Back in October 2010 (yes I'm still behind) while still in Peru, Darren and I had a long discussion regarding when we should return to the U.S. We ultimately decided to go home for Christmas. Well since our families thought we were coming home sometime in February or March, we decided it would be a perfect opportunity for a SURPRISE! So towards the middle of November I started asking my family where they were going to spend Christmas this year. They had no idea and hadn’t really talked about it. Later I sent a follow up email stating that Darren and I, although far from home, would like to give them a Christmas gift. I wouldn’t tell them what it was but told them we wanted to send them to an event that would be sure to bring the Christmas spirit. So we purchased tickets to The Nutcracker Ballet and then emailed them some limited information. So they got pretty excited and had fun trying to guess what it was. Unbeknownst to them, we had purchased two additional seats right beside them (although they thought it would only be the four of them).

So everything is in place. They are planning on going to Symphony Hall in Phoenix on Christmas Eve around 2pm and by December 23rd, we are on an airplane to Phoenix from Santiago, Chile. We arrive late that night and stay in a local hotel (only about a mile away from my sister’s house). I could hardly sleep that night due to the excitement and anticipation. We ate dinner that night at a little mexican restaurant (yum!) and talked about how we were going to pull this off.

The next morning we got ready, left our luggage at the front desk and took the light rail to Symphony Hall. We arrived early and left the printed tickets at Will Call (we couldn’t email them since it would show there were 6 seats). I hoped they wouldn’t think it was odd that there were printed tickets at Will Call. So, we got our 2 tickets and went inside. We found a hidden niche along one of the far walls and hid there until their arrival. It was so nerve-racking. By the time they walked in 10 minutes later my heart was beating wildly. It was so surreal to see them standing there. Like a dream. We waited for them to go into the portal and take a seat and then we snuck in behind them. The ushers were excitedly watching the entire thing as we had talked to them earlier and told them of our plans. Darren got out the camera and started videoing as I walked down the stairs toward them (after a little encouragement). I had the program in front of my face in case they turned around. My heart was beating even more wildly by this time. Finally we made it down the stairs and I sat in the seat directly behind my mom. I tapped her on the shoulder and said, “excuse me but I think you’re in my seat.” She turned around, along with my sisters and my sisters’ boyfriend (now husband), and they just…STARED! Finally my mom said, “oh my gosh” and I heard a random “what are you guys doing here?” Tiffany said, “whatever!” Then everyone stopped and just…STARED! It was so funny. I think we were all in shock. I finally got a hug from Tiff with the comment, “I don’t know whether to cry or be happy.” This has to be the best surprise I’ve ever been involved in. :)

(I couldn't get the video to upload but I'll keep trying)

After watching The Nutcracker, we went to my uncles's and aunt's house for dinner. To play a joke on my Uncle Derek, my mom suggests we stay outside hidden behind the truck while she goes inside and announces that they have "guests" for dinner. We later found out that she went inside, pulled my uncle aside and said that she had invited two homeless people to dinner (not technically a lie, we were homeless at this point). My uncle looks at my mom dumbfounded and states, "you did what? Homeless? What am I supposed to tell Helena (his wife)? She's not going to like this." My mom: "just come outside and meet them." Uncle: "you mean they're here?" LOL Good stuff!! They were all quite surprised when the homeless guests turned out to be us. :) Merry Christmas everyone!!

After spending Christmas day with my family, we drove to Safford to surprise Darren's parents. On the way we created a series of Christmas rhymes to be part of a scavenger hunt (a Christmas tradition in Darren's family). Example: Alone outside where the fruit trees grow, look for something with a bright green bow. When we arrived in Safford we parked our car down the street and then silently slipped into the yard and hid behind their car. We placed the clues around the yard (with the last one sending them back to the Christmas tree) then rang the doorbell. We watched them read the first clue taped to the front door then walk around the side and eventually the back of the house. At this point we snuck through the front door and headed for the back room. When we heard them come back into the house, we turned the video camera on and started walking down the hall towards the living room. My heart was beating very loudly at this point. As we inched around the corner, we shouted "Merry Christmas!" His parents looked at us with shocked expressions then him mom let out a happy squeal. What a great surprise! It was so fun to be home with our families for the holiday season. We truly had missed our families so this was one of the best Christmas's ever :)

