¡Chao! ¡Espero Que Hablemos Pronto!

Hola todos,

This, my 115th blog post, is my farewell blog. After a wonderful travel in South America and keeping a blog about all of the adventures that I have had, it is time to finish my schooling, and make some money before embarking on my next adventures. I hope everyone enjoyed reading my blog and had a few laughs.
I will miss writing in this blog, and am so happy I created it. This blog holds hundreds of memories of my trip. Irreplaceable memories, that I have been able to share with you all.
Below is a link to my photobucket account where I have uploaded all of my pictures of my adventures into the South America and Chile 2013 folder. (In My Bucket is all my pictures of Ecuador.) But, beware, there is no organization in my account, so there may be times when you don't know what exactly you're looking at!
 http://s910.photobucket.com/user/annatalarico/library/

¡Espero que les gustiera mi blog y hablamos pronto!

Yours truly,

Anna Talarico

My tribute to Chile back in the U.S.:  preparing Pisco Sours.

First Week of School

Hola todos,

I am officially done with my first week back to school. I have organized all of my classes, and my schedule is actually quite nice. My earliest class is at 11:45, and those of you who know me, you understand that I probably couldn't handle any earlier. Thankfully I don't have any homeowrk yet, so this weekend has been reserved for getting used to the college scene, and seeing people that I haven't seen in nine months. This is so strange. Last night I went out with a friend and I ran into several people, and it was strange to say, "Hey! How are you? (It has been nine months since I've last seen you)."
Monday is Labor Day and I never have classes on Friday (I am a master at making good schedules: both efficient and convenient) so I therefore have a four day weekend. Then, I have school on Tuesday, but then it's a Jewish holiday and I don't have school Wednesday nor Thursday, so after Tuesday, the next time I'll have class is next Monday. Ha! I am very slowly easing my way back into the schooling system.

First Day of School

Hola todos,

Today was my first day of classes. Eh. My first class was Portuguese which was 201, it was a class higher than the level I would've taken after 100 (101). But I thought, why not see how it is? Oh my goodness, it felt like I was in a class in Japanese. I was telling my friend that it was just like the movies how the poor student (myself) is sitting in class and the professor comes in class speaking the language rapidly and the student wondering what was going on. Luckily I know the professor and she told me that I had to take 101 before 201. Thank goodness anyway because I would have died. I stayed anyway for the class and yeah, I knew nothing. We were partnered up to ask about our summer and I kind of just looked at the person... And then just started to speak Spanish hoping she'd understand me. Haha. I thought to myself, okay of all language that I would be thinking in that isn't English is Spanish. Let's not push it now.
The next class was Latin American Cinema which is interesting. The next class was a little strange, but hey, at least I have one class set in stone! I hadn't realized how much of a pain senior year is. You have to take specific classes to satisfy your major... but it is not that easy. Trust me.
Either way, the first day wasn't terrible but I would so much rather be in South America. Luckily though one of my roommates is Puerto Rican and speaks Spanish so we can talk together. (All my roommates are really nice. Our room consists of Alba, the Puerto Rican, Jayme who is white, Tanasia who is African American and myself. I tell people all we need is an Asian and we'd be a perfect representation of diversity for SUNY Albany.)
I do miss South America and wish I were back. But, I know I will get into the groove of things here and not feel sad about being in the U.S. versus South America. I just don't know when.
I will write again in the next few days to let you all know about my classes tomorrow, but sadly, very sadly, my blog is soon coming to an end.

Going To School Tomorrow

Hola todos,

Tomorrow, is back to school. (I move into my apartment tomorrow, and start classes on Monday.) As written in my previous blog, I am not excited for this. I would much rather be in South America, speaking Spanish, experiencing culture that I am still learning about and meeting lots of new and interesting people. Being in a place I don't know well.
Instead, I am going back to school... A thing that I have become unfamiliar with. Do you know, the last time I had a serious class was over nine months ago? (The end of fall semester at Albany.) I mean, no class was taken seriously/ we didn't even have class in Chile. I am not excited to have to sit at a desk, listen to a professor, and take notes. And worst of all, write papers,take tests and read boring textbooks. A person can learn so much more about a topic by experiencing it themselves.
I  suppose I'm also nervous. The fact that I haven't had a serious class in nine months has not only made me not used to the idea of class, but has put a damper on my studying habits (or lack there of) and schedule when in school.
Oh well, at least this is my last year and then, I will win the lottery and spend the rest of my life traveling in South America!

