No seas fomeee, huevon

The guest list---"VIP Golden Section""Who's Tom Jones?"...6 hours later, cracking jokes with Tom Jones and humming "It's not unusual" all day

Last week was a strange one. I'm crashing at the apartment of a couple intern friends on the trendy "Capital Hill" of Santiago. Living in the city has been a pretty stark contrast to living on the farm in Santiago's rural outskirts. Although I miss the farm and its slow days, clean air, and not having to shower every day, my stay in the city has been entertaining to say the least. Especially with good company.

A fellow intern knew one of the roadies for Tom Jones so a bunch of interns and myself met up with TJ and his band at a bar. We got on the guest list for his concert and hung out backstage. The concert was held at the Movistar Arena, which used to be a tennis stadium until die-hard fanatics started ripping out seats and chucking them at the opposing players. In the VIP lounge, I stuffed some complimentary granola bars in my purse. Why am I always the only one who gives a shit that there is FREE FOOD BACK HERE PEOPLE.

After the show we hung out poolside at their hotel after party. There, I ordered a club sandwich, beers, and a screwdriver on the sound guy's tab. The sound guy- Matteo, gave me an impromptu geography quiz because he said my "physiognomy" suggests poor world geography acumen. Well I called his bullshit with my ability to pinpoint the location of (semi)obscure Russian fishing pot Vladivostok. After a few, I got talked into jumping half-naked into the pool, got passively scolded by hotel security before we could, and on the way home I suffered through our taxi driver's 9/11 conspiracy theory lecture right before he hit a cat.

Loretta, me, Laura, and the drummer (for Tom Jones and 20-yr Pink Floyd drummer) on stageDrinks in Bellavista with Tom Jones and crew

Apart from the "Almost Famous"-esque high the other interns and I have been on while the ol' crooner was in town, I've felt pretty unproductive in Santiago. Mostly writing beat articles for the Santiago Times and hangover recovery. Technically I'm not getting any less "work" done in the city than if I were on the farm. I feel slightly more tense in general and lose patience quicker. When my laptop was being exceedingly slow, I folded 5 origami lilies to calm my nerves and keep from throwing the computer out the window. I ripped the first two.

I miss the farm, but I'm enjoying the prevalence of booze and friends to drink with. One of the few things I couldn't bare to see my life without.

My high school friend friend Amy and her sister came to visit me on the farm last weekend. My first guests! Great long conversations, yummy fresh food, red wine, and some tips on biking through New Zealand.

more farm gorgeousnessI gave Amy and Sarah a walking tour of Caleu. We took a shade break at the rodeo .

For letting me crash with them, I made a couple friends (and fellow interns) these bookmarks. Chilean expressions hand-stitched with love: Cachai? - Ya know? Que Fome - That sucks/How lame.

happy valentine's day friends and family <3