Not only did I recently leave Chile, but I also came back: A feat several of my fellow gringos regarded with skepticism. Not because they´re knockin´this country (maybe some of them are) but because a person´s home is their home. It´s like no matter how well-starred the hotel, you´re always going to prefer your own bed. But here´s the funny thing- I was happy to come back. I wanted to come back. I was even a touch hesitant about leaving. Granted, I was estatic to see my family and friends and use honey mustard, but absent was the euphoria and sheer delight I assumed awaited me at Atlanta International Airport. Really, de-boarding the plane was just like all the other times I´ve exited an aircraft. Anti-climatic. Remember the days when people who loved you were allowed to wait at the gate? I had to take a shuttle from the airport to the hotel before I could get a hug. And the whole ride there, I talked incessantly at (not to) the Jamaican driver in hopes of dazzling him/someone/anyone with my¨I live abroad¨thing. He didn´t care. 24 hours earlier, when I´d taken the bus from my house in Santiago to the airport, I´d encountered something else apart from an apothetic chauffer. Sadness. Not the overwhelming kind, but a subtle, taste-in-the-mouth type. Even though I knew I was headed somewhere familiar, I felt the distinct wistfulness of change- an acute awareness of the passage of time and my inability to fully recover the exactness of my old life. I also knew that I was returning to Chile, thus greatening the distance between what used to be and what now is-(particularly in light of my recent decision to stay an additional year).
And then something strange happened.
You´d think that if you lived in a country for 23 years, 7 months away is hardly substancial to really shake up your habits. Wrong. Not only did I charge into the men´s bathroom on three separate occasions- (M is for Mujeres!)- I ordered coca-lights, showed up 20 minutes late for everything, and forgot that sweatpants does not an ensemble make if you´re looking to garner a few self-esteem lifting catcalls on the streets. Whoopsie.
Anyway, I´m back now, plugging away and enjoying the effortlessness with which a make-up-free face and t-shirt draws more attention than a Bellavista churro stand after midnight. Am I crazy for staying another year away from home? We´ll see.
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4 comments:
That M for mujeres thing is SO funny- when my brother was here we went to Tiramisu and he stood for like 3 minutes standing outside of the H and the M door, unable to go into either one. jajjajaja oh and the coca light thing? totally have done that before. PS-you write really well!
hey caira! I was thinking about you the other day - nice to see you in my feed reader! staying a whole nother year - wow, congratulations!
Your blog is really amazing. For me, it's a little bit hard to read because the english isn't my native language. But i agree that you write really well. It's extra funny to read your blog.
I've just found your blog and I'm catching up on it... sorry to repeat the same as the other commenters above, but you write really well and are quite insightful. Hope you enjoy your stay down here and do post more often!
PS: I'm Chilean and it was quite funny to read your first posts!! it's a bit terrible to see how lost you were. I hope you've found some help from your fellow expats as well as from Chileans!
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