Back to what's happening in Valparaiso this week.
We said goodbye to some good friends this week. Just like us, they came to Chile to spend the year and they just completed their year. Their boys, Stefan and Jules, both in 5th grade, spent the year at a school nearby. Becky is a teacher in NYC and took a sabbatical that involved intensive Spanish language study during their year and Keith kept working on his post-doc, with Columbia's library at his fingertips through his laptop.
We met them through our landlord, because they too had rented briefly at this house. We continued to meet up regularly, either intentionally or just because we seemed to run into each other everywhere around Valparaiso. Our kids absolutely loved hanging out with the boys. I think partly because it was so easy to communicate and also because they shared a common, but unique experience. It was the same for us, when you feel a bit like an oddity, whether in Chile because you're a foreigner or in the US, because you are doing something so out of the ordinary - it's always great to meet kindred spirits. And of course, Keith and Becky were like a reality check for us when we were perplexed by something - ie, is this a crazy Chilean thing or a crazy gringo thing? We shared lots of adventures and many a laugh together.
We'll miss them and wish them the best in their next adventures.
Hasta pronto,
Laura
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