We arrived in Santiago, Chile. Darren’s old mission companion was supposed to pick us up at the airport but when we got there he was nowhere to be found. Since we did not have his phone number written down (huge oversight) we had to find a computer and then log on to Skype to get it. Long story short…after 45 minutes of trying to find the number and getting the computer to work, we finally got in touch with him and he said he couldn't come because his car broke down. Welcome to Chile!! :)

A couple of hours later than anticipated we arrived to the Vega home. It was so fun for Darren to see his companion after 12 years. They hadn’t even kept in touch for most of that time so they had a lot to catch up on. Elder Vega’s wife Isabel and her mother made us an amazing dinner. We were a little hesitant about eating meat after our Peruvian experiences but they assured us it was fine. (I often wondered if food would ever again be appealing or whether I would be ruined forever).

After a yummy dinner, out came dessert. My first experience with mote con huesillo. It is a cup of syrupy water (like the juice from a can of peaches) served with a dried, shriveled peach and cooked but cold barley. As you can tell from the tone of my description it was not a favorite. I am usually a fan of barley but in dishes like beef & barley soup. Cold barley has a rubbery, squeaky consistency that once mixed with sugar water kind of makes you gag. (I am sorry to any of our Chilean friends who may be reading this post. I am probably committing the unpardonable sin. I still love you) :)

On Sunday we went to church and then came home to a lovely meal of empanadas. Oh how I love empanadas. I would fly to Argentina or Chile right now just for some of that homemade goodness. :)

Gerardo and Isabel’s girls are so cute. Valentina was about 2 years old at the time and Gabriela (Gaby) was about 5. They kept coming in the room where we were staying and crawling between the two of us and pretending they were snoring and taking a nap. They were a lot of fun.

The next day we said goodbye and headed to Valparaiso, Chile. We stayed in a little bed and breakfast on Cerro Artilleria right next to the funicular that was on the Amazing Race a couple of seasons ago. It was fun to ride up and down the funicular, see the multicolored buildings and walk up and down the crazy, winding streets but overall Valparaiso is a dirty, grungy and smelly little place (it's also where I felt my first earthquake). We did however like its sister city a few minutes away called Vina del Mar. It is a bit more modern and definitely cleaner and prettier. This is where we spent Thanksgiving Day 2010. We ate some veggie wraps and a quesadilla at a little sandwich shop and then got some amazing coconut and fruit medley ice cream at the parlor next door. Not your typical turkey and pumpkin pie but we felt grateful.

After Thanksgiving dinner we took a walk down by the ocean. We visited an old castle with a glass floor where you could look down at the ocean. It was pretty cool. Thank you to the security guard who let us in even though it had already closed.

After a fun day in Vina, we headed back to Valparaiso to get on an overnight bus to Valdivia (oh how I couldn't wait to be on the last bus of that trip). Valdivia was very pretty and green. (Green. A color I have come to idolize since Northern Chile and Peru. Remember San Pedro de Atacama? Enough said).

We stayed at a little hospedaje called Borde Rio. Comfy beds, hot water and hot ecco in the morning. What more could you ask for?

Here are a few highlights of Valdivia:
1. Entre Lagos restaurant: Breakfast burritos with cheesy sauce. Yum!
2. Trip to Niebla and Corral to see “Fuertes” (Old Spanish forts). We took ferry boats across the lake to see them
3. Picnic by the lighthouse at the Niebla Fort. The creepy man in the museo. I swear he would disappear into the walls and then pop up right beside you “No pictures or else!” Where did he come from anyway?
4. Dance group on the stage and all the teenagers going crazy
5. Seeing sea lions REALLY close!! They would come and lie on a dock right by the sidewalk where people walk by. We could have touched them if we had wanted to.
6. Remember that dog that shared our lunch at one of the forts? Hmmm
7. Yummy chocolate shops everywhere influenced by the German settlers
8. ecco, ham, cheese, bread and orange marmalade. The famous Chilean breakfast.

