Not quite the meaning of life, but close enough

First, I have to say for the record that I have no memory of creating the previous post. I was apparently far more inebriated than I thought coming back from that club at 3am.

Second, I hope you'll all join me in a unified front against the kind of self-aggrandizing nonsense that we saw in Dylan's Valparaiso post. The meal we had on a small side street there was indeed one of the most interesting dining experiences of my life. With food as beautiful as it was delicious and noteworthy company to say the least, it was certainly unforgettable. That being said, Dylan's post was still disgusting, even as it admirably described a truly amazing city.

We're in Santiago now, and I think we've been pleasantly surprised so far. We had a productive day, managing to get our laundry done, changing our return flights to the states to July 27 instead of August 5, and even each getting much-needed haircuts. Best of all, we met back up with Kelsey, whom we had originally met during our second stint in Buenos Aires and who is proving to be outstanding company. The three of us toured the main areas in the middle of the city, had an overpriced lunch of, essentially, steak and eggs, and managed to secure some gelato on the way back. We're planning to meet her and some of her friends tonight to go salsa dancing. Ha. This night will likely include several pisco sours.

I've been keeping a separate, hard copy journal along with this blog. The entries in the journal are certainly more personal in nature, but it's not really a diary or anything like that. I think it's appropriate, though, to share one thought that I had initially only included in the journal. One reason behind this trip, as I mentioned in the first post, is to provide an opportunity to clear my head before school. I think that part is finally coming to fruition.

I don't think it surprises anyone reading this to hear me admit that I hadn't yet reached a point of complete, unreserved enthusiasm for law school prior to departing for Argentina. I had a moment a few days ago, however, and in that moment, I felt - for the first time - genuine excitement for everything that waits for me upon my return to the US. Part of the standard conversation I've been having with people we've met along the way is describing, basically, what my current life status is. Everyone has a story, and everyone wants to know everyone else's story. The process of describing my story to so many people and hearing their stories has been, on one hand, fascinating, and on the other, highly instructive and revealing. And quite useful to me. I've finally reached a level of comfort with my plans that had been worryingly absent for some time.