The Grass is Always Greener...

on the other freaking side, isn't it? I honest-to-God feel like I have so many things going through my head right now that it's ridiculous. Here I am now with almost 2 months' perspective on leaving Chile... so what do I think? Did I make the right decision by breaking up with D? Did I make the right decision in leaving Chile? On the first count, I'd have to say yes. Diego and I aren't right for each other, at least not at this point in time, and God knows the last thing I need right now is a relationship (more on that later). As far as the second question, I'm not so sure. I, like many other people in this world, hate to have regrets. But sometimes it just happens. And now that a little bit of time has passed, and I have more perspective on the situation, I'm questioning my decision to leave Chile. Here's the thing: part of what's making me question it is that my new pololo and I... well... we're not exactly pololos right now, let's just say that. It's a complicated situation, and I don't know what's going to happen. But I do know that I miss Chile like crazy. I guess that's only natural, as is questioning such a huge decision. But honestly, I've felt depressed lately. And it seems that people are noticing, because last weekend I went home to spend Easter with my parents, and on Sunday they sat me down and asked if we could talk. Jeez, that's never good. Anyway, they basically said that they were worried about me, and that I just seemed different lately. One thing they were particularly worried about was that I had started a new relationship so soon after breaking up with D. They did (and do) have a point, but the new relationship just kind of happened, and I just kind of went with the flow. But their point was that I didn't exactly give myself time to recover from the end of such a serious, and at times very hurtful, relationship.

They're right, they're right, my parents are right. Seems to happen a lot. I guess I just feel kind of lost right now. Finding a job hasn't been so easy. I miss Chile so much it hurts sometimes. I miss talking to and hanging out with D (though not the relationship). My parents are worried about me. I feel really depressed sometimes. I'm not entirely sure if grad school for Spanish is what I should go after.

But on the bright side, I'm in the one place in North Carolina that I could actually conceive of living in right now, and I do love it. I have the beach, a beautiful town in general to live in, a great downtown area, etc. And I've found something REALLY cool that I enjoy doing, which is playing guitar and singing at Open Mic night on Mondays at this place downtown. I think that's been my saving grace lately. It's not the biggest deal in the world maybe, but to me it is. Because I LOVE playing guitar and singing. And it's giving me something to work toward each week, having to learn and practice new songs. Anyway, I don't even really know where I'm going with this post, but I guess the point is that I do wonder if I made the right decision in leaving Chile. It's part of me now. And I really miss the group of gringas I made friends with down there (you know who you are!) - wine nights up here just aren't the same. :(

TAR HEELS: 2009 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!!!!!

WOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh jeez, where to freaking start.. so I realize not everyone is as big of a college basketball fan as I am, but hopefully everyone at least knew that the national championship game was tonight (well, technically last night since it's now 3:40 in the morning), pitting Michigan St. against the Carolina Tar Heels (my alma mater). I made the drive this afternoon from Wilmington to Chapel Hill to watch the game in the Dean Dome with thousands of other screaming Tar Heel fans, and I'm SO glad I did. I lost my voice. I yelled. I screamed. I yelled some more. I jumped around when they played "Jump Around" at the beginning of the game. I jumped up and down and screamed and laughed in sheer freaking joy as the remaining seconds ticked off the clock, and my Tar Heels were officially announced as the 2009 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS. Then I yelled some more. And I sang the alma mater with my friends. And watched my Heels being awarded the championship trophy. And watched "One Shining Moment", which always brings tears to my eyes. I watched as Tyler Hansbrough, one of the most amazing players ever to play at Carolina, hugged Coach Roy Williams. And then...

I went out to Franklin St. and JUMPED OVER A BONFIRE. That's right, I did. And I'd do it again. Franklin Street is where we Tar Heels go to celebrate after beating dook (Duke) or winning a national championship. We set fires.... climb trees and light poles... occasionally flip over cars. You know, the standard fare. Jeez, was it a blast. So all I have to say is...

TAR HEELS, NATIONAL CHAMPS BABY!!!!! And this makes FIVE for us now - 1957, 1982, 1993, 2005 (my senior year!!!), and now 2009!!!! :) Can you tell I'm just a little bit happy??

