Critters, creatures, and livestock

The trail...

Always some more to go...the trail was well marked, didn't have too much difficulty sticking to it. It took us through many different landscapes, forests, over rivers, mountains, through valleys under tall trees past jagged branches bracing the wind, the landscape was always changing but the trail always stayed the same.

Start and Finish

We started and finished at the same place...in reality we planned to start at a different point but a little confusion with the map and an offer for a ride in the back of a pick up as the rain was coming down started us off at the Los Torres Refugio. Because of the rain and we had no sense of what the start looked like when the sun was shining, it was surprising to see it when we returned at the end...

First longer trek...

For me it was my first longer trek, I had done a couple four day adventures, Carolina had done one, but we were planning for ten days, something that was yet unexplored.

I didn't know a lot about what to bring as food, and where to get it cheaply once we arrived in Punta Arenas, a friend of ours suggested that we go to the Zona Franca, which is a tax free zone where everything is remarkably cheap. It was good for the prices, but the selection and variety was lacking. We ended up with a lot of canned meat, spam type stuff, and of course tuna, pasta, instant rice. It was all really heavy, my bag weighed a ton, but food prices within the park are ridiculously expensive.

As far as gear went, we had most of the bigger items, we ended up buying trekking poles, which were a blessing in some parts of the hike, and some smaller items like a first aid kit, a new head lamp, a compass, but now I feel that my gear for hiking is almost complete, though I always seem to be missing something....

Torres del Paine....

I first heard about this place through my grandfather, who gave it his highest level of approval and appreciation by calling it "mind boggling." It was that story that gave Chile a new place on my map. The more I learned about Chile, the more I wanted to go, and at the heart of that urge was a plan to go to the south of Chile, to the far tip of the continent and walk all around the park on the Paine Circuit, a 8-12 day hike that takes you all around the granite, glacier formed mass that gives the park its name.

When I arrived to Chile, plans changed, and I found myself heading north for my first trip, something which I don't regret, but at the time I didn't know if I would complete that goal that I had set out for myself months back from the flatlands of Iowa.

So when I finished the trek just a couple weeks ago, it meant that a major goal had been completed, and with good company as well! (doing a long hike with one good friend, or a complete stranger is one thing, trying to keep manage it with a girlfriend adds a whole other set of issues and complications, as well as joys and advantages..)

I have a fair amount of photos, so I think I'm going to be filling the blog with them over the next couple weeks, Santiago will still be here so no need to talk about it for a while....

Chileans eat watermelon with a spoon....

There are many cultural differences between Chileans and (North) Americans, the most obvious, and biggest, would probably be the language. For the most part, the differences are not huge, people go to work with ties on, the get together for a beer afterwards, many life goals are the same.

The differences that exist are mainly in details, happy hour starts around 8 or 9 pm, breakfast isn't nearly as important as in the US, dinners are served late, so on and so on.

But then there are those differences that make my jaw drop. Last weekend I was with Carolina's family, we ate a bunch of food, the main dish being humitas, which consists of a boiled corn leaf filled with corn mush, they added sugar, I added spicy Piebre, which resembles what in the US we call salsa. Then it came, the watermelon. I was all ready to dig my face into the juicy mess and spit seeds at anyone within range, as always. However when my portion arrived, IT CAME WITH A SPOON! The shock hit me like a truck. I watched as people carved away with their spoons (though all not quite as creatively as in the photo), and was resigned to spitting the seeds only at my plate in a way as not to attract much attention. I thought that the shock of hot dog lasagna would top the culinary cultural differences, but watermelon with a spoon might have topped that one....

Above Santiago....

Its a bit of a haul, but always is worth it. Parque Mahuida on the edge of the community of La Reina is a bit of portal. To get there one must ride through a spectrum of urban settings. From pothole ridden slums, busy streets, expensive barrios, quite offlets, all while dodging street dogs, microbuses, cars, other bikes, passing military bases, small airports, and a multitude of business.

The worst part of the ride is the last six blocks or so before one arrives at the gate of the park. I swear this hill is straight up and each pedal wears one down. Sweat pours down the face, as every bit of toxin that was ever inside your body is forced out. It is quite therapeutic, though tiresome. However, arriving at the park is always a good feeling.

The park itself is a gateway to a much different world. The Sendero de Chile lies there, which
is a trail that will one day connect all of Chile, north to south. At this point there are several parts completed but the whole thing has yet to be finished. Near the capital, Mahuida offers the only access, luckily it is only a short bike ride from my apartment. From there you can reach many different places along the eastern border of the city. The only problem is that to get there is a feat in itself, so I never have a lot of energy to get to far.

