Feliz Cumpleaños a mi!

Actually, tomorrow is my birthday ... but I have a busy class schedule and a promised trip home for lunch, so I don´t think I´ll get a chance to blog. My host mom is making lasagna especially for me. She gave me another option, but I didn´t know what it was. Apparently, moving to a foreign country hasn´t made me a risk taker yet!

My birthday party last Saturday was a blast. About 15 people attended the barbecue and another 20 showed up for the party afterward. Some haphazard planning and herding later, a bunch of people left to go dancing. Some ended up at a crazy house party peopled mainly by gringos studying abroad and some (myself included) ended up at a bar peopled mainly by gringos studying abroad. I swear, they´re everywhere. After being annoyed at getting separated from my friends and annoyed even more by being in a bar that easily could´ve been in West Chester, PA (where I spent too many years) ... I shook off the annoyance and danced the night away. I got to bed around 7 am, a full 12 hours after my birthday celebration began. Now, that´s a birthday party!

On Thursday, I´m heading to Pucón, the self-proclaimed "adventure capital" of Chile for a long weekend. My friend and I plan to hike up an active volcano, check out some spectacular water falls, maybe go white water rafting, and then cap it off with some hours spent soaking in the thermal hot springs. What a life! I only wish it weren´t winter -- I´m freezing here in Santiago and a trip 10 hours south makes me a glutton for punishment.