Monday, September 29, 2003
the stove has been conquered. pasta has been made! this is a big deal. I found out today that I´m not the only gringo whose afraid of these kitchens, anyway:-)
I´m over half done with my homestay, and about half done with my "official" time here (ie, not counting Dec. 16 and onwards, when I have no idea what I´m doing). This is strange and anxiety causing.
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I´m over half done with my homestay, and about half done with my "official" time here (ie, not counting Dec. 16 and onwards, when I have no idea what I´m doing). This is strange and anxiety causing.
Sunday, September 28, 2003
I went climbing in the vicinity of Cerro Manquehue today with Heidi, a Harvard Med student working a couple hours south of Santiago. We were a little fuzzy on how to get there, but when we got to where the metrobus driver pointed, a man I think working for the micros there told us, no its pretty but dangerous- but we started climbing anyway (sadly enough, he was talking to me in sort of English despite me talking to him in spanish. when Heidi came back over he goes to her, you speak more spanish, right? despite the fact neither of us had really actually said enough to judge this. despite the fact we´re both equal. it made me sad:-(
It was pretty, if really steep- orange flowers everywhere, and the smoggy city far below. Hill is a bit of an understatement, though compared to the Andes! But the cerros seem to be somewhat contiguous, with San Cristobal and Santa Lucia in the city the westermost ones. The city itself runs up against them, and spreads around a bit on the northern side too. After an exhausting two hours up, we crept/slid/walked down, and celebrated with juices at Jugomania in Las Condes and a trip to the supermarket there.
The peanut butter deal: The Tobalaba Unimarc is a rather large supermercado, and sure enough, they did have peanut butter. A normal size jar, Parade brand- 4000 pesos. Thats about 6.50 (and word has it from an American, not that good). Theres also Planters brand, but thats like 3 dollars for half the size! This in a city where there are nut venders (Nuts4Nuts actually- they look like they popped in from New York or something) on every other corner.
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It was pretty, if really steep- orange flowers everywhere, and the smoggy city far below. Hill is a bit of an understatement, though compared to the Andes! But the cerros seem to be somewhat contiguous, with San Cristobal and Santa Lucia in the city the westermost ones. The city itself runs up against them, and spreads around a bit on the northern side too. After an exhausting two hours up, we crept/slid/walked down, and celebrated with juices at Jugomania in Las Condes and a trip to the supermarket there.
The peanut butter deal: The Tobalaba Unimarc is a rather large supermercado, and sure enough, they did have peanut butter. A normal size jar, Parade brand- 4000 pesos. Thats about 6.50 (and word has it from an American, not that good). Theres also Planters brand, but thats like 3 dollars for half the size! This in a city where there are nut venders (Nuts4Nuts actually- they look like they popped in from New York or something) on every other corner.
Friday, September 26, 2003
Anibal is coming to Cambridge next week! he said he was meeting with a bunch of people, and also holding some general info sessions about spring semester study abroad. check it out! (if well, its relevant to you:-)
Last night I went out with Peter from Mendoza who was passing through town. In Barrio Brasil we stopped in a nondescript bar for sandwiches, and then an adorable little cafe called Peperones afterwards. Wandering past mostly shuttered clubs in Barrip Bellavista, the strains of salsa lured us into Maestra Vida. It was pretty great- small, and with a local feeling, well-lit and with fun painted walls. And we did the hybrid american-dutch salsa thing until 4 am....
But today, unexpected wistfulness triggered by Anibal and Alejandra talking about Boston was compounded with a visit to the New York Bagel Bakery in Las Condes. A real live bagel with cream cheese (I had to describe to my host family what a bagel was:-), and the other people in the place Americans. I was so close...until I turned around and looked out the window...
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Last night I went out with Peter from Mendoza who was passing through town. In Barrio Brasil we stopped in a nondescript bar for sandwiches, and then an adorable little cafe called Peperones afterwards. Wandering past mostly shuttered clubs in Barrip Bellavista, the strains of salsa lured us into Maestra Vida. It was pretty great- small, and with a local feeling, well-lit and with fun painted walls. And we did the hybrid american-dutch salsa thing until 4 am....
But today, unexpected wistfulness triggered by Anibal and Alejandra talking about Boston was compounded with a visit to the New York Bagel Bakery in Las Condes. A real live bagel with cream cheese (I had to describe to my host family what a bagel was:-), and the other people in the place Americans. I was so close...until I turned around and looked out the window...
Tuesday, September 23, 2003
Back from the North, and a very happy trip indeed. Too long to summarize, I suspect.....
We flew into Antofagasta, which is a port town, somewhat brown (excepting a beautiful plaza with a mini big ben- this used to be the heart of British nitrate interests economic imperialism etc; and the boats in the harbor), but seeing the "Jardin Infantil Snoopy" made my day. almost as much as peanut butter and banana sandwiches in the plaza, courtesy of the jar of peanut buttery goodness Scott brought from the US via Temuco.
