The Fading Shore: It's Hot Chocolate Season

Row Row Row Your Boat, Plane, or Tank

As we dropped below 0° C on Monday, I realized I have never experienced winter in my life. When I wake in the morning, I have to tell myself, Jameisha, to wake up and see your breath is just a refreshingly chill reminder that you're alive.

Sitting here in my favorite new haunt, the Holzer Cafe, near the plaza, I can't believe how quickly the time is going. A hot chocolate and a yummy pastry are the perfect way to celebrate the beginning of Winter Break. The past two months have been a whirlwind. Here are some of the happenings:

Students are mind ninjas!!!! Why do I feel this way?!?! I love them but at the same time I...hmmm. I was taught, that if you have nothing nice to say, don't say it at all. Take that with a grain of salt, I really do enjoy all the challenges of the job. And while the students may spend 90% of their time gawking at me, using their phones to: play games, send text messages, or listen to music; often making my job so hard that I feel like I'm aging at the same rate as Mr. Obama. They spend so much time not caring, that when they do care I find myself in a daze. Somehow they still make time to do the unexpected. On the Fourth of July there were hugs a plenty, birthday wishes, and a little paper armada courtesy of my sophomores.

The Neighborhood

Being away from the US has provided me with a new freedom. I have been thinking about this idea for weeks, but it feels so horrible to admit it out loud. I feel more accepted here in Chile than I do in the country where I have lived my whole life. My hair has been accepted whether braided, straight, wild or kinky. My skin does not confine me here. I'm not just an exception to the rule nor am I the rule. I just am.

In light of the Trayvon Martin case, the news, Facebook and other social media outlets are crawling with opinions about the verdict. I'm not going to sit here and pretend that everything is okay. A somber mood, is ever so fitting, as overcast skies engulf the city of Coyhaique. As I reflect on the life of Trayvon Martin, it scares me to think that my brother could be taken in such a brutal way just because of what he looks like. The country I try to love continues to let me down. I'm not the only one who feels this way either, Tiffanie Drayton writes about her experience in, Goodbye to my American Dream, published by Salon.

In spite of such a heavy and troublesome topic, I have so much to be thankful for right now. I'm so glad I'm over the homesickness that I was experiencing a few weeks ago. Now I think I'm finally doing what I came to do. I needed to slow down. I needed to be still. Lastly, I needed to listen. I came to reawaken the Jameisha who dreams, loves, and feels. So now here I am, about halfway through and I feel happy here. The direction and meaning I have been looking for are becoming more evident everyday.

Libertad!

Welcome to Coyhaique!

Being alone in my own little world in this cafe is great, but I don't want this forever. I want to go to grad school and to inspire young women, men, Africans, Americans, and people in general. Life is about growing and even in this harsh winter, I've never felt so strong.

That's all for today, I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story.