Aprovechando

I'm off to Buenos Aires tomorrow for the weekend but I figured I'd check in with a quick post before my next jet-set adventure. (Funny how I always blog when I'm procrastinating packing...). It's been a great week--out for Mark's birthday, interning, dancing and carreteando with friends Friday and Saturday night, and aprovecharing (Spanglish for enjoying, taking advantage of, the real Spanish verb is aprovechar) of my first rainy weekend in Santiago by hanging around the house with my friend Jesse. Even though I started off the week exhausted, it's been a good week. Grades have started to come back from all of my midterms and I'm doing pretty well. Exciting but also reinforcing my current (lack of) study habits. Oh the reality check that will be fall semester.

I've been feeling kind of reflective lately because it's been exactly one year since I took off for my adventure in Mexico (¡Viva Chiapas! Tapachuladosmilonce!) and about 3 years since I graduated high school. Lol, what? In the last year I've lived and worked  in rural Mexico, moved back to DC, and then spent a weird two months in limbo at home in Chelmsford before heading to Chile. Again, lolwhat? But anyway, this last year of my life has been filled with incredible opportunities and experiences and amazing new friends from all over the world. I've improved not just my Spanish but become more independent, responsible and open-minded. I've also become more sure of the direction I want to take my life even though I don't have any specifics just yet. Even though academics has taken some what of a backburner (at least compared to the hours I spend in the library each day at AU) I still find my classes here in Chile invigorating. I know that studying politics and development in Latin America, speaking Spanish, and learning about the way this corner of the world works makes me happy. And that makes me feel lucky. Sentimental I know, but well, feelings are important.

Anyway, moving away from feelings and growing up and scary things like that, I am beyond pumped about heading to Argentina tomorrow. I'm going to eat all of the steak, drink all of the wine, see all of the sights, and buy all of the leather jackets ever. When I arrive back in Santiago I will have a little less than two months left of my adventure but ahead of me I have my Aunt Lynn's visit to Santiago and a ski weekend at Portillo, a week traveling around the north of Chile with the other half of "los dos Megans" and finally, five days in Machu Picchu hiking the Inca Trail. This is not real life and I'm going to enjoy every minute.