One good thing about being squished in the middle of 3 million people today was that I saw some more good hair styles.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Mucho Carrete y Isla Negra
THURSDAY:
Our trusty chilean amigo, Exe, invited us to be VIPs at a discoteca in his neighborhood. He and his friends continue to be so nice, welcoming, and fun fun fun (plus they are all great dancers). We probably upset some chileans when the 20 gringos cut in front of the line at the bar, but once we were upstairs in the VIP lounge it was awesome. We had our own dance floor perched above the regular dance floor, and we gringos tore it up. The Chilean boys move so well, and they are eager to try out all sorts of fancy steps. We all danced all night and from now on VIP is the way to go (I am spoiled already). After the bar, we had a gringo congregation/feast sprawled out in the parking lot of McDonalds- Classic. And they let us order through the drive-through window which they never allow in the states.
Our trusty chilean amigo, Exe, invited us to be VIPs at a discoteca in his neighborhood. He and his friends continue to be so nice, welcoming, and fun fun fun (plus they are all great dancers). We probably upset some chileans when the 20 gringos cut in front of the line at the bar, but once we were upstairs in the VIP lounge it was awesome. We had our own dance floor perched above the regular dance floor, and we gringos tore it up. The Chilean boys move so well, and they are eager to try out all sorts of fancy steps. We all danced all night and from now on VIP is the way to go (I am spoiled already). After the bar, we had a gringo congregation/feast sprawled out in the parking lot of McDonalds- Classic. And they let us order through the drive-through window which they never allow in the states.
FRIDAY:
Naturally, I slept through my alarm that morning because we were supposed to be at school at 8:30 to go on the school field trip to Pomaire and Isla Negra. Luckily, Jenna also overslept, so she and I headed out to El Tabo together to meet the rest of the group. The second we left Santiago we were stunned. I swear, this weekend we must have said "ohh, my god" about a thousand times just from the sheer beauty of Chile!!! Literally! The country side is soo green and lush, with farm houses scattered around, horses, flowers, vineyards. I would almost hate to sleep on the bus because I would miss out on the scenery. We arrived in El Tabo with instructions to find a campsite for a group of 15, and it was surprisingly easy. We found a spot right on the beach, which we later referred to lovingly as the Refugee Camp. Then we walked along the ocean, looking at the houses and dreaming about where we could live one day. Dinner was at a seafood restaurant right on the ocean, which we had all to ourselves. The sea is deep blue, and in this part of the coast there are tons of big black rocks, so where the sea hits them it turns in to light blue swells and then a kelp forest right near shore. After dinner we bought our standard camping food - bread, avocado, tomato, basil, and 3 bottles of nice wine for 8$. Next came one of the best sunsets I've ever seen. We had a mango pisco coctail, my ipod speakers, and we sat perched on some rocks in awe of the beauty and the magic that is this life!! Seriously, my heart was about to burst (which was a common occurance this weekend). Every minute of the sunset was more and more beautiful, and when we lacked the words to describe it we just said "oh, my, god" again and again. It was so incredibly incredible. I felt so unbelievably lucky to be there in that moment, to be here in chile, I really can't describe..
We then passed a fun night camping on the beach. I tripped over a soccer goal and face planted on the concrete while all the chilean families in the refugee camp clapped for me and laughed, so I took a bow. Then I bled. Not my most graceful moment.
SATURDAY:
Have you ever been so blessed as to be woken up at 8:30 in the morning by a cacophony of extremely loud spanish dance music and men cheering? No? You are missing out. It was pure hell. We were all woken up after only a few hours of sleep, so I stumbled over to our friendly neighbor's campsite and said "it's a little early, don't you think?" they looked around and checked their watches "no, it's 8:30 isn't it?" ummm yeaaa "what", they said, "does it bother you??" DUH. oh my, I cannot describe the level of annoyance that I felt at that moment. They were partying hard at 8 am and all we wanted to do was sleep. So, we relocated to the beach where we all tried to pretend like we weren't cold.
Anyway, then Jenna came and found me and we walked to Isla Negra! Oh my! Such a quaint, beautiful town nestled in a pine forest and perched above the ocean. I had the most incredible honeydew melon juice. The town is basically dedicated to Pablo Neruda, with most of the restaurants and shops dedicated to Neruda memoribilia. We walked to his house and I swear I had arrived in what my heaven will look like. His house is incredible. It is built to look like a ship, and the location... It is in the pine forest, with an incredible view of the rough ocean, and a sloping garden full of flowers and greenery. We had lunch at the restaurant right next to his house, coffee ice cream, and I almost died of pure bliss.
