This past week could be summed up into a single word if I wasn’t so stimulated by everything. That word would be growth.
My very good friend and the only other Jew on this trip told me something very wise while walking along the beach the other day: “Relationships work when both people grow at the same rate.” I think the relationships between me and my family, me and the other ISA participants, me and this crazy country, are more than just “working.” They’re goddamn flourishing.
We are all growing at similar rates now. This Chilean-Gringo adventure. This cross-hemisphere adventure. This courageous, foolish, rational, helpful, sweet, crazy adventure. We are rotating and girating and oscillating and twisting and exploding over all of this “new-ness.” It’s breaking us and tearing us apart and it’s putting new things in our palms and pockets that we continue to carry in order to keep the familiar close to our hearts. The familiar. Feeling safe. These are very important things that we’re doing!
We are united and connecting so deeply because we’re experiencing the same excitement and eagerness and love and desire that’s pouring out of all of us, according to Miss Jacklynne (Seen below with me atop Cerro San Cristóbal). Those who feel together, grow together.
Obviously this takes great courage, right? Well that’s what is happening right now for us “gringos” in Chile. Diving out of our comfort zones. Catapulting out of those little bubbles of U.S. comfort. That’s where life begins, right? At least that’s what I think. But what do I know? I’m just a gringo in a long skinny spanish-speaking state that is nearly 8,000 miles from all that I’ve ever known.
My very good friend and the only other Jew on this trip told me something very wise while walking along the beach the other day: “Relationships work when both people grow at the same rate.” I think the relationships between me and my family, me and the other ISA participants, me and this crazy country, are more than just “working.” They’re goddamn flourishing.
We are all growing at similar rates now. This Chilean-Gringo adventure. This cross-hemisphere adventure. This courageous, foolish, rational, helpful, sweet, crazy adventure. We are rotating and girating and oscillating and twisting and exploding over all of this “new-ness.” It’s breaking us and tearing us apart and it’s putting new things in our palms and pockets that we continue to carry in order to keep the familiar close to our hearts. The familiar. Feeling safe. These are very important things that we’re doing!
We are united and connecting so deeply because we’re experiencing the same excitement and eagerness and love and desire that’s pouring out of all of us, according to Miss Jacklynne (Seen below with me atop Cerro San Cristóbal). Those who feel together, grow together.
Obviously this takes great courage, right? Well that’s what is happening right now for us “gringos” in Chile. Diving out of our comfort zones. Catapulting out of those little bubbles of U.S. comfort. That’s where life begins, right? At least that’s what I think. But what do I know? I’m just a gringo in a long skinny spanish-speaking state that is nearly 8,000 miles from all that I’ve ever known.
I’ll tell you what I DO know, though. Deep discussion and heart circles (as the Radical Faerie community calls them) feed my goddamn soul. They feed it. Connect with me and we can connect to the respective spots within us where the universe resides.
The universe. A funny thing that universe. When you let it do its work and connect your dots and make a silly picture. I think it would be fun to be a little more like Winnie the Pooh and a little less like Don Quixote. Not looking for something, but wandering.
We actually had a pretty big discussion about that when were in Santiago, all us crazy gringos trying to find something familiar to make ourselves feel safe. We’re so crazy. We’re so safe.
Speaking of insanity and adventure, here are some fun chilenismos that I’ve picked up:
“fome” = boring
“mijito rico” = sexy
“cachaí?” = know what I mean? (it’s used either to mean “understand me?” or more casually as “na’ mean?”) the proper response is “cacho!”
“agua de la llave” = tap water
“palta” = avocado. which is so goddamn delicious and fresh here. Avocado on everything, forever.
“pololo/a” = boyfriend/girlfriend. they say “estámos pololeando” to mean “we’re dating”
"po" = it's used at the end of sentences for emphasis. like "sí, po"
The universe. A funny thing that universe. When you let it do its work and connect your dots and make a silly picture. I think it would be fun to be a little more like Winnie the Pooh and a little less like Don Quixote. Not looking for something, but wandering.
We actually had a pretty big discussion about that when were in Santiago, all us crazy gringos trying to find something familiar to make ourselves feel safe. We’re so crazy. We’re so safe.
Speaking of insanity and adventure, here are some fun chilenismos that I’ve picked up:
“fome” = boring
“mijito rico” = sexy
“cachaí?” = know what I mean? (it’s used either to mean “understand me?” or more casually as “na’ mean?”) the proper response is “cacho!”
“agua de la llave” = tap water
“palta” = avocado. which is so goddamn delicious and fresh here. Avocado on everything, forever.
“pololo/a” = boyfriend/girlfriend. they say “estámos pololeando” to mean “we’re dating”
"po" = it's used at the end of sentences for emphasis. like "sí, po"