Chapod Again

Changing your mind is one of the best ways of figuring out whether or not you still have one. - Taylor Mali

You all thought I was going to Valparaiso for my research project, didn’t you? Well, so did I.

But then, of course, if you read my post about Chapod, you’d know that in the words of my host mom in Santiago: I fell in love. I’ve known for a few weeks now that I wanted to come back to the campo, and a lot of thinking, project proposal tweaking and some stressful conversations with my academic director and my poor mother finally got me back here.

House and Home!

It was, at first, a strange decision, if in truth not a hard one. No matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to stop constructing images of what I think my life is supposed to look like, and I had a pretty strong picture of this month, and more generally, of study abroad.

I saw myself traveling, exploring cities, and in general having a grand experience. But the more I experienced that reality, the more I realized that I don’t like big cities. They overwhelm me. I don’t like the constant pressure to take advantage of where I am, see everything and go everywhere.

I realize now that my passion for travel is different. Everywhere I’ve gone, I’ve known on a small scale. I’ve seen Ukraine from English camp, El Salvador from the barrio and Malaysia from the campus of my boarding school. And even though those experiences were limited, they were precious and worldview-altering.

I would rather see the world like that. I don’t care if I never see the Pyramids or the Great Wall or for that matter Machu Pichu or Easter Island. I’m content with the view from this little house at the bottom of hill, surrounded by the piglets and the rooster crowing and the smell of the bread baking.

It may not be as wide an experience as I might have had amidst the colors next to the sea. But it will be a deep one. And if it is culture I seek to learn, haven’t I said before that culture exists in its simplest form within families?

This one, for now, is mine. We’ve spent our first day here (and by we, I mean Amanda and me. She couldn’t escape the pull back here either) drinking mate, taking naps in a bedroom that feels like our own, showing off photos of our faraway homes and taking new ones in photo booth (that’s a pleasure I haven’t experienced in a while). And we’re ready to study the reality of education in this place, that is, if we ever take a break from playing ninja.