I'm sure you are aware of the feeling of going back home after a long trip. You start saying things like, "I can't wait for my own bed, for my own shower, for my own kitchen where I can cook my own food..." You see, being away from home is great, but towards the end of a trip, you just want to be back in your home again. And once you actually get back home, it feels great! You can get back into that routine you had before and everything just feels comfortable again.
After spending nine days exploring the island of Chiloé and the beauty of Torres del Paine, I was ready to go back "home." Don't get me wrong; I absolutely loved our first group excursion, but I was worn out from all of the new things I was experiencing, as well as from lack of sleep, from an 18+ mile hike, and from being shifted around between hotels. At the end of the trip, I was ready to go back to Santiago. I was ready for my own bed. ... Wait a second. My own bed? You mean the apart-hotel bed I paid to sleep in for three months???
Since I've been in Chile, I haven't really experienced culture shock like I thought I would; I adjusted quite nicely. Apparently, I adjusted so nicely that this has now become my home. (For all my family and friends reading this: don't worry, I know where my actual home is.) I just jumped from being overwhelmed to calling this place my "home." I'm sure that at the end of the three months, I'll experience the same feeling, but only about my home in Tennessee, instead. It's just weird to think that this place that once seemed so new and so different has quickly become my home away from home.
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