Next stop: Futrono, Chile.

It wasn’t too far from Valdivia so we took a little minibus/van. Futrono is extremely small. We didn’t know it would be so hard to find a place to stay so Darren walked around town making inquiries while I sat on a bench outside of the CLOSED tourist information office. Isn’t that convenient? We ended up staying at a little cabana just on the outskirts of town. We didn’t want to spend the money for a taxi, since it was “just a little ways up the road”, so we started trekking. This was just one of the many “short, little” treks we made with our heavy backpacks. Oh the memories :) The cabana was a little outdated and musty but it worked for one night.

After resting, we started our trek back into town for dinner. What a tender mercy it was when someone stopped and offered us a ride into town. We ended up eating at a restaurant called Don Floro. It was really good and our table offered some amazing views of the yellow, flowering hills in the distance. We also had fun lying by the lake at the base of a resort.

After dinner, we tried to find Elder Vega’s mom so we could say hi but no such luck. We ended up running into one of his cousins and he told us that she is out of town during the week for work. But while meandering we ran into the missionaries and enjoyed talking with them.

Next stop: Llifen, Chile

Even smaller than Futrono if that is possible. We met Jose in a small café and he told us he rented a cabana just up the road if we were interested. So he drove us down by the lake, kicked his mom out of the cabin and gave us the keys. We felt bad about his mom having to leave but they both seemed excited to have paying renters so it all worked out. It was nice to have the entire place to ourselves. It was very quiet and had beautiful landscaping. A perfect escape.

The next day was cold and rainy so we stayed indoors. After realizing that we had no food in the house, mi heroe walked down to the store for a few groceries. Gracias mi amor :)

The next day we hopped on a bus to Osorno and then on another bus to Frutillar. We went to about 5 different places looking for a place to stay but since most of them were too expensive, we opted for a little hotel by the lake. It was a little run down but at least it had hot water (I will never stop appreciating that). We stayed in Frutillar for two days and really liked it. It was completely different from the rest of Chile that I had experienced. Due to the German immigrants and their influence it felt more like Austria than South America. The houses were cute and quaint, the town was clean, and the food was amazing. There was a beautiful lake and majestic, snow-capped volcanoes in the distance. Truly a beautiful place.

Highlights/Memories of Frutillar:
1. The little, black, newborn kitten in the back of the hostel. He couldn’t even move and was meowing incessantly. It was so cold outside and I could tell that he was sick. I felt so bad for the little thing that I begged Darren to pick him up and put him inside a piece of carpet that we had found. Maybe if he wasn’t so cold he would get better. It was so sad and pathetic that I actually shed a few tears for the poor thing. We looked for him the next morning on our way to breakfast and found his mom by his side. Yay!! Maybe he would have been okay without our help but I like to think that we saved him :)
2. “Sammy”: the black dog that followed us all over town. He sat and waited outside of the restaurant, the hostel and the market. Darren even got a picture with him. We weren’t feeding him so I don’t know why he stuck around. It was funny.
3. Day trip to Puerto Octay. It was beautiful! A very cute town with old colonial homes. We ate in one that had been transformed into a restaurant. It was fun! Puerto Octay also gave gave us the view of all 3 volcanoes. Very pretty.
4. Volcan Osorno across the lake from Frutillar. Truly magnificent!