Bus to Calama, passing a huge geoglyph (imitation old, or the real thing), and, after night fell, on the way to San Pedro de Atacama, getting out of the bus when the road was blocked by a truck missing a wheel or some such, and letting our eyes wander up from dunes (small compared to later ones) to sky full of stars. the milky way clear and running from horizon to horizon, and mars bright.
Until this year San Pedro´s lights turned off at 1. Thats no longer true, but its still a tiny one story, dirt road town, full of hostels, tour companies, restaurants serving actual veggie food, and because of Fiestas Patrias, tourists to fill everything. So glad made reservations, at Hostel Puritama- when we got there, people whose room we were to take hadn´t moved out, so the owner had moved the dining room table out of their dining room- living room area (fairly separate from other areas of their part of the hostel) and moved two beds in for us. and the cutest little dogs EVER (despite the fact they weren´t....exactly...trained....) A dinner at a place called Cafe Tierra ("Todo Natural") where our pizzas with a corn based crust and lemonade were cooked right in front of us.
Thursday- joined the zoo of people trying to book tours. plenty of companies to go around, but we tried to be all scientific and went into a bunch where we got the same spiel. There are three main tours: Valle de la Luna for sunset, Altiplano Lakes, and Geysers (or Geysers and Pueblos). also Volcano climbing, which we seriously entertained, but ended up not going through with probably for the better (and cheaper). After watching part of a municipal parade and downing empanadas, we reported for our Valle tour at Desert Adventures only to have some problem with the vans...so we switched days, rented bikes, and tried to bike out of town (on those unpaved, frequently sandy roads). Past Cueva del Diablo, and a strange face carved into a rock archway, down to canyon area they had suggested, when we finally got foiled by a stream we couldn´t cross (Scott: of all the problems I would except in the desert, water wasn´t one of them). so instead wandered down path between two rock slopes, that wound around and didn´t seem to end. scott climbed up rocky side at one point, but when I tried to follow, sending down a shower of pebbles, I practically had a panic attack (not even the bigger rocks were actually attached). fear of falling episode number one....dinner at Cafe Export, pasta and tourists at the table over who turned around, asked me and scott to lean in closer (we were struggling to hear each other over the music), and proceeded to take our picture, us framing a candle and tapestry. it was somewhat bizarre.
Friday: Altiplano tour with Pachamama tours. driving out of town through the desert, then hitting a row of trees that supposedly stop the salar from expanding, then to town of Toconao, which has a waterfall that just seemingly pops out of the rocks. unlike the adobe houses of San Pedro, Toconao is constructed with volcanic stone. Laguna Chaxa, part of the Reserva Nacional Las Flamencos- and flamingos! chilling in the water, in the middle of the desolate salt covered terrain. We were given a lunch of cazuela in Socaire, where tables were set up for all the tours before and after us (its really practically all the same, depending on individual tour guides). Despite the brown landscape around it, there were patches of green in terraced fields- they can grow tons of things subsistance. We then drove up and up, into the altiplano, and to the hidden in the mountains Laguna Tuyajto. It was beautiful- very shallow, light turquiose blue, with whitish salt filled squishy sand, and a purplish mountain on far side. Lagunas Miniques and Miscanti next- nestled in the hills, greener surroundings, blue blue waters. When no one spoke it was just so quiet, except for two birds on the water. And on the way home, a stop by the Tropic of Capricorn where it intersected an Incan secondary road ("used for sacrifices and such").
After frantically signing up for a geyser tour at the last minute, a big group dinner with Chelsea from the altiplano tour, from Colorado, Siobhan from her hostel, and a couple in the room next to us at ours. And Scott´s friend Roberto, who we knew was in town, and ran into randomly). Milagros, with an open ceiling in middle and big bonfire. Not bad, not bad....good conversation and a sense of adventure, in the middle of the desert....
Bed at 2 up at 3- its really bizarre to stumble out of a hostel at 4 AM and find a whole crowd of bleary eyed people waiting for buses. Our Cosmo Andino driver took the "off road" approach to the El Tatio Geysers. Perhaps not as stunning in one sense, as yellowstone´s, but certainly more hands on- there were all this holes of steaming 80 degree celsius water, and no barriers whatsoever- it was don´t get to close, watch your step, and oh yeah, a Spanish doctor fell in last year.
On our way back our tour guide took us through this ravine with precarious rocks, stopped the van, and sure enough a little greenish white viscacha, which blended in nearly perfectly, was staring back at us. Past llamas, the town of Machuca (current pop. 1), and Batman looking at more flamingos through binoculars (and a car looking for Batman aka Spiderman aka Superman aka one of the tour guides), to San Pedro.
