This story, from the jump, gets a huge shout out to my host mother who always always always encouraged me to go out and explore the city (“para conocer” (so that I can get to know it more) so I wouldn’t regret not having gone out at the end of my stay.

As I look to the prospect of having to go back to the United States and face a cold snowless winter, I want to squeeze in some last bits of analysis on my experience here and share with you all what I’ve learned.