I am overflowing in awe of the abundant generosity of my friends Andres y Ale, who have graciously put me and my friend May up for five days, including spending a heart-warming Christmas with their extended families (actually, it was their immediate families…but these are so large that it felt extended :)!

They are simply gold as far as friendship goes…every need is anticipated and catered to and they are just so much fun to boot! I feel like I am in a luxurious spa of emotional nurturing!

Yes God is so good…putting me in a place of restoration from the depleting, materialistic, in-your-face atmosphere of Buenos Aires: the smoky, humid, stressful, congestion, trauma and pretense of that sprawling metropolis-with-an-attitude have been replaced by a vast, restful, loving, peaceful sense of familiarity and warmth and ease. Chileans aren’t trying to prove anything and they don’t need to because they have it all: beauty, family, friends, wealth and infrastructure. It is tempting to pursue Ale’s offer to beseech St. Anthony, the patron saint of “lost causes”, for a chilean man (or even better and perhaps my preference, San Expedito, aptly named for his reputation of answering prayers swiftly :). We even got to see the church in Regnata in the Valparaiso area where Expedito’s supplicants go. After stuffing ourselves with (of course) Chilean seabass for lunch.

My friend May and I keep wondering, “how can SO many cafes and food places exist within one city?” Literally every block and street is lined with limitless, trendy-looking bars, cafes, bistros, restaurants….unlike the States, nobody goes to these alone. My cousin was able to explain that rather than entertain in their homes, many BA-ers go TO these places to meet up with friends and family. So that explains SOME of it…

Life here so far has been characterized by long walks and bus rides throughout this hot, sprawling, bustling metropolis. Wrestling for change for the bus (80 centavos) and always trying to make sure you HAVE change because many stores simply cannot “break” any bill larger than 20 pesos (approx. 7 USD).

Today we went to La Boca and hung out with my cousin’s artist friend Guillermo…then meandereed the hot colorful streets and took the bus to antique-filled San Telmo.

Mercifully ate less food than yesterday, when we ate and ate and ate (the gorging was topped off with a decadent strawberr & chocolate with dulce con leche ice cream sundae at aptly-named Munchi’s in Recoleta’s Design Center). I am flat-out beat!