Research, research, research

I am pretty sure that is all I do these days. I read a lot and write a good amount (that amount is on the uprise) and interview people after writing a bunch of interview questions. This is by far the hardest I have worked during this semester. The first 2 months were pretty low on the work level, but that has all changed. I also think that living in Santiago has made me really focus on my project but sometimes I feel like I am making up work for myself, but I am learning a lot so who cares. I have read everything that I can get my hands on that has to do with the political participation or representation of women in Chile. Both in English and Spanish. I have actually begun to learn to skim in Spanish, a new feat.

Speaking of new feats, I TALK IN MY SLEEP IN SPANISH NOW!!! The most recent time apparently I sounded like I was conducting an interview in Spanish. I guess that shows what is on my mind. It was Lauren Wemple who told me about this particular incidence since she spent Friday night here. We had a very lovely time together considering that we can talk for hours and hours and still find things to converse about and analyze. I needed that so it was much appreciated. It's also really exciting because we are both so excited about our research projects, but at the same time I think that made our days off together that much more needed. We had a failed attempt on hiking on Saturday but we still ended up climbing a mountain so it worked out. We both agree that my host parents in Santiago are incredibly generous, welcoming, and wonderful. They fed us well and think of anything we could possibly need. Ceci, mi mama, took us on the failed attempt to go hiking on Saturday and wasted 2 hours in the car with us looking for the national reserve and was trying to cheer us up. She even found us the other park to go hiking in! We just chatted the whole time and she was so incredibly positive and happy!

I spent today writing my introduction and the intro-context to my paper along with my methodology. So far so good. Tomorrow I have 2 more interviews at Corporación Humanas, the main organization I am working with. Things are rolling along quite nicely but sometimes research is just intense, especially in my second language in a foreign city/country. I go back and forth from incredible highs to lows, but overall, I feel so lucky to be here living with such a welcoming family and spending all of my days learning about what I want to learn about.