Today I got back from my missions trip with Saint George to Southern Chile. It was a good experience. Among our associate group, “good experience” is code for “good, but tough.” And tough it was at times. I was part of a group without native English speakers, which was helpful with the learning process. At other times, I was completely confounded by the Chilean accent. Even with three years of high school Spanish, two years in college, and almost four months of intensive study in Bolivia, I sometimes didn’t understand a single word that people said to me. Chilean Spanish is spoken much faster and with many more slang expressions than Bolivian Spanish. Sometimes I longed to sound as intelligent as a 10-year-old.
The time we were gone was also the longest that I have gone without using a computer, the Internet, or even a phone in at least a decade. I suppose I should be thankful for the opportunity not to be “tied down” by burdensome electronics. In reality, I felt disconnected. But, lest you think I am all pessimism, I maintain that I did really have an enjoyable trip and will tell you about it in the coming days. There’s a lot to say and I can’t write it all until I take a shower, my clothes out of my backpack, and some time to think.
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