After spinning through the Museo Gustavo Le Paige, with its real mummys, Chelsea, Scott and I revisted Pukara de Quitor, this time on foot. More exciting than the hill with reconstructed Incan buildings was the adjacent lookout. We ascended in 20 minutes, and from the top, a stone platform with a cross inscribed in 4 languages, watched a beautiful sunset in silence. And then had to creep our way down in twilight, and THEN had to walk the 3 km to San Pedro in darkness, save the light of a cell phone to reflect water at the stream crossings. To a homemade pasta dinner.
Though exhausted, and therefore a little reluctant, we reported for a horseback ride sunday morning, I to Presidente and Scott to Jefe, the slowest horses of the group (I´d totally called it, too). Past the Pukara, through the river we´d got stuck at with bikes, and up and up and up, until we were overlooking the Valle de la Muerte. It was so bizarre, seeing below us a maze od reddish rocks, but looking out seeing flat pastel land with lone volcanos protruding up at random intervals. We could see into Bolivia, on the other side of Volcan Licancabur, and technically I think into Argentina. It was surreal. And the descent? 300 meters or so down a sand dune ("if your horse falls, help him up...."). Safely at the bottem, we passed through the valle and over the Cordillera de la Sal to San Pedro.
Last event was the postponed Valle de la Luna tour. The guide stopped at this chasm hidden next to a rock wall (fear of falling number two, and how)We stopped at several lookouts, Valle de Marte, before reaching Valle de la Luna. Scott and I climbed another sand dune, and stared out over the flat land with strong rock formations on one side, and the more canyony other side. The last stop was climbing another dune, crossing along its ridge (with Scott finding a seashell in the sand), and perching on a rock ledge to watch the sunset. Scott and I got their first, and it really was like, as Chelsea said, watching lemmings, or cult followers, as more tour vans pulled up and deposited their cargo. Unlike the sunset before though, we oculdn´t stay til the real colors came out....
another home cooked dinner, and Flora so tired she essentially fell asleep while talking.
Monday morning we eschewed the early bus or attempting a tour of Chuquicamata, had a lesiurely breakfast of yogurt and fruit (and Scott perhaps learned that yogurt and kiwi are not the best of combos). Suffered through The Tuxedo again on the bus back to Antofagasta. Managed to catch Bus #15 , which leaves every two hours, to the turn off for Monumento Nacional La Portada. Walked past a dynamite factory and a wall painted with "Pinochet Asesino" to the cliffs and coast, and rock formation. Rushing to catch the same bus to the airport, we thought we missed it, which prompted Scott to make a half hearted hitchhiking effort before the #15 appeared. We walkedthe last 2 km or so into the airport (when have you ever walked to an airport?), the setting sun blocked by perhaps the only shoreside mountain in the entire northern coast. Ah well.
Tired, and I think satisfied, but already hitting post vacation let-down, we closed out the day at "Comida Rapida" in Las Heroes, all bright light and white tables and prefab food, before we parted ways in a chilly Santiago night.
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We flew into Antofagasta, which is a port town, somewhat brown (excepting a beautiful plaza with a mini big ben- this used to be the heart of British nitrate interests economic imperialism etc; and the boats in the harbor), but seeing the "Jardin Infantil Snoopy" made my day. almost as much as peanut butter and banana sandwiches in the plaza, courtesy of the jar of peanut buttery goodness Scott brought from the US via Temuco.
Bus to Calama, passing a huge geoglyph (imitation old, or the real thing), and, after night fell, on the way to San Pedro de Atacama, getting out of the bus when the road was blocked by a truck missing a wheel or some such, and letting our eyes wander up from dunes (small compared to later ones) to sky full of stars. the milky way clear and running from horizon to horizon, and mars bright.
Until this year San Pedro´s lights turned off at 1. Thats no longer true, but its still a tiny one story, dirt road town, full of hostels, tour companies, restaurants serving actual veggie food, and because of Fiestas Patrias, tourists to fill everything. So glad made reservations, at Hostel Puritama- when we got there, people whose room we were to take hadn´t moved out, so the owner had moved the dining room table out of their dining room- living room area (fairly separate from other areas of their part of the hostel) and moved two beds in for us. and the cutest little dogs EVER (despite the fact they weren´t....exactly...trained....) A dinner at a place called Cafe Tierra ("Todo Natural") where our pizzas with a corn based crust and lemonade were cooked right in front of us.
