Mafalda is better than anything... and everything... ever.

I'm probably to tired to be doing this right now. I'm probably to tired to be breathing or existing or trying to get this days old oatmeal cookie out of plastic wrap so that I can have some dinner.

Luciano picked me up from the airport. He owns the Spanish school that I will be attending and he is seriously awesome. He has already offered to help me get a work permit, a cell phone and has a few people for me to talk to about jobs. After 2 hours of talking to him in Spanish about everything that my limited vocabulary and ability to gesture could handle (including the similarities between Pinochet and Bush), he dropped me at my home stay.

Mafalda is my host Mum, and I kind of feel like she has saved my life 545702 times already. Either Mafalda doesn't dumb down her Spanish for me, or I can't understand her accent or I'm to tired to be taking up physical space in this universe, but I can't really understand much that she says in Spanish. Luckily, she speaks English, and when I found this out I felt it necessary to prolifically explain that I am not brain damaged, I'm just too tired to uhm.... anything. She smiled, and has been looking at me ever since kind of like I'm a wounded puppy. She very generously offered to take me to the mall and help me exchange money and buy outlet converters (which I didn't know I needed, and are way more complicated than you'd think). Then we got ice cream and bought a bunch of really long pieces of wood from a hardware store. (I'm still confused about this as well.) Picture me dead tired in what must have been the most crowded hardware store in Chile, ice cream cone in one hand, large pieces of wood being steadied on a shopping cart by the other, laughing hysterically while trying not to impale or drop ice cream on screaming children. Where am I again?

Anyhoo, the home stay is pretty posh. The living room has a crystal chandelier with matching crystal sconces and crystal other stuff all over every flat surface. I'm kind of afraid to go in there. We have wireless internet too, and a cute little covered patio where we take all the meals which are prepared by a hired cook. Where am I again?

I'm going to bed, tired, amused, confused and happy.

Besos,
Allie