Two things I love: Baseball and Barack Obama

Barack Obama and Willie Mays getting off Air Force One, two of the most bad-ass Americans since Mays invented bad-ass back in 1951.

So to be honest, that last post left something of a bitter taste in my mouth. My blogging has a tendency to pick out the criticisms and bad parts that stand out, which is not a fair representation of a very true fact: I’m having an amazing time here.

I’ve been able to find a couple groups of good friends among students on the trip, though for candor’s sake I won’t name any names, and I feel like I have a good base to find travel buddies, etc. should the urge come up. They’ve also been great, as it’s comforting to be able to speak English sometimes, not having to think about every word or worry about misrepresenting myself accidentally.

I’m loving the big city, cementing my plan to one day live in such a city, SF or NY-style. I like riding the subway and the bus, people-watching and knowing that I stand out like a very large thumb. I like my class, and the movies we’re watching, and I plan to try out everything in this city, from the museums to the open-air markets, and I think I’m building up a good group of people (gringos and Chileans) to do it with.

I’m also digging this blog, something I’ve never really managed before, so I’m going to do everything I can to keep myself doing it. I appreciate all of the support I’ve been getting, and I’m especially interested in answering any questions (and seeking out the answers) if you want to know anything about this place; it’s probably something I’d also like to know. I’m going to do a big update on money soon, costs of staples and such, and I’ll try to go through and add some jumps to old stories and make the front page a little less bandwidth-intensive to look at. Leave comments! Let me know what you’re looking for in a travel writer.

I’ve also had a great time following the Giants, as strange as that is, from down here. I check Yahoo! Sports daily and McCovey Chronicles thrice daily. There are plenty of people down here fully into baseball, giving me lots of opportunities to get my baseball talk fixes, especially because the Giants are actually having such a fantastic year.

One grave injustice? Explain this fuzzy math to me:

Take a look at the 2009 stats of the two players below and tell me which deserves to make it to the All-Star Game.

Not this one.

or…

Hint: This one.

Pablo Sandoval is having a fantastic year, and his numbers clearly put him above Shane Victorino, despite that that asshole convinced all of Philly to vote for him (including going door to door with the mayor, no joke).

Anyway, go Giants, and congrats or whatever to the American League for winning… again.

But yeah, I like it here. I’m homesick, but just because you’re awesome too. So there.