Thursday- joined the zoo of people trying to book tours. plenty of companies to go around, but we tried to be all scientific and went into a bunch where we got the same spiel. There are three main tours: Valle de la Luna for sunset, Altiplano Lakes, and Geysers (or Geysers and Pueblos). also Volcano climbing, which we seriously entertained, but ended up not going through with probably for the better (and cheaper). After watching part of a municipal parade and downing empanadas, we reported for our Valle tour at Desert Adventures only to have some problem with the vans...so we switched days, rented bikes, and tried to bike out of town (on those unpaved, frequently sandy roads). Past Cueva del Diablo, and a strange face carved into a rock archway, down to canyon area they had suggested, when we finally got foiled by a stream we couldn´t cross (Scott: of all the problems I would except in the desert, water wasn´t one of them). so instead wandered down path between two rock slopes, that wound around and didn´t seem to end. scott climbed up rocky side at one point, but when I tried to follow, sending down a shower of pebbles, I practically had a panic attack (not even the bigger rocks were actually attached). fear of falling episode number one....dinner at Cafe Export, pasta and tourists at the table over who turned around, asked me and scott to lean in closer (we were struggling to hear each other over the music), and proceeded to take our picture, us framing a candle and tapestry. it was somewhat bizarre.
Friday: Altiplano tour with Pachamama tours. driving out of town through the desert, then hitting a row of trees that supposedly stop the salar from expanding, then to town of Toconao, which has a waterfall that just seemingly pops out of the rocks. unlike the adobe houses of San Pedro, Toconao is constructed with volcanic stone. Laguna Chaxa, part of the Reserva Nacional Las Flamencos- and flamingos! chilling in the water, in the middle of the desolate salt covered terrain. We were given a lunch of cazuela in Socaire, where tables were set up for all the tours before and after us (its really practically all the same, depending on individual tour guides). Despite the brown landscape around it, there were patches of green in terraced fields- they can grow tons of things subsistance. We then drove up and up, into the altiplano, and to the hidden in the mountains Laguna Tuyajto. It was beautiful- very shallow, light turquiose blue, with whitish salt filled squishy sand, and a purplish mountain on far side. Lagunas Miniques and Miscanti next- nestled in the hills, greener surroundings, blue blue waters. When no one spoke it was just so quiet, except for two birds on the water. And on the way home, a stop by the Tropic of Capricorn where it intersected an Incan secondary road ("used for sacrifices and such").
After frantically signing up for a geyser tour at the last minute, a big group dinner with Chelsea from the altiplano tour, from Colorado, Siobhan from her hostel, and a couple in the room next to us at ours. And Scott´s friend Roberto, who we knew was in town, and ran into randomly). Milagros, with an open ceiling in middle and big bonfire. Not bad, not bad....good conversation and a sense of adventure, in the middle of the desert....
Bed at 2 up at 3- its really bizarre to stumble out of a hostel at 4 AM and find a whole crowd of bleary eyed people waiting for buses. Our Cosmo Andino driver took the "off road" approach to the El Tatio Geysers. Perhaps not as stunning in one sense, as yellowstone´s, but certainly more hands on- there were all this holes of steaming 80 degree celsius water, and no barriers whatsoever- it was don´t get to close, watch your step, and oh yeah, a Spanish doctor fell in last year.
On our way back our tour guide took us through this ravine with precarious rocks, stopped the van, and sure enough a little greenish white viscacha, which blended in nearly perfectly, was staring back at us. Past llamas, the town of Machuca (current pop. 1), and Batman looking at more flamingos through binoculars (and a car looking for Batman aka Spiderman aka Superman aka one of the tour guides), to San Pedro.
After spinning through the Museo Gustavo Le Paige, with its real mummys, Chelsea, Scott and I revisted Pukara de Quitor, this time on foot. More exciting than the hill with reconstructed Incan buildings was the adjacent lookout. We ascended in 20 minutes, and from the top, a stone platform with a cross inscribed in 4 languages, watched a beautiful sunset in silence. And then had to creep our way down in twilight, and THEN had to walk the 3 km to San Pedro in darkness, save the light of a cell phone to reflect water at the stream crossings. To a homemade pasta dinner.
Though exhausted, and therefore a little reluctant, we reported for a horseback ride sunday morning, I to Presidente and Scott to Jefe, the slowest horses of the group (I´d totally called it, too). Past the Pukara, through the river we´d got stuck at with bikes, and up and up and up, until we were overlooking the Valle de la Muerte. It was so bizarre, seeing below us a maze od reddish rocks, but looking out seeing flat pastel land with lone volcanos protruding up at random intervals. We could see into Bolivia, on the other side of Volcan Licancabur, and technically I think into Argentina. It was surreal. And the descent? 300 meters or so down a sand dune ("if your horse falls, help him up...."). Safely at the bottem, we passed through the valle and over the Cordillera de la Sal to San Pedro.
