3 Months in Chile 🇨🇱

It’s incredible how quickly time has passed here, and yet when I think back to the day of my departure, it feels like an eternity. Nonetheless, I had the chance to experience so much in the last 3 months, and I can now confidently say that I have traveled through the north of Chile. During these 3 months, I met an amazing number of wonderful people, this time in a completely different way while traveling compared to what I usually know. Being in one place for 3 months has its advantages, and I have never immersed myself so deeply in a culture during my travels as I have this time. After an unplanned 2-week 'vacation' from my work, I appreciated the last week even more with my colleagues. Even though this week was a bit too light on work for my taste and was rather dull, it was nice to have the time with my colleagues. It’s incredible how much this team has grown dear to me over the last 2 months. Honestly, with such a warm and open team, it’s really hard not to feel comfortable. From day one, I was a member of the team and was treated just the same. To share a bit of my culture with my colleagues, I brought a strudel on my last working day. Yes, it disappeared faster than I could taste it, so it must have been a success. My Chilean parents also appreciated it, of course, they got one too. Since it rained heavily on Friday, we wrapped things up early, and I had a really nice long weekend. On Saturday, my colleagues invited me to a Chilean Asado (Chilean-style barbecue) at a colleague's house. We had a really lovely afternoon with great food. To my surprise, my boss also showed up, as I hadn’t seen her all week and hadn’t had the chance to say goodbye. As a keepsake, they gifted me a T-shirt with our clinic logo. Yes, there were actually tears of joy in my eyes. I could never have imagined such kindness and community at the beginning. Even thinking back to it now brings a bit of moisture to my eyes. I have to say it was a very special experience. I truly feel very fortunate to have landed in this clinic! We ended the evening at a club until 5 in the morning. That was definitely not planned, haha. But spontaneously, my colleague invited me to have a Piscola with him and another colleague. Yes, and that’s how the evening, or rather the night, unfolded. What a successful farewell! I am now really excited to discover new things and do a bit of backpacking for a month, even though I can hardly envision it right now. However, I am equally looking forward to returning to Chile afterwards and traveling through the south. There is still so much for me to see. It’s incredible; I would never have expected such an experience at the beginning of this journey. 🫶🏼