Bike trails aren't the only feature of the park. There are several hiking trails as well. One that will take you up to around 2800 meters (9186 Ft). This is a longer hike, probably around six hours. I still haven't made it yet, I never seem to arrive there with enough time. I made it higher than halfway, the view was spectacular. The whole entire capital looms below. You can see the smog bubble, in all of its brownness.

On my last journey to the park I met and talked to one of the workers there, the man who is responsible for rescuing lost hikers. He told me there is a trail that runs from the first mountain (or hill, as the Chileans call it, but to an Iowan such as myself it is a massive mountain) to another "hill" behind it that stands at about 3200 meters (10,500 Ft). The trails continues and tops two other peaks, before taking you back down into a different neighborhood of the city. In all, it takes about six days to complete. From the moment he told me about it, I wanted to go....mmmmmm

Back to last week...

January is a month that is full of live outdoor music in Santiago. One of the events is Providencia's jazz festival which takes place along the murky water of the Mapocho river. It is a three day even featuring musicians from all around the world. This year one of the features was Poncho Sanchez, a US born Latin Jazz musicians who gets on the congas and really fills the place up with some life. There was a Swiss group that went before him, they were really technical, something only a true jazz fanatic could enjoy, it bored me. When Poncho came on, wearing an all white outfit that glowed in the heavy stage lights, you could just feel the energy. He likes to talk, usually in a good Spanglish mix, and his beats make everyone want to move...

time?

I, like so many I know have an alarm clock. It wakes me up when I am forced to rise earlier than my body would like. Usually, I am forced to rush somewhere afterwards. I check the time every hour, at least. I couldn't tell you the last time that an entire day passed without stealing a glance at some sort of time keeping mechanism. Yes, that is the world we live in, or at least most of us do. Hurry up, don't be late, drink coffee to stay awake, don't forget to write down the things you have to do, and if you do manage to complete this daunting task, you'd better check off that list, there is lots to do you see, more than can ever be accomplished in one day, shit! I'm out of time....

It is nice to know, that there are old men and dogs in this world who don't understand the corrupted language that time speaks two seconds after you just missed something...

see you next time...

Back to the books...

That's right, I have once again become, (well actually not anymore) a student. I took a short Spanish class last week, 20 hours in total, 4 a day, to practice and "polish the diamond" a little bit.

It was interesting to be in a language class as a student after having taught several classes. It gave me some perspective into the style I use when I teach, being in the students shoes I see some of the things that work, and others that don't. It actually makes me a bit excited to think about teaching once again.

However the class is now complete, and I am just an unemployed gringo for one more week, then I'm hitting the road, heading for the southern tip of South America.

spilling into the street...

The Plaza outside of my apartment was full of people waving banners, screaming, having a good time as cars tried to squeeze past.

The crowds filled up....

Crowds of people waved Bachelet flags, there was almost more excitment than a Colo-Colo vs. U de Chile soccer game, almost.

There is no moment...

Chileans like to BBQ, and not a moment passes that can't be utilized...here a young child enjoys a stick of meat as the country celebrates the election results...

the new president....

I arrived to a new day in Chile. A women president has now been elected in a very conservative, machista culture. I came back to the capital after spending the weekend on the coast and found the place alive as people cruised down the streets honking their horns, waving flags, yelling, dancing in the street, generally having a good time. I haven't ever experienced anything like that, I have grown to associate presidential campaigns with disappointment in the end.

A dreary Iowa day

Today is a dreary day, everything is overcast, a bit tepid really. The snow has melted a little bit, leaving strange patches of dead winter grass, surrounded by mud-covered mounds of snow. The wind is strong, and very cold, it gets dark much earlier here, around four thirty, I went from extreme to extreme, solstice to solstice.... summer to winter...luckily I will go back again...

It would appear...

It seems to appear that updating my blog has become something fleeting, a goal that is just out of reach. I am at a loss to really say just why, no good excuses can be given. No maybe it is nothing more than a bout of full-blown writer's block.

That question that always lies in wait, what in the hell am I going to write?

Right now I am in the quite world of Iowa City, that is an Iowa City without its students. Lots of snow here, though some of it melted today. Doesn't seem to be a lot to do, nothing is really happening other than a few sporadic social gatherings, there is nothing.

I am waiting for more snow so that I can embark with cross country skies in hand, ready for the saddle dips and curves of Iowa "slopes" Not quite as dramatic as Chile now, but there is beauty in the plains of snow covered crops that surround Iowa City. There is serenity in the subtlety, enough to make being outside during colder weather worth it.

Christmas is a different day altogether depending on the temperature. The outside gives the phenomenon of being inside a heated house with the fam added value.

So these first few days move confusingly as I run into people I haven't seen for sometime. Tonight I am going out to a friend's place, it will be interesting to see who is there, could be fun, could not, guess I'll just have to wait and see...

One week to go...

