Okay, I am so sorry that I have been slacking in the whole writing deal. I graduated on Tuesday from the Institute and we basically partied all night in celebration. Then I woke up a few hours later to meet with a new friend for coffee before I leave for two months, and THEN I tackled the anormous city of Santiago trying to find a place to live. Now for those of you who think that this should not be very difficult, let me expain something to you... the children in Chile do not move out of their parents homes until they are married, literally. I have met women with their 40 year old sons still living with them. This includes the college period becuase in general, students go to college in the same town that their parents live in. And if they are adventurous and they go to school in a diferent town, it is only because their aunt lives there. So basically, there is no college housing. Or really any housing for single people. So I gave in and paid an agent to find me a place to live. So i went from one apartment to another trying to feel out if I liked them. I met up with this one guy named Marcelo who administrates two different apartments. First we went to the the one that his friend Sebastian lives in. Sebastian is in publicity and basically has invites to every major party in Santiago, and he of course offers his share of parties at the apartment. Marcelo, who is an economist, is much quieter and his apartment is mucho mas tranquilo. The apartmemts are a block from each other, and the same price for the same type of room, so I reminiscing the days of Avila, decided to go with Sebastian. Seriously, I think is is a pattern for me. My first period of time in a new place is spent in a safe and calm situation adn then I choose to move to a more hectic situation for a period of time, and then, eventually I find my place in between the two. The same thing happened in college and I find myself thinking that I would love to live the crazy social life for a year or so. Who knows, maybe I will get the chance to meet some more of the Chilean soap opera stars!!!
I live near a long thin park called Parque Forestal. It's really quite a nice park and it has a long stretch of a lane for riding bikes or jogging. And since I have a fear of riding bikes in this city, I jog. It's really pleasent. I usually listen to radioDisney on my mp3 player and jog along to Jonas Brothers, Beyonce, or Julieta Venegas. Great stuff. Yesterday on my jog I noticed that the trees were beginning to change. Fall has finally arrived and I am glad for the change. But as I was jogging through the falling leaves, I began to think about how much I like fall. And I had this special moment when I realized that I want to be here in Santiago, jogging through this park for many falls to come. After the past few weeks of cultural adjustment being a little more painful than normal, this was a nice thought to have.
Comments
the crazy vegetarian
don't forget about medical insurance!
love, mom