Lord of the Ring Isomorphisms

Yesterday we made the voyage from Futrono to Pucon, and this place is outrageous! On one side of town is a beautiful lake set to the backdrop of mountains, and on the OTHER side is an active volcano! It's covered with snow (not lava) and there's a constant plume of smoke coming out of the top. Here's a picture of me standing in front of it with my conference badge on, like a super dork:



Well, acutally you can't see the volcano very well, I blame the shoddy iphone camera I'm using. The funny thing about this town, and much of Southern Chile, is that it looks like I'm in an Alpine ski village....either there or in The Shire. It's certainly not the canonical image of South America that I had in my mind before coming. There are lots of little log cabins, and restaurants boasting "Spaetzle" and "Sauerbraten." Not only that, but the local beer here is called Kunstmann!

But this chatter is all distraction to the main point of this post: My talk is today, and I'm so nervous I could almost die! I'm sitting in the room right now, people are filing in, and I'm so overflowing with anxiety that I'm floating 10 inches above my head.

Wish me luck! I'll report back later today!

<3