Remembering 2014

It's crazy to think about how different my life was at the beginning of this whirlwind of a year. I had a broken arm (thanks to a snowboarding accident), a broken heart (the kind every teenager experiences after their first real break-up), and not the slightest idea of what country I would be living in for my year abroad. A couple months, two Rotary orientations, one surgery, and a school dance later, all of that had changed. My arm had healed, my heart had begun to move on, and Rotary had assigned me to the country of my dreams... Chile. As Winter started to melt into Spring, life was feeling pretty good. I surrounded myself with a big group of friends and kept my grades up in school.

As the summer approached, I could feel exchange beginning to take over my life, but I didn't mind one bit. Text conversations between my friends were exchanged for facebook conversations between my future host siblings, and all my alternative indie songs on my phone were replaced with Spanish music. My idea of a "good read" was a travel guide to Chile or a book on how to be a successful exchange student. Instead of going out shopping or taking day trips to the beach like a normal high school student would do in the summer, I stayed home to fill out forms for my student visa. And yet, for some reason, all of my friends stuck by me through this period of craziness and withdrawl. And when August finally rolled around, every last one of them came to say goodbye and good luck.

It's weird how something can seem so far in the future, but then when it finally arrives, you feel like you had only been waiting for a matter of minutes. Time is funny like that. When the big day came for me to board the plane to Chile, my head was spinning with thoughts and emotions. I was joyful, nervous, ecstatic, and sad all at the same time. But over everything, I was excited. My dream was actually coming true.

Upon landing in Chile, my life had completely changed. Everything was new. My family, friends, school, language, and culture, all at once had disappeared. For the last almost-5 months, I have been challenged and pushed so far out of my comfort zone, to limits that I didn't even know existed. I have made some of the most incredible memories and met some of the most amazing people of my life.

This year has been the craziest one yet. I've gone from heartbroken to living on cloud-9. I have been homesick, lonely, and confused more times than I can count, but I have also experienced some of the happiest moments of my life. I am a completely different person than I was when 2014 started, and I just hope that I can continue this trend throughout the next year.

Happy New Years Eve to all.

Feliz Navidad

When I originally created this blog, I intended for it to be a bit of a play-by-play on what I have been up to in Chile. The idea was that I would be able to look back on it and remember all of the good times I had while on exchange, and at the same time it would serve as a way to let my friends and family back home know what my life is like here, While it is undeniable that I am doing many exciting, "blog-worthy" things with my time here (for example, a trip to Brazil with my school), I find it much more enjoyable and important to write about my thoughts and feelings about exchange. Yes, I am writing this blog for my family, friends, other exchange students, and anyone else interested in what it is like to live in Chile, but I am also writing it for myself. We have social media outlets like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter where I can upload photos and share anecdotes of my crazy life, but for now I would like to keep my blog on the more "profound" side of exchange.

My last two posts are a good example of what you can expect to see from me in the future. I am aspiring to be a journalist, and I think this blog is a good place for me to practice my writing skills. Hopefully I will find time to blog more frequently, although it seems unlikely because I will be traveling for most of the summer. To keep up with my life, you can find me on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/kira.mcneil.1), Instagram (@kiramcneil) and I have also made a few Vlogs on Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrOd8kISoz-shMbn6R9U2rg). 

I hope you all have a very merry Christmas!