What a Small World

This weekend I moved to Wilmington, NC, which is a beautiful little port city located about 5 minutes from Wrightsville Beach, and a few minutes from some other beaches. It has a nice downtown scene, and I've always loved it. Honestly, it was between Wilmington and Wake Forest for where I was thinking of moving, and Wilmington won hands down. I'm so excited about living here, and hopefully going back to school next spring. Anyway, last night I went out with the boy and his brother and a few of their friends to this place called Blue Post, which is a popular little bar downtown. While we were there, J's (the guy I'm dating)brother S got a call from these girls he knows who are studying abroad here at UNC-Wilmington, and they were wanting to hang out with us. Guess where the girls are from? Yep, that's right - CHILE. OHMYGOD I was so excited to hang out with them. We went back to S's house and he picked the girls up and brought them there, and it was like Christmas morning haha, I was just incredibly happy to be with Chileans again, and to be able to talk in Chilean Spanish. The girls were super nice - one was from Santiago and the other from Vina (don't have the tilde on this computer). Unfortunately, they both found Wilmington to be incredibly boring, but I can't really blame them. Coming from Santiago or Vina to a small place like Wilmington would be a big change. Either way, we talked for quite awhile and I was so glad to have met them. I seriously almost cried, I was so happy to be back with Chileans again haha. I miss Chile so much. Anyway, hopefully we can meet up again for lunch or something. Man, it's a small world. :)

Group Post: Why I Came to Chile and Why I Left

Well, I haven't posted in what, over 3 weeks now? There's a good reason for that, though, which I'll get to at the end of this post. To start off with, to talk about my reason for coming to Chile originally, you have to rewind back to the summer of 2005, after I graduated from Carolina. In May 2005, I thought I had everything figured out (HA!) - I had been accepted to law school at U of Richmond, to start in the fall, and had even gone so far as to score an apartment with 2 other girls at UR Law. I would graduate from Carolina, go to law school, and that was that. Little did I know, things were about to change drastically. I was given the opportunity to spend that summer in Salamanca, Spain, and little time to decide. The decision wasn't too hard, and I decided to do it. I wasn't studying abroad, however. I spent the summer of 2005 interning at a college ministry called En Vivo at the University of Salamanca, and I absolutely loved it. I'd studied Spanish for 3 years in high school, had taken some in college, and had been in love with the language for awhile. Well, I fell in love with Spain. When summer ended and the time came to leave, I cried and cried. And cried again on the plane. And started thinking very seriously about not going to law school, and trying to become a team member with the college ministry instead. This would've taken me back to Spain for at least 2-3 years, maybe longer.

When I got off the plane at RDU, where my family was waiting for me, my mom knew something was bothering me (she can always tell!). Long story short, I ended up telling my family that I didn't want to go to law school, and that I instead wanted to return to Spain. Fast forward a little bit - the organization with which I went to Spain also has college ministries at universities in Santiago, Chile; Tubingen, Germany; Birmingham, England; Puebla, Mexico and Bangkok, Thailand. There was no question in my mind, however, that I wanted to go back to Salamanca. Chile didn't interest me whatsoever. But when it came down to it, the place I was most needed was none other than Santiago, Chile. At first I was disappointed about not being able to go back to Spain, but I quickly began to get excited about the prospect of Chile, and began to read and research more. I first went to Santiago in August 2006, to visit. It was rainy and cold for most of the time that I was there, and to be honest, I didn't really like it that much. I moved to Chile in June of 2007, thinking I'd be there for 2 years. Things didn't go as planned for various reasons (differences with team members), and so I returned to the U.S. in October of 2007. In that time, however, I'd started dating a Chilean (Diego).

Naturally, the whole long-distance relationship idea didn't appeal to me, so I planned to move back to Chile to be with him. He basically was what drew me back to the country. I kind of went back and forth for awhile, and though I can't quite pinpoint the hour and moment that I fell in love with Chile (much like it's virtually impossible to pinpoint the exact moment you fall in love with a person), it happened sometime during the Chilean summer of 2008 (sometime during January to March, which I spent there). Unfortunately, neither D nor I were optimistic about job prospects for me in Santiago, and felt I'd be better off in the U.S. So back I went. I worked my butt off from March to August 2008, and was hoping D could come to the U.S., but it never worked out. At this point, I was seriously missing him and Chile. So I decided to move permanently to Chile in August 2008, and teach English. Luckily, I found a job and started in September, and things were great for quite awhile. I really do love Chile with all my heart, and loved living there (yes, I said "loved" in past tense). The truth is that I recently left Chile.

