September is over!?

The month of September flew by. I can't believe we are about to enter October! Lucky for me, this means warmer weather. While I definitely miss fall and everything that word means to me: soccer, Halloween, Olaf, crunching leaves, apple orchards etc., I'm thankful for every ray of sun that shines lately in Concepción. I wouldn't go as far as saying it's warm, but it is definitely warmer. Mucho mejor, indeed.

The big news of September was mom's visit. She arrived from "gringolandia" on a Friday and there began a whirlwind tour of Chile. We had a great time walking (I didn't realize how used to walking I've become), sitting in cafés, and exploring Santiago, Viña/Valpo and Concepción.

Highlights for me were as follows:

-eating more fresh veggies (known to the common man as salad) than I have in months

-staying in hotels. that's right, notice the spelling. Hotels, not hostels. huge difference!

-re: hotels. The Holiday Inn. downright luxury. I could go on but I'll leave it at that.

-showing mom a bit of South America and also the daily routine of my little life her in Conce.

It's rare to have someone close to you visit and catch a glimpse of what one's experience living abroad. I think it is (and will continue to be) a valuable experience because now I have someone that can picture my house, my room, Duoc, Santiago, Chileans, Chilean food, bus terminals etc. In other words, the gap won't seem as wide between life in "gringolandia" and life in Chile.

The week following mom's visit was busy. I skipped a couple days of class and had to make-up those hours and I got a few hours at the "Northamerican Institute" working as a substitute. All of a sudden, my days were full. I definitely welcome this renewed sense of being busy. In the past 8 months, I've adjusted to the routine of one main task per day. Going to the bank, going to the gym, pharmacy, teaching etc. Despite the inherent waiting any and all of these activities involves, this lifestyle leads to waayyy too much free time. Hopefully, the substituting at the Norteamericano continues. I also gave my resume to "Berlitz," yet another English institute so we'll see if that pans out.

Lastly, this week was also notable because I FINALLY found a cute little café in Concepción. You'd never know from the outside, but this tiny little café with a half-lit neon sign hanging on its doorway is full of books, magazines, art and a buzz of students/ladies meeting for cafecito. I'm definitely going to hang out there more the next few months.

Also....I found a health food store and a fantastic bakery. Wheat bread, quinoa, carrot cake, dried fruit etc. Things are lookin' up!