When I first bought 20 love poems and a song of desperation last year, I thought, "well, it's only 20 poems so i'm sure i'll glide through this really quickly", but instead I spent weeks on each one and the book took me months to get through because each one was so incredibly beautiful that I could just savor one stanza a night. So actually being in Pablo Neruda's house was incredible, imagining him eating at the table, seeing all the mast-heads (things on the front of ships) that he had collected, his collections of various trinkets. And his bedroom... wow! It is on the 2nd story with huge windows that have a perfect view of the sea and the room is full of light. If that was my room I would never sleep because I would never want to close my eyes. We even saw his closet with all of his clothes and the tuxedo he wore to the nobel prize ceremony! And he and his 3rd lover Matilde are burried right there by the sea. The house is absolutely gorgeous, and more so is the scenery. Give me a shack in a place like that and i'd be more than completely happy. It was incredible being able to see what Pablo saw, and see how he lived. If only he were still here so he could decorate my house. And, I got a postcard of him when he was younger and he actually was cute! (I had been a little dissapointed when I saw his picture as an older man). But really, Isla Negra is incredible.
SUNDAY:
I spent the early afternoon walking around Barrio Bellavista, the hippy/bohemian neighborhood of Santiago (and where Pablo Neruda had his second house), there are tons of little places to see there but most of them were closed on Sunday.
These giant puppets- "la pequena gigante" and her tio were in santiago this weekend, so I went to go scope them out (see pictures above). The crowds were overwhelming. I swear I must have touched about half the population of Santiago in the moshpit trying to get a view of the puppets. People were pushy and sweaty, and I was freaking out because I was stuck in this giant cluster of people with no way to go forward or backward, I thought I would get trampled by this mob gone crazy for puppets. But eventually I found a "less" crowded area and waited around for the puppets to wake up from their siesta. They were awesome. I don't know exactly how many meters, but HUGE! They were operated by cranes and by men who would swing from the ropes that moved their arms. The two puppets walked down the streets of santiago, blinking their eyes and moving their bodies. It was really cool. But the crowds got to me and I had to get out of there. George, you wouldn't have lasted .5 seconds, but lili you would have loved it!!
Naturally, I slept through my alarm that morning because we were supposed to be at school at 8:30 to go on the school field trip to Pomaire and Isla Negra. Luckily, Jenna also overslept, so she and I headed out to El Tabo together to meet the rest of the group. The second we left Santiago we were stunned. I swear, this weekend we must have said "ohh, my god" about a thousand times just from the sheer beauty of Chile!!! Literally! The country side is soo green and lush, with farm houses scattered around, horses, flowers, vineyards. I would almost hate to sleep on the bus because I would miss out on the scenery. We arrived in El Tabo with instructions to find a campsite for a group of 15, and it was surprisingly easy. We found a spot right on the beach, which we later referred to lovingly as the Refugee Camp. Then we walked along the ocean, looking at the houses and dreaming about where we could live one day. Dinner was at a seafood restaurant right on the ocean, which we had all to ourselves. The sea is deep blue, and in this part of the coast there are tons of big black rocks, so where the sea hits them it turns in to light blue swells and then a kelp forest right near shore. After dinner we bought our standard camping food - bread, avocado, tomato, basil, and 3 bottles of nice wine for 8$. Next came one of the best sunsets I've ever seen. We had a mango pisco coctail, my ipod speakers, and we sat perched on some rocks in awe of the beauty and the magic that is this life!! Seriously, my heart was about to burst (which was a common occurance this weekend). Every minute of the sunset was more and more beautiful, and when we lacked the words to describe it we just said "oh, my, god" again and again. It was so incredibly incredible. I felt so unbelievably lucky to be there in that moment, to be here in chile, I really can't describe..
We then passed a fun night camping on the beach. I tripped over a soccer goal and face planted on the concrete while all the chilean families in the refugee camp clapped for me and laughed, so I took a bow. Then I bled. Not my most graceful moment.
