Change is Good

It’s been nearly a month since my last post and a lot has changed.  After about four months in Chile and Argentina, I’m finally back in the States.  Though I miss Chile quite a bit, I was glad to reunite with my country (and it’s Southern bar-b-que!).

But to cover the interim:

Upon returning from Mendoza, I spent two nights in a lovely, active Santiago hostel where on the first night I was awakened by the intimate relations of a couple in the squeaky bed next to mine and on the second night met a young, bright, handsome New Zealander finishing up his vacation after an internship with a Washington State winery.  I walked in on him doing exercises with weights and a large rubber … band, but the awkwardness wore off when we started talking wines and all-in-all I wish we had had more time to get to know one another.  However, after the second night in the hostal my sister offered me her apartment’s living room couch instead, and to save money I took her up on it.

A number of lovely (and some not-so-lovely) days passed thereafter.  As I was low on money, I spent most of my time walking around Santiago – sometimes with a friend, sometimes alone. And with each corner rounded, I saw more the beautiful, interesting, unique city that is Santiago.

When that time was over, I left for Buenos Aires (an experience which will have to wait for another post).  I spent a night on a bus, a night in a hostel and a night on a plane, then in a sleep-deprived haze, found myself back in the States.

And it’s good to be back.  After bumming the couch at my uncle’s place for a few nights, I’m now looking for a more permanent place to live.  But in the meanwhile some friends are lending their condo and finally, finally after about a month of shifty couch cushions and thin, skinny, lumpy hostel beds, I have my own bed again.  Granted, it is an air mattress, but I am just tickled to finally have a bed big enough to toss and turn on and not fall off.  And in a room wider than my wingspan, too!

So here’s a quick recap (for those of you who hadn’t been wondering and may have fallen behind the curve), this was my old room:

This is my new (temporary) room:

Change is good.