Since I finally have a little bit of free time (and a free computer!)  I wanted to try and answer a couple of these questions:

How are the people there treating you for the most part?

    People here are very understanding for the most part.  Someone spit at us in La Serena, but that is definitely the exception.  Most people will go out of their way to help you-for example, when I asked for directions a few days ago at a store in the mall, the employee walked with me outside of the mall to point out the exact place I wanted to go.  Talk about service!

Is there any predjudice for you being American?

   A little.  Most people, however, enjoy music and movies from the United States and are anxious to learn more about where I come from and to compare/contrast the two cultures.  This is always fun.

How is the food?  Do they eat any weird stuff like bugs?

   While I would probably be willing to try bugs if they were popular snacks in Chile, most of the food here is very similar to what we have, just in unique combinations.  French fries covered with eggs, steak, and onions is a common dish at the neighborhood restaurants.  Pastel de choclo, another "traditional food," consists of mashed up corn with pieces of meat and vegetables baked into it, (and, of course, there are lots of empanadas-meat, eggs, or cheese wrapped in dough and deep fried.)  However, there plenty of American restaurants as well, and I admit I´ve eaten at McDonald´s and Dominoes a few times as well.

Is their society seperated by classes?  Meaning, is either you are rich or you are poor?

   Santiago is surprisingly divided by class differences in some respects.  The city is built around two hills, Cerro San Cristóbal and Cerro Santa Lucía.  On one side of these hills are the very upscale neighborhoods, Las Condes, etc., and on the other side (where I live) are the middle class neighborhoods.  The lower class neighborhoods are on the west side of the city.  I think the very fact that I can almost determine what social class a person is from by where they live says a lot about the city.  Schools, jobs, and lifestyle are extremely dependent on social class, however, certain aspects of society (for example, evening concerts in the park and public transportation) are utilized by everyone regardless of income.

Have you seen women as a role in the politics there?

   Since elections will be held in December (and presidents here are only allowed to serve one six year term, thus Ricardo Lagos cannot run for re-election,) the next President may very well be a woman.  Aside from that, I feel that the role of women here is somewhat comparable to their role in the US ten or twelve years ago.

Would this be a place that is a nice place to visit?

   Of course!!!  Aside from what I mention in every entry, I could give you lists of "must-see" restaurants, plazas, and destinations within and outside of Santiago.

Is it cold or hot?  Do they have clean water?

   The weather here is still hovering around 70, but it´s starting to get colder and will eventually (so I´ve been told) be 40ish and rainy everyday.  The weather in the northern deserts, however, remains approx. 65 and dry year round.  Finally, the city water in Santiago is very clean and safe to drink-fortunately for me, since buying bottled water everyday would get very expensive!  I actually considered bringing a water filter (the kind used for camping) with me, but that would be unneccessary.   The water quality in other areas of Chile is not always so dependable, but it´s usually easy enough to boil it or buy bottled water.

    Feel free to keep asking questions!