Hot-lanta!

Hello from the hot and sticky South, my Yankee friends! I have spent the past few days with my sister Gretchen and her husband Dana. We have spent the past few days enjoying ice cream cones among assorted other things, like the crazy dog Nina, who was born to retrieve (and coincidentally, rub spitty, stuffed animals all over you). We have a good time.
Today, Gretchen and I went to her campus at Georgia State University. There, she held an international student conversation hour, where we spoke with kids from all over about their travel experiences. There was a student from Algeria, one from Saudi Arabia, and two from Colombia in my group. I asked the Colombianos what they thought of South American university courses in comparison to the courses here in the States. They looked at me with eyes as wide as saucers and gave me a resounding "much, much harder". "In fact," one of the guys said, "I would probably say Chile has the most challenging programs in all of South America." Needless to say, I am spending my upcoming 9-1/2 hour flight as an emergency Spanish cram session.
Truly, I am very excited to go, and will probably feel pretty relieved as soon as I get off that plane. Now's the fun part; it's not just paperwork anymore, people! I am planning on putting a slideshow of photos up, but you'll have to do with the pictures I have supplied for now, because I haven't quite figured it all out yet. Much love to all.