And Suddenly I Have Too Much To Say

So sorry that I missed last week. My internet connection is tentative at best, and to keep myself from throwing myself and my internet movil off a balcony I just don't bother staying on some days.

Alda: I can't believe you're going to Amsterdam so soon after Germany. You're such a jetsetter! Since you're traveling just in Europe this shouldn't apply, but just in case, make sure you don't need a visa for a layover. Working at an Embassy, I have learned a lot about travel abroad.

Stephanie: The fault in Our Stars sounds wonderful. I'm still halfway through both Paper Towns and Looking for Alaska (I should have just gotten through one whole book, lol). Have you tried looking for new people on Your Pants for the blog? I think that I will post some thing and see if anyone is interested.
Sooo, Santiago. Yeah, it's different. Many things the same, but most are different.

When I first came here I noted the abundance of tall, ugly apartment buildings like they have in Miami. I later found that this uglyness came from the balconies that aparently every apartment comes with. I have since learned to accept the ugly buildings as I've learned the confort of having a balcony. Having a balcony back home is indulgant, but here it is an accpted norm.

On Saturday I rode the metro all the way east and walked back to my apartment. There wasn't much to see. All of the interesting places are where I live and to the west. I did go to a place called Los Dominicos where there were a lot of artisans selling local goods. I would have taken a picture, but I didn't want to take out my iphone because of pick pockets and muggers. iphones cost about $2000 USD here, so almost nobody has one. Everybody has a Blackberry though. A high school girl that I work with told me that it's because texting is so expensive here and Blackberry's have their own network to send free messages over.

Since my internet connection is slow I'll only post one picture. Hopefully my new place will have a faster internet connection and I can do an entire Thoughts From Places. It's a picture of the view from outside my building. The center building is Escuela Militar, the military academy. Like so many other places it was named after General O'Higgins, Chile's hero from their independance war. An Irishman of all things. I never see any people in the front of the school, which is disappointing, but the academy is massive with an entire soccar field behind it.

Yesterday I went to the movies to see the new Sherlock Holmes (Rober Downey Jr. ~♥) but there was also a film festival going on so it was packed and I didn't want to deal with it, so I went to sulk at Starbucks. I had every intention to put on my headphones to sulk properly, but the only seat available was next to a woman and she started talking to me, first in Spanish then in English. She invited me to join a social group that meets to practice their English and Spanish. I need to check my email to see if she invited me.

I have today off because it's Martin Luther King Jr. day, a federal holiday. I think that I'll try that movie again today. I'm also looking at Spanish schools. Since I don't have to buy an apartment now, I find myself with extra money. I may as well take some classes while I'm here! I was going to ride the Metrotren, but none of the stops on the route seemed interesting. :/ I wanted to be adventurous, not bored.

'Till next blog. Ciao!