So I have one week left of teaching at the copper mine, I have really enjoyed alot about this experience, it was something that I never envisioned when I arrived in Chile. It has opened my eyes to another world, I have met some interesting characters, people I never would have encountered if I were only working in Santiago. I got access to places that most people don't, many of the people who work for the mining company, some for more than ten years, haven't seen the mine itsself. I made better money, which allows me to do some exciting stuff over the summer, like travel to Torres del Paine and hike for days on end!

Of course, there were the downfalls, the massive amount of travel that arriving to the mine required, getting up at 5:30 am one day, arriving at 3 am to Santiago the next, my sleeping cycle hasn't been regualar since it started. There was also a bit of a culture shock going back and forth from what amounts to an isolated outpost high in the Andes to the speed, impersonlity, and noise of a city of five million people. My personal life was effected, especially my relationship with my girlfriend,we were left with little time to spend together, which is made worse by other commitments to places like the Santiago Times, and other classes in Santiago.

It was worth it, before I was feeling like I hadn't been pushed enough in Santiago, that I needed a bit more intensity, and it allowed that. Plus, it gave me time alone in a silent room that has been good for reflection, every week that I went back to Santiago felt a bit like a brand new start, every time I went back to the mine, the end of something. That cycle, as disorientating as it was, really made me think about what I am doing, and why I am doing it. I came to Chile to learn, recently teaching English has seemed like a burden, but I think that I lost perspective a bit, it was never the sole purpose for my trip, just a way of making it possible and giving me a structure, and a connection to a foreign land. It serves that purpose well, I think I need to be better at creating my own creative life outside of it, the two really go hand in hand very well.

So next week I move into a new stage of my Chile experience, and I am sooooo looking forward to the change!

Strawberries...

One of the best things about being in Chile is that there is a plentitude of cheap and fresh fruit for sale, this morning on my way to class I bought half a kilo of fresh strawberries for 500 pesos, or a little under one US dollar. Vegetables are equally as cheap, it makes for some good eatin...

I'm back...

Thats right, I know it has been a very long time since I wrote anything on the blog, I seem to do that, gain momentum, lose steam,

I have been trying to continue with my outdoor focus during the weekend in Santiago, riding the bike, going for a hike, BBQing outside. The natural wonders that Chile has to offer are second to none, it only takes 30-40 minutes and your out of the city and into a rugged mountain region.

I also got to see Infocap University, where Carolina works, it is for the poorest people in Chile, offers classes on various topics, from cooking, carpentry, plumbing, basic interview skills, art and resources like internet. The campus is beautiful, lots of trees, an observatory in the middle of a grassy field where lambs and peacocks roam. The classes are taught almost entirely by volunteers. The campus is also home to Tetcho Para Chile, whose office is filled with computers, posters and the feeling of activity.

Only two more weeks left after this week at the mine. I will be terminating my contract, so I have to leave the country and come back on a tourist visa, so I think that I am picking up some discount air tickets to Buenas Aires, Argentina, we have been talking about going for a few days, and I think that it is going to happen.

I am also excited to have some time to focus more on my writing for the Santiago Times, and on video and biking, plus, the weather is very nice now, lots of things going on outside like live music in the plaza across from my apartment.

Bring on summer!

A warm day in Santiago...

It is so nice to have some good springtime weather. Winter really gets the best of me sometimes, even here where the winter is very mild compared to the cold of an Iowa winter. I took a ride on my bicycle, arrived high above Santiago in the surrounding cerros. It is so important for me to get out and get some exercise on a regular basis, but this week it was essential. The stress of my work evaluations, the uncertainty of the fact that I might have my classes canceled and be out of a job, (which didn't happen) it just can be a bit much sometimes.

On another note, check out Carolina's photoblog, I am very impressed with the blog, and her keen photographic eye. It is a quality that I always appreciate in a girlfriend...

and my mouth waters....

check out this blog... the lack of diversity when it comes to food in Santiago is bothersome, there are some Indian, and Thai places around, but the Indian places are expensive, and the Thai one disappointing (no peanut sauce) I guess it is just more motivation to expand my own culinary skills...

Al Shamshoon

The Simpsons in Arabic, without bacon, beer or Moe's tavern, it just doesn't seem to make much sense. Los Simpsons exists in Chile, Homero is pretty much the same pig he is in the US, I think if the US is going to export its culture, at least keep it accurate, Omaro (I think that is what he will be called) drinking soda isn't going to portray what Springfield is all about...it would be interesting to watch to see how on earth they can form the bizarre plot lines without mentioning beer or bacon though...

Almost thought...

So last night this whole building (at the mine) rocked back and forth for a minute, I honestly thought it was an earthquake but it turned out to just be a bunch of explosions meant to open up some new areas of the mine.

