I'm on a roll, so why stop?

I am sitting with my roommate Mario (his brother Luigi is back in Mexico), and we are watching a TV show called Circo.  Picture Dancing with the Stars, but instead the celebrities are doing circus type acts instead of dancing.

So I have talked about my roommates in passing, but as I am watching this with Mario I am realizing how I am meeting people from all different walks of life.  I will post pictures of them on here when I get a chance.

First, there's Fabiola.  She has 3 kids and is a writer and also something like a dermatologist.  She's also a great cook and is always there to help in any way that she can.  She was home with her boyfriend when the earthquake happened, and she helped take care of me during it.  She also took me furniture shopping in Bio Bio.

Her son Fabian is 21 and sometimes spends the night here.  He is really nice and also very funny.  He works with repairing computers and recently got a new job working with some type of tech support company.  We take a lot of jabs at each other insulting each other, but it is all in good fun.

Then there is Claudia.  She works in the hospital  as a nurse down the block and is about 30 or so.  She is also really nice, but I don't see her as much with her work schedule.

Mathias is from Germany.  He is doing his Zivildienst (like compulsory social service) for a year by helping to build houses here in Santiago.  Last week he took a trip down to Concepcion and helped build some houses down there to help the victims of the earthquake.  We speak Spanish when others are around, but when it's just the two of us we enjoy speaking German.

Koke (a nickname for Jorge) is another one of the Chileans living here.  He works as a writer for a magazine that is located in the Bellas Artes area of Santiago.  He rides his bike almost everywhere, and when it gets stolen he just buys another one.  He helped me cut up the meat when I bought an entire chicken breast with the bones and all included.

Mario is from Mexico City, and he arrived a few weeks ago.  He is going to college here, and he is actually studying acrobatics.  I've never met anyone who is studying anything like that before, and a few weeks ago he was practicing juggling in the living room here.  It is so cool seeing someone doing something like he is.

Mario is sharing a room with Vididiana, who is also from Mexico City.  She is studying law here in Santiago.  She's also really nice, but I haven't gotten to know her too well yet.

It is amazing getting to meet such different people from different walks of life.  I was apprehensive about having roommates at first, as I had become comfortable living on my own for the past 7 years or so.  But I am really enjoying having the company and also having people to share meals with.  They have all been so helpful in small ways, and I don't feel like I would be having the same experience here if it weren't for them.