So, this is Christmas. I hope you have fun. The near & the dear ones. The old & the young.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas... all I can say is that I actually do miss the 24-hour Christmas radio station. It's been almost two weeks since I embarked on my Chilean journey and I feel so blessed. God has definitely given me the best gifts I could have ever wanted (this is in addition to the gift of Baby Jesus). Since I will not be celebrating Christmas this year with my biological family, I will be celebrating it with both my host family and JV community. Both have been so welcoming and warm. My host family (really, my Chilean family) has been incredible. There is not one word that is sufficient enough to describe them. I was stranger in a foreign place and they welcomed me with open arms into their home. They have cared for me and have given me so much love. I am not a visiter and I am no longer a stranger. I am a member of the family. They have given me my space, but at the same time, they bring me along to all family functions and even invite me to take part in some of their activities (yoga, jumping rope... I need to do this because they know that my vice is bread). I look forward to spending Christmas with them. As a gift to them (and I know it is not enough), I will be making them an American breakfast. I am going to make French toast and as a substitute for syrup, I will use honey (got to work with what I got) and powdered sugar. Simple, but nonetheless, it is the thought. I love them so much.

Also, I give thanks to God for the gift of community. This has been such a difficult year for many people and my family is no exception. Although we had some highs, there were also many lows. My grandmother’s health has declined drastically within the year, the death of a teacher and a family member, and my mother’s surgery. They have been great obstacles, but they can be taken on and overcome. Both my community mates have been there to hear me and have lend a shoulder to cry on. The did not have to say a word, but only listen. I love the both of them so dearly and I am fortunate and blessed to be a member of the JVC community. This year may have not been the greatest, but it definitely did have its great moments. I thank God for the gifts He has blessed me with. I thank him for my friends, communities, and my family. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I hope you are spending it with people who love you dearly and want nothing but the best for you. 

Also, I hope that Santa Claus brings everything that you asked for. Peace and love. 

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God." 

Jn 3:16-21

And I Think to Myself what a Wonderful World.

Hola desde Santiago!!! I am officially an ex-patriate and I am so excited to finally be in country. It's only been two days and I am already in love with it. My community mates are AMAZING and I am currently doing a home stay. We do not have a house yet, but we are on a mission to find one. The family I am staying with is AMAZING. They are a young couple and have only one child. She is in the fourth grade and reminds me so much of my younger sister. I feel like I am home.

The flight here was great and I had no troubles entering the country. It was weird having out of Atlanta. It felt like I was supposed to be flying to Mobile (the flight to Mobile actually left an hour before the flight to Santiago did) and I remembered showing my community mate on the screen in the plane where I had gone to school (I told him it was near New Orleans). He upgraded our seats to an aisle (He's super tall, but I was not complaining because that also meant extra leg room for me). I was worried and nervous that things were not going to be great, but all that went to away as soon as we took off. The flight here was only nine hours (the distance from Nashville to Chicago or Chicago to Memphis...driving) and the the in-flight movie  was Eat, Pray, Love (perfect, right?). I loved the part where Julia Roberts' character explains the definition "Ruined." Ruined does not always mean that something has been destroyed, but it also mean a change or transition. I am definitely "Ruined for Life."

Ruined for Life is a JV motto. What is means is that once we have entered this program, we can no longer look at the world with the perspective/perception we once had of it. It has changed for the better because we have become more aware of the world around us and of the world and communities we a part of it.

Yesterday, I had gone with my host family to the supermarket. The supermarket I went to is the Chilean equivalent of Wal-Mart. I was so overwhelmed and was uncomfortable. I had thought once leaving America, I would leave behind a world of consumerism and corporations, but then again, I should have remembered that the new Chilean president was a business man and is actually a big supporter of the latter. I still processing that experience.

Onto happier thoughts. I had gone to the center of the city today and went to the Plaza de Armas, the National Cathedral and Restaurant J. Cruz. I am still trying to adjust to having lunch at 2, once, and dinner at 9. I am excited for everything and anything. My community is AMAZING and I could have not asked for anything else. My host family is incredible and so hospitable and Santiago is now where my heart is. I am only looking up and not down and staying optimistic. I know it will be difficult and there will be bumps along the road, but I would not trade this for anything else.

I can only hope to stay in love forever.
CHI! CHI! CHI! LE! LE! LE!

Therefore the Grace of God go I

This is doubling as my late departure reflection and my blog post of the week (sorry to all the late departures out there. It's taken me forever to get something out there to you guys, but better late than never).


I will be leaving to Chile in just a few hours and I cannot believe how fast the time has gone by. I have been running around and making sure that I have everything I need. I am so excited to finally reunite with my community mate, Jake and I am excited to finally meet my community mate who is already in Santiago. It is bittersweet. Even though I am excited to leaving, I am saddened by the fact that I am not leaving during a good time. Currently, my grandmother is sick and will be undergoing surgery while I am traveling and we are still in grieving mode due to our lost in October. Sometimes I question if it is still meant for me to go to Chile, but everything happens for a reason. If I had left early, I would have not been present for my family. I am trying to be present to the person in front of me. Life is crazy and we are often presented with many obstacles, but it is with God that we are able to overcome such challenges and difficulties. But, enough with the sadness. It is a time of jubulation because I am no longer an unemployed college grad who is living with their parents. I think my parents are happy to finally get me out of their house (I am quite happy as well).


Also, I am quite nervous. I am feeling the same emotions that I felt when I first arrived at Spring Hill. After my dad and grandfather helped move me in, they left. On the outside I was fine, but on the inside I was freaking out, "What the [insert expletive] did I get myself into?" I was in a new place all by myself and knew no one. Although my roommate was nice, we did not exactly click. The first week was the hardest because everything was so new, so different. It was in that first week as well where I made my two best friends and did not look back. I did not regret the decision that I made in going to Spring Hill. I know I am not going to regret this because this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I know there will be many lows, but also many many more highs. I am excited to be living with two incredible people who be there when I need someone to talk to and will not leave me standing alone. I feel blessed being a JV because I have met so many incredible people.


I am getting ready to head off. Just two more hours and then I will be at O'Hare. This time tomorrow, I will be in Santiago with my community mates. I am ready to take on Chile and everything it has in store for me. For the Grace of God Go I.