I have talked about it before, but I will talk about it again, the scale of this place really blow my mind away. The company here is supposed to make something like $1 bn this year, and it is a smaller mine. In total, the copper mining makes around $ 12 bn yearly in profit. The electricty bill here is something like $1 million a month. There are trucks that could smash even the biggest of the SUVs without the driver really feeling anything.

What will happen when all of these sites start to run dry? There are those people who talk about resource wars, and I think we are already in the midst of one over oil. What about the rest of the natural resources that drive our world? Copper, iron, even water, I have the sensation that I will get to see alot of these problems unfold over the course of my life...it is all a bit unsettling.

back at the mine...

Back up here, my boss is with me, here to observe my classes and see how things are going. I really dislike having to teach for an audience, especially when it is my boss. The attendence of the students hasn't been very good, for many reasons, I don't know if they will let me finish the course through this December. I guess a decision will be made. I don't think I have ever seen such unstable work, maybe temp work putting popcorn into boxes, but you know that will be unstable when you start. There is this illusion about teaching English, set times for classes, attendence of students, your paycheck, you think you know what it will be, and then bamm a surprise comes. I am trying to find some other way to be busy here that will make my superiors feel like it is worth it to have me, but that is if my job stays intact this week.

Other than that, life is good, here in my 27th year of life....

a few more...

From my birthday

nunoa hounds

THE WAITING WRATH OF THE NUNOA HOUNDS

They lie in wait, move in packs, and bark louder than they bite, they are the resident strays of the Plaza Ñuñoa. Who are these canines? There are several of them that I see often in my travels to and from my apartment, located within barking distance of the plaza.

As far as strays go, they have a much better life than many other “vaga peros” who call the alleys, parks, bridges, and streets of Santiago home. There are several restaurants for the dogs to pick up fallen scraps of food, one of the street vendors has taken a liking to these pooches, setting up makeshift cardboard shelters, and even applied a splint to the broken leg of one of the injured mutts.

This is not to say their lives are easy, I looked into the eyes of one a particularly strange looking one with a long body and short legs. It was raining, and he looked rather sad, though I have seen the same one chasing bikes with plenty of glee.

On the whole, they are all rather calm, save a few instigators. One of the furry mutts always gets worked up when a motorcycle or bike comes close to the plaza. His display of doggone inhospitality catches on and pretty soon there are loud packs barking up a storm.

When the night falls, they tend to get more aggressive. I haven’t had too many problems riding my bicycle through the plaza during the day. However as the sun sets, the dogs start to growl.

I have seen them gather in a group of around fifteen, waiting for a motorist on an off-road motorcycle to cross Irarrazavul. The light changed and the rider proceeded, the pack converged and made chase like fox hounds going after a kill.

Only a dog knows what exactly is so offensive about a motorcycle or bicycle that warrants a dramatic show of teeth and an exhaustive chase. Regardless of their motives, if you happen to be riding by the Plaza Ñuñoa, it might pay to pack a good size stick, (or a tender steak) lest you feel the wrath of the Ñuñoa hounds.

So how bout a challenge....

So maybe I will regret deciding to all this, but I have entered into the NaNoWriMo (national novel writing month, ie november) challenge. I had read about this last year but missed it by several months. It involves writing a novel between Nov 1 and nov 30, it must be a minimum of 50,000 words, and it all has to be sent into their site by midnight of the 30th. It is an event that started several years ago in1999 with 21 participants. Last year 42,000 people registered, and 6,000 people finished. This year the organization is estimating around 60,000 people will register. It also involves forums, and more, sort of a community for creative bingers who for some reason think it is a good reason to do something like this. It is perfect for me because I have been wanting to write something longer for awhile, more than just an email, short story, or blog entry, and it is one of those things that always seem to be put off until tomarrow. You can read more about it at their website, the deadline is the first of November.

So what do you think? crazy or not?

We'll see on the 30th of November.

It has been a year...

I find it hard to believe that somehow I have been in Chile for a full year. I never would have believed it if anyone would have told me that I would be working in a copper mine, writing for an English newspaper.

It is hard to really get a sense of how I have changed in the last year. I think that when your living in such a different situation, a foreign country, the military, whatever, and coming from somewhere completely different like a flat university town, there is really no good point of refference to see exactly how you have changed. I really use people for all that, but the people I know here don't know me as I was before coming. So it really is difficult to say how I have changed, besides being able to understand an increasing amount of Spanish, I think that isn't all, and that much more is in shift and I won't really get a sense of that until I set foot in Iowa City once again.

