Hey! I'm back! sort of...

I'll just start this one out with a big PERDÓNAME and LO SIENTO! (Forgive me and I'm sorry!)

I've been wanting to blog, but just plain have not had time! Amazing trips, school, hanging out with friends, family time, and homework (plus seminary since I'd neglected it for a lot of the year).

The good thing is that I have a notebook at school with a lot of posts written out. They just need to magically find their ways onto here, with pictures. I'll get there...

Some news that YOU need to know! I have my return date (and have had it for a while now...). I will be leaving my second home on July 17th at 9:10 p.m. from Santiago. I will then have a grueling ten hour-something flight to Dallas, Texas where I will wait for 4 hours before I fly the last piece of my trip (2 hours and 15 minutes) to the Minneapolis International Airport! There on July 18th, I will be reunited with my family who will be waiting for me! (right??... that would stink to wait wouldn't it Vick? ) And a few days after that, I will find my way home to my motherland! Ironwood!

So that leaves me... (pause as I check my countdown that I have that I neglect most of the time...) 38 days. That is too low of a number.

I am full of so many emotions. I'm excited, ready, not-ready, happy, sad, torn, and so many more. Some days I feel like I've learned everything I should have learned here, I'm satisfied with my español, and I'm ready to see my family. But other days, I feel like I have so much to do still, I have memories to make, bonds to deepen, spanish to learn, and dreams to complete. Most days, July 17th seems like my death date. We tend not to talk about that day... Although I'm excited to see my family as I walk through those airport doors. Seeing them with signs or balloons or how ever it will be. Hugging my Dad and brothers and sisters and my too-big-nephews and nieces. I cry when I think about those last good byes that I'll have to make with my friends and family HERE. I have another life that I'll be walking away from. I know that we'll keep in touch. But it won't be the same.

So when people from home tell me that I have a little time left, I don't know how to feel. Or people say "no te vallas, Christy! (don't go!). My heart hurts! Inside of me, I have this snow globe of emotions. Usually all the glitter is at the bottom and things are calm. But now, life has taken the snow globe and shaken it with all it's might. aghhhh.

But anyywwaysss. That's the big news. I'm great. I love life. I love hugging my friends at school and laughing with them. I love knowing the language and being able to be me. I love my family. I love school. I love Chile.

I'll hopefully be getting more blog posts up more continuously. I have SO much to say and I've missed writing! It's nice to get all my thoughts and stories out. Sorry it's been such a long time!

I've got a couple of posts of random things. And then I'll ramble on and on and share a ton of pictures from Easter Islannnddd! wiiii! (yay!) And then eventually, let's be honest... probably when I get home I'll get completely caught up.

These next weeks, I'll be focusing on loving every minute I have left, hugging everyone a little bit tighter, and appreciating a bit more all the good things I have right now.