the coriolis effect

Yesterday, I saw Proof at the Universidad Catolica (yes, in Spanish...but I almost understood...) with Scott and two of his friends. Speedwalking to meet his friends, Scott stopped, whipped out his camera, and seemingly took a photo of the Ekono sign and car lot. I asked, and he said, of the mountains....sure enough, behind us, floating above the smog, were the tops of the Andes (but the air hasn´t yet been this clear, so it was easy to forget I could look that high up and see land). And today- the first day of class (Gloat, gloat, I get January off...or at least, its what I tell myself) at the Rockefeller Center, with Lewis and Andryka. No more cheating and speaking in English. Its in the same building as the FLACSO, next to CEPAL and other UN buildings, which is sort of intimidating and pretty darn far from happy little NuNoa (micro - bus- here I come- thank goodness Andryka leaves nearby, strength in numbers and all that). After a morning of Spanish we took the micro and the metro (of the ones I´ve seen, very like Washington´s; it was built in the seventies, the ceilings are high- yet there aren´t infinitely long escalators- and since no food or drink is allowed its extremely clean. And doesn´t stop near my house. ), and walked through La Moneda´s two pretty courtyards, with sculptures, cannons, a fountain, and orange trees. I thought back to the before and after photos I´d seen in Chile: From Within, and here again was the balcony in one piece. And only a bag check to stroll through an entry door two floors directly below the president.