going south in two hours

So I finally got all my shit together and in a little less than two hours I'll be printing Rosie's paper (she doesn't have a printer and the COPA office is closed), putting it in my bag and dipping out to meet her and Tim at the U de Santiago bus terminal, from which we will depart at 9:30 for Puerto Varas. Not sure how much I'll be posting in the next week, so here's a few thoughts before I leave:

-Lunch today with Julia was wonderful. First of all, we met up without a hitch. Second of all, the food was delicious. And third of all, it was really great to talk to her, however briefly, just give and get the rundown on what's been going on for each of us, how we're feeling about the semester being over, and everything. She's a really good friend and I'm lucky to have her.

-Right now, Chile's Teletón is going on, the 48-hour continuous spectacular, hosted by the incomparable Don Francisco (Mario Kreutzberger), who is Chile's greatest and most famous TV personality. It's so different from telethons in the US because everyone is so together about it. The goal is to raise money for physicall and mentally disabled children, and pretty much anyone who's anyone in Chile makes an appearance, whether to give a speech or sing a song or whatever. I saw Bachelet give her talk last night right after a segment about a super-energetic, ebullient 8-year-old girl named Kelly whose legs don't work normally, and she got choked up, along with everyone else in the audience (parts of it are live from a theater somewhere). It's really a wonderful institution, the solidarity is so evident in a way it's often not here; taxi drivers paint "Teletón 1 y 2, con todo el corazón" on their windows and people all over wear stickers and pins with the Teletón logo. Plus everyone, but everyone, gives money. I wish there was something like it in the states, but I'm not sure we're together enough as a country--too big, too many divisions.

-It is hot as blazes in Stgo at the moment.

That's all for now, I think. I'll post when I can, but at the very least, by next Saturday. Wish us a buen viaje!