SATURDAY:
Have you ever been so blessed as to be woken up at 8:30 in the morning by a cacophony of extremely loud spanish dance music and men cheering? No? You are missing out. It was pure hell. We were all woken up after only a few hours of sleep, so I stumbled over to our friendly neighbor's campsite and said "it's a little early, don't you think?" they looked around and checked their watches "no, it's 8:30 isn't it?" ummm yeaaa "what", they said, "does it bother you??" DUH. oh my, I cannot describe the level of annoyance that I felt at that moment. They were partying hard at 8 am and all we wanted to do was sleep. So, we relocated to the beach where we all tried to pretend like we weren't cold.
Anyway, then Jenna came and found me and we walked to Isla Negra! Oh my! Such a quaint, beautiful town nestled in a pine forest and perched above the ocean. I had the most incredible honeydew melon juice. The town is basically dedicated to Pablo Neruda, with most of the restaurants and shops dedicated to Neruda memoribilia. We walked to his house and I swear I had arrived in what my heaven will look like. His house is incredible. It is built to look like a ship, and the location... It is in the pine forest, with an incredible view of the rough ocean, and a sloping garden full of flowers and greenery. We had lunch at the restaurant right next to his house, coffee ice cream, and I almost died of pure bliss.
When I first bought 20 love poems and a song of desperation last year, I thought, "well, it's only 20 poems so i'm sure i'll glide through this really quickly", but instead I spent weeks on each one and the book took me months to get through because each one was so incredibly beautiful that I could just savor one stanza a night. So actually being in Pablo Neruda's house was incredible, imagining him eating at the table, seeing all the mast-heads (things on the front of ships) that he had collected, his collections of various trinkets. And his bedroom... wow! It is on the 2nd story with huge windows that have a perfect view of the sea and the room is full of light. If that was my room I would never sleep because I would never want to close my eyes. We even saw his closet with all of his clothes and the tuxedo he wore to the nobel prize ceremony! And he and his 3rd lover Matilde are burried right there by the sea. The house is absolutely gorgeous, and more so is the scenery. Give me a shack in a place like that and i'd be more than completely happy. It was incredible being able to see what Pablo saw, and see how he lived. If only he were still here so he could decorate my house. And, I got a postcard of him when he was younger and he actually was cute! (I had been a little dissapointed when I saw his picture as an older man). But really, Isla Negra is incredible.
SUNDAY:
I spent the early afternoon walking around Barrio Bellavista, the hippy/bohemian neighborhood of Santiago (and where Pablo Neruda had his second house), there are tons of little places to see there but most of them were closed on Sunday.
These giant puppets- "la pequena gigante" and her tio were in santiago this weekend, so I went to go scope them out (see pictures above). The crowds were overwhelming. I swear I must have touched about half the population of Santiago in the moshpit trying to get a view of the puppets. People were pushy and sweaty, and I was freaking out because I was stuck in this giant cluster of people with no way to go forward or backward, I thought I would get trampled by this mob gone crazy for puppets. But eventually I found a "less" crowded area and waited around for the puppets to wake up from their siesta. They were awesome. I don't know exactly how many meters, but HUGE! They were operated by cranes and by men who would swing from the ropes that moved their arms. The two puppets walked down the streets of santiago, blinking their eyes and moving their bodies. It was really cool. But the crowds got to me and I had to get out of there. George, you wouldn't have lasted .5 seconds, but lili you would have loved it!!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Cafe con Piernas
People here seem to drink lots of nescafe, but my friend Jenna and I have constantly been on the search for some real coffee. We have stooped so low as to go to... dunkin donughts... but we are always looking around and seeing where we might find some fresh coffee. The other day we were walking around downtown in the middle of the day, it was hot, we were tired, all we wanted was a coffee. So we see a place called Cafe Haiti and we rush in, order, and notice that the girls are all dressed in matching "dresses" (which would easily be shirts), which show off their bods, and then we look behind us and see that we are literally the only women in the coffee shop. Ahh, we are awkardly surrounded by businessmen who are looking at us like we are some crazy gringas. But the coffee was soo good!!! I realized that we had just stepped in to our first Cafe con Piernas, the famous chilean coffee shops/strip joints. Yes! So today, Jenna and I were again walking around, we were hot and tired, and we were wandering through some sketchy mall-type thing with hair salons and random things, then we hear this loud club music coming from behind a door. "Should I do it?" I ask, as if there is any question. So I put on my sunglasses and open the door, and see strippers in thongs and bikini tops serving businessmen in a very seedy environment, everyone turns to look at me as I open the door, and I say "cafe?" and awkwardly shut the door and run away. Then we continue our walk through a street with an odd amount of gun stores, and low and behold, another one! We see several business men enter and exit discreetly, acting chill, so I go and open the door and there is this haggard woman in some type of leggings with a hole cut out for her bottom, her hair is stringy, and she looks like she is on a lot of drugs. "Cafe?", I ask, and she just stares at me. So does everyone else in the coffee shop. I turn and leave, then start cracking up.
