21 days

Nope, I'm not ready, but things are progressing well enough. I also don't know where I'm going; not that it really matters, it doesn't affect any of my preparations, and except for the biggest cities (where we won't be) in the central region, the city names are all meaningless to me. It's pretty well guaranteed that there won't be aikido or Zen established wherever I'm going, and that it's going to be a multi-hour trip into one of the big cities...and those are really the only two questions.

WorldTeach has sent us details about the first hostel we'll be staying at, in "a quaint little neighborhood" in the center of Santiago. Ten days of training, then we're off to a different hostel for some amount of Ministry of Education training.

I went to Nordstrom Rack today and actually did clothes shopping. I still don't have khakis I like, but I did get a pair of grey slacks and a pair of slightly more formal black wool gabardine slacks. I'm not sure how practical those are, since they're allegedly dry-clean only, and they're very much like a pair I already have, but these will fit properly. And I bought a blue dress shirt that actually fits: my sweet spot for off-the-rack shirts appears to be 15/33. I think I've got 5 normal dress shirts, and one out-to-the-bar dress shirt; I think I'll get one or two pairs of khakis, one or two shirts/pants from Ex Officio or something similar, and call it done for clothes.

Anna and I are taking good care of each other. Being apart seems more real and less fun every day, but that's no surprise. We'll adjust.

I'm making the rounds and trying to spend time with my friends before I go. If you're in the area, come to the Dutch Goose in Menlo Park from 7-10pm (give or take) on Sunday, March 7th. There will be beer and food and awesome people and stuff. I'm hoping someone brings cake in some form.

(HINT: I enjoy cupcakes, both chocolate and vanilla; not a fan of lemon, or fruity cakes in general.)

(If you bring me an ice cream cake, I'm never speaking to you again, even when I no longer have the excuse of living in South America.)