Last event was the postponed Valle de la Luna tour. The guide stopped at this chasm hidden next to a rock wall (fear of falling number two, and how)We stopped at several lookouts, Valle de Marte, before reaching Valle de la Luna. Scott and I climbed another sand dune, and stared out over the flat land with strong rock formations on one side, and the more canyony other side. The last stop was climbing another dune, crossing along its ridge (with Scott finding a seashell in the sand), and perching on a rock ledge to watch the sunset. Scott and I got their first, and it really was like, as Chelsea said, watching lemmings, or cult followers, as more tour vans pulled up and deposited their cargo. Unlike the sunset before though, we oculdn´t stay til the real colors came out....
another home cooked dinner, and Flora so tired she essentially fell asleep while talking.
Monday morning we eschewed the early bus or attempting a tour of Chuquicamata, had a lesiurely breakfast of yogurt and fruit (and Scott perhaps learned that yogurt and kiwi are not the best of combos). Suffered through The Tuxedo again on the bus back to Antofagasta. Managed to catch Bus #15 , which leaves every two hours, to the turn off for Monumento Nacional La Portada. Walked past a dynamite factory and a wall painted with "Pinochet Asesino" to the cliffs and coast, and rock formation. Rushing to catch the same bus to the airport, we thought we missed it, which prompted Scott to make a half hearted hitchhiking effort before the #15 appeared. We walkedthe last 2 km or so into the airport (when have you ever walked to an airport?), the setting sun blocked by perhaps the only shoreside mountain in the entire northern coast. Ah well.
Tired, and I think satisfied, but already hitting post vacation let-down, we closed out the day at "Comida Rapida" in Las Heroes, all bright light and white tables and prefab food, before we parted ways in a chilly Santiago night.
Tuesday, September 16, 2003
I should be asleep, because I definitely only slept from 8- 10:30 AM and somehow managed to stumble through the day. Relief at having finished...something, even if the vacation this week isn´t really spring break proper. But I´m off to Atacama tomorrow! If I can wake up at 5, the plan is to fly with Scott to Antofagasta, poke around the city, take a 5 hour bus to San Pedro de Atacama via Calama. After receiving a dubious look from the sernatur guy today when I asked about alojamiento in San Pedro, a frittered away cell phone minutes and made reservations for tomorrow night (half the world is going, apparently). Its the center of tourism for that part of the desert, though small enough that there aren´t atms and places don´t accept credit card. I hope the nights aren´t too cold and the days aren´t too hot! We´re returning via Antofagasta Monday (the plane tickets were a big fat splurge but I don´t have the fortitude of some people I know, who are taking a 21 hour bus ride to Buenos Aires- Atacama is like 18. I tell myself, instead of DC-Boston for thanksgiving. But Lan Chile has something of a monopoly here, no jet blue types around).
Thursday is Independence Day and Friday is Dia de los Militares, which is why the holidays.
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Thursday is Independence Day and Friday is Dia de los Militares, which is why the holidays.
Monday, September 15, 2003
I have two pages of a very long and rather unspecified (no MORE than 10 pages each essay, and two. hah) take home done. its 11 at night.
Instead, I´m slightly buzzed on champagne (its wearing off thank goodness. one glass! champagne is strong right? then I´ll feel less bad) because today my host brother defended his thesis, and is now a professional man....at 23...!
the chilean system has its advantages indeed. but I dread having to wake him up from his hungover stupor tomorrow to print:-)
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Instead, I´m slightly buzzed on champagne (its wearing off thank goodness. one glass! champagne is strong right? then I´ll feel less bad) because today my host brother defended his thesis, and is now a professional man....at 23...!
the chilean system has its advantages indeed. but I dread having to wake him up from his hungover stupor tomorrow to print:-)
Sunday, September 14, 2003
After sitting on the phone number for two months, I got in touch with the cousins of some family friends of ours (ancient soccer/tennis/ice skating carpool /elementary school friend of miine), and went out with them tonight. From the minute I got in the car, it was different, though partly it came from waves of 5th grade not-quite-nostalgia . The friends in the states are from the Kenwood-Lexus- Aspen set (or maybe Vale...I´m not up on my skiing social heirachy) which equaled Las Condes and a VW, and weird as it was to admit it, a sense of being closer to home. The cousins are my age, a girl and a boy, and we went to a birthday party in one of the fancier neighborhoods (5 cars out front neighborhoods. rented tent- complete with capel pisco sponsoring- neighborhoods). there were a lot of engineering students from catolica, and more than usual amount of good-looking guys (or at least, preppily dressed), and a less then usual amount of mullets and cigarettes, and I thought to myself, a hint of eu d´whitman wafting through the air (not that I ever actually attended a wwhs party. and this was probably less sketchy in that the alcohol was legally and sanely consumed). and I felt a little abashed that this is my norm (although things are more striated here, so its not quite the same, perhaps). and I thought, maybe I am growing, if I just let myself (and I don´t let my picky stomach get in the way). and I do like my homestay family, I do! I´m just a prematurely old dog.