Ten Days Back In The U.S.

Hola todos,

As of today, I have been back in the U.S. for ten days! Ah, so strange! Last weekend, we went to the Hamptons to visit friends of the family... Don't worry, Long Island hasn't changed. It was nice to lie on the beach and go into water that wouldn't freeze you to death. I also got some more color and the awkward tan on my chest is disappearing.
This week, I went into the city a few times, went clothes shopping (yay! So in need of clothing), and unpacked, then packed for school. This was both easy and hard because all of my stuff had been packed coming back from Chile so one would think that that would be easy, just put them in the car and continue to Albany, but no because I needed things I didn't have and had things I didn't need in my suitcases, therefore, I unpacked and packed at the same time. Who would've thought that that was possible?
It has been nice to be back in Irvington, but I am ready to go school. Not necessarily that I want to go back to school, but just want to be busy and see people. I'm actually not excited for school at all.
It is so strange to think that I have been out of Chile for ten days already. Weirdly enough, I actually haven't felt super upset. When I first got back, I told myself to not think about it. Just go with the flow and do the things I need/want to do here. And, maybe I'm in denial about leaving Chile, even after ten days, but I'm not thinking about it until my mind is ready. I'm sure the sadness will come soon enough. But I can tell you all this much: I would much rather be in South America than going to school!

I Miss Spanish

Hola todos,

The first few weeks being in Chile, I missed English and just wanted a break from Spanish. It was so frustrating trying to speak it! But now, las mesas (the tables) have turned. I miss speaking Spanish.
Six months ago, I never thought I would feel this way right now, but since I was speaking it so much, for so many months, it became a part of me and was my language of choice. I'm not saying of course that now back in the U.S. I'm having difficulty getting back to speaking English, but I do think in Spanish, and want to respond to people in Spanish, that mostly being, "cachai?" and "cacho." (We need to assimilate those words into the English language.) When the guy who mows the lawn, who is Ecuadorian, was over a few days ago, I was so excited to speak to him! So we chatted and chatted, and I realized, after comparing his Spanish to mine, that I really do talk like a Chilean! His Spanish is pure and clear and mine is cut-off and filled with slang. That's what Chile does to you!
I want to try and find some people that I can talk to in Spanish at school, not only to keep it up, but to satisfy my need to speak Spanish (preferably a Chilean who will appreciate my accent.)
This is a good thing I guess. I mean, that shows how much Spanish I have learned and how much I was speaking it. Of course that also shows how much I miss Chile.

Back To NYC!

Hola todos,

After being in Santiago for so long, Santiago became my surrogate city (my real city is NYC). Returning to my real city, everything felt so strange. One may assume the strangest part about returning to NYC would be how large and busy it is. But, that wasn't the strangest part. Although Santiago doesn't have skyscrapers, it is still quite busy. The strangest thing was the people. The people as a whole looked so foreign. I was used to Latinos: brunettes, tan skin, and short. But in the city, there were tall people, blond people and everything in between. I must admit, I will a little in awe. But imagine, most of you would be too, if you hadn't seen such an eclectic array of people in six months.
As I walked down the streets, most likely looking like a tourist because when I saw leopard print in the stores I had to stop and take pictures and because I probably just looked over-whelmed. Another thing I found strange was that I could understand everyone around me. In Santiago, yes my Spanish is good but it's not my native language and I do need some brain capacity available to fully understand. But English, it's natural. Therefore, while in Santiago, when I heard someone speak English, my ears perked up. So, when returning to NYC and hearing English conversations around me, I couldn't help but think to myself, oh my goodness there are people speaking English! I wonder where they're from? Ironically, hearing English conversations still made me feel like I was in Chile.
Since it was restaurant week, which a New Yorker would be a fool to miss out on, I went out for Korean. Gosh I missed Korean. It was wonderful and I savored every bite.
Afterwards, I walked down 6th Avenue to Bryant Park and sat in the grass looking at everything and everyone, again, as if I were a tourist. It was a strange experience with NYC that I was surprised to have had.

Korean appetizer

Main dish! Ah, I love Korean!