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November 8, 2003

The past three nights I have slept outside on picnic tables and on the ground beneath the southern hemisphere's Andes mountain sky. The reason I am sleeping outside is because I did not know to bring a tent and I arrived to Santiago a day after my Huge Experiences peers. The students consumed most of the available spots, which gave me two options: sleep in a crowded tent or use the stars as a nightlight. I chose the latter. And to some extent, I think I made the wrong choice. My legs are too long for the length of this picnic table, so they dangle off the end at my calves. My pillow also falls into the dirt every five minutes.

On top of all of this I was awoken by Dave, our kayak guide and coach, at the early bird hour of 6:30 am. This is because I am on his mentor team and we had to set out breakfast the day after my arrival.

For the next two nights at our Rio Maipo Valley base I opted to sleep on the ground versus the table. I borrowed a tarp from Emily and picked a spot under the cabanas. I slept in fear of spiders and foreign insects. On numerous occasions I woke to the light scratching of a spider crawling on my ear or the buzzing of an unknown insect near my face.

The last night in this location the wind was stronger. It blew dirt, dust, and leaves on me. I felt as if I were in a desert sand storm as I curled under my sleeping bag to protect myself from the dust. We are now off to the beach, I can only hope to find a more suitable place to sleep. I guess, "the early bird really does get the worm afterall."

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