Waterfalls, Wine and Santiago

After a fast and furious two weeks in Buenos Aires, I said goodbye to new friends and headed to Iguazu Falls and Mendoza before crossing the Andes to fly home from Santiago, Chile.  Who knew the Jewel of Sabbatical yet awaited me...Iguazu! I spent a few days at the falls - visiting both the rugged Argentine side and the panoramic Brazilian side - drinking in the beauty of God's creation after city life.  

I visited the Argentine side of the falls first 

The Argentine side is the more adventurous, rugged side of the falls

Iguazu is the longest waterfall in the world!

The sun and water provide a natural breeding ground for tons of rainbows and butterflies

I took a boat across to San Martin island where I swam and did more hiking

Simply breathtaking!!

View from "Devil's Throat" part of the falls

Top of "Devil's Throat" on the Argentine side

Tons of wildlife, including many exotic birds, in the rainforest surrounding the falls

On the Argentine side of the falls, you feel up close in the falls and do much more hiking

On the second day, I visited the Brazilian side

The Brazilian side of the falls offers better panoramic views, a bit further away from the action

It was overcast the second day while in Brazil

Even without the sun, the panoramic views did not disappoint  :)

With every step, more and more waterfalls could be seen - truly never-ending cascades

Traveling alone, I could not take enough pictures :)

I was a very happy visitor

After Iguazu, I flew to Mendoza, the wine region in western Argentina famous for its Malbec reds.  I spent a few charming days in Mendoza, sipping on tasty wines and enjoying the beauty of the snow-capped Andes mountains.  I was even able to met up with Duncan and Rena, classmates from Buenos Aires, on my last night.

Wine tasting lunch at a local winery

I went horseback riding through the foothills of the Andes, near Mendoza

Although cold, it was a beautiful clear day

My guide and I trotted through streams and over hills on horseback

A beautiful lake near where we started our trek

More wine tasting with Duncan and Rena

After the 8 hour bus-ride to Chile, I spent a mere 36 hours in sunny Santiago before flying back to the States.  I enjoyed some wonderful Chilean foods, met some interesting locals and walked all over the easily-accessible city.  

Stopping in mountains at Chilean customs

I hiked up San Cristobal hill to see the Virgin Mary statue overlooking Santiago 

Beautiful gardens surrounded the Virgin, but the statue itself was not as impressive as Rio's Cristo

The stunning view from the top overlooking Santiago, with the Andes in the distance

Traditional Chilean empanadas have a beef and onion combo inside

The river running through the center of Santiago, at dusk

Overall, my three weeks in South America added another fantastic trip to what has been a remarkable, unforgettable year.  I return to work tomorrow, Monday, November 1.  Thank you all for faithfully following my journey!! 

Una porteña por dos semanas!

After spending some time back in the US reconnecting with family and friends, I decided to take my last trip of sabbatical to South America, primarily Argentina, a country I have dreamed of visiting for many years.  I spent the first two weeks in Buenos Aires, known to some as the Paris of Latin America, and it did not disappoint.  I took Spanish classes and learned a few basic tango steps, making new friends along the way.  I rented my own studio and took the Subte a few stops to class each morning, which made me feel as though I was living as a local porteña (person from Buenos Aires).  I finally found a city that is more exhausting than NYC, with all the charm of Paris and the old architecture of New Orleans' French Quarter.  What a treat!

My Apartment in Buenos Aires' Retiro Barrio

Cafe mocha at Havanna, the Starbucks of BsAs

I went to a tango show my first night in Buenos Aires, just off of Avenida de Julio - the widest street in the world!

Recoleta Cemetary was impressive in size and beauty

I went with my friend Eleanor, who I met through my Spanish school Elebaires

At Evita's grave in Recoleta Cemetary

Out in Palermo with classmates, Duncan Tom and Rena, all from the UK

Nos clase de espanol a Elebaires

Mate, the popular tea-like drink of Argentina (that is, smells like tea, tastes like cigarettes!)

Mi professora de espanol, Soledad

Our other professor, Valerie

Upscale cupcakes for sale in Palermo, sound familiar?  :)

The colorful Boca barrio in Buenos Aires

Local tango performance

Classmates and I out at a tango club - on a school night :)

The San Telmo Melbec became a fast favorite

Beautiful tapas spread at fantastic Tancat restaurant near my apartment where we had dinner my last night in town before leaving for onward travel.  Delicious!

Home is where the heart is...

It's been about a month and a half since I returned to the United States, my home.  Being away from home for so long has confused me about where exactly home is.  Is it with my parents who now both live in two states I've never lived?  Is it in NYC where my job and previous life were?  Is it the towns where my college or high school friends live?  Is it in Louisiana where I was born and went to law school?  Where is my home?  The bible tells us that our home is in Heaven and I believe it to be true: "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ." (Philippians 3:20)  The best moments in my former and future homes are mere glimpses of my true home which awaits me with Him.  This is a refreshing reminder as I reintegrate into my "home" culture after being gone for over 9 months.  


This time has been full of love, familiarity and friendship that has filled those empty and lonely places I felt in Rwanda and beyond.  The gift of conversation has not eluded me.  I have talked and talked and talked to trusted friends and family members until my heart is (nearly) content.  They have patiently listened.  I have seen and done and visited many of the places I longed for while I was away.  And yet, nothing is the same as it was when I left; I have changed, family members have changed and I have missed significant events in many close friends' lives.  After 6 weeks of reacquainting, and often scrutinizing, my home culture, I find myself longing for - of all places - Africa.  Can this be real?  Maybe it is not a place I long for but a state of being.  Of contentment, of joy and of peace.  These things the Rwandese had in abundance.  How do I incorporate this into my life as an American?  Is it even possible?


As I ponder these things, I will share with you with a few pictures highlighting my time at home with family and friends - which, as you can imagine, was a great blessing to me.  I am very thankful.

Volunteering with my dad at a soup kitchen in West Virginia

Daddy-Daughter golf outing

Me with sister Amy at welcome back cookout my family had for me...so sweet!

At Arrington Winery near Nashville, TN with high school friend Angela

Hanging with Angela's kiddos - Nathan and Paula Grace - adorable!

At the Tin Roof, also in Nashville, with college roommate Carla Blackston

Having cocktails and apps with Carla after viewing Sex in the City II, how I've missed girl time!

With brother Michael and mom at a Mississippi Braves (minor league farm team) game in Jackson, MS

Mom, Mr. Turk and me at a Southern Sunday Brunch...with grits!

With mom and Jennifer, her colleague, at a cookout in their new home in Madison, MS (just north of Jackson)...weird coming "home" to Mississippi and WV and not Tennessee!!

Stephanie and her little girl Addie, mommy's look-alike!

Dusk on one of East Tennessee's beautiful lakes, near Bristol, Virgina Stephanie's home

Even after all my travels, there is nearly no place that rivals the beauty of East Tennessee

College roommie and sorority sister, Anika Hudson, in front of her new home in Charlotte, NC

At brunch with Kelly Dinda, friend I met while living in Paris, and more grits - yum!

Anika's 30th birthday party - somehow I have no pictures from our photo-scavenger hunt all over town so this one will have to suffice for now!