For many reasons, I broke up with D in February. And I'd thought I was strong enough to make it in Chile without him - actually I think I was, and am. But the decision to come back to the U.S. was influenced by many things - my family being here (especially watching my nephew grow up), an ever-growing desire to go to grad school (I'm now thinking of getting a Masters in Spanish), and an amazing guy who's really showing me what it means to love someone. Yes, that last part might seem crazy, as I'm recently out of a relationship with D, but it's a crazy story that deserves a post all its own. In a nutshell: I had one class with this guy in 9th grade (had a secret crush on him then), never saw him again, and recently reconnected with him after ELEVEN years through the wonders of Facebook. Anyway, kudos to anyone who's actually read through this entire long post, but I had to finally come back from my blogging hiatus and tell everyone that I'm no longer in Chile. Someday soon I'm going to write a post on why I love Chile (although words can't do it justice). But for now, just know that I made the right decision to come back to the U.S. Not saying I'll never live in Chile again, but now is not the right time.

Oh, and the truth is that I haven't blogged for this long because I couldn't bring myself to. I actually stayed away from reading the other Chile bloggers' posts because it was too hard. I really miss Chile right now, so I thought it'd be easier this way, but after this post I'm thinking that writing about what I'm feeling is better for me. Oh yes, and... I'm getting a Chile-related tattoo soon. ;)

Anthony Bourdain in Chile

My love affair (such as it is) with Anthony Bourdain began last summer when I discovered the wonderful world of hulu.com. Also known as the most amazing website in the world, where you can watch episodes of practically every TV series under the sun, as well as choose from a constantly growing archive of movies. What does this have to do with Anthony Bourdain, you may ask? You also may find yourself asking, "Who the heck is this guy and why am I reading a post about him?" Good question. As for the former, he's a pretty famous chef and author from New York City - you may have seen his show "No Reservations" on the Travel Channel. As for the latter, why you are reading this post right now, it's probably because you're really bored. I can't blame you, so am I.

Anyway, last summer I started watching episodes of the now-defunct "Kitchen Confidential", a show based on the book of the same name, which I am currently reading. Basically, after watching one episode of the show, I found myself wondering why it had ever been cancelled. It was hilarious, and basically details the career of Bourdain, including his many shenanigans involving booze, drugs and women. Oh yeah, and also cooking. The point is that I absolutely loved the show, and am loving the book, and am loving Bourdain. Not in that I-want-to-marry-him kind of way, but he just seems like a pretty kick-a kind of guy. And he's not afraid of playing a practical joke, which I like. One time, in a restaurant he was working in, he and another line cook wrapped one of their co-workers in plastic wrap (he was willing to do it, don't worry), covered him in fake blood, and put him in the deep freeze. Then, they called the General Manager of the restaurant over the intercom, saying that they were really busy and that they needed him to get something out of the deep freeze for them. Well, you can imagine what ensued. The poor guy, upon discovering one of his line cooks in the deep freeze, thought he had been murdered and almost had a heart attack. Bourdain and his friends were laughing all the way home.

So basically, I was pretty excited the other day to hear that Bourdain is coming to Chile. One of my students told me about it, knowing I was reading Kitchen Confidential. Supposedly, he's coming in March to give kind of a seminar that's open to the public. Sadly, I don't think I can afford tickets, but I'd love to go. I bet he'd be entertaining - if he's half as funny as his book, it'd be worth the price of admission for sure.

6 Months in Chile

Yesterday made exactly 6 months since I arrived back in Chile. It´s kind of crazy thinking that I´ve been here for that long now... sometimes it seems like forever, and other times it seems so short. A lot of things have happened in those 6 months, some bad, but most good. As far as how much longer I´ll be here, that´s still up in the air. But for now, I´m just happy to reflect back on the time I´ve spent in this beautiful country. :) Longer post to come later...

Missing Home

Well, I knew it would happen. Last semester I was loving life in Chile (not without my bad days, but for the most part loving it), but I figured that once I came back from my visit to the U.S. in December, I´d hit a low. And so I have. It´s part of culture shock that everyone goes through, and is magnified a little bit for me just because I´m so very close to my family. But either way, I´ve been feeling quite homesick lately. Not only that, but also kind of directionless... the thing is, I have really enjoyed my teaching job so far, but I know that´s not what I want to do for the rest of my life. The question is, what DO I want to do? I have no idea. I´m also not sure how long I want to be in Chile, although I still really do love the country and people. I´ve really been getting the itch lately to go back to school... my DREAM would be to return to UNC-Chapel Hill, the place where I spent the best 4 years of my life. Of course, it´s pretty hard to get in there, so I don´t know that grad school there could be a reality. Who knows.

