homestretch

it is crazy how three months sounded like a such a long time back in december - i have two days left with the babies, and then i head to argentina for a couple of weeks before heading home. i would be lying if i said it will be easy to leave.

i think three months is that magic time when you start to feel comfortable, like you're at home. i recognize people on the street, i know where i'm going (most of the time) and i have friends that i'm really going to miss. sometimes it feels like i've dreamed all of this up, like i haven't been in south america for the last three months. maybe it will feel more real when i get home.

i've been pretty busy over the last couple of weeks - the new class started last week, so we had a lot of meetings for their orientation. and i've been trying to see as many people as i can before i go - my friend eduardo and i met for dinner after he finished work the other night, thursday night was a despedida and salsa, friday and saturday nights were with the volunteers.

i leave wednesday for argentina - and even though it means i'm leaving chile for a bit, i'm super excited. my friend beth from michigan is coming to buenos aires for a week, and it will be so good to see her. i'm going to try to go to uruguay while i'm there, and possibly south of buenos aires - we'll see. then i head back to santiago for three days to see everybody before i come home.

the other day i was walking to the bus stop after work and saw a little girl with puppies across the street. of course, i ran over, gushing over the puppies. they were street dogs, but would probably be sold to families in the neighborhood. the little girl was awesome, and her brother (i think) was so excited about how smart the dogs were already...