Return to Santiago

I came back to Chile today for another month working in Santiago. It's so different from a few months ago. There's no mystery in where to go or what to do. Now if I could only speak the language.

When I got to the Atlanta airport I decided it was time to go ahead and get out of my comfort zone. I approached a stranger (gasp) on the inter-terminal tram. Of course it was a female, because as awkward as talking to a girl is, I think it would be more awkward talking to a guy. I was in need of a dinner conversation, but unfortunately her flight didn't give her enough time. We did get to discussing Rosetta Stone, of which I am a big fan (except for the price tag). I showed her how it worked and passed the time, since I was really early (2 hours early for an international flight - yeah right). I still ended up eating dinner alone, but mission accomplished to waste some time and get out of my shell in preparation for that necessity on my trip.

I must admit that I watched Harry Potter on the flight. I think the guy next to me might have been judging, but I guess I would judge, too. I got a little more sleep on the plane than I did the first time, thanks partly to the Benadryl that I didn't forget this time, and partly to the lack of anxiety about the trip. Just like on my last trip, 75% or more of the flight were senior citizens going on a cruise. The couple in front of me gave me a bunch of Starbucks cookies, because apparently raisins and nuts aren't allowed into the country (score!).

My apartment wasn't ready in the morning, so I had to go straight into the office. Now I really feel like a zombie. It doesn't help that everyone says, "You really look tired." Gee, thanks. I made it home, took a nap and then after much internal debate went to the California Bar to watch the Orange Bowl between GT and Iowa. I thought I might get lucky and find some Yellowjacket fans, but no dice. I was UNLUCKY enough to find 3 Iowa fans as soon as I walked in, but they were cool enough to let me sit with them. One of them does promotions for a Santiago Pub Crawl which I am definitely going to check out. GT lost the game, but it was OK because I got to talk some basketball trash to some UNC MBAs doing a study abroad.