Another thing that really made me miss home, and even miss high school (shocking, I know) happened the other day. A guy I´d had one class with in 9th grade (and hadn´t really seen since) messaged me on Facebook, saying, ¨Do I know you?¨ ... he quickly realized I´d been in that class with him, and we started talking. It was seriously great to talk to him, because I realized what a nice person he was. And this is something I had no idea of back in 9th grade. Because in 9th grade, I was incredibly shy. I´m still a pretty quiet person now, but I´ve come out of my shell a lot more. But back then when he was in my class, I was too scared to talk to him. For one, because I was shy, but also because he had this bad boy image that was completely the opposite of the people I hung out with. So basically, I judged him based on his appearance. Looking back, I kick myself for doing that. That´s someone I never want to be, someone who judges on appearances and consequently misses out on some really great friendships. And that´s exactly what happened back in 9th grade - I missed out on knowing a really great person because of my prejudices. Luckily, 11 years later, I have another chance to be his friend, and it´s great. Anyway, this whole episode has just made me miss high school, old friends, and home even more. I miss my parents, my brother and sis-in-law, my nephew, my Boston Terrier dog, North Carolina BBQ and people and weather... the list could go on. But here´s to hoping that I find direction soon!

El Techo

Has anyone else noticed that in the metro station Pedro de Valdivia, down where the metro actually is (not up near the boleterìa or anything), the ceiling is filled with what looks like scattered pieces of stained glass? Either they just put that in, or I´m REALLY not observant (I´m betting on the latter) - but either way, I love it. It looks like a planetarium ceiling almost, except with stained glass tiles instead of stars. I love noticing little things like that around the city, things with character. Even things as boring as the metro can surprise you sometimes. :)

All Over the Place

Let´s see, I´ve been in ... 4 different comunas today. I honestly feel like I´ve been running all over Santiago since 8:30 this morning. I started out the morning in Ñuñoa, where I live. From there I took the micro and then metro to La Florida, specifically Mirador station, for a class. Then at 12:00 I took the metro to La Moneda to go pick up some mess I needed for another class. Then at 1:00 I took the metro to Tobalaba, technically Las Condes, for another class. Then at 3:00 I took the metro and then micro again to get back home to Ñuñoa. Maybe it won´t be so bad in the fall, but running around like this right now, in the heat of the Santiago summer = craziness. I´m now exhausted.

25 Things

I know you´re all just dying to know 25 random things about me (note the sarcasm), so I won´t keep you in suspense any longer. I´m sure you´ve seen this floating around on the internet, so here´s my own contribution:

1. I used to HATE my middle name (it´s a family name), but now I absolutely love it because I think it´s unique.

2. I started working when I was 14 years old (I did babysit before that, but I´m not counting that) at the concert pavilion in Raleigh, as a parking attendant. My favorite question posed to me by drunk people at the end of the night, ¨Can you tell me what parking lot my car is in?¨ ... (then, after asking them to describe it some more, location, etc.), ¨Ummm, it was in a big parking lot with gravel.¨ That was when I just started shaking my head.

3. I (like Abby) saved up money all on my own to buy my own horse. I even had a name picked out (Sierra), but when it came down to it, my parents said I could get a car or a horse, but not both. It was a tough decision, seriously, but I opted for the car.

4. I took English riding lessons for 5 years, and tap lessons for 5.

5. I took piano lessons for 10 years - my best moment was when one of my piano teachers told my dad he´d only had one other student like me, and that student was now at Juilliard. (did I make it to Juilliard? no way haha)

6. When I was a sophomore in high school, I saw The Silence of the Lambs for the 1st time and wanted to be an FBI Special Agent after that. Seriously.

7. For 2 years in college, I worked as a volunteer at John Umstead Psychiatric Hospital, working with schizophrenic patients. Amazing experience that I truly miss.

8. I took 2 semesters of German in college, but hardly remember anything now.

9. My secret (or not-so-secret now) dream right now is to learn Portugese.

10. When I was 10 years old, I chipped my tooth on the side of a swimming pool, and then later that same day, broke my arm falling off a horse. A day hereafter referred to as ¨Black Wednesday.¨

11. My favorite food is macaroni and cheese, and I think I could eat it every day.

12. After graduating college, I spent a summer in Salamanca, Spain.

13. That summer changed my life - before I went, I was enrolled in law school and had an apartment lease and everything. After I came back, I decided I didn´t want to go to law school anymore.