I reall have been lucky, I have met some really cool people so far in Chile, from Carolina, to those I met traveling through Peru, crazy artist types selling jewewlery in La Paz, English teachers, Chileans of all sorts of different types. I have been able to see some pretty cool stuff, from Machhu Pichu, Lago Titikaka, the copper mine, the ocean on a regular basis, I have now lived in a large city for the longest period ever, one day I will have to stay a bit in a US city to compare it to Santiago.

I wasn't really sure when I left the US whether I had made the right decision, at first it was a bit difficult to feel comfortable with what I was doing, and even now I am not 100 percent stable, but I don't know if I ever will be.

So this weekend I will have to celebrate this milestone, along with my 27th birthday...

Took a ride to the country...

It was a really nice place, a small rustic cabin set into the hill. Plenty of life around, animals, lizards, snakes, weasels, a good place to let time slip away.

We took a couple day trips, one to a small waterfall, where the sun was hot and the water cold, I got sunburned, but it was worth it.

I also rode to some small little town, got lost, my bike pedal fell off and upon arrival we bought wine and meat, a group of men debated on how to fix my bicycle, they were an interesting bunch, the town must've been around 500 people or something.

the double life I live these days...

It really feels like a double life.

Go to the mine, come back to Santiago, go back to the mine, go back to Santiago, it is some sort of strange cycle that has my head spun up a bit. And my shift is rather easy. The people who actually work here pull shifts suck as 7 on 7 off, 5 by 2 10 by 5, not exactly stable living.

A number of people have commented that they feel like strangers in their own home, that their children don't listen to them because they aren't around. The money is good, and it is Chile's strongest, and biggest industry. With the price of the copper where it is, around 1.80, which is very high, the demand for production from the owners is very high. This means alot of stress for everyone involved in the business.

I feel lucky, in that I get a sense of how it is without having to fully subject myself to the lifestyle. It is a good gig for the short term, in my case, 20 weeks, but I couldn't imagine working here for years on end, on a longer 7 by 7 shift...

went up to the mine...

took a hike this weekend....

It has been to long since I updated or anything, many apologies but I just haven't made it anywhere near the blog lately.

Here is a photo from this weekend, I will try to post some more, if I get a chance while I'm up here at the mine.

So I haven't managed to update lately...

It has been hard to get myself to update the blog lately, I have been super busy going between the mine, Santiago, my new internship at the Santiago Times, social life, friends, girlfriend, celebrating diezyocho, Chile's independence day.

This last weekend I went to Talca to celebrate the national holiday with some of Carolina's friends. It is starting to look like springtime, which is really nice after a succession of rainy cold weekends in Santiago. We drank lots of wine and chicha, a national drink that tastes like cider that spent a little too much time sitting the fridge. Chica is a little better, has some sugar added and all.

The weekend before that I went to the coast, laid on the beach and ate some sea food. I have several pictures from both weekends and will post them when I get back to Santiago. For now I wait for students to arrive, it is a beautiful day up here at the mine, blue sky, nice and warm. Tomarrow is the first day of spring, and I am more than ready to start some outdoor activities. Some hiking in the Andes this weekend if all goes well.

Sittin round...

In Santiago there is a cemetary that is completely full of these large buildings, brick pathways, good sized trees, large structures with small slots for bodies. I have no idea how many people are buried here, but there are alot. From Salvador Allende, to unnamed workers. Most of the space is taken up by shed sized buildings housing a family. There are bigger buildings that house soceities and groups like firefighters, military, foreigners from far away. The designs of the structures vary greatly, from simple stone buildings to ornate reproductions of Aztec temples.

It is a nice place to come to and just wander around. You can sit and see all these other people walking through. Some are on bicycles just getting exercise, others are taking picures, many are visiting relatives. Every now and then you see an old woman visiting her long lost spouse, people praying to a cross in the center. There are lots of pepper trees for some reason, it is very fresh but I wouldn't even consider using pepper from a cemetary tree.

Along all the tombs, graves and buildings are flowers, old and new. Photos, figurines, plaques, and momentos all provide a visual collage that sparks curiousity about who these people were, what the did, how they died and who they left behind.

In the center is a large grave for Salvador Allende, the former president killed during the military coup of 1973. It has his last words inscribed on a marble podium. It is a very simple design.

The walls look like something build for a castle, and you enter through a large gate. It isn't a place I go very often, but when I do, it always makes for an interesting afternoon...

I was watching the TV...

The damage from Katrina is staggering, I knew that New Orleans was vunerable to serious flooding, but seeing on the TV is something else. It makes the flooding in Santiago seem like a spilled glass of water. There is a blog trying to post info about damage and info...

Waking up early at the mine

I don´t have much of a sleep pattern anymore since starting this job. I get up fairly early on Monday, obscenely early on Tuesday, and fairly early on Wednesday, then, my wake up time gets later and later as I move towards the weekend.

