On being patient

One of the things that I learned once I found out about my grant, is that I needed to be patient (I'm still working on this!) When I found out in February of 2013 I'd be going to Chile I thought I'd be able to get so much done ahead of time, particularly in the summer, when I wasn't teaching at Bradley. Well, things didn't work out that way. Despite my interest and enthusiasm in getting a jump on the various things that needed to be done before leaving, this didn't mean I could get things done when I wanted to.
Fulbright Chile needed to concentrate on working with the folks arriving in August, not those who would start the following year. Many things are time sensitive: visas and other documents, plane tickets, shipping using the diplomatic pouch. I couldn't start planning my classes, since PUCV hadn't decided what level I'd teach, none of the realtors I'd contacted were interested in discussing apartments until after the Chilean summer...So even though I have known for a year where and when I'd go, I couldn't do anything until a few months ago. Despite feeling rushed at times, almost everything is done, except for finding an apartment-but I wouldn't have been able to finalize that until I arrive, as I don't want to rent something without seeing it first.

So if you are just finding out about your Fulbright grant, know that you'll get things done, don't worry! I ended up spending a lot of time exploring Valpo and Viña online, and "walking" around town via Googlemaps, reading about Chile, and trying to learn a few Chilenismos. Check out this online Chilenismos glosary: http://cachandochile.wordpress.com/glossary-glosario-chilenismos on Margaret Snook's excellent blog.