So you got our postcard and you are wondering "¿Que hacen los locos?" Welcome to the FAQ section.

Why are we going? Because Mike and Lisa have always dreamed of the adventure of living in another country. Because we all want to learn Spanish and the only way we'll ever really learn is to be fully immersed in Spanish.

Why Chile? We want to live in a country with a vibrant middle class. We also are more temperate climate than tropical climate folks. That leads us to Spain (too expensive), Argentina, or Chile. Chile won out with better opportunities for Lisa. Having the Andes to the east, the Pacific to the west, wineries to the north and lakes to the south was pretty enticing as well!

Why this year? Berto has finished up at Tufts preschool (today was his last day) and Gabi will not yet be starting. Lisa has been on leave from teaching, and it's better to extend a leave as opposed to returning and then leaving again. Our actual dates will be fly out on July 22nd and back about the same time in 2011.

What about jobs? The Mass Eye & Ear Infirmary has agreed to have Mike work 50% via the internet. He's been doing experiments this spring, taking lots of data to analyze and convert into scientific papers while we are in Chile. Lisa will be teaching English through a Chilean government program, English Opens Doors. We are all hoping teaching will open doors for us into the local community.

Do we know anyone there? We have a friend who will be living on the coast for at least the next few months, and several of our friends have shared their contacts with people they know in Chile and Argentina. We look forward to looking them up and getting an introduction to the country and culture.

Where will we be living? We don't know yet! We have a bed & breakfast lined up in Santiago for the first week, and by then we will find out in what town we'll be living. We'll then go exploring our new town (could be Santiago) and see what different neighborhoods are like. Rest assured that wherever we are, there will be a guest room ready for you to visit!

What about the house in Cambridge? We'll be renting to an economics professor from Belgium and his family. A note to the locals: Sabbaticalhomes.com is a good way to rent your house so you too can have an adventure.