It is also a bit of a shock to go from the mine back to Santiago and vice versa. When I arrive in Santiago on Thursday morning around 3 am, it is a much different place from what I wake up to the next day. The hustle and bustle of the city is almost overwhelming. In the mine, I recognize many faces, people say hello to each other and aren´t afraid to make eye contact. All of that is out the window in Santiago. You avoid eye contact, keep to your friends, and pay attention. The smog blurs the view of the mountains, and the weather is different as well, more clouds, less sun, but warmer.

I feel like I have a double life or something. My focus and thoughts change depending where I am. The mine gives me more time for reflextion, to plot my next move, time to overanalyze everything, whereas in Santiago that sensation gets overwhelmed by the different options in front of me.

So tonight I go back to the mad world of the micro, where I have my space, and leave the cold, isolated, tight nit, and sometimes boring world of the mine until next week...

Everything is iced over and frozen up here. It is an interesting contrast from the mud and flooding of Santiago. I saw a bird all puffed up trying to keep warm. The temperature dropped to -14 below C, hopefully the heating system won´t go down!

one photo

So the snow has fallen, both up where I teach and down below. It was quite a scene.

snow up here....

lots of snow up at the mine, I´m trying to get photos online but am having alot of problems with the photo site...

Santiago turns into New Venice

You don´t have to go to Venice to have a romantic walk along urban canals, just come on down to Santiago and pick any major road, add a few days of rain, and enjoy...

Photos are from Sebastián Arancibia at Canal 13,

lots of flooding throughout Santiago ......

flood4
Originally uploaded by deambular.

lots of flooding throughout Santiago...

flood3
Originally uploaded by deambular.

more photos from Santiago

flood2
Originally uploaded by deambular.

lots of flooding throughout Santiago 1

flood1
Originally uploaded by deambular.

the rain continues..

P8270009
Originally uploaded by deambular.

It floods pretty bad when it rains hard. It has been raining since yesterday afternoon and the weather report says it won't let up until TUESDAY!

from where I sleep at the mine...

P8230006
Originally uploaded by deambular.

A little different from anything I have experienced thus far. The mine where I'm working is in one hell of a location. It really is something else...

Took a muddy ride...

I need a good ride after sitting too long at the mine. It 's good for the blood to take a ride as often as possible. Seems to get some sort of toxin out of the my system that the body creates when it has been enclosed in a small room, doing nothing for too long. All of those thoughts starting with "if" are pedalled out of my brain and at the end of it all, when I am finally relaxing, my life feels simplier.

So I set out, and not more than a minute after leaving it started to rain.

No problem , I thought, and headed on my way. My destination was a park in La Reina located on the edge of the mountain range. Even the edge is steep, and it is a ride that makes me want to give in. There is a hill that stands around 3,500 meters which I am aiming for, but after two attempts I have yet to make it up all the way.

The path takes me through several different neighborhoods, from tree filled, architecturally inspired part of town to muddy slums with too many metal fences. The road and side walk are full of holes, only a few curbs are anything decent to ride over. By the time I get to the base of the mountains from my apartment I have already fought through several kilometers of rough riding.

The uphill starts, and doesn't let up until you give up. It starts out on cement and goes straight up. Too steep, I always think as I stare up the road ahead of me. I thought that I would be able to handle it a little better since my last attempt. I had been on the bike more often and felt more confident about my physical condition.

Instead I found it more difficult. I was standing up while pedaling, counting my progress foot by foot. I had to stop several times in the cool drizzle that enclosed Santiago and isolated it from any sort of sun or blue sky. It also had a nasty way of holding in the smog, but that was only during the rain. After rainfall in Santiago you can actually see the mountains, in detail, and glazed with a fresh layer of Andean snow.

I continued my ascent, making progress slowly, but surely. After some time, I got to the block before the long, very steep patch of road before the entrance to the park. It was still the beginning of the ascent, but a patch of flat earth awaiting me. I stopped and took a short breather. While I was stopped, another biker, a mailman, pulled up to the intersection with his overloaded rig. It was still a drizzle, and the wet, steep street glistened, making it look even meaner. He took a look at the climb, then at me.

"Vas a subrir?" He asked me (Are you going up?)
"claro" I answered.
"puedes llevar un sobre alli? He asked (could you take an enevelope up there?)
"No problema"

I stuffed the enevelop, destined for the park office, coming from the bank, into my pocket. Pedal by pedal, I forced my way up the hill. I got to the top and delivered the letter to some confused looking workers. After all, it wasn't everyday that there was a gringo delivering bank notes.

This park consists of an event center, a luge-type slide, an equestrian club, picnic space, and several hiking trails. I started up the trails, but found the riding overwhelming. Wheezing for air, feeling a little sick from all the pedaling, I pushed my bike for awhile and then started pedaling again. It was around then that I realized that the entire time I had been using the middle gears, not the granny ones for climbing. The anguish of the push up hill made a little more sense, and I sighed seeing how much of a difference the lower gears made.

