Happy Holidays! As the festivities have begun to wind down, I suddenly find all of my gear stacked up beside my bed and the sleeping bag retrieved from the depths of the basement. This can only mean one thing: another adventure!
This time I am off to South America; more specifically Chile, Argentina, and Brazil. I have assembled a fabulous itinerary that will keep me more than busy for the next 7 months. In each country, I have arranged two 1 month placements that include jobs as a camp counselor to being a rain forest research intern. It is unreal that after months of planning, it is finally here!
As I leave again, I am confident that I have the knowledge and skills needed to successfully travel independently for an extended amount of time. But this time I will face challenges that have never been put in front of me before. I will constantly be in different work environments that are new to me. I know very little about the region or specific places that I will be visiting. Also, my Spanish is not as good as it use to be. There are no almighty solutions for these obstacles; all I can do is try my best to cope and deal with any that come my way.
My parents are definitely sad to see me go but they are also proud that I have followed through on my decision to not follow the 'typical' path and go straight to college. It is been hard; sometimes I have second-guessed my choice. Now that I am midway through my year of travels though, I realize that it was the right decision.
On Tuesday, December 28th, my family and I will wake up bright and early to drive to JFK for my series of flights down to Santiago, Chile. I should arrive the morning of the 29th which leaves a couple days (including New Years) before I head south to Camp Colhue. As the only foreigner, I will be a camp counselor at this small wilderness camp. I hope to not only have fun and bond with my campers, but also to bring my Spanish back up to speed before I get involved with my more serious and demanding placements.
A big thank you goes out to everyone for their kindness and support! The happiness that a quick comment or detailed email brings is unexplainable. Questions, comments, anything! Feel free to contact me at pipimxy@aol.com.
Good luck fending off the snow!
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