Happy Thanksgiving!

I can't believe it has been an entire year since I hosted my very own first Thanksgiving. As much fun as that was, this year I will be celebrating with my awesome boss and 25 of his delightful friends and family members. Although I'm sad to miss Thanksgiving with my own family, I'm thrilled to be home in a mere 2.5 weeks.

Today brought more news from Teaching Chile. Namely, specifics on what we have to do to prepare for the trip. This involves a very tedious visa process which requires that I submit a variety of random documents, including:
*A medical release form stating I am free of any communicable diseases including HIV
*A police clearance form proving I am not a criminal
*Bank and tax statements showing I am financially solvent. And, since I'm not, this will likely take the form of a notorized statement my parents will have to sign saying they will bail me out of jail. (They also had to do this when I went to Spain, and I remember my mom saying "I'll bail you out of jail once, but only once.")
*About a dozen other items and documents, including some unspecified amount of money.

I then have to appear in person at the nearest Chilean consulate, which luckily for me is in San Fransisco. Nothing like a mandatory trip to one of my favorite cities where several good friends live!

I also found out what my exact dates will be, February 29 to December 19, which is a Friday. I'm hoping I can convince my friends and family to throw their Christmas parties THAT weekend instead of the weekend before, but I realize it's cutting it pretty tight. I may also be able to leave a few days before that, so I'll try to get an open-ended ticket. Chilean Christmas presents next year for everyone!