One Month Left

I have exactly one month left out of my six month stint in South America and I can't believe the time has gone by so quickly. This truly has been the experience of a lifetime and I am so sad to be leaving Chile. That being said, here are a few of the things I'm most looking forward to when I get back to the US:

• my dog Alvin (who, of course, my mom has been so nicely sending me pictures of just to remind me that she can hug and cuddle him and I can't)
• Mexican food, which, seemingly, doesn't exist down here
• salad (the "salad" here is iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, and red onions with no dressing)
• REAL COFFEE (drip coffee doesn't exist in this country, it's all instant coffee and it's terrible)
• being able to walk down the street and not get hooted and hollered at
• understanding everything going on around me (although this has improved drastically from when I first got here, there are definitely still moments where I feel like a lost exchange student)
• driving
• being legal in the US (my 21st birthday was here so I haven't had my first legal drink in the US yet!)
• being in a country where everything isn't ass backwards and belly up (Chile has been amazing but this country is all backwards. None of the public offices work like they should, students shut down the university for days on end because of strikes, everything closes in the middle of the day to sleep, you eat lunch at 2:00pm and dinner at 10:00pm, parties don't start until 1:00am and you party until 8:00am. Suffice it to say, this country has me all turned around with what's normal)

There are plenty of more things I could add to the list, especially food I'm excited to eat and people I'm excited to see, but I figured I'd keep it short. It's unreal to me that there's only a month left and thinking about it makes me want to weep like a baby. I don't think I could have picked a better place to study abroad and I am so thankful everyday that I have the opportunity to do so. So, for the next month, I'm going out and experiencing all that Chile has to offer. I want to make this month as memorable as I can.