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Saturday, September 13, 2003
Last night I went to hear Seba´s band play at Flannery´s Irish Geo Pub ("the first real Irish pub in Chile!" or some such:-) It was fun, aside from the fact the band´s good. There were an ample number of English speakers around, and though we were right behind the obnoxious American, the ebullient Irishman next to us made up for it. I kept thinking expatriate, in an almost glamorous F. Scott Fitzgerald/Herman Wouk sense (whatever the Chilean equivalent would be).
and today was spectacular weather, almost weather enough to forgive the whole 10 or 11 months of winter I´ve endured:-) The Chileans I guess are like the Irish- quasi-Catholic, raven-haired, with a propensity for blood sausage.
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and today was spectacular weather, almost weather enough to forgive the whole 10 or 11 months of winter I´ve endured:-) The Chileans I guess are like the Irish- quasi-Catholic, raven-haired, with a propensity for blood sausage.
Friday, September 12, 2003
To continue, at once yesterday my host mom was describing emphatically how bad medical conditions were during the Popular Unity (Allende) period. My host dad, while not vigorously contradicting, wasn´t actually agreeing either. They resolved it by sighing, politics are useless, everyone follows their own interests- a refrain Juan has said before, to me. Which is all well and good, but what do they want to replace it with?
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Thursday, September 11, 2003
from today´s Mercurio:
¨La Unidad Popular instaló en Chile la violencia politica¨ - M. Cubillos, UDI (who bears a striking resemblance to Ann Coulter)
"La UDI [right wing party] no tiene que hacer ni hará ningún mea culpa ni reconocimiento de nada. Siempre hemos condenado las violaciones a los derechos humanos y nunca aceptamos como política de Estado que fuera legítimo matar, como sí lo hicieron los socialistas y conumistas al validar el uso de las armas y la violencia para destruir la "democracia burguesa". Por eso son los PS y PC los que han tenido que hacer un mea culpa."- UDI senator Jovino Novoa
"...fuimos sorprendidos por el esfuerzo de algunos sectores de la Concertación y del Gobierno por difundir y tratar de imponer ante la opinión pública una versión de la historia absolutamente ajena a la realidad"- UDI ad
"De la derrota y la división de esos años y de la dictadura que les siguió, sacamos lecciones y experiencias nuevas y aprendimos en carne propia el valor inmenso e irreenplazable de la democracia, ña tolerancia y la libertad"- Minister of Interior José Miguel Insulza
I can´t find my favorite....loosely translated something like !I hope tomorrow Ricardo Lagos will again be president to all the Chilean people, not some of them"
In other words, divisions still run deep. In the 5 or 6 pages devoted to the commemoration of the 11th, descriptions of the ceremony the President and the family of Allende has to commemorate Allende´s death, are articles about the possible presence of Pinochet at the Fundación Pinocohet´s ceremony to honor the 20th anniversary of the coup. Interspersed with this are quotations from both sides...and the hour by hour of todays events is the same way:
11:45 La Fundación Presidente Pinochoet visita al general (r) Augusto Pinochet...
11:47 Cantata de los derechos humanos en La Moneda [the presidential office building]
....
18:00 Velatón en homenaje a kas víctimas de ka represión en el Estadio Nacional
19:00 En CasaPiedra la Fundación Presidente Pinochet entregará medallas a las esposas de los ex jefes de las instituciones armadas...
19:30 Se juntan en Ahumada con la Alameda la Agrupación de Ejecutados Políticos, el Frente Patriótico Manuel Rodríguez y Comisión Funa para marchar por la "Impunidad Jamás"
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¨La Unidad Popular instaló en Chile la violencia politica¨ - M. Cubillos, UDI (who bears a striking resemblance to Ann Coulter)
"La UDI [right wing party] no tiene que hacer ni hará ningún mea culpa ni reconocimiento de nada. Siempre hemos condenado las violaciones a los derechos humanos y nunca aceptamos como política de Estado que fuera legítimo matar, como sí lo hicieron los socialistas y conumistas al validar el uso de las armas y la violencia para destruir la "democracia burguesa". Por eso son los PS y PC los que han tenido que hacer un mea culpa."- UDI senator Jovino Novoa
"...fuimos sorprendidos por el esfuerzo de algunos sectores de la Concertación y del Gobierno por difundir y tratar de imponer ante la opinión pública una versión de la historia absolutamente ajena a la realidad"- UDI ad
"De la derrota y la división de esos años y de la dictadura que les siguió, sacamos lecciones y experiencias nuevas y aprendimos en carne propia el valor inmenso e irreenplazable de la democracia, ña tolerancia y la libertad"- Minister of Interior José Miguel Insulza
I can´t find my favorite....loosely translated something like !I hope tomorrow Ricardo Lagos will again be president to all the Chilean people, not some of them"
In other words, divisions still run deep. In the 5 or 6 pages devoted to the commemoration of the 11th, descriptions of the ceremony the President and the family of Allende has to commemorate Allende´s death, are articles about the possible presence of Pinochet at the Fundación Pinocohet´s ceremony to honor the 20th anniversary of the coup. Interspersed with this are quotations from both sides...and the hour by hour of todays events is the same way:
11:45 La Fundación Presidente Pinochoet visita al general (r) Augusto Pinochet...
