I have been in some of the world’s busiest airports: Hartsfield, O’Hare, JFK, Charles de Gaulle, Barajas, Heathrow…but in a week I am going to get on a plane all by myself for the first time in my life. I can imagine it unfolding in short, idiosyncratic episodes—“Bernard Tries To Check In His Luggage,” “Bernard Can’t Find the International Concourse,” “Bernard Spends the Night in the Airport Hotel.” Barring any pre-flight fiascos, I look forward to making up a fabulous life story to tell the person sitting next to me.
I’ll explain myself. On August 31 I’m flying to Santiago de Chile to study Spanish and…well, do other things that, fingers crossed, will be meaningful enough to be recounted in this here blog. Because I’m no good at handling myself in English, I thought it might be a good idea to thrust myself into an entirely new speech community—one that uses a language in which all I can do is ask for the time, the location of the bathroom, and (hopefully) another drink.
My visit to Chile is scheduled for three months. Only two of these will be occupied with school; that final month represents a very rude overindulgence on my part—what am I going to do? Will I have managed to make friends who can keep me company? Will I end up in the gutter? If you’re as excited about all of this as I am, be sure to stop by every now and then to see what’s up.
