image from Google Maps that show's where the YMCA I'll be staying and volunteering at is. Valparaiso, Chile is a port city in central Chile and is neighboring the beautiful Viña del Mar. Valparaiso is also about 1 hour from the Capital, Santiago, and 3 hours from the foot of the Andes mountains (where I hope to hike and ski). Chile has one of the most stable and model economies in South America, many thanks to President Aylwin in 1990, and the current president Michelle Bachelet (the first female president in Chile).

The main piece of preparation I've done is email my friends to set up some accountability for the trip. Being my first time out of the country in a different culture with a language I am not yet fluent in for two months I wanted to have some people checking in on me and how my relationship with God is, my emotions, and the cohesiveness of the group. I'm pretty excited for how effective the emails I'll get will be. I have really solid friends, and I think having them ask me some deeper than usual questions will help to motivate me to write my thoughts down.