trees

i have a park near my house. it stretches across the entire city along one of the main roads. when i first arrived here in los angeles (3 months ago) i couldn't help but notice the green everywhere in this park. granted i'm used to cacti and that sort of landscape, but these trees were just so beautiful! then came fall... every day i would walk through the park and kick the yellow leaves around and wonder when the last leaf would fall. and now... at the half way point, it's winter and the trees are bare. although the bitter cold and rain don't suit my taste, i still find an odd beauty in the bare branches against the grey sky.

ryan and i were walking through this park the other day... and i had to stop him. i saw the trees and said, "i can't believe we're halfway through our adventure." time has flown. the trees are a simple sign that time here in chile is passing as quickly just as the seasons change year after year. i find myself refreshed by the idea that primavera (spring) is coming around the corner. but i stop myself and wonder, what after that? summer? that means its time to go. not sure i'm ready for that just yet.

we were taught in orientation that there are three phases that volunteers (and other go abroaders) go through when abroad. first, the excitement phase. everything is new and exciting and there is little time to think about everything you're missing back home. second, there's what i call the "i want to go home just a little bit" phase. everything you thought exciting in the beginning is now mundane and sometimes annoying. i can definitely say that i have been going through this the past month or so. ryan and i found ourselves often presenting questions such as these to each other: "if you could eat ANYTHING you wanted right now, what would it be?" or "if you could hang out with 5 people tonight who would it be and what would you do?"... we found huge smiles on our faces talking about friends from home, favorite pizza joints, and family that we have been missing for quite some time now.

during this time, i found myself on a bus to santiago for our midservice conference with meghan and thomas (worldteach directors). we had a bunch of sessions about "long term planning" in our classrooms, and figuring out what in the heck we should teach for the 17 weeks we had left of school. 17 weeks! ah. may seem like a long time, but in teacher time, its nothing. i have so many things i want to teach my kiddos, and so many things i still want to do in my community here in chile that i have yet to begin! i started thinking of how i'm going to spend the second half of my time here in chile... what could i do to finish this year off right, and really accomplish what i came here to do? well its been a week since that conference. i've had my kids one last time before winter break this week... i said my "nos vemoses" (we'll be seein you) and started wondering how it would be when i have to say "adios" for good. kinda breaks my heart a little. i dont know how all you teachers do it... get so attached to a group of kids then turn around and have to give them away. seems like torture to me.

so here i am. gettin' ready for my winter vaca and as amped as ever to make the second half of my adventure the best it can be. kelly ryan and i are stoked to start on some community projects when we return from the north. one includes a sort of "big brother/big sister" idea, amongst others including a health fair and various clubs. as much as i have grown to hate spanish, i am more determined then ever to learn as much as i can while i'm here. i want to hang out with my host family more. learn what the chilean culture really has to offer.

so all in all... time's flying as it always does. but i'm comforted by the fact that my life will never be the same after this adventure is over... looking forward to spring a whole new gaggle of fun experiences.