11:47 Cantata de los derechos humanos en La Moneda [the presidential office building]
....
18:00 Velatón en homenaje a kas víctimas de ka represión en el Estadio Nacional
19:00 En CasaPiedra la Fundación Presidente Pinochet entregará medallas a las esposas de los ex jefes de las instituciones armadas...
19:30 Se juntan en Ahumada con la Alameda la Agrupación de Ejecutados Políticos, el Frente Patriótico Manuel Rodríguez y Comisión Funa para marchar por la "Impunidad Jamás"
Wednesday, September 10, 2003
Anyone up for Machu Picchu in the beginning of January?
Tomorrow is the thirtieth anniversary of the (CIA partly funded) coup that replaced Allende with a military junta. I would link to the cheery warning the US embassy sent us but webmail is down...:-( Though I have in the past stared down (or rather, smiled timidly at) armed Turkish soldiers guarding the Cypriot neutral zone, and really would like to go downtown and see whats up, the constant presence of those armed trucks in the area is something of a deterrent. But I heard from Lewis they are opening the side door (now a window) in La Moneda through which Allende´s body was removed, and which was then closed up. Another site.
On a very different note (and doesn´t it always come back to food?) I just want to comment on the mayonnaise fetish. Its present in those italianos, but then last night I narrowly stopped my host mom from squirting mayo on my rice with corn. And though I´m sure i´ve enjoyed this myself in the past (maybe) I found myself making a face at the guy making a mayo and wheat cracker sandwich. And there is of course mayo and artichoke. While I love Thyme Square´s version, I can´t say I don´t prefer my mom´s butter and olive oil plus other stuff sauce- the suggestion of which brought an equally alarmed look to my host mom´s face. Ah, cultural exchange.
And my big new revelation on the empty fridge subject (its not just my house, I swear). Unless DARE/sex ed/health was total propaganda, nicotine is an appetite suppressant, right? maybe the smoking has something to do with it (and the insane amounts of salt poured on everything from a lettuce salad to the outside of the bread in a cheese sandwich. but then, I´m probably the only person at harvard who has never used a salt shaker on campus!)
Yesterday, 10 page paper turned in...and so it begins.
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Tomorrow is the thirtieth anniversary of the (CIA partly funded) coup that replaced Allende with a military junta. I would link to the cheery warning the US embassy sent us but webmail is down...:-( Though I have in the past stared down (or rather, smiled timidly at) armed Turkish soldiers guarding the Cypriot neutral zone, and really would like to go downtown and see whats up, the constant presence of those armed trucks in the area is something of a deterrent. But I heard from Lewis they are opening the side door (now a window) in La Moneda through which Allende´s body was removed, and which was then closed up. Another site.
On a very different note (and doesn´t it always come back to food?) I just want to comment on the mayonnaise fetish. Its present in those italianos, but then last night I narrowly stopped my host mom from squirting mayo on my rice with corn. And though I´m sure i´ve enjoyed this myself in the past (maybe) I found myself making a face at the guy making a mayo and wheat cracker sandwich. And there is of course mayo and artichoke. While I love Thyme Square´s version, I can´t say I don´t prefer my mom´s butter and olive oil plus other stuff sauce- the suggestion of which brought an equally alarmed look to my host mom´s face. Ah, cultural exchange.
And my big new revelation on the empty fridge subject (its not just my house, I swear). Unless DARE/sex ed/health was total propaganda, nicotine is an appetite suppressant, right? maybe the smoking has something to do with it (and the insane amounts of salt poured on everything from a lettuce salad to the outside of the bread in a cheese sandwich. but then, I´m probably the only person at harvard who has never used a salt shaker on campus!)
Yesterday, 10 page paper turned in...and so it begins.
Sunday, September 07, 2003
My host family´s computer really is virused- it shuts down unpredictably with a kind minute warning. For my lousy scrawled aim messages last night...thats why I disappeared so fast- sorry! (this is the only way I can think to explain without sending out disease ridden apologetic emails).