14. The one country I´ve really really wanted to visit for as long as I can remember is Italy. Specifically, Tuscany.

15. My dream job would be to write for Rolling Stone magazine.

16. I once dated a guy who was 11 years older than me. For like, 2 months.

17. I´ve also dated a couple of my brother´s best friends. Not a good idea.

18. My favorite flavor of ice cream is strawberry.

19. I have a Boston Terrier named Maggie, the sweetest dog on earth. Before that, I had a BT named Buster, also the sweetest dog ever.

20. I only have one living grandparent left, and she is unbelievably crazy and mean, unfortunately.

21. The first time I went anywhere with D (just me and him) was to buy strings for my guitar. That was over a year and a half ago!

22. I´ve always been very close to my parents and my brother - when we were in college, we used to go on road trips together to Tar Heels basketball games.

23. While at UNC, I met Ben Stein one night when he came to give a speech, and he told me I was pretty (probably told ALL the girls that!) ;)

24. While I can be flexible on many issues, one I won´t ever compromise on is abortion. I think it is absolutely wrong.

25. I really do love reading comments left on my blog, I can just be incredibly lazy when it comes to responding to them. But keep leaving them, I love em!

¨Squealing Teenagers¨ or ¨Hot Teacher Mania¨

As it happens, there is a certain teacher at my institute who shall remain nameless, from a certain Southern state that shall also remain nameless. Said teacher and I currently share a class. This means that he teaches the class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and I teach the class on the other days of the week. I was a bit apprehensive about this arrangement at first, but as it turns out, it´s not such a big deal after all. Anyway, because of sharing the class, we often talk a lot when we see each other at the institute. We kind of did before, too, just because he´s actually pretty fun to talk to. Not my cup of tea, but good to have as a friend. Well, I also happen to have a 2nd class (that I don´t share with him) that is composed of 6 teenagers - 5 girls and 1 boy. They range in age from 13 to 16, and they are indeed typical teenage girls. One other detail I might mention - the teacher from the Southern state that shall still remain nameless just happens to be pretty good-looking.

...You might be able to see where I´m going with this. Teenage girls + hot older teacher = trouble. I almost lost my patience today. They seriously SQUEAL whenever they see him. And somehow, they think I have the inside track just because I talk to him a lot. Today when we were in the cafeteria during our 15-minute break from class, they demanded that I introduce them to him. With a look on my face like ¨I just ran over a puppy¨, I turned to him and said under my breath, ¨I´m soooooo sorry about them... but they want me to introduce them to you.¨ Poor guy. But he took it all in stride. I´m thinking he´s probably used to this by now, teenage girls fawning all over him. And honestly, I´m trying to rein in my impatience because the thing is, I remember what it was like to be a teenage girl. I remember what it was like to have crushes on cute older guys. I remember what it was like to feel my heartbeat speed up when I saw that guy, and to turn to my girlfriends and excitedly whisper, ¨There he is!¨. God love ´em. I really do love this class - which is saying something, because before the summer term started, I was praying that I could avoid classes with teenagers. Now, I love them. I´m not saying it´s always wonderful, but I really am grateful to have been challenged with this group of students. Now if I could only get them to stop screaming when they see this one teacher...

Pink-Haired Punks (and other things)

Here I am on the metro, minding my own business, enjoying the extreme greatness that is the red line (or something like that). Out of the corner of my eye, I see a splash of color. Turning my head slightly to investigate further, I am greeted by the sight of 3 teenage girls walking right behind the linea amarilla (they are outside of the metro car, I am inside). ALL THREE have pink hair. All three appear to be friends. I ask myself, what could possibly motivate all three of them to dye their hair pink? Don´t most people do that thinking that they´re being non-conformist, swimming against the current if you will? So why dye your hair the same color as your other two friends? Magically, all of these thoughts must have infused themselves into my gaze, because the next thing I know, one of the girls is giving me the finger. I narrow my eyes, resist the urge to lower myself to her level, and silently stew, thinking to myself, ¨Those little punks! Why I oughta...¨ Am I getting old or something? Will my next thoughts be, ¨These kids with their loud music... why, back in my day...¨ Anyway, then I find myself thinking that perhaps I shouldn´t get so mad. They´re just being punk kids, after all. So I smooth my hand over my own hair as my mouth turns up at the corners, and relax for the rest of the ride.

