Ain´t life grand?

Despite frequently feeling overwhelmed and occasionally questioning my ability to handle the life I´ve chosen, I´m enjoying Chile.

Things are getting easier with my host family as my Spanish improves, and they really are buena gente (good people). I´m learning more about their lives, their values, and their thoughts about everything from how hairy men are attractive (mom), to why postpone until tomorrow what you can put off even longer (dad), to how it´s your students´fault if they don´t learn, even if you´re a bum of a teacher (sister), to how hard it is to find a good job in Chile, especially if you´re ugly (brother).

And my Spanish is improving, even if not as fast as I´d like (i.e. immediate fluency). After less than a month living with my family and working at the Chilean institute, I´m fairly comfortably using vocabulary and verb tenses that I didn´t know before I arrived. It´s really quite amazing how quickly things pass from being completely new, to somewhat familiar, to totally taken for granted.

I´m able to solve more and more problems for myself. For example, I made a trip yesterday to the cell phone service center that resulted in a reprogrammed phone and reduced per-minute charges going forward. (Go, me!) I´m even developing an appreciation for grapes with seeds, dubbed movies, and the ubiquitous Chilean mullet. Hopefully, the last one is only figuratively growing on me -- my hair is getting pretty long and shaggy!

I´m also slowly, sometimes painfully, developing patience and tolerance for uncertainty. I´m finding that things usually work out. And that even when they don´t work out, they work out. I wish I had more time and energy to take a step back and marvel at my transformation. I came here for personal development, in addition to everything else, but I rated the difficulty high and the probability of success low. So far, the first estimation was right on (believe me!!), but the second is seeming more achievable -- maybe even likely.

In short, I live in Chile. It´s so obvious, but I still need reminding. On Saturday, I was dancing the night away in a Chilean discoteca. Granted, I was playing the violin (Chilean expression for being the third wheel -- great, huh!) for parts of the night, but still. And this Thursday, I´m heading across the Andes to Mendoza, Argentina, for the long Easter weekend. That´s right -- a weekend trip to Argentina. Ain´t life grand?