I found more foreigners

I've been walking through the city, quite a bit, getting to know the area around me. I'm already pretty comfortable with knowing my way around and I even helped a woman out the other day who was lost! She asked me for directions, and I knew where to send her. That either means I'm walking around WAY too much, or just that she probably never made it to where she wanted to go. She's probably still walking around in circles...kinda like I do during the day. I've discovered some interesting parts of the city, however, and I've gotten the feel of when things are busiest, when things are calm, and when to stay the heck away from the metro.

Other than walking, I've been trying to meet as many people as I can and make any sort of connection that I can. When I landed in Santiago, I met a couple from England who wanted to get together for a drink sometime. I emailed them when I got here, and we decided to meet up last night at the only Irish pub in town where their friend was playing in the band. When I arrived there, there was a huge mix of Spanish-speaking and English-speaking people, and I think they had the only public restroom (that actually had toilet paper) in all of Santiago. I found them immediately, and we all shared hugs and kisses and handshakes. After settling in and ordering some drinks, we got to talking. The couple lives here in Santiago because the woman works with the British Embassy, so they've been transferred here for about four years. They have a 5-year-old son, and they live outside the city closer to the mountains. While we were exchanging stories, many of their friends poured in, and I got even more handshakes, hugs, and kisses. The place started to get lively with Chileans and foreigners alike, and once the band started things were pretty hoppin. I looked over at the table next to us, and a group of study-abroad students were spending their night having a ball and dancing with each other. It immediately brought me back to my study abroad days when everything was so intense and exciting and it felt like there was not a care in the world. Being in this bar actually stirred up my memories of the few nights I'd spent in Ireland when I visited Danielle and the energy that just seems to creep from the walls of any Irish pub. It made me smile.

After we'd exchanged our stories and stuff, I immediately felt comfortable with Tina and John and all of their friends. I ended up sitting with two or three 45ish-year-old women as we laughed over random happenings in the bar, and as we shared our different vocabulary with each other ("no, in America, 'sketchy' is the SAME as 'dodgy'"). It was great to feel so comfortable with the people around me, and they all offered to help me if I ever needed anything. They also said they'd love to invite me to different events that they will be putting on throughout the next year or so. It felt so great to have that support.

When I left the bar, the night was still young by Santiago standards, but my body was screaming at me to get some rest. I think I am still recovering from throwing myself into a new city, a new language, and a new climate. Today, I think my goal will be to get a cell phone. Small steps :) I'll keep you posted on my cell phone adventures and whatever else I find along the way. I'm going to try to figure out how to put pictures in this thing, and hopefully I can share some of Santiago with you visually.

I miss you all quite a bit.

Keep the hugs flowing.
Send some to me.
love love love