Day two. In which I write in my blog probably more than I ever did on study abroad.

Writing in my blog two days in a row...who am I?

I spent much of today walking around Santiago, visiting some favorite old places and discovering new parts of a city that I thought I already new well. Today was one of those days with ups and downs. The downs started out because, well mostly because starting a huge research project is a little daunting and not exactly what I want to be doing right this second, especially after finishing classes only about two weeks ago. But cest la vie. This morning I spent a good 2.5 hours in the library pulling up article after website after book that I should probably at some point read just to start with my investigations. After spending all this time skimming through pages, reloading my email a million times, and minimizing all of my new info (to make the computer look pretty, of course), I decided that that was enough studying for the day. The outdoors and city was awaiting.

Now, here I want to interject with a little piece of advice, or just some thoughts that I have acquired from my experiences abroad. Go on study abroad if you can and are at all interested. Do it, really. Because, living in a city by oneself is nothing at all like the experience you get abroad through a program. Now this is of course a) my biased opinion, and b) not necessarily a bad thing. I find that now being in Santiago on my own is fun and a much more independent experience than before, but also has its moments of being a bit lonely. (Today I sort of accosted a group of gringos and talked with them for a long time, making them walk with me by luring them to the greatest ice cream shop in the city...what can I say, 4 days without speaking a word of english maybe has gotten to me.) On study abroad there is a program that organizes activities, other kids on the program to make friends with, and a set class schedule. However, none of this is to say that I'm not having a good time now. What I do want to stress is how thankful I am to have already made the connections to this city that I have; I have a loving family, friends, and favorite places to visit. I now have a much better appreciation for how hard it must be to move to a new city where you know very few people, and can only imagine how hard it would be to move where you know no one and nothing about the place.

Anywhooo, after having a feeling sorry for myself moment (too much studying probably turned my brains to mush), I was walking through beautiful, bustling Santiago just going to head home, when a woman stopped me on the street AND ASKED FOR DIRECTIONS. If you want to know the secret to feeling amazing, it's this: look as gringa as I do and be mistaken for someone who would know directions, and then...wait for....know the directions! YEAH. So there, world. Good good moment.

After a long day of minimal study and walking, I decided to wander around the neighorhood where I live. I found out:
a) I live near an alarming amount of gun stores. It just seems counterintuitive that someonw would open a bunch of gun stores right across from the government, right?
b) I live a block away from a beautiful, long road that is closed to traffic. Pedestrians stroll along between giant fountains. Two cops on horseback stopped as kids petted the horses, and a street musician played his saxophone nearby. Walking back, the view reminded me a bit of North Capital street at home, where you head straight towards the impressive capitol building.
c) There is an AWESOME park and old church about 8 blocks away from my apartment building. Score.

OH, other cool thing is that I get to listen to good music again; I'm constantly surrounded by cumbia, reggaeton, and salsa beats. All in all, life is good.