Thursday, February 25, 2010

Finally here!


Well, I've been in Chile for three weeks now, but this was the first time I've been able to put anything on my blog. Because I want to give different parts of my trip the attention they deserve, and because I'm tired and have to get up early tomorrow to get paperwork taken care of, these first few posts will cover different aspects of what I've been up to for the last few weeks.

On the flight here, the captain of our airplane was Captain Amazing Grace, seriously. They played a movie for us--Fame, which I liked--and then some Chilean television. The greatest irony of the flight was the food: Land O'Lakes butter and Wisconsin cheese.

When we got to Chile, it was incredibly sunny and warm. Many of the plants here, especially the trees, look so different from home. But others, like the corn, grass, and weeds, look so similar. And it's not as dry as Mexico, there's so much green! The picture above is from a hike we took in Rabones, which I'll get to in a couple of days. I've heard that Chile's climate is a lot like California. If so, I am going to live in California!

Anyway, I hope everyone is doing well, and I'll post more about my first weekend in Chile next time--be prepared for pictures of the beach and folkloric dancers. Ciao!

Monday, February 1, 2010

Preparing to go

I still don't have much to say, but I felt like posting an update on my pre-departure excitement.

Yesterday I realized that I don't have weeks left, or even that many days, before I go. As of today I have three days to pack, arrange all my paperwork, finish up some applications for the summer, and spend time with my family.

It's snowing outside, and I keep stopping by the window to watch the cardinals, woodpeckers and squirrels as they move around the birdfeeder. Olivia is at her first daycare without Mom, and the house seems so quiet.

The last couple of days I've been getting more and more excited about Chile. It doesn't seem that forgetting a few things would be that important, I just want to be there already and get this semester started. My plane leaves Minnesota Thursday afternoon, and I'll be in Santiago Friday morning. Wow!