Final Thoughts in La Serena

Today was my last full day here in La Serena. I thoroughly enjoyed it, going to the beach one last time as well as cooking empanadas with my host mom and playing with Lisa the cat. I'm sad about leaving tomorrow, but also looking forward to travelling a bit. Here are some of my thoughts on La Serena and my time here:

-La Serena is a small town, but has pretty much everything you need. I think I could live here and be quite comfortable.

-My host mom is one of the nicest and funniest people I've ever met. She also makes amazing food, and I think it hasn't actually sunk in yet that I won't be living with her after this. (I have invited her to come to visit me in Canada, though, so hopefully that will happen in the future!) I have had host moms in the past, but Vilma has been my favourite by far.

-It's easy to learn Spanish quickly when you don't have a choice. Nobody here really speaks English, so in order to understand and be understood at work, I had to learn a lot of Spanish in a short time. It got much easier after the first few awkward days.

-I really enjoyed walking to and from work every day. It gave me a chance to relax before and after working with the seniors, which was a nice start and end to my working day. Maybe I should look into doing this more often in Canada, too.

-The people here in La Serena are really nice. When I pass someone on the street and say hi, they always smile and say it back. (Just like back home!)

-I wouldn't mind coming back here in the future.

Here are some photos from today:

Breakfast at Vilma's. (They really need to make Chocapic cereal in Canada!)

Lisa being adorable, as usual.

Me, learning to make empanadas.

They tasted even better than they look.