I mean, can you imagine??? This is apparently a normal thing here, businessmen going during the day to go get served their coffee by strippers. And I would say Chileans are generally pretty conservative and catholic, but I guess this could be a machista thing where men "need" to be served coffee like this. Anyway, its really funny, and perhaps I will get up my courage to go in and do a sociological experiment inside the cafe con piernas. But for now, I will continue to just open the door awkardly then run away. I wonder why starbucks has not caught on to this idea.
I mean, can you imagine??? This is apparently a normal thing here, businessmen going during the day to go get served their coffee by strippers. And I would say Chileans are generally pretty conservative and catholic, but I guess this could be a machista thing where men "need" to be served coffee like this. Anyway, its really funny, and perhaps I will get up my courage to go in and do a sociological experiment inside the cafe con piernas. But for now, I will continue to just open the door awkardly then run away. I wonder why starbucks has not caught on to this idea.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Weekend
Thursday: We were invited by our Chilean friend Exe (exequiel) to go to his friend's house for the night, we had no idea where it was, who would be there, all we knew was to bring our camping gear and meet at the metro at 5:30. Sounds safe, right? Well it was incredibly beautiful! We were in an area of Santiago called Pirque, which I would liken to our hill country (close to the city, yet another universe away). William said he was going to bring down some texas longhorns and create a texas embassy out in the chilean country side. The place is greeeeen, surrounded by mountains, vinyards, some animals, perfect climate. Our host's house was a really nice ranch-style house, with a beautiful garden, tons of dogs, a pool, soccer field, and plenty of good music. We all had an amazing time, the Chileans were so hospitable and so nice to invite a bunch of gringos over who they had never met, they are all eager to hang out with us again. So we had a beautiful adventure into the country and got to swim and lounge at the pool the next day.
SATURDAY:
My Padrino Jerrimiah and I woke up early to go on a tour of the mountains. We started off at In Situ vinyard which was beautiful, nestled in the hills and near a river. They had some organic varieties as well, but 98% of their product was meant for export which seems to be the norm for everything here ranging from fruits to wine, then the Chileans are left with lesser quality... but still wow- the fruit here... I can't get enough!!! And you can get so many beautiful avoados for 1$. My go-to vegan meal has been sandwich with avocado, tomato, lettuce, garlic, roasted red peppers (when camping). Anyway. After the vinyard, we went to a family owned business that started in 1890, and it was these men who brew their own strong liquor drink called chicha which is like a boiled wine, then they also make aguardiente (50% alcohol) which Jerry took a shot of and maybe regretted later.. But the owner was so sweet and the business had been in his family for so long, but he said that his sons now have no interest in continuing it on.. After the chica brewery we headed into the Andes. The hills are amazing, during this time they are covered in bushes and flowers, kind of an arid climate it seems. But wow I would love to see them covered in snow. We went up to Farellones, Chile's first ski resort, and had lunch perched in the mountains watching little kids riding dirt bikes below us. It was still surprisingly hot at 9,000 feet.
Saturday night we all went out and did Karaoke until 5 am- we represented it Gringo style and sang- backstreet boys, michael jackson, queen, shaggy.. trust me everyone in the bar loved us... But I told the group that our goal by the end of 4 months should be to sing karaoke primarily in spanish (just like in Costa Rica where we horrified the locals every night butchering their beloved spanish music. But I can do a great rendition of Selena- Como la Flor). That's another fun thing about Santiago- the bars don't close until 5, so we have plenty of time to enjoy the night. And then sleep all the next day..
SUNDAY- we went to California Cantina (where we also watched the Texas/Bama game), which was actually started by 2 guys who went on this same study abroad program 10 years ago. But the place has great food- burgers, tex mex burritos, tacos, nachos, and cheap beer. It's almost as if you are stepping on American soil, but then you notice the guy in front of you has a huge rat tail in his hair. But we watched the Colts/Jets game and then the Patriots/Vikings game, very exciting. We're going to that same bar for the superbowl, the owners said they expect 1,000 people to be there watching it. But it's a good place to meet young expats and hear how they came to live and work in Santiago, everyone is basically following their heart!
