Dónde esta mi mente?

Here I am in smoggy Santiago, three weeks after the gran aventura... and it's been weird being back. Everything is vaguely familiar yet very different at the same time, given that five of my best mates have left and I'm starting afresh in more than one sense. Ah well, I guess I can take some comfort in the fact that the sun is still shining while the UK sounds like it's turned into the equivalent of a walk-in freezer - moohaha.

My new house is fantasticoco, although the high cool quotient of my new housemates has left me feeling like the clumsy, bumbling gringo that I am. One night during the first week, we all shared a bottle of wine on the patio - with boyfriends included. So there I was, Schmoo and six Chilenos all talking 100 words per minute about random TV celebrities... suffice to say I got just a wee bit lost after three months of talking very little espaneesh. Rrrrita the fierce feline has also made her presence known - on my first night here she attacked my arm! Apparently, losing her leg "calmed her down" quite a bit - I shudder to think how bonkers she must have been beforehand.

Da new job is only twenty minutes walk away, and so far has consisted of marking tests, giving a few interviews and teaching a class of teenagers - not exactly the most responsive bunch in the world, as you might imagine. Good good news though: after a 5-month delay - this is Sarf America after all - my old uni finally paid me. I'm a millionaire (okay, maybe not by UK standards but still)! This joyous day coincided with festivities to welcome new first years, so I had the chance to see some old faces and have a few drinkskis in between signing for cheques. Naturally, psycho-stalker girl appeared out of nowhere and wouldn't leave my side - uh oh.

That same day, after a tedious meeting for work to mark the start of the semester, we headed out to a bar, then another one, then a third, ending up at a random flat party where I proceeded to display my werewolf arm hair and dance very badly. I was meant to be in work at 9am the next day - guess what? I didn't make it. Thankfully, my boss didn't seem to mind too much - she was too busy with interviews and the like so ph-ph-ph-phhhew!

Los locos

...ahhh Iguazu. Words cannot really do it justice but, according to me guidebook, "Eleanor Roosevelt remarked 'poor Niagra' on witnessing them (they are four times wider)", which I think pretty much sums it up. I have to cross the border like three times, as there are national parks on both the Brazilian and the Argentinian sides, so there's mucho "stampy stampy" action. We take a boat trip and get a soaking directly under the falls - very welcome as it is uber hot - and also manage to see weird racoon-type creatures, beautiful butterflies, mahoosive spiders, an iguana and a crocodile.

Next stop: Buenos Aiiires, as Stefano puts it. We get picked up by possibly the nicest taxi driver in the history of the world, and I proceed to enjoy a whirlwind three days in the trendy Argentine capital, taking in an incredibly cheeesy but entertaining tango show, Kosher Maccy D's and the unforgettable Barbie House, which has a café, beauty salon and playroom - everything a certain 17 (ahem) year-old north-west London girl could possibly dream of! I also turn the ripe old age of 22 there, and my birfday celebrations involve free champage and mucho pool-playing success - moohaha.

After a most pleasant flight of non-stop turbulence, la kikster and I arrive in Santiago just a little the worse for wear. We manage to squeeze in going up the virgin - i.e. big statue on a hill - and a wee bit of shopping before zooming off on a 10-hour night bus down to Chile's Lake District. Our first port of call is Pucón, apparently the country's adventure capital - shame we both have colds and are therefore not feeling particularly adventurous! Still, there's a spectacular view of a smoking volcano from our bedroom window, and we manage to see a few lakes and relax in some fancy thermal baths. Also, we meet Crazy Dutch Lady, who's lurvely but just a lickle bit overexcited about pretty much everything.

Valdivia is the last new place we visit, and jolly spiffing it is too. Situated at the confluence of three rivers, it has a niiice, laidback feel to it - naturally, it doesn't hurt that our hostel = perfecto, as we make friends with the staff, other guests and... Kerrrazy German Lady, who occasionally sounds like Borat, gets pissed on cheap Chilean beer and then starts to insult absolutely everyone! Oh Barbara, we will never forget you...

Finally, it's back to Santiago for the last few days with Karenina. As I don't move into me new place til the first of the month, we spend a couple of nights in a huuuge hostel complete with a swimming pool, jacuzzi, bar, tourism agency... talk about all-inclusive! We sample some tasty juices at the fruit & veg market, go on a tour of a winery aaand... meet Crazy American Guy, to complete our hat-trick of crazies. He wanders around shirtless constantly, despite being farrr from God's gift, and has a creepy, smiley way of staring at you - how bizarro.

There endeth me travels; time to get thrown into a new job, new house and new housemates! Hasta la proxima.