Feelin´ the flow...

Well, I am now feeling 100% better than I was when I first got here. It took me a couple of days to get used to my new temporary lifestyle, but my outlook has changed a great deal. I now have a much clearer idea of what my plan is for the next couple of months, I have contacted a friend in Chile that I am going to go see, I have picked up a couple more of the important phrases in Spanish so I can operate a little easier, I´m much more confident, and I have gotten REALLY good at ¨wasting¨time. In fact, I believe I´ve stumbled upon the European concept of ¨holiday¨.
I sleep in a bit (oh, say, about 9:30 ish), have a leisurely breakfast and a hot cup of tea while watching Simpsons in Spanish (on a side note, this is the perfect way for me to get acquainted with the language because I actually know all of the lines by heart, and so I hear them in Spanish, yet I know what is going on simultaneously... I think I´ve stumbled upon a new teaching method!), I read my book and study Spanish in the parks, saunter about town, make meals, and plan out my trips.
The other night I finally met some nice English speaking peeps from Holland and America and we went out for a few drinks and a few laughs. It was really nice to socialize and I had a really good time.
Tomorrow I am heading to Tierra del Fuego National Park to do some hiking and camping for the weekend. It should be fun, given that it doesn´t rain as it has been for the last couple of days. Whatever, though, because I am going! Then early next week I am going to take a boat (hopefully) up to Puerto Notales, which is on the doorstep of Torres del Paine National Park. This is one of the places I have wanted to see the most, so I am really excited about it. I plan on meeting some non-serial-killer-type people and doing the 7-10 day backpacking circuit around the park, which I have heard is life changing. Radical!
And finally, I have been thinking alot recently about what I want to do with my life upon my triumphant return to the United States, and I think I am going to go back to school and get my masters in Literature and Education and teach. I am on a long trip so this conclusion may seem premature, but I think in the back of my mind I have always pictured myself as an educator, and Literature is my passion... Gotta follow it, right?
In this spirit, two quotes:
¨Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.¨- James Madison
and
¨We all have the same enemy. The enemy is the tyranny of the dull mind¨- Tom Robbins, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues¨
Oh, what the hell, I like Tom Robbins alot, so one more!
¨All a person can do in this life is to gather about himself his integrity, his imagination, and his individuality - and with these ever with him, out front and in sharp focus, leap into the dance of experience.¨ Hey-oh!