Edit: I´m mostly calling them ¨punks¨because of their behavior (i.e. giving me the finger), not so much because of their style. Although maybe that´s how they´d describe their style, who knows.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

And now, for something completely different... yesterday morning before class, I was in the bathroom downstairs at the Institute. What was I doing, you might ask? Using the bathroom, fixing my hair, checking to make sure I hadn´t mysteriously gotten dirt on my black pants? Ohhhhhhhhh no. I was washing a plastic hamburger. Yes, that´s right. Don´t judge, lest you find yourself in the same position some day. Actually, it was just a prop I was going to use for one of my classes, but it appeared quite strange to the girl who walked into the bathroom just then. She didn´t really even say anything, but I could read it all in her gaze... I knew she was thinking something like, ¨Isn´t there a screening process for people to work here at the Institute? Shouldn´t we make sure they´re not complete weirdos before hiring them?¨ My face turning a bit red, I muttered, ¨It´s for my class¨, and continued on with my task of cleaning the plastic hamburger. Next time, I don´t think I´ll explain myself. Maybe it´s more fun just to let people invent their own explanations. ;)

New Year´s Resolutions

Well, better late than never, right? I don´t usually make New Year´s resolutions, mainly because when I have in the past, I´ve, well... FAILED. But this year (and I don´t really know why), I had an urge to make some. It´s just that there are a few changes I want to make in my life, so why not start with the new year? I may add to these over time, but these are the main ones I´ve been thinking of:

1. SAVE MONEY. This is one of the more important ones, especially now that I´ve found out that my parents have more debt than I thought. I knew they had some (like most Americans), but I didn´t know how much. I also have a bit, and I´d like to get out of it, as well as try to actually save some money. And if there is any way I can, I´d like to try to help my parents a bit (yeah, probably not on my English teacher´s salary, but at some point down the line).

2. Quit spending so much money on puras weas. This goes along with # 1 - my thinking is that if I can stop spending so much money on stupid (or maybe it would be better to say ¨unnecessary¨) things, I can actually save some money, right? And when I think about puras weas, the first thing that comes to mind is Coca-Cola. Sweet nectar of the gods it is. And 600 pesos doesn´t seem like that much when I´m spending it on a Coke, but when I add it all up and realize how much money I spend in a month on Coke, I shudder. That, and real coffee. I´m sorry, but having a Starbucks just a few short blocks from where I work is ridiculously tempting. Although I have to say, I haven´t been there that much lately (go me!). Still, good grief... it´s like the Chilean universe is conspiring against me and my budget.

3. Stop taking the easy way out when speaking Spanish. Or, in other words, stop being lazy. The thing is, when I´m talking to D (who understands almost 100% of what I say in English), it´s so tempting to just finish a sentence in English that I start in Spanish, if I can´t think of the right words to say. This is fine as far as his comprehension goes. But NOT fine as far as me getting over that hurdle and becoming fluent in Spanish. My Spanish is pretty good, and I do know a lot of chilenismos, but I´m not quite fluent yet, and I want to get there. So one thing I need to do is quit being lazy, and force myself to complete the thought in Spanish, no matter how challenging.

4. EXERCISE. If there existed a Top Ten list of New Year´s resolutions that Americans make, this one would probably top the list. That, or quitting smoking. It´s almost cliche, it´s so common. But I don´t care - call me cliche if you will, I really do need to start exercising. No one´s said I look fat or anything, but I just FEEL a lot better when I exercise, physically and mentally. I long for the days when I ran on my high school´s cross country team. That was the best shape I´ve been in in my life, and I want at least a semblance of that back.

5. Read as much as I can. I love reading, and it really helps me with writing, and even gives me ideas for my English classes sometimes. I´m stoked because I got 2 Barnes & Noble gift cards for Christmas, so I brought back a nice stash of books with me to Chile (I am indeed a nerd, have I mentioned that on this blog already?).

6. Travel to the south of Chile. I´ve wanted to do this for so long, and have never really had the opportunity or the money. I want to make it happen sometime in 2009 - if not in February, maybe in September during the week of dieciocho, when I´ll actually have some vacation time.

That´s it for now... I think 6 is plenty. Now all I need is someone to help me stick with these resolutions!