Aneya & Lauren: Our Roles.

Aneya: Here we are, on a typical Saturday night! (Lauren: Any night, really). You can see I'm bundled up in my blanket, Lauren has her robe on (and new spiffy socks) and the heater is in front of us. I can't help but smile when a camera is placed in front of me, but I'm reading 'In Cold Blood' which is not a happy book, so really I should be frowning. Lauren at least looks like she's actually reading.

Lauren: Roommates and long-time friends develop roles the way any kind of long-term relationship would. Certain things become the norm, like who will take out the trash, but in such a new environment we've picked up a few extra roles, especially since we're side-by-side every moment of the day (most moments at least).

Aneya: Since moving to Chile, Lauren and I have become a team of sorts. We do just about everything together (co-dependent much?) and to make things easier, we created roles for one another. Actually, we didn't so much create them, as they created themselves, naturally, over time. Here, list of our so called 'roles'.

The Speaker--

Lauren: I talk. In the beginning I talked to everyone, the police officers asking for directions, people asking for directions, mean, sandwich-stealing gypsies. I talked a lot. But now Aneya does a lot of talking too. Since moving here my Castillano has gone from totally non-existent to pretty strong.

Aneya: Well this was a given. Lauren was obviously going to take the role of 'Speaker' since she was the only one who knew the language well enough to get around, at least in the beginning. Of course I've picked up a considerable amount of Spanish in my 4 months here, but I still can't speak with such gusto and confidence as she can. So I leave that role to her.

The Photographer--

Lauren: Aneya instantly became the photographer. I wasn't sure if my camera's battery was going to be able to charge on this weird new wattage, and immediately it became apparent Aneya had a knack for taking good shots. Almost all the photos on the blog are Aneya's, with a few of mine here and there.

Aneya: The role of Photographer became mine, I'd say within the first week of being here. Part of it is because my camera is newer and nicer than Lauren's and I also happen to carry it around with me constantly. Thus, the Photographer was born. I really love taking pictures now, almost all the pics on the blog are ones I've taken, I wouldn't say I'm a camera expert or anything (I just figured out how to set the self timer, like yesterday) but I'm getting the hang of it, slowly but surely. And I'm really starting to love it.

The Cleaner--

Lauren: It's no surprise this honor went to me. I like things clean, really clean. Where some people don't mind a bit of dust or a dirty floor, these things will make me crazy, so I mop, sweep, dust, vaccum, and wash everything. Every day has a corresponding task. Tuesday, bathroom. Periodical sweeping.

Aneya: Well, of course Lauren is the cleaner (just look at her mom, and you'd know why) I wouldn't say I'm 'dirty' per say, but I'm not an obsessive cleaner, whatsoever. I keep things tidy, everything's in it's right place. But Lauren likes things spotless. The other day she busted out the vacuum, which I didn't even realize we owned, and it happen to be hiding under my sink! (My mom would not find this surprising, she knows my aversion to the vacuum) In any case, I leave the obsessive wiping and dusting to her.

The Calmer--

Lauren: This is Aneya. I have what might be considered a frantic personality. Things need to get done, and they need to get done now! I don't want to put things off, or wait for someone to tell me something. I want to make things happen, and am not afraid to ask a lot of questions -- sometimes to the point of pestering. I also can overreact. This recent cold has made me think I was going to die (it was awfully, unexpectedly cold), but Aneya just reminded me that we needed to adjust, and expect cold. No one in our house was going to die from 37 degree weather (although I remain skeptical).

Aneya: Ahh the calmer. That would be me. It all started way in the beginning of the trip, when I noticed Lauren pacing up and down the bus terminal, pestering the poor bus drivers with questions. She was frantic we were going to miss the bus, or we'd be on the wrong one, or we'd be stranded at the station. (Lauren: In my defense, our tickets were for a 10:30 a.m. bus and our bus didn't even arrive at the station until 11 a.m.) And that's when I realized I needed to calm her down. I told her everything would be fine, let's just sit down and breathe deeply and just wait. All we could do was wait. I am a calm person by nature, it's rare to see me angry or visibly upset, and I'm also quite patient. This is the perfect anecdote for Lauren, who, occasionally gets antsy and impatient. I'm the ying to her yang, if you will.

-- Aneya & Lauren