Business end of the trip

OK so this weekend promises to be a bit dull unfortunately. I have 2 big exams on Monday and Tuesday, and needless to say, at this moment, I am bit unprepared, so I need to study quite a bit over the next few days. A few of the others are doing their normal weekend trip routine, except the other guy who has the same classes as me. One exam should have occured last week, but was postponed for no apparent reason. This created a bad situation because I had a previously scheduled exam already this week, and now there are 2 on consecutive days. Of course, this would never in a million years happen in the US, but being adaptable to new situations is part of the experience, so I have to just do it, as the famous athletic shoe advertisements say.

I am thinking of taking one or two more sidetrips here. I took care of the Rio/Brazil arrangements yesterday, but would like to see somewhere like Pucon, Atacama, or Chico Norte, and Vina del Mar. Also I would like to get back to Buenos Aires for one more round of partying. Finally, I am trying to change my plane ticket to move it back one more week so that I can relax down here for a week after exams. That was my original plan, but later I found out that the school had incorrectly published the exam dates for a week earlier than they actually occur. Consequently, as of now, I'll be taking my exams, chilling for a few days, then heading back to the US. As long as it does not cost a small fortune on American Airlines, I think I have earned a week of worry free traveling.

Yo foolz - onto Rio de Janeiro in a few weeks

I don't mean 'yo' as in "I", I mean it as in 'hey'. Been spending a lot of time on my spanish lately, but I'm writing in English for now because I am lazy, I spent 4 hours speaking continous spanish today so I am taking a bit of a break. I went to language class this morning and had class with the lovely and talented Catalina at Escuela Bellavista (http://www.escuelabellevista.cl/), then went to the Brazilian consulate to finalize my visa. I'll be going there in a few weekends with Andre from Chicago and a few of his pals. At the consulate, they were very friendly, helpful, and efficient, as if they actually WANT you to go to Brazil and to enjoy the experience. What a fantastic concept! The only downer is that it costs about $160 US for the visa, in reciprocity for our xenophobic US government charging Brazilians this amount when they want to come to our country. I wonder why we do this? Perhaps to weed out people that they perceive as undesirable? Were they nice to me only because I was paying their extortionate fee? I think we need to be careful because if the rest of the world perceives us as unwelcoming, no one will want to come anymore. As a nation built on immigration, we would stagnate and eventually decline. Some say we are doing this now. In any case, this was the only part of the process that was the least bit unpleasant.

I am at the San Joaquin campus of PUC today, where I met my tandem language partner Maria Jose, who is a graduate student here. We had a nice lunch and a tour around campus, and now I am in the library, where I am supposed to be studying. SJ is the undergraduate campus here, and I feel old walking around here. I don't think I look old for my age, but compared to 18 year old hipster Chileans, I might as well have a walking stick and an AARP card. Seriously I could be the dad of this girl sitting in the cube next to me, or at least her uncle.

Also, 1980's fashion amongst Chileans has been taken to the extreme. I saw an otherwise attractive woman in a fashionable part of Santiago wearing 'MC Hammer' style pants yesterday, which are tight at the ankle and get baggier in the legs as you go up. If you remember these pants, you know that they look ridiculous on anyone. I think she thought that she was stylish, and judging from the rest of her outfit, she probably paid a lot for those pants. She did not understand however when I told her she can't touch this (no toca a ti). Everyone under the age of 25 looks like an extra from a Pat Benatar, Flock of Seagulls, or Whitesnake video. I lived through the 80's once already, though I was very young, and I feel like I am reliving it here, except it is in Spanish.

Apartmento y trabajo

For some reason they call an apartment a "departamento" here, which does not make any sense to me, but I suppose not everything has to make sense. I am learning that the world does not cater everything to my whims and convenience, although I wish that were the case. I finally moved into my own apartment in Providencia after 3 months of family stays, and it is nice to have some privacy. Posted are some photos of the view from my balcony, and some pictures of the inside. You can see how much smog there is in the final photos, but you can also see the difference of the view after the traffic clears and some wind comes through. There are a few things about the place that are not quite to my liking - no microwave oven, I had to buy an iron and a coffeemaker, cable does not work all the time, and there was a blackout in my neighborhood last night - but location is great and in general it is very comfortable.

Thursday I went to Univ. of Chicago event here in Santiago. I was impressed by the level of friendliness and warmth of the people attending, who were both alumnus, accepted students, and even a dean of advancement from UofC who had travelled down to visit. Also, the alumnus are incredibly successful. One man is the head of the company that manages the huge portfolio of businesses owned by the Lukcic family, the richest in Chile. Today I am off to take a jog, and then I need to do a lot of reading for tomorrow's Control (quiz). I did OK on the last one but let's just say that there is room for improvement. Ok I'm off for now!