As my time dwindles in South America and I see the end in sight, I seem to have lots of lists running in my mind (memories, plans, goals,etc). I decided in order to not have one huge blog at the very end, I'll start them now and by the time I leave, I should have them all posted. So to begin, my Most memorable moments. Since I left in July, some things stick out in my mind like small video clips or pictures in a scrapbook.

1) starting in Costa Rica, after a lot of stress and worry about what would happen, I was able to Reconcile with Cesar, putting the pain of the past behind us. We were able to talk sincerely and I left with closure.

2) The bus ride to Panama, meeting Militza and our little night adventure crossing the border to Panama.

3) The super nice and hilarious men in Cartagena, Colombia who sell food on the street. I remember sitting and talking with them for over an an hour and being so entertained with their humorous opinions and insights on society and the World.

4) Meeting the group of young people from CouchSurfing in downtown Bogota to give out bread and hot tea to homeless people. I met the most humble, interesting and nice people and saw how easy it was to give back, even if it was only a little.

5) Arriving to Chile with no where to stay. And The first person I talked to at the airport didn't understand me and I thought, "oh s*** is no one going to understand me here?" I spent 3 hours crying at the airport in the cold and finally a friend of a friend of a friend came through and saved me.

6) my Motorcycle ride in Santiago. My new friend, Felipe, took me to the open market and to the top of a mountain that had a great view of Santiago and the Andes. Despite my fear of motorcycles, I ended that day wondering how I could pull off buying myself a motorcycle.

7) Dancing with Laura in Uruguay. My first time staying with a girl I was so excited. I remember waiting impatiently for the dance floor to open and it didn't open until 1am. Theyre crazy, I thought. Then the next day at one of her friends graduation celebration, people throwing eggs and flour at each other. 2 crazy days with Laura with lots of laughs.

8) Leaving Uruguay I was getting on the bus for Brazil and the driver asked for my ticket in Portuguese and I said,"Huh?!" I realized that I should have studied Portuguese more... I fell asleep with my Portuguese dictionary and Woke up at sunrise. I asked the driver if we were already in Brazil and when he said yes, I smiled for the next 3 hours of the bus ride, not caring that I didn't speak Portuguese.

9) After my 23-hour bus ride to Rio, when Maria and Paulo picked me up and drove me "home" and we passed Sugar Loaf and I could see Christ from the balcony. It felt like a dream seeing all the postcard views.

10) when Ricardo took me to Urca one night, at the bay where you can see Sugar Loaf lit up. We Walked and talked for hours and when he kissed me for the first time, I had two thoughts pass my mind: 1- Alfredo told me no kissing (or anything else) Brazilians because I might catch something and 2- my friend Clarissa had told me before, "Oh my God, you're in Brazil! Please kiss a hot Brazilian for me."

11) My dilemma and debate whether to stay in Rio or not. I remember calling Rhonda for an emergency Skype call... Even thousands of miles away I needed her advice before making a decision.

12) my first class with one of my students, Adriana. I was totally lost, took the wrong bus, wasn't understanding Portuguese and I arrived 20 minutes late in tears. I was so embarrassed, and once she was done comforting me I had to pull myself together and give her lesson.

13) going salsa dancing with Fanny. Ricardo didnt go but offered to stay up and pick me up when I was ready to leave. I remember thinking, surprised,"Wow, I had no idea I could have the best of both worlds: do what I want to freely, make new friends and at the same time have a relationship (which isn't full of drama and jealousy)."

14) the lice fiasco... I don't think it's necessary to say more

15) my girls nights with Kim and Fanny. Wine, gossip and laughing too loud. I'm gonna miss that for sure! Now it will have to be via Skype.