Deep Breath: De-Stressing in Chile

So, this week has been a bit of a headache. For the last 48 hours I was paralyzed by the very real concern that I was going to get fired for the first time since my 14-year-old bagel store job (an instance that still makes me cringe); then yesterday my Not-Only-But-Let's-Say-Essential-Friend became an illegal immigrant for a window of about 24 hours. When you have a friend circle the size of mine, having one of the people you see most frequently deported is not something that can be taken lightly.

In the end, I was met with a surprisingly warm reception at my meeting with my boss, and no one was deported. So everything turned out just fine. However, I am operating under a very intense stress-hangover right now. After foolishly thinking that I could go to lunch with actual people and be social, I discovered that all that I was capable of doing was stirring my chicken like a madwoman and forgetting every bit of Spanish I have learned.

Things that I do in Valparaiso when that sort of thing happens:

Overindulge:

Wear silly hats and drink beer (featuring Elisa):

Make friends with stray animals (also featuring Elisa):

Look at pelicans:

Make Allie feed me, even if we can't find a can opener and have to bludgeon the coconut milk out of the can:

Hang out with giant pirate puppets: