some everyday

its kind of strange having this blog ... sometimes ill be in the middle of doing something and i'll catch myself writing about it in my head. Like when you hear a really good joke or something funny happens that day when your walking to the bus and you want to remember so you can tell your roomate/boyfriend/dog when you get home. I have no boyfriend here and i think the dog i live with doesnt have much patience for my long stories, so they end up here. But i realize you and i dont get to share much of the everyday. And while living here has been a series of high highs and low lows, a couple epiphanies, one near death experience (sorry mom i didnt have the heart to tell you), and some good trips, a lot of it is day to day. I ride my bike around and watch The OC in spanish subtitles and look for good nectarines at the market. So i thought i might share some photos from the 20 square blocks that my city life revolves around.

This is my blue house, and Tapka the dog that sighs and walks away when i try to share. Its okay... she just got spayed - my one small victory recently - and banged around the patio in one of those big plastic cones for a couple days. That was at least a few afternoons of free entertainment.

The NESsT crew at a Wednesday afternoon picnic at the park next to the office. Every wednesday one person brings lunch for everyone to share... awww.

Me and el Maximiliano in my favorite bar Clandestino. This place is awesome, you knock on an unmarked door in a dark alley and the bar itself is like a series of linked caves with benches built into the wall and tables and upolstered ottomans scattered around with a tiny dancefloor where they play great hip hop and bad 80s music. And cheap liters of Heinekin. Max is a photographer and trying to teach me to take better pictures, apparently this photo is missing the "onda" of Clandestino but I still like it.

Guard with sword at La Moneda, the Presidential Palace in the Centro. My friend Scott from college was in the city this week and i ran around with him and did the tourist thing, which i hadnt really done. We also saw a chilean guy walking on the street with a Dartmouth Hockey shirt. Scott stopped him and asked what was up with the shirt. The poor guy almost broke down in tears, it turns out his girlfriend is at medical school there and she left the day before. He lost all words and just made crying motions down his cheeks. Them dartmouth girls...

Sunset over Santiago. Taken from the top of Cerro San Cristobal, my wilderness sanctuary. You can see the Andes in the distance and I'm sitting here typing away near the bottom of the hill.