It has been so long since I have last updated, so this post is going to be quite large. I apologize in advance, but a lot has happened!

My 16 year old host sister came back from her exchange in the US a month before I left Chile, and it was really cool to finally meet her, since we had talked so much online. We spent a lot of time together and became really close in such a short period of time. Plus, i had someone to speak English to! I spent the last few weeks of school taking a million pictures and spending time with friends. The friends i made in Chile were like no one else i have ever met. I was remembering back to my first day of school...Everyone was so interested in me, and approached me without fear. They were so welcoming and I felt so loved and safe. It was something I had never experienced in the USA and i loved it. I really didn't even have to try to make friends, because everyone was so easy to be friends with. It seemed so far back in the past that all of it had begun, but at the same time, it had all gone by so quickly. On my last day of school, I had my class sign my backpack so that I would have a little bit of everyone that i could have with me at school in the US.

We left for a two week vacation in Brazil on my last day of school. We drove 4 hours to Santiago, stayed the night in a hotel there, and left at 5am the next morning to catch our 7:30 flight, which was delayed until 12:30pm.....So we chilled in the airport with some donuts.. We got into Rio de Janeiro in the evening, and then took a two a half our bus ride to the town of Buzios, where we then transferred into a van which took us to the resort we would stay at. We were starving and tired from the long day of traveling, so after eating, we hit the hay. It turns out the place we were staying wasn't officially open, so a lot of the activities weren't available, like the trapeze and a few of the pools. It also meant that it wasn't packed full of people, which was nice. It was hot, even though it was the dead of winter in Brazil. I hung out with my sisters by the pool, attempted to skate, played mini golf with the whole family, played beach volleyball with kids from all over the world, beat my sisters in guitar hero, and ate a ton of food. One day we took cabs to the downtown, which was a beautiful, picturesque little town right on the ocean. We took a tour of the ocean on a boat, and stopped at several different beaches along the coast to swim in the cool, refreshing water. After the tour, we shopped around and got pizza.

We stayed a week there in Buzios, and then took a van back to Rio, where we stayed another 4 days in a hotel on Copacabana Beach. We took two different tours, and got to go to the top of Sugarloaf rock, where we could see all of Rio. I also saw Christ the Redeemer, which is one of the seven wonders of the world.

When we came back to Chile, we stayed with my host grandparents in Santiago for a few days because some of my siblings had dentist appointments. I went shopping a little and saw Eclipse, which was in English with Spanish subtitles (awesome). We drove to Vinia del Mar for a funeral before heading back to good ol Parral. I can honestly say I missed Parral, and my house and my room and my bed! But being back meant one horrible thing: I only had two weeks until I had to leave Chile.

Since my school was still on vacation, I had that time to spend with with close friends and my amazing family. About two days before I left, my friends had a surprise going-away party for me. I was so happy to be able to see all of them one last time. It was one of the hardest nights of my experience, because i had to say goodbye to the friends that i had lived around and loved for 5 months, but it was also one of the best nights because i had so much fun with my Chilean friends. That was the night that it kind of hit me that I was leaving, and that I really didn't want to leave.

I packed the day before I left and it was really difficult for two reasons: 1. I had acquired way too much stuff over the past 5 months and certainly didn't have room for all of it (I had to buy another suitcase), and 2. I didn't want to pack up my stuff and leave.

I woke up early on August 29th, packed my bags into the car, said goodbye to my two oldest sisters, my cousin, and her boyfriend, and left my Chilean house. After driving the 4 hours to Santiago, my parents, my 12 year old sister Paula, the twins Mane and Raul, and I ate at a Pizzeria before taking me to the airport. I savored those last few hours with my family, and cried with my little sisters, and when the time came that i had to walk through the customs gate and leave them all behind, I lost it. I couldn't control the sobbing and fear and sadness that i felt. It was the hardest day of my AFS experience.

I met up with 9 other exchange students from the US that i had met at the beginning of the exchange and had kept in touch with over the 5 months. It was good to be able to catch up with all of them, because we had all grown really close during our experiences. As the plane lifted off and flew away, I cried because I was leaving the country and the life that i had worked so hard to get to, and even though i knew i had to leave, I was really sad, and knew that i would miss it so much.

We got into Miami, Florida at 5am on the 30th. I said goodbye to my exchange friends at the luggage claim, because i had to catch my 6:30 flight to Sacramento. Everything went smoothly and i got to Sac at 11am. As i waited for my bags at the luggage claim, two giant boys came up behind me and hugged me. At first, I thought i was being mugged or something, but quickly saw the smiling faces of my two younger brothers, who had grown about 4 feet since i saw them last. Then i saw my dad and, my grandma, and my uncle. I hugged my dad for the longest time, because i had missed him so much. then i saw my mom, who was of course apart from the crowd trying to find me before anyone else did. Then i went to hug my uncle, who stepped aside to reveal my best friend, Candice. I was sooo soso happy to see her!!! AHHHH. After hugging everyone and gathering up all my stuff, we went to Rubios for fish tacos. When i got home, I collapsed on the couch and watched a movie with the family. Like good ol times.

I've been back in the US for a little over a week now, and i'm happy to see everyone i missed. I start my senior year of high school in a week, and my family is getting an exchange student from Austria this Saturday. She's 16 and will be sharing a room with me. I'm excited for the change and for school to start so that I will be busy. I miss Chile more than I ever imagined I would, and i'm hoping to go back in February. I am constantly thinking about being there and know that there is not possible way i could NOT go back, so i've got to make it happen. I've also got college applications coming up and all the tests that go with that so wish me luck.

And finally, thank you all for reading and keeping up with my Chilean Adventure and for your support throughout everything. I made my dream come true, and I feel that since i made this happen, I can make anything happen.