Happy 2006! Sorry this is late...but better late than never right? Well bringing in the New Year was kinda strange mainly cause I didnt have any family or old friends in the country with me. But as usually I think I got by. Here is a quick update of my New Year. The Valanzuela Family - a family of the Associates for several years (rumor has they have been friends of the Associates when Jack, our dog, had 4 legs. Yes...that means that our dog has 3 legs.) - invited us to a New Year BBQ. We (Meg, Caitlin, Ryan, Emily, and I) all accepted and made our way to the House around 6 PM. We got to the house and after a few minutes we started eating. I ate my fair share and almost died cause I ate so much. Then after an hour or so I made my way back outside and talk to Gabe (one of the sons) who was manning the pit and of course ate some more. Then around 10 PM I started to realize that of the 15 people that were in the house several kept on disappearing for at least an hour. So me being curious I went to explore only to find out that people were taking naps on any flat surface. Midnight came and we all jumped up and down and the hugs started flying. Then we all calmed down and brought in the New Year with a toast. For the next three hours there was some music playing and all of us were just chilling. Then about 3 AM the party started. The Chileans start everything late. Sra. Valanzuela welcomed all her guests and made sure that her nephew had some music playing so that we could dance. The funny thing is that down here people dance in lines. I dont mean they line dance...they actually dance IN LINES. Its the funniest thing in the world. After what seemed to be an hour, some more people got to the house - but I actually knew these people. It was our friends Dani, Andrea, and Gavo who came to invite us to another party. Meg, Matt (Meg´s friend from the states who is doing research down here in Chile) , and I all accepted. As we started walking down the street I realized that there were birds singing and the sun was out. Then I looked at my watch and realized that Ryan, Emily and Caitlin had the right idea to go to home and sleep - cause it was 7 AM. I got home at 10 AM with Matt and Meg and crashed til 4. What did I learn through this - for the 2007 party - TAKE A NAP!