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Anticipating that I'd be a bit lonely on my trips, I arranged to get a dog--a cute, 2 month old beagle named that I named Winston. Not only was a he a good and warm companion on those freezing nights in the Andes, he also helped me befriend the townspeople. Everyone in Casta kept asking me, "How's Winston? Where's Winston?" when I walked around meeting people. They all thought he had a silly name--they didn't know who Winston Churchill (his namesake) was, and pronounced it "Weenstone", giggling. It was really cute. Winston helped break the ice immediately on the bus on the way to the town, so I already knew several people before I arrived. In all, having a puppy with me was very useful and fun.
