Dogs, soccer, & homesickness — Busy Bee With ADHD

In case you missed it, here’s the recap of my first three weeks in Chile and below is a recap of the following three weeks (Weeks 4-6 in Chile):

All You Need Is Pups (Week 4: 3/13-19)

This was it. This was the week it hit me. I began to realize that I had been away from home for over a month. With a month (at the time) being the longest I had ever been away from home, it really finally hit me - Oh crap! I’m in another country. How overwhelming! Not overwhelming because I had to learn a new way of life, figure out how to survive in the Chilean jungle of terremotos (earthquakes), nor was it because I had to accumulate a wealth of information with a long list of Chileanisms and slang. Things were becoming overwhelming because I missed my family.

Some people can leave their homes from an extended amount of time and not miss a single thing. I’m not one of those people. No matter how many trips I take, how many sights I see, or how much fun I have during a night out with my friends, I will always wish that I could be spending time with those who were in my life first. In my opinion, I can be as “comfortable” as I want in a new place, but nothing matches the comfort I feel when I’m with my family and friends. Sometimes you truly want to go *cue Cheers theme song* “Where everybody knows your name.”

Although I could go into more depth about the range of emotions I felt after my first three weeks in Chile, I’d prefer not. Simply because the highlight of week four is my Chilean puppy, Mila.

As many of you might know, one of my aspirations in life is to live out my dreams of being a crazy dog lady. Although it’s not too realistic, I’d like to live comfortably in a houseful of dogs. But to settle for society’s standards of what’s acceptable and cost-friendly, I changed my goal into having at least two dogs in my lifetime. Now, I can finally say that I have done that as I have not only an American dog, but also a Chilean one. What is it about dogs that drive me crazy? I don’t know. I truly wish I did! Whatever it is, I can’t help it. I JUST LOVE DOGS!

One Sunday afternoon, my roommate asked me (in Spanish, of course) “Would it bother you if I got a puppy?” Girl, heck no! I was all in. Come on now, this is Takira you’re talking to. The professional puppy cuddler. Of course not! Let’s do this thing. Moments later, adoption papers were signed and on the following week, we had our new furry friend.

Everyone meet Mila, my favorite dog in all of Chile. She doesn't believe in selfies. Off-guards only.

Mila is a puppy not-so-heavensent. Although she helped me with my homesickness, she also gave me the patience of a kindergarten school teacher. My adventures with Mila have been everything but boring. We laugh, we think, and we cry. According to Jimmy V, that’s a heck of a time!

Other than finding the cure for homesickness (more puppies); other highlights during week 4 include:

An official welcome party hosted by the office of international relations at UAI Viña
My first time having Chilean candy (Golazo - super good)
My first time having ceviche. Review: It would be good if I liked lemon juice and raw onions. But since I don’t, I’ll pass.

My First Soccer Game (Week 5: 3/20-26)

If there’s one thing I’ve learned since being in Chile, it’s the simple fact that Latin America takes fútbol (soccer) very, very seriously. So serious that I was warned to be cautious while at soccer games [Ex: be careful not to cheer for the wrong team]. But in hindsight, maybe those suggestions were a little exaggerated. I experienced no problems and my safety was never put in danger between arguing fans. I know this because I went to the Chile vs. Argentina fútbol game on March 24th.

I made my way to Santiago with my friends, Grace and Annise (another blogger, check out her adventures here). After a bus ride of approximately an hour and a half, I made my way to my AirBnB in which I met my new best friend, Arturo (you’ll learn more about him later). After settling, my friends and I made our way to Santiago’s National Stadium and we enjoyed a great night of futbol! Okay, just kidding... I’m not even going to lie. I don’t pay much attention to sports in general and I certainly wasn’t able to grasp why soccer is such a popular sport. As the fans tell me, “It’s so exciting.” But I beg to differ. I just can’t seem to get a kick out of it [pun intended]. However, it was nice to make my first attempt at immersing myself into the culture here. I think I did a pretty job. I sported my Chile jersey and even pretended to have a good time.

Group selfie with friends at Chile vs. Argentina game

Ultimately I learned that soccer games aren’t exactly my cup of tea, but it was nice to be in the same place as some of modern-day soccer’s greatest players, including Lionel Messi and Arturo Vidal.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering...Chile lost. But we lost with pride! Chi-chi-chi! Le-le-le! Viva Chile!

Other highlights during week 5:

I did my first solo travel in Santiago
I hiked half of the 8-hour hike at Cerro La Campana in Olmue. Very quickly learned that hiking is not for the faint at heart (me). But I must admit, the view from the top was breathtaking. My friends showed me lots of pictures.

Homesick? Treat Yo’ Self (Week 6: 3/27-4/2)

Although it seemed as if things were getting better in the homesickness department, after things started settling down I realized that the feelings I had felt two weeks prior had returned. I missed my family, friends, and my dog. But she’s family too, so I essentially missed my family and friends. OH! And Chick-Fil-A. I really took advantage of this week and decided to treat myself to a few things. I tried a mock Chick-Fil-A chicken nugget recipe and even got to enjoy a nice can of Dr. Pepper (which can be found in Chile’s Santa Isabel). In my opinion, the best way to deal with homesickness is to spend time doing things you love and of course, treating yourself.

Ice cream at Bravissimo - another one of my favorite ice cream spots

One of my favorite pastimes when dealing with homesickness includes walking around Viña del Mar with a nice cone of helado (ice cream). My favorite was a combination that one can create at Cafe Anayak on Calle Quinta/Calle Valparaiso - one scoop of manjar (dulce de leche) flavored ice cream and another of tres leches - a delicacy that I’m truly going to miss.

Other highlights during the week:

Care Packages: My boyfriend surprised me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers (who says long distance relationships don’t work?!)
I enjoyed a full day of all things Chile: a visit to the feria (farmer’s market) for the first time; a day walking down the coast in Viña; bistec a lo pobre at La Flor de Chile; ate mote con huesillo (a Chilean summer-time dessert); and a night out for margaritas and pisco sour with friends at Margaritas.