In an unexpected turn of events a couple weeks ago, Andrés informed me that he got a job offer in the South of Chile that he intended to take. Though I was happy of him, I (naturally) focused a lot more mental energy on my freshly-jostled circumstances; luckily, I had a couple of friends who were looking for a room to fill, so what could have been a very unfortunate situation for me actually resulted into just about the best possible outcome. It's a shame about Andrés, though. He was easy to live with (and now he can't take me climbing), but I have to admit that the move came with a serious upgrade.

Where my old place was in the heart of downtown Santiago, my friends (now roommates), Allen and Carlos, have been living in an artsier district uptown. Up here the graffiti is livelier and the shops have more character, and the sheer volume of people at any given time is much lower on average, which has been very nice. The place itself is a palace compared to my old place. With what probably amounts to twice as much space, I now have a kitchen you can fit more than one person in, a couch that I don't mind napping on, TWO big screen TVs, and a WiiU. The bed in my room is probably one of the nicest I've ever slept in. Carlos pays for a woman to clean the apartment every week. And although our building has a rooftop terrace, even the view from our 15th story balcony is markedly improved. I though my southern facing view was good, but the real mountains are to the east. Here's a picture I took (again: from the balcony) a couple weeks ago, after a hefty chunk of smog was cleared away by rain:

:D

So, I'm pretty pleased. Other than the move, things have proceeded fairly normally. As work has picked up, adventures have slowed, and I'm falling into the flow of urban life. Teaching continues to be both a challenge and a treat. I find myself spending a lot of mental energy on lesson plans which I internally scrap and rethink, the result of which is very few tangible lessons. But as with everything (and I feel this is becoming a bit of a catch phrase), I'm improving. Outside of work, the nightlife in Santiago is always fun, and frisbee is as frisbee does. I suppose I'm trying to rest and enjoy life in the city before I start thinking of grand adventures. Between learning a language and a profession and trying to meaningfully assimilate myself into the social scene, there's plenty to keep me busy. Unfortunately, it's probably not the most interesting thing to follow. Stay tuned for more random thoughts, and I'll update when something happens.