Still for a Few Days

It's been a bit over a month since Anne and I were last staying in a home. Here in Santiago, Carlos kindly put us in touch with friends and family who are housing us. Little things I am now appreciating:

• Showering barefoot. Not being afraid to touch the surrounding surfaces that 10 other people already left hair on that day.
• Kitchens. None of the hostels in Ecuador or Peru were equipped with them. First meal cooked: spaghetti the way I like it, i.e. covered with half a block of grated cheese. Eating cereal is a rediscovered pleasure too. Though I may have overdone it when I consumed close to half a kilo in less than 24 hours.
• Music. In my normal life I get a hit of new music every day or two. The last two months' withdrawal has seen me build a list over 60 entries long of albums to check out when I end my travels. So the surprise presence of a Mac in our current place, in other words, a lifeline to put new music on my iPod, has seen me return to my addiction as if I was just out of rehab. There's so much to listen to it's hard to know where to begin.
• Flushing toilet paper down the toilet instead of putting it in the trash can. No further explanation needed.