4 Months In Chile

Hola todos,

As of yesterday, I have been here for 4 months! Which is crazy. I can say that I know Santiago very well and Chile as a country pretty well. I have traveled to the north and south, but Chile is also 2,653 miles long. (We calculated, that if it were possible to take a bus from top to bottom, it would take roughly 80 hours!)
Unlike what some people had told me prior to coming here, Santiago is a great city. It is not super smoggy (according to some, in the winter smog touches the ground). However, I haven't seen such a thing. They also said the weather is absolutely horrible in the winter. And yes, there have been some really cold, cloudy days but the majority of the days, even if it's cold, it's still a sunny day. Also, rain is rare here. Therefore, when it occurs it's not that bad, it's more so, "what is this liquid falling from the sky?" type thing. Also, I was told Santiago was really polluted and dirty. It's actually quite clean to me. There isn't much trash in the city (the outskirts there's more) but it is a very nice city. Especially my neighborhood, there's not a sign of trash anywhere. We even have street cleaners come by at night.
There is lots to do and I have been busy. If I'm bored there is always something for me to find and do.
School, is on the verge of ending (at least I think so, no one really knows for sure). I had a paper for my Art History class which... which I think I did acceptable on? Just to give you all some understanding of the I-have-no-idea-what-I'm-writing-about paper, here's the question I had to answer: Según Baudelaire la modernidad es "lo transitorio, lo fugitivo, lo contingente". Relacione esta afirmación con la pintura impresionista. Dé ejemplos. (According to Baudelaire, the modernity is "the transitory, the fugitive, the contingent. Relate this quote with an impressionist painting. Give examples.) ...What does that even mean? I wrote the paper, which had to be over one page. (I successfully wrote a page and four lines.) But, I have no idea what I wrote about. None. I picked some paintings and pretty much wrote, "well as you can see, we don't know how long he has been there for. That makes it transitory. We're not sure where he's going after. That makes it contingent. I still don't understand the whole fugitive part of that. But, I did manage to write it.
Either way, school should be ending soon. I have another paper to write. Then I have to write a paper for my program. Although we haven't really had class for two months now, I still feel like I have had some form of education and knowing it's ending I can't help but think how fast it has all gone. I am able to understand the professors better! That is the all-time biggest accomplishment here in Chile. Naturally, now that I can understand people, I'm leaving the country.
I am very very excited to continue my travels though!! Yesterday, I met with this boy in the CIEE Program, which is a study abroad program, and we decided to travel together! I know him well enough to know that he and I will be able to travel together without wanting to abandon then other in a foreign country. When we met yesterday at a cafe, we started to plan our trip! So exciting.
Santiago and Chile as a whole have treated me very well and I have had a great 4 months, but am ready to leave. I am incredibly happy I chose to study abroad in not only Chile, but in Santiago too.