¿Lista?

The word "lista" in Spanish means two things in English: ready, and the more obvious cognate, list. Let's go with both today.

Lista = Ready.

Whether I'm lista for something or not is a common question lately. Am I ready for class? Am I ready to eat? Am I ready to go to Peru? Am I ready to declare what I'm doing my individual project on? Will I be ready to go home in December? Or am I ready to go home right now? Am I ready for next semester- classes, car, job, housing? Am I ready to interview rapidly-speaking Chilean women in chaotic clinics?

It's a lot of readiness.

I'm still enjoying my time here and learning a lot that I can tell will be incredibly applicable later in life both in and outside of my academic career, but I'm feeling mildly burnt out. There's a lot to figure out for our investigation period and for next semester. It's also just generally really different living here than at school. I haven't lived in a house with a family for a while, and before I came I was more worried that I would cramp their style- that they wouldn't want a college student who goes out on weekends and stays up late, but it turns out it's the complete opposite! I am always the first one in bed! This weekend we're going to Peru to see their healthcare system firsthand and I'm really looking forward to the 3 nights of hotel sleep sans interruption of phone calls to let in my little brother who lost his key, or the resounding laughter of my host mom as she watches dubbed American movies late at night. My Chilean family is great, but they definitely do things differently than I do at home.

Also we don't have a couch. For some reason a couch seems like an integral part of a home to me, and we don't have one. There isn't any place that I can just veg and lounge that isn't my bed, which gives me flashbacks of last year living in my closet of a room in Monroe. I'm very much looking forward to watching Christmas movies on our couch in my alpaca sweater when I get home.

Lista = List.

Ok, now to brighten the mood and prove to you that I'm not miserable, just expressing all the facets of my experience here, we will view a list of the things I like best in Chile, and which I hope to bring back to the states:

• Bonanos- Fanny Packs.. they're all the rage here, and it turns out, really practical.
Even Rihanna's jumped on the bandwagon, but I definitely had mine first.


• "Pololo"- the Chilean word for boyfriend (polola for girlfriend). It is incredibly fun to say and just really has a much better ring to it than boyfriend.

He stars in telenovelas.. he can be my pololo.


• Pancito & Palta- yes, I've written about how this has been the downfall to any dillusions of portion control while I've been in Chile.. but that's because it's the most fantastically satisfying combination of calories known to man!

• The Concept of Fruit as Dessert- why didn't we think of this? It's sweet. It's juicy. It's delicious. Yet we act like it's our duty to make sure we eat enough of it- we eat mandarins for dessert here! (this helps with the pancito/palta guilt that I imagine I'm supposed to be feeling)


• Public Transportation- No I have no idea how I'm going to bring this back to the states, but the fact that I can take a cab(which functions more like a bus) all the way across town for $1 to get to class makes me think that maybe they've figured out something we haven't.


The U can get me anywhere I need to go.


• Reggueton and Cumbia- Spanish music is so amazing, let's embrace it, shall we?

Time to go to Peru! Hasta luego mis amigos!