MONDAY- Both of my classes were cancelled, so Jenna and I met up this morning in Bellavista (coooool hippy neighborhood where Pablo Neruda lived), and spent the day walking all around the city, shopping, taking pictures, etc. It was a wonderful way to spend a Monday, and it was the first time I had really walked that much in the city because I usually take the metro everywhere. But now I see that walking is much less crowded and it smells better. So maybe I will start walking home in the evenings. Also, today at the market I found a hat that had the outline of the state of Texas and inside of it was the Chilean flag (which you know looks so similar to Texas's flag) So I said that could be the logo if we ever start a restaurant or whatever down here...
it's all good!
SATURDAY:
My Padrino Jerrimiah and I woke up early to go on a tour of the mountains. We started off at In Situ vinyard which was beautiful, nestled in the hills and near a river. They had some organic varieties as well, but 98% of their product was meant for export which seems to be the norm for everything here ranging from fruits to wine, then the Chileans are left with lesser quality... but still wow- the fruit here... I can't get enough!!! And you can get so many beautiful avoados for 1$. My go-to vegan meal has been sandwich with avocado, tomato, lettuce, garlic, roasted red peppers (when camping). Anyway. After the vinyard, we went to a family owned business that started in 1890, and it was these men who brew their own strong liquor drink called chicha which is like a boiled wine, then they also make aguardiente (50% alcohol) which Jerry took a shot of and maybe regretted later.. But the owner was so sweet and the business had been in his family for so long, but he said that his sons now have no interest in continuing it on.. After the chica brewery we headed into the Andes. The hills are amazing, during this time they are covered in bushes and flowers, kind of an arid climate it seems. But wow I would love to see them covered in snow. We went up to Farellones, Chile's first ski resort, and had lunch perched in the mountains watching little kids riding dirt bikes below us. It was still surprisingly hot at 9,000 feet.
Saturday night we all went out and did Karaoke until 5 am- we represented it Gringo style and sang- backstreet boys, michael jackson, queen, shaggy.. trust me everyone in the bar loved us... But I told the group that our goal by the end of 4 months should be to sing karaoke primarily in spanish (just like in Costa Rica where we horrified the locals every night butchering their beloved spanish music. But I can do a great rendition of Selena- Como la Flor). That's another fun thing about Santiago- the bars don't close until 5, so we have plenty of time to enjoy the night. And then sleep all the next day..
SUNDAY- we went to California Cantina (where we also watched the Texas/Bama game), which was actually started by 2 guys who went on this same study abroad program 10 years ago. But the place has great food- burgers, tex mex burritos, tacos, nachos, and cheap beer. It's almost as if you are stepping on American soil, but then you notice the guy in front of you has a huge rat tail in his hair. But we watched the Colts/Jets game and then the Patriots/Vikings game, very exciting. We're going to that same bar for the superbowl, the owners said they expect 1,000 people to be there watching it. But it's a good place to meet young expats and hear how they came to live and work in Santiago, everyone is basically following their heart!
MONDAY- Both of my classes were cancelled, so Jenna and I met up this morning in Bellavista (coooool hippy neighborhood where Pablo Neruda lived), and spent the day walking all around the city, shopping, taking pictures, etc. It was a wonderful way to spend a Monday, and it was the first time I had really walked that much in the city because I usually take the metro everywhere. But now I see that walking is much less crowded and it smells better. So maybe I will start walking home in the evenings. Also, today at the market I found a hat that had the outline of the state of Texas and inside of it was the Chilean flag (which you know looks so similar to Texas's flag) So I said that could be the logo if we ever start a restaurant or whatever down here...
it's all good!
Intro to Mullets
The first thing I noticed when I got here was the vast array of mullets. There I was thinking there was just a "standard mullet", but here we have everything from the rasta mullet, indie mullet, punk mullet, pokemone mullet (try to explain that later once I know more about this subculture that is called los pokemones), braided, beaded, curly mullets, etc... anyway so I am refining my skills of sneakily taking pictures of peoples hair without being awkward. here are a few that I found this week.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Recap of the past 2 weeks
I left Austin on January 5th and the next thing I knew I was laying poolside surrounded by eucaliptus trees, flowers and plum trees with a great view of the mountains. I proceeded to get sunburned, and if the first day was any indication the sunburn will be a reoccurring theme (sorry, mom). But the simple fact that the skies were deep blue and it was 85 degrees was proof enough that skipping out on winter this year was a great idea!
