Wednesday 30 November 2011

Home.


A quick note on how we exited the country.  We went back to the airport on Monday night slightly anxious with our documents allowing us to exit the country.  The man at border control had never seen the type of letters we had so there was much head scratching, sighing, reading and re-reading of the documents until he must have decided that it was just easier to let us leave the country so he stamped our passports and wished us a safe journey.




We’ve been home now for 24 hours and already we’re suffering from reverse culture shock.  The strangest thing is hearing and understanding conversations that happen around you.  One relaxing part about living in Valparaíso was that we weren’t distracted by overhearing people talking to each other.  Now that we’re back in our own country we have no choice but listen to some stranger on her mobile phone explain every detail of a recent operation or the couple in front of us at the supermarket complain about the government.  No longer are we able to float about the general populace in our own little bubble.


The girls are happily spending time with their cousins and enjoying being able to run around barefoot in the yard without fear of stepping in or on something.


As a family we’ve talked about what it means to us to have lived in Valparaíso for ten months.  We all agree that the random and spontaneous art is something that we will truly miss.  There were people that helped us along our journey in different ways.  Some with friendship and encouraging words, and others with information.  There were people who saw us as tourists and there were those that admired our adventure and offered praise for the opportunity we were giving Indiana and Truce.  With technology we will be able to keep in contact with all of the people who shared our time in Chile.  There were students both in the institute and those who would come to our house and share stories of their lives while learning a second language.

Drop in centre for homeless dogs - Santiago


You know your in Chile when… is a line we saw in another blog and it makes perfect sense to us.  We were amazed at pathways nearly two metres higher than the road with out hand rails, crumbling buildings with satellite TV dishes on them.  On our last day in Santiago we watched a llama wearing a traditional hat being led past our hotel.  It’s the juxtapositions that we will remember the most.


This is the first time we’ve written a blog and we were frequently amazed at the origin of our consistent readers.  Talluah and I would always joke and ask, “Who do we know in Switzerland?”
People have told us that they admire what we did and that one day they would like to do the same thing.  In life there will always be another bill to pay, a leak in the roof, a change at work, an important meeting next month or something else that can be used as an excuse to stop you from traveling.  They are just excuses. We tell everyone that we speak to: Pick a country, pick a date and go.



No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.
  

2 comments:

  1. very simple said -- just go travel - it's not that difficult it's just a mind set - gotta adjust to it or travel nearor far won't be worth it == super wonderful experiences you all had from your travels and I for one enjoyed your blog -- thanks for sharing.. keep in touch!

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  2. Hello, we are filming some travel stories for a Channel Ten lifestyle show in Chile starting next week. We are on the look out for talent in Santiago and Valparaiso. I wondered if you know of any Chilean locals in these cities who would be great talent on camera & are passionate about their cities....

    My email address is: rcurran@wtfn.com.au

    Many thanks,

    Rachel

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