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Saturday, September 06, 2003
Rainy day, Saturday afternoon.....welcome back Harvardians! And, of course, everyone else to school:-) I think their computer has a virus, as at least one message I sent was returned with a dire warning from mr. mail delivery subsystem. my host mom tried to blame it on my iomega minidrive (where did you buy your disk?) despite the fact my darling laptop has been internetless for many a month now. oh well.
Yesterday Dan and I got lost trying to find the travel agency.
me: don´t look up
dan: wha- oh no theres a bennigans!
me: not the bennigans.
indeed, beside said bennigans there was a TWO STORY Starbucks. it was ridiculous. and, proceeding around the corner we passed a tgi fridays, pizza hut, and dunkin donuts before landing in the travel agency and booking tickets for Easter Island. for december- during the last official week of school, actually. exams, actually. I don´t think I have any then....
at night I went with Lewis from harvard to a Salvador Allende tribute concert in the Estadio National. It was the first of two nights, with musicians from Chile and all over. As night fell and the temperature dropped (its too cold again:-( and the warmup bands wound up, people started shouting out the old Allende rally chants. It was a bit spooky, mainly because I´ve seen footage from the 70s of people chanting the same thing, and here we were, surrounded by mostly older people who probably were (at least representatively) in that footage:
"El pueblo! Unido! Jamas sera vencido!"
"Se siente! se siente! Allende esta presente!"
"Companeros de Allende" "Presente!"
"Companeros de Allende" "Presente!"
"Ahora!" "Y siempre!"
"Ahora!" "Y siempre!"
The actual show began with Quilipayun, a Chilean folk band that was exiled during the dictatorship. Then there were a succession of artists from all over, some of whom I recognized or not but all famous. Ravi Shankar´s son, with an endearingly bad Spanish accent, a big brazilian delegation including Gilberto Gil, some Chilean hip hop, Los Prisioneros. The closer was I think Tobias Rey (?) a salsa band. At 1:30 AM, 6 and a half hours after we arrived for the warm-up bands- frozen out!
Someone, have a waffle with chocolate sauce and strawberries for me!
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Yesterday Dan and I got lost trying to find the travel agency.
me: don´t look up
dan: wha- oh no theres a bennigans!
me: not the bennigans.
indeed, beside said bennigans there was a TWO STORY Starbucks. it was ridiculous. and, proceeding around the corner we passed a tgi fridays, pizza hut, and dunkin donuts before landing in the travel agency and booking tickets for Easter Island. for december- during the last official week of school, actually. exams, actually. I don´t think I have any then....
at night I went with Lewis from harvard to a Salvador Allende tribute concert in the Estadio National. It was the first of two nights, with musicians from Chile and all over. As night fell and the temperature dropped (its too cold again:-( and the warmup bands wound up, people started shouting out the old Allende rally chants. It was a bit spooky, mainly because I´ve seen footage from the 70s of people chanting the same thing, and here we were, surrounded by mostly older people who probably were (at least representatively) in that footage:
"El pueblo! Unido! Jamas sera vencido!"
"Se siente! se siente! Allende esta presente!"
"Companeros de Allende" "Presente!"
"Companeros de Allende" "Presente!"
"Ahora!" "Y siempre!"
"Ahora!" "Y siempre!"
The actual show began with Quilipayun, a Chilean folk band that was exiled during the dictatorship. Then there were a succession of artists from all over, some of whom I recognized or not but all famous. Ravi Shankar´s son, with an endearingly bad Spanish accent, a big brazilian delegation including Gilberto Gil, some Chilean hip hop, Los Prisioneros. The closer was I think Tobias Rey (?) a salsa band. At 1:30 AM, 6 and a half hours after we arrived for the warm-up bands- frozen out!
Someone, have a waffle with chocolate sauce and strawberries for me!
Thursday, September 04, 2003
Before my UChile class Kelly from Tufts asked me if I´d seen the riots on tuesday.
I had already left for la Catolica. But there had been rocks and water and an armored truck. And today, waiting for the bus outside the campus, this armored truck rolls by (I don´t know how armored it was actually, it looked like a bus just painted all black), and stops on the corner. A guy hops out, ceremoniously stops southbound traffic while the truck turns the corner, then walks after the truck. Don´t know what that was about.
but the other day I found myself thinking of sunday brunch waffles with chocolate sauce. and now, muffin tops. Its going to be a long time til I see a muffin...(mmm perkins muffins...)
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I had already left for la Catolica. But there had been rocks and water and an armored truck. And today, waiting for the bus outside the campus, this armored truck rolls by (I don´t know how armored it was actually, it looked like a bus just painted all black), and stops on the corner. A guy hops out, ceremoniously stops southbound traffic while the truck turns the corner, then walks after the truck. Don´t know what that was about.
but the other day I found myself thinking of sunday brunch waffles with chocolate sauce. and now, muffin tops. Its going to be a long time til I see a muffin...(mmm perkins muffins...)
