Where North Meets South. : Empanadas Are For Lovers

I have officially been a resident of Valdivia for 2 weeks today! That is nuts....the time is flying by WAY too fast. My experience in Chile thus far has been much better than I expected. Its not that I expected anything bad, I just expected that it would take some time for me to adjust to this new life. A life without Jon, a different country, a new job, a new language...new everything. I enjoy breaking out of my comfort zone, but it usually always takes that initial adjustment period for establishing a routine, and being comfortable with the uncomfortable. When I went to Costa Rica, I was miserable for the first 2 weeks. I was unable to see how amazing my experience was, and just wanted to come home. For this trip, I haven't felt that way at all. It is a little weird. It is weird how everything here feels, and has felt, so uncharacteristically normal. It is a very refreshing feeling. As I have said in every other post, I love it here. I love everything about it. I don't like being away from Jon, my family, and friends, but Skype makes that a whole lot easier. It makes it seem like everyone is around the corner. I am also so incredibly thankful that everything worked out the way it did and Jon was able to do his study abroad in Santiago. Although its not down the block, it is a short flight or modest bus ride away. Its a tremendous comfort knowing we can see each other whenever we want.

Besides my obvious happiness with my happiness, the week has been great. Things are much clearer for the project, and its seems as if we will be off the ground running on Day 1 (Sept 24th). You may be wondering why the start date is over a week away. Well, let me tell you about this little celebration known as Fiestas Patrias; Chile's independence day. Tuesday, September 18th is the actual day. But unlike the United States, it seems as if Chile spends 10 days celebrating the immense pride they have for their country. Where I live, there is a big fair ground practically across the street. For the past 2 nights, there have been parties that can be heard until 3am. Apparently, that is just the start of it. The next week here is supposed to be filled with lots of food, drinking, dancing, and fun. Everywhere you go, there are Chilean flags. Both Thursday and Friday, we had a party at work. There was trays of empanadas and chilean sweets. It was glorious. It is making me incredibly excited for the actual day. If the days leading up to it are this great, I can only imagine how Tuesday will be. The exciting thing is that I get to spend it with Jon in Santiago! I can't wait to see him..as always.

Besides relishing in the festivities, I have actually done some work. Believe it or not. Claudia, my research advisor, was here Wednesday through Friday. It was great because we were all able to hash out our plans for the project and lay out who is doing what. This was something that was important for me to have just so that I knew nothing was being lost in translation. Claudia's visit made me feel very comfortable and happy with the weeks to come. She is insistent that I learn and get exposed to as much as I can and want to be exposed to. There are endless opportunities for me to work with different people, projects, and techniques. I am really excited to dive deep into all of the field work opportunities that I will have. Oddly enough, one of the things I am most excited about is doing the necrposies of the rodents we capture. I thought that I would never want to touch another rodent again after doing it for so long, but this is going to be cool. Who wouldn't love to open up a crazy, wild, infectious rat while wearing a biohazard suit? Call me crazy, but I am pumped. And crazy.

I am going to spend my Saturday eating some delicious food that Marianna whips up, and then am going to the mall. Lame, I know. But apparently, I didn't have a brain when I packed for this trip and ended up coming to find that I am severely lacking clothes. When people say that it is cold here, they are telling you the truth. And when you dress for cold weather in Minnesota, you dress knowing that you are exposed to cold for about 10 minutes, and then you sit in a nice heated building in a t-shirt. Here, wrong-o. I might as well take my paper thin shirts I brought and sew myself another blanket.

Until next time, here are a few photos from the week.I am going to watch the gopher game now:) Go GOPHERS!!