28 September 2008

Departure Date: November 13th!

I haven't left yet :) I am planning on flying out of the states on November 13th. The time is fast approaching and I am in the final preparations for departure.

I am currently living in St. Louis with a friend of mine, Brandon Frank, the director of Camp Owatonna. We also coach the Principia Upper School boys varsity soccer team along with Travis Brantingham, another close friend. Coaching has been a great experience and I look forward to coaching more teams in future years. Filling up the rest of my day, I am working on a side project for Owatonna along with private tutoring.

About a week ago, I took a trip out to New Hampshire for my brother's wedding. The whole family was there and we had a great time. Eliot and Nicole are happily married and took off to enjoy Hawaii for a bit. Mary Baker Eddy has a quote that sums up the whole weekend:

"Union of the masculine and feminine qualities constitutes completeness. The masculine mind reaches a higher tone through certain elements of the
feminine, while the feminine mind gains courage and strength through masculine qualities. These different elements conjoi
n naturally with each other, and
their true harmony is in spiritual oneness. Both sexes
should be loving, pure, tender, and strong." S&H 57:4-11

Here are a few pics:


Now, my Chilean Adventure. One of my motives for heading down to Chile is to develop my sense of community. Rather than travelling around the whole country, I am going to head to one area and get to know the people there. Through a friend of mine, I made contact with a man who owns an adventure ranch in the southern region - Campo Aventura (you can check out www.campo-aventura.com, but he hasn't updated it from the previous owner yet).

Just 120km east of Puerto Montt, it lies in the foothills of the Andes on beautiful rio Cochamo and is ideal for horseback riding tours. I am planning working on the ranch, helping out on pack trips, kayaking trips, and hiking trips, and even home-schooling the owners two boys. I will be down there for no more than 3 months, and so if you get the chance, come down for a visit!