It´s all good

Everything is straightened out from the wallet nabbing. The hundreds of dollars charged to my credit card at the jewelry store aren´t my responsibility; I will have a new Chilean ID card in a few weeks; and the money from the private lessons I teach is keeping me funded.

After a few months of poor quality sleep on a mattress made of wool, I again asked my host parents to buy something for me. They agreed again (we´ve obviously had this conversation before) and last night, I arrived home to find a brand new REAL mattress!! I nearly shrieked from sheer joy. I´d been hoping for an egg-crate mattress pad. Apparently, it pays to be persistent ... and to communicate rather than suffer and seethe in silence.

My birthday is coming up (May 15) and my host sister´s is around the same time. We´re having a barbecue at her house for a select 20-or-so people and then inviting everyone we know to come party afterward. I´ve invited almost 30. She had 70 people at her last party, so this could be wild! This definitely has the makings of a birthday to remember!!

Last weekend, I met with my intercambio for our language exchange and then he invited some friends over to his apartment. Someone brought pisco and cola and we made ... piscolas! They were delicious and our little party was so much fun. There were 5 Chilean guys, me, and another gringa who´s studying in Santiago. We spoke Spanish the whole time and I finally got to bed around 7 or 8 am. By that time, I decided to sleep for a little bit to wait for the metro to open at 9:30. I got home around 10, a little worried about my host parents´reaction, and all my mom said was that you know it´s a fun night when you don´t get home until the next day.

True!