I pushed on ahead, and arrived at a wide trail, It had been cleared recently and was more of a road than a trail. I headed up and after awhile again had to get off my bike and push it. Finally I was about out of gas. The nice thing about this ride is that you can ride all you want, and without a problem find the point where you just can't ride any higher. I found some shelter under a tree and gazed out over the clouded view of Santiago. I could barely see my neighborhood, which was relatively close in the scale of things. The center of town, much less the other side of the valley ,were completly hidden in the smog and rain.

The drizzle picked up to rain, and I deceided to head back down. Coming up, the road had been dirt, going down it was pure clay. It stuck to my tires, surrounding the chain, the brakes, the derailer. I had to stop every few minutes in the ever increasing rain and clear out the clay. At one point I couldn't even turn the back wheel. It was a matter of pushing the clay clogged bicycle, but at the same town keeping it from rolling down the hill to fast.

Finally, I made it off the mud road, cleared away some of the excess mudd and headed back to the paved road. The downhill, normaly the highlight of the ride, was difficult, mud flying in my face, rain coming down, I was trying to keep my speed low but because of the grade it was tempting to just let go of the brakes and let gravity pay the bill.

In the end, I made the long ride back to the shelter of my apartment. I was completely soaked, covered in mud, had cold hands, and worn out.

In other words, one great ride.

The strange realm of the internet....

The internet is a bizarre place, or it can be. Especially its outlet hubs where people gather to view, interact, download, upload, chat, blog, copy, burn, and email. I remember in the computer labs of the UI library (UI by the way received a high ranking as one of the US's biggest party schools) people would gather and there was a strange sensation of some sort of progress being made in the world. Papers were being written, people were learning, in the internet room of the Hotel Mina, here in Los Pelambres, things are different.

There are those downloading music, some from the 80's, guns n roses, Tracy Chapman, Led Zeppellin, Chilean music, you name it. Others are playing army video games with people yelling commands in a walkie talkie style sound, screaming about this and that. Others download strange comedic performances taped in the Plaza de Armas of Santiago. Of course, no group of miners on the internet would be complete without someone downloading or copying some porn. I don't know if sites are blocked, but I doubt it. Needless to say, the noises, sights, and impressions all blend together in one very interesting medely.

Here's to the power of this strange creature known as the internet...

that struggle within...

Sometimes, well maybe a little more then sometimes, life seems to be this struggle to maintain some sort of continual balance. Ever since leaving school, and shortly thereafter, leaving the US I have been engaged in this struggle to figure out when on earth I might possible be heading. My focus shifts constantly, not just in subject, but on the level in which I squint my third eye. What part of my life demands the next step? Is it my personal life that needs some extra flavor? Is a good group of friends better than a best bud? Will a girlfriend overcomplicate my life or bring another aspect more beautiful than I could have envisioned? If I let my professional side lapse, can I make up the slack with my hobbies? These questions seem to be even more difficult when there is another language, another culture, and my own unstable brain all competing for that next conscious push forward. In the end, I end up moving forward on some sort of path that almost feels predestined. I try for something in spirit but all of my conscious efforts fail. Only after a mixture of coincidence, foresight, and a lot of pure luck do things seem to move in the way that I had wanted, or maybe more honestly put, move in a way that afterwards I can accept, thereby letting one part of my life move on, and actually feel somewhat content. That is, until things change, and that feeling which suggests that things must change sometime soon comes over me once again.

So it goes...

A test of sorts

A white winter has finally fallen...

Snow is here, or at least up where I'm staying at the mine. I was riding in an elevator last night on my way to my last class of the evening and I saw a street light. In the light you could see the snow pass by, it reminded me of cold Iowa winters spent trapped indoors. At lower altitudes it is only raining, but up here at around 2,800 meters there is a blanket of snow covering everything. It looks so smooth, so perfect, a soft layer of white that pleases the eye but freezes the hand.

Makes me think of all those winters sledding at Longfellow elementary in Iowa City. It was such a big hill, and I was so small. There would always be these pile ups of kids crashing into each other. I remember one really bad one, it seemed like there were fifteen kids all lying in a heap covered by snow and plastic sleds bought at Hy-Vee.

Snow is something that I do enjoy to see every now and then, but to be honest, once a year is probably enough, I look forward to spring which will be on its way in about a month. Bring on the good weather...

Hurry up and wait...

It was a concept that I thought I had left behind me as I drove away from Fort Bragg, NC. Getting up before the sun comes up so that you can spend most of the mourning waiting. Hurry up and wait, they say. It seems to be that I have found another opportunity to live in such a way.