Santiago is beautiful! The downtown area is a mix of old and new, where you can have a 16th century monestary and a gleaming skyscraper right next door. There are 7 million people here and the only time I feel it is when I ride the metro and we are all squished in there like sardines. Good-bye, any perception of personal space (my solution is to wear big sunglasses). But so far the metro has been fun and it's a really convenient way to get around the city. The area where my university is located is so gorgeous. It is in the area of Santiago that used to be where all of the rich families lived, so the street is lined with mansions which have now been converted into the school buildings. I even found a delicious vegetarian restaurant close by where you can get a foux burger or fajita and fresh squeezed juice for 2 dollars.
My classes are all in spanish, and amazingly I can understand (almost) everything they say! Now note that the professors make a point to speak slowly and in "normal" spanish - versus the infamous Chilean Spanish. I guess I had heard that their Spanish was difficult to understand, but I didn't realize how difficult. I am constantly wondering if they are even speaking Spanish at all... it can get very frustrating but after 2 weeks I'm getting a little better. Here are some new words- boyfriend=pololo, cachai=get it?, bacan=awesome, harto=alot, palta=avocado, que te tinka= what do you feel like doing?...... now imagine every word being replaced with something equally as strange and repeated 10 times faster. that would be the easy version of Chilean. Anyway I'm sure I will have lots more to say on the language front, but my classes are all great. I'm taking literature (we are currently reading La Amortajada by Maria Luisa Bombal), cinema (just finished watching the Motorcycle Diaries- which made me want to do a Vespa Diaries), art (we visit a different museum every week), and women in society (starting with the colonial era). I am enjoying them all!
My host family is great, the mom, monica is very outgoing and sweet, the dad is quieter and more reserved, and the brothers are both very nice and call me their hermana.
I've gone to the beach the past 2 weekends, and it looks as if we are heading there again this weekend! The water is deep blue and freezing, but very refreshing. It's actually colder than Barton Springs. The drive from Santiago to the beach takes you through the vinyards and it reminds me very much of Napa Valley... so pretty!!
So, the past two weeks have flown by, and I'm looking forward to whatever comes next!!
Santiago is beautiful! The downtown area is a mix of old and new, where you can have a 16th century monestary and a gleaming skyscraper right next door. There are 7 million people here and the only time I feel it is when I ride the metro and we are all squished in there like sardines. Good-bye, any perception of personal space (my solution is to wear big sunglasses). But so far the metro has been fun and it's a really convenient way to get around the city. The area where my university is located is so gorgeous. It is in the area of Santiago that used to be where all of the rich families lived, so the street is lined with mansions which have now been converted into the school buildings. I even found a delicious vegetarian restaurant close by where you can get a foux burger or fajita and fresh squeezed juice for 2 dollars.
My classes are all in spanish, and amazingly I can understand (almost) everything they say! Now note that the professors make a point to speak slowly and in "normal" spanish - versus the infamous Chilean Spanish. I guess I had heard that their Spanish was difficult to understand, but I didn't realize how difficult. I am constantly wondering if they are even speaking Spanish at all... it can get very frustrating but after 2 weeks I'm getting a little better. Here are some new words- boyfriend=pololo, cachai=get it?, bacan=awesome, harto=alot, palta=avocado, que te tinka= what do you feel like doing?...... now imagine every word being replaced with something equally as strange and repeated 10 times faster. that would be the easy version of Chilean. Anyway I'm sure I will have lots more to say on the language front, but my classes are all great. I'm taking literature (we are currently reading La Amortajada by Maria Luisa Bombal), cinema (just finished watching the Motorcycle Diaries- which made me want to do a Vespa Diaries), art (we visit a different museum every week), and women in society (starting with the colonial era). I am enjoying them all!
My host family is great, the mom, monica is very outgoing and sweet, the dad is quieter and more reserved, and the brothers are both very nice and call me their hermana.
I've gone to the beach the past 2 weekends, and it looks as if we are heading there again this weekend! The water is deep blue and freezing, but very refreshing. It's actually colder than Barton Springs. The drive from Santiago to the beach takes you through the vinyards and it reminds me very much of Napa Valley... so pretty!!
So, the past two weeks have flown by, and I'm looking forward to whatever comes next!!
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