So I am now in step number 3 of the trip, Viña. I was in Valparaiso for only one night but man was it worth it! The hostel I stayed in with a friend from Germany was SO nice. I don't think I would ever bring my mom to a hostel but this was an exception! The building itself was so tastefully decorated, but it was the owner who made all the diference. When I first got to the hostel he opened the front door and said "ahh, eres rebeca." But he said my name the way an english speaker says it, (Chileans say it different) so I knew he wasnt Chilean. I commented on this and before he had time to answer, his phone rang. As he talked on his phone, he said the word brillant in response to some remark on the other end. I knew at that moment he was British. And I was right. He visited here four years ago, and never really left. He has written a tour book on Chile, called Footprints, so he KNOWS Chile. At our incredible breakfast of bread, jam, and lots of fresh fruit, we all just asked him about every town we were planning on visiting. He gave us incredible recommendations, because he knows just about every hotel in this country. he also told us about deals we could get that are not advirtised. Basically he was a talking tour book. Amazing!
Now I am in Viña and once again staying with the beautiful Marcela and Flo. We spent yesterday at the beach, but don{t worry mom, I wore sunscreen and did not get burned. I have to admit though, that it was heaven. The het was so intense, but it wasn{t humid at all, so it felt like California.
Life is wierd (okay now time for a tangent) and sometimes things totally unexpected happen. I think this trip alone has taught me alot about myself and how I deal with different situations. Like being scared, or being alone, or being angry. I have learned alot these last two months (today marks my two month mark in Chile). I see myself growing up and that is a strange sensation. I wonder if all my life I will feel like I am growing up, or if someday I will feel like the person I am made to be. I guess we shouldnt ever stop growing nad changing, but at some point we need to be happy with who we are in general.
My verse for today and any day that I am feeling the past heavy on my shoulders, "I will restore the years the locusts have eaten" Joel 2:25
Now I am in Viña and once again staying with the beautiful Marcela and Flo. We spent yesterday at the beach, but don{t worry mom, I wore sunscreen and did not get burned. I have to admit though, that it was heaven. The het was so intense, but it wasn{t humid at all, so it felt like California.
Life is wierd (okay now time for a tangent) and sometimes things totally unexpected happen. I think this trip alone has taught me alot about myself and how I deal with different situations. Like being scared, or being alone, or being angry. I have learned alot these last two months (today marks my two month mark in Chile). I see myself growing up and that is a strange sensation. I wonder if all my life I will feel like I am growing up, or if someday I will feel like the person I am made to be. I guess we shouldnt ever stop growing nad changing, but at some point we need to be happy with who we are in general.
My verse for today and any day that I am feeling the past heavy on my shoulders, "I will restore the years the locusts have eaten" Joel 2:25
Comments
when i think about my childhood and youth i can see the essence of the person i am now in who i was then. but there's no question that the life you lead on the outside has a big impact on how you experience life itself and how you see yourself. so as your outward life changes (e.g., in my case from living in greenwhich village as a sculptor/painter/poet/waitress, to being a hindu, to being a middle-american stay-at-home mom with the white-picket fence, to being a single mom returned to school with 3 kids, to being a professor at berkeley) your fundamental experience of the world and your view of yourself also changes.
i think it's absolutely great that you're exploring new ways of being yourself, and exploring the world. i hope that never stops. some people have many facets, and it can take a lifetime to explore them all. i think you're in that group.
love,
mom
I cannot believe you read this thing! HOW ARE YOU???? DO you have an email, or something so I can find out how you have been and how married life is treating you? How is Scott? How is denver? I want to hear about all of it! And heck yeah, we have a Christmas card agreement! I will of course need to send mine now, since it takes about a month to reach the states, although oddly, enough it only takes a week for mail to reach here from the states, wierd huh? Okay, I love you! and I an so stoked to talk to you soon!
Mommmy, I actually got a tear in my eye when i read your comment, but maybe I am jut overly emotional right now, I wonder why? I love you and I miss the times we went to coffe and you planned out my life. I miss you!
-your crazy, semi-hippy, semi- old jewish lady daughter of yours