Sunday we went to S2's paseo, or class end-of-year party, which was also an asado, or BBQ. I had more fun than I feared, barely having time to look at the book I'd taken, instead chatting with my friends, or with a couple who came over and talked to us, me in Spanish as far as I could, them in rather better though far from perfect English. Stereotypes: he's a copper miner.

Chilean food: choripan, or little chorizos in a little hot dog bun. Slathered in pebre, probably the best food of the event, followed by steaks.

Lots of unpaved roads out in the valley.

Monday I played with the kids a lot, especially reading to M. "Fox in Socks" is something, alright. Yesterday I got a sore throat and I've just been taking it easy and trying to stay warm. Not as easy as you'd think; the Pacific and I'd guess the Humboldt Current from down south keep things cool: the usual wunderground range is 13-21 C. The patio is very sunny but also windy, I'm better off in a glassy alcove of my bedroom, where I've previously dried towels and made sun tea.

Over the weekend we played Flash Point, another cooperative game, and more intuitive in its actions than Pandemic and the weird conversion of city cards into cures. I keep thinking I need to get Ghost Stories for them. We also watched the Nausicaa I'd brought. It really is about Nausicaa as a personality, isn't it? The plot is kind of lacking. I dimly recall the original manga as being much more solid on that front.

I read _The City and the City_; pretty good.