Adios

Happy New Year!  It's been almost a month since my last post, and considering I've left Chile, enjoyed the holidays with family, and am leaving today on my next adventure, it's definitely time for an update.

The last weeks in Santiago were filled with activity and they went fast.  I caught this picture between errands.  They have pianos all over the city, and it's amazing to me who sits down and plays the most beautiful music.  Very eye-opening.

I had seen Pablo Neruda's houses at Isla Negra and Valparaiso but hadn't seen the one right down the metro from our place, so I made it a point to get over there.  It was beautiful.

Neruda was able to construct something of a haven surrounded by the very busy city.  He built this house for his wife Matilde so she had a place to stay while he was travelling around the country and the world.

The house has a beautiful open courtyard in the middle with a summer bar that was open to the outside when in operation.  This definitely would have been a cool place to live.  Well done, Neruda!

Another item on my Chile "bucket list" was to eat the crudo at Tip y Tap, the restaurant around the corner from our place.  Crudo means "raw", so you can imagine what it consists of.  Raw ground beef, lots of lemon juice, cilantro, peppers, onion, and pickle all spread on bits of toast.  It was actually quite good.

My host family had an asado for all of us as a way of saying goodbye and thank you.  It was so nice for all the other ChACErs to meet my host parents, I was worried it wasn't going to happen.

Weather in Santiago has been in the upper 80s and often in the 90s.  Perfect pool weather.  Everyone made it up to Chicureo except Laura.  You were missed, Laura!

Packing wasn't too eventful, everything had to go.  It was a great year filled with fantastic experiences.  Thank you so much to everyone who made my time in Chile so special!

On the plane home, I realized that exact moment was my transition out of my Notre Dame student status.  I finished my last class, and that was the last day of the semester.  The end of an era.  If you need to reach me, use my new address, noahfranske@gmail.com

I flew back over night on the 20th.  The temperature change was nearly 100 degrees Fahrenheit.  Brrrr.  Perfect weather for a movie!  I went to see White Christmas with Mom, Dad, and Josie pretty much right off the plane.

And then we went to Chipotle.  I missed it.

Christmas with the extended family was a little bit of a culture shock.  It was so great to see everyone.

And now, in three hours, I'm boarding a plane bound for Tokyo, Japan!  Ever since I was little I've always wanted to snowboard in Japan, and things lined up perfectly for this to happen.  I'm meeting some Australian friends, who I met on my cat skiing expedition in August, up in the north for what will be an unforgettable experience.  Four days in Tokyo followed by six days of riding the best snow in the world--I'm super excited.  Stay tuned for pictures.  I'll try to get them up a little at a time but no promises--you might be in for a long post in a couple weeks.

Love to all, may 2014 be a great year!