Getting ready to leave

So, we're getting ready to leave Philadelphia!  Our flight is on Thursday, and of course since we're flying to South America, we'll have a layover in Canada :)  But we've heard good things about Air Canada, so hopefully the out-of-the-way detour will be worth it.  And it was still the fastest possible trip, anyway.  Here's a picture of me sitting at my desk at the Museum of Science before I dismantled it.  Also, if you haven't seen my haircut yet, there you go.  It sure is short!

My boss David threw me a fun going-away party at work.  My coworkers Lucy and Emily made me the most awesome cakes, shaped like my marathon jersey, an alarm clock to represent my sleep talk and my sleep forum, and a vernier probe to represent the climate change workshop we did with high school students this summer.  Aren't they great?

Sam and I have been working hard to get ready to go.  We've had more shots than I care to count (and we're still not even done!), we've packed up our suitcases (see below), and we've moved everything from our apartment into either our generous friends Eitan and Kelly's basement and my parent's attic/basement/my room/anywhere there's a square inch of empty space.

We're getting close!  Also, we ordered a Kindle, which we're anxiously awaiting.  The most awesome thing is that you can get library books on the Kindle, even from South America!  So we're going to take advantage of having access to 3 large library systems (MA, PA, and MN) to cover most of our English-language reading needs over the next year.

It looks like the weather when we arrive in Santiago is going to be 67 and sunny, lucky for us!  Earlier it was saying there would be rain, which would be a huge pain with all of our luggage.  Now we'll be able to stay dry.

Almost packed up!

We have been working for a few days now and the apartment is nearly packed up. This evening we will put most of our stuff in a friend's basement, then pack the u-haul with the last load headed to Philly. We have sold almost everything we put on Craigslist, so the only furniture we are keeping is our table.

I'll post pics again once the place is empty!

Sold my bike today :(

I sold my bike to a buyer on craigslist today. I got a good price, but I gave him a good bike. It was sad to see it go. I'll be using Hubway for the next few days that I'm in Boston.

The Minnesota State Fair

On Thursday, Caroline and I took two of my cousins on a trip to opening day at the State Fair. We ate a lot of junk - cheese curds, cotton candy, cookies, fries, but no food on a stick for us today. However, we did find the Science Museum booth, where they had science on a stick!

Working as a bike tour guide and mechanic!

We are moving to Chile on Sept. 6, and it looks like I might be working part time (and part volunteer) at a bike tour company called La Bicicleta Verde (http://www.labicicletaverde.com/index.php).

It's founded and run by an American, and almost all of their customers are English-speaking, so my low level of Spanish won't be a barrier. I might get to do some tours and even some bike mechanic work. I had a skype chat with the owner and he told me that they are very likely to have at least some paid work for me, and I said I'd be happy to start as a volunteer in the meantime.

In a new city, working on bikes and meeting bike-friendly people sounds like a good way to start out!

Hubway comes to Cambridge!

We are very excited that Hubway has finally come to Cambridge. This is the bike sharing rental  service in Boston. We bought memberships last summer when it first opened, but it wasn't very useful for us because we couldn't drop off or pick up the bikes anywhere near our house. Now they opened three stations in Central Square, including one just a block from our house. It's a fun new addition to the neighborhood...sad that we will be leaving soon before we get to use it much.

Moving out soon!

We are getting ready to move out in just a few weeks, so we have been selling our furniture on Craigslist. The apartment is looking very sparse, check it out!