This week has been filled with goodbyes which is sad because saying goodbye is not one of my favorite things to do. I even teared up saying farewell to the two girls who check me in at the gym everyday! I think the hardest goodbye of all though was the one with everyone from ProCorp. On my last day they took me to Fuente Chilena for my last ave palta (chicken and avocado sandwich). It was great to get the whole group together one last time before I leave.

 I wanted to write about what I've noticed to be "so Chile" during my time in Santiago. Chile and Chileans have several things and ways of life unique to them and I've been lucky to experience a few of them.

 This weekend I spent trying to see some of the last few things in Santiago that I've missed out on. A friend of mine and I took the Metro down to Universidad Catolica, one of the best and largest universities in Santiago, where we then proceeded to walk through an area called Lastarria. The area wasn't always so nice but recently artist types have bought up the area and transformed it into one of the nicer parts of Santiago.

 Anyone who has spent a month in a foreign country will tell you that the things you do and the lessons you learn are invaluable and worth all the effort you put in to travel. I am no different. Halfway through my two months in Chile, I have learned a lot, especially about myself, and have just a few pieces of advice for anyone considering working in a foreign country.

 I am squeezing in this blog entry before I take off for a long weekend in the desert! I couldn't be more excited to go horseback riding through the Valley of the Moon and star gazing through the world's largest telescope! But more on that next week.

 So, as promised, I have much to share about what I've been up to OUTSIDE of the office. Weekends here are a rollercoaster of activities because we don't want to waste a moment of free time in Santiago. Francesca and I have poured over our guidebooks and have created a short list of activities that, by our calculations, will require about 3 times the amount of time we have here in Santiago. Needless to say, we have been keeping ourselves quite busy.

So the internship has begun and it's been a crazy first week getting to know everyone and falling into a routine at the office. The day before I was to officially start, I found my way to the office and was excited to find ProCorp on a gorgeous street in Providencia. The office is in a cozy, house looking building that is perfect for the creative work  that goes on in there. I was thrilled to know I would be working in a more personal setting, in comparison to some of the other larger corporate buildings in Santiago.

 Hola! Well, after arriving in Santiago at 4 in the morning and surviving a small debacle in which I could not get into my housing for two hours (thank you to the kind taxi driver who waited with me all that time!) I am here! I feel so far away, yet so at home. The hostal where we are staying is small and simple but has everything we need and is in a fantastic location! We are one block from the metro which takes us anywhere we would want to go.

 Hi y'all! My name is Kelley and I'm a sophomore at Brown University from Houston, Texas. I couldn't be more excited for the adventures that are sure to begin immediately upon my arrival in South America. Tomorrow, I'll be boarding a plane that will take me away from the daily 97 degree heat of Houston and deliver me to the 50 degree winter climate of Santiago, Chile. Time to turn in my sundresses and flip flops for a winter coat and boots!