I woke up at around 5:30 am this morning, roosters were calling out, telling me that it was entirely too early to be getting up. A cool rain drizzled down on to the quite streets of Salamanca. I found my place at the corner where the bus stops and boarded it a few minutes later. Then came time for a quick nap. It isn´t good sleep or anything, speed bumps, cramped spaces make it difficult at best to catch some Zzzzs. It was a long weekend so Tuesday was the first day of the work week and many people were still arriving to the mine from all over Chile.

The mine, especially in the valley near the copper plant, has a very particular odor. I sensed itimmediatelyy after getting onto the bus. It reminds me of industrial cleaner and food for the masses. It makes my stomach turn in place.

I arrived at the mine, had to get off the bus run to the gate office to get my ID checked, security guards use hand scanners to check every person who enters or leaves the mine, my ID is suppose to work, but it always has problems. Finally we arrived to the cafeteria, I ate quickly and went to find a ride up to the Hotel Mina, some 1,200 meters higher on the way to the mineitselff, however no one was home in the Human Resources building. That was shortly before 8 am.

It is about 10 now and I wait in a cold room typing on a slow computer, thinking about that warm, comfortable bed that I rushed away from several hours ago...

Dia del Minero...

Today is the day of the mine, an annual celebration of mining here in Chile. This year brings much to celebrate as Chile´s main export, copper, is selling at a high rate. This means that the mining industry is doing quite well, politicians are scrambling to impose taxes, workers are looking to change jobs as new work opens up, and the mine can afford to hire people to do things such as teach English!

The day of the mine is celebrated by a special lunch which is going on right now. A young girl sings songs and the hotel receptionist (where I work, and where most of the miners sleep at night) passes out wallets, belts featuring large, texas style belt buckle with the name of the mine, Los Pelambres. Tonight the operators, ie, the miners, will get a show from an exotic dancer with a name to the effect of tities so and so.. the management, and support staff (which features a percentage of females employees) will receive a tamer event, with singers, and a comedian. I hope to be able to make it to the watered down dinner. I have been warned that the comedian has been known to single gringos out from the crowd and make fun of them in a dialect that only a Chilean could understand. On top of that, I have also been told that there is an effort to well, bother any foreigners, gringos, Japanese, and whoever has the misfortune of ending up a target of bad humor. Last year one of the English teachers drank a little too much red wine and started dancing on a table. Something that was laughed at then, but was also noted when time came to renew the contracts. Needless to say, my boss gave us all a warning about "etiquite" but I think we all should be ok.

So goes my one month anniversary of working here, it has been interesting, to say the least.

Salud por el dia de la Minera...

I remember applying for the Peace Corps...

It was over a year and a half ago that I deceided I would apply to the Peace Corps. It was a decision based on my desire to live outside of the US for some time. There were many advantages of the Peace Corps, such as a good training program (or at least they claim) espenses paid, contacts upon arriving, and incentives upon completion of the two year stint. They would include a bonus, pay a severange of several thousand dollars, but aside from these financial benefits there were looming disadvantages as well. First of all, not being able to have much of a say where on earth I would end up. Tanzania is much different from Bolivia, there was no guerentee that I would´ve been able to land a job in a Spanish speaking country. The biggest disadvantage though, was the connection to the US governement, and utimitaly to the Defense Department, even if only in people´s mind. There are many reasons to distrust anything with a US government label these days, and having already spent three years in the heart of this military machine, I wasn´t too sure that I wanted anything that remotely was related. But of course, the Peace Corps is seperate from the military, and each situation depends on those involved. Well, this is the case now, but according to an article in the Washington Post, there is a plan on the table to incorporate military service with Peace Corps service. The move has alarmed many within the Peace Corps, and who can blame them. The idea of going from patroling the streets of Baghdad with a loaded M-16, then moving this person to a situation where they are working on a community project with locals sounds like a collision of two very different worlds. It would also make it hard for countries receiving help through the Peace Corps to rest assured that there is no other agenda at work within their borders. Altogether, sounds like a very bad move to me. My Peace Corps appication faltered at the first interview when I was told that everthing which I had applied for, well, I just wasn´t qulified for it. Teaching English on my own accord as a private citizen sounded much better, and I can say for sure now after reading about these new plans, that I indeed made the right choice.

Altitude can make the dreams wild...

So much has happened in my life since my last post. For starters I found a much better job teaching at the Los Pelambres copper mine some 400 Km north of Santiago. I'm working with a different language institute as well. The contract is through McLean Consulting, a much smaller company then Linguatec or Tronwell. It is nice to once again work at a business where I work directly with the owner. I still don´t know who owns Tronwell, the legend is that Willie Tronwell owns it, but I don´t believe it.

For this gig I ride a bus around five hours to Salamanