Work and more work

Will and I have been working furiously this week to get to a point where we can start to demo the product to people. Today we worked all day, then came home and, as of about 11pm, are still at it. We took a break to go to our first Spanish lesson (Jen is taking them as well). It was pretty fun, and the teacher is very enthusiastic and friendly, which helps a lot. I kept having flashbacks to Spanish classes in school. If I ever have the misfortune of reproducing, I will enroll the child in language lessons very, very early.

Last weekend Jen and I wandered around a couple very nice parks in Santiago. Jen made a stray canine friend who followed us for over a mile. Animals just can't resist her. For awhile there were actually two dogs following us, but one go distracted after not too long. Check out Jen's blog post for a video of her friend frolicking in the sprinklers.

Last week I found a pretty nice bakery and brought Jen some treats for dessert. Luckily they weren't very busy either time I went because communication was rather slow, but at least I got the job done. Now that I have learned the pattern for buying baked goods it is much easier. You generally tell someone what you want, which they write down. Then they hand you the slip of paper with your order on it and you go pay for it. While you're paying they get the item out of the case and package it up. The cashier gives you a receipt, which you take back to the counter, at which point you receive your items. Very complicated, but that is just how Chile operates, lots of bureaucracy.

Speaking of bureaucracy, Will and I went to the SII (some kind of government entity related to work and taxes) to finish the long process required before we can pay ourselves. As Chilean bureaucracy goes, it was really quite pleasant. However, I noticed as we were leaving that I had a horrible stomach ache, the kind caused by stress. I think that if I had to stay here for too long I would end up with ulcers. Paperwork is not my friend.