Next stop: Puerto Varas, Chile

Highlights/Memories:
1. Dropped off laundry…finally. We seriously had nothing left to wear
2. Casa Hellwig: Smokey old hostel
3. The walk down to Puerto Chico and dinner at Da Allessandro’s Italian restaurant: great pasta and pizza. Beautiful lakefront view
4. Church on Sunday. Met missionaries from Utah; Gilbert, Arizona; and Cuzco, Peru.
5. Pim’s Mexican Restaurant. One word: YUM!!
6. Met the owner of a chocolate shop and her husband. Originally from California but loved Puerto Varas so much they relocated
7. Walking tour to see old mansions. The arrows on the sidewalk that point you in the right direction

Next stop: Ensenada, Chile and Casa Ko

Memories/Highlights:
1. Nice French couple, Raphael and Pauline. They met in Argentina while they were both backpacking, got married and decided to open a B&B in Southern Chile
2. Dinners at the B&B. Since it was pretty remote, most of the guests just stayed at the house for dinner. We had some really fun conversations with a couple from Argentina, Michael and Andrew from England and the owners Raphael and Pauline
3. Rainy days and nights
4. Amazing food cooked by Pauline
5. Listening to Christmas music and watching Christmas movies online. Trying to get in the holiday spirit although we were far from home
6. Petrohue: Beautiful landscape and beautiful blue-green water (Todos los Santos)
7. Catamaran ride across the lake to Puella
8. Canopying in the jungle. So fun!!

Next stop: Chiloe

Highlights/Memories:
1. Ferry boat out to the island. Sea lions jumping out of the water
2. Seaside villages: Dalcahue, Anchao, Isla Quinchao
3. Elfish beanies in Dalcahue. Took pictures for our Christmas E-card
4. Met a missionary from Show Low. Small world.
5. Chips and salsa for dinner. I think we ate two bags of chips. It just tasted so good :)
6. The old, wooden churches. Different color and different design in each town.
7. Different shapes and designs of the wooden siding. We would take pictures of each new one we found.

Last stops: Puerto Varas (again) and Santiago (again)

Highlights/Memories for Puerto Varas:
1. Casa Azul in Puerto Varas. It even had blue toilet paper
2. Made reservations for The Nutcracker. Surprise!!…hee hee
3. Pims and Da Allesandro’s again

Highlights/Memories for Santiago:
1. Our apartment close to the temple. Cute and comfy
2. Walking tour of downtown Santiago. Finished buying Christmas gifts at the artesania
3. Met Elder Contreras, another of Darren’s old mission companions, at the metro station. He drove us to his house for dinner (burritos) :) Met his wife Cristina, his son Martin and his daughter Emilia. Martin had us all laughing with his jokes.
4. Met the Silvas, a family that Darren lived with on his mission in Arica. They took us on a drive up the canyon. We stopped at a small town and walked around a farmers market ("they stole our jam!").  We were offered mote con huesillo once again. "Te gusta?" Hmm...how do I answer that?
5. Attended church at the building right next to the temple. Many senior missionaries from the states
6. Elder Contreras and his family picked us up and took us up Cerro San Cristobal. Amazing views of Santiago below. At the food stand opted for a popsicle instead of…you guessed it…mote con huesillo. Ate dinner with them at a local pizza parlor. Sang hymns later at our apartment. Emilia kept hitting Martin when he would interrupt her. It was hilarious!
7. Dinner at the Vegas before we left to go back home to the states
8. Mailed Christmas presents to Elder Contreras and his family. Gave gifts to Valentina and Gaby (princess notebooks and pencils). They loved it!
9. Christmas concert at the university. We had to stand behind iron gates through the first half but were finally allowed to enter after the intermission.

December 23, 2010: Today we left South America to fly home to Arizona. I don’t know where to begin in expressing my feelings. It has been such an amazing adventure. One that has changed my life forever. One that has taught me more than I ever imagined. While I am so excited to go home and see my family, I am incredibly sad to leave the family that we have here. We have met so many wonderful people who have taught us so much. We have learned so much about ourselves and each other. We have learned what it’s like to have a dream and the sacrifices that must be made to achieve them. We know the liberating power of overcoming fear. We now know what we are capable of. We now know we can achieve anything. That uncertainties and fear don’t matter. We have learned to not let them stand in the way of achieving our goals and dreams. We are now different people than we were 9 months ago and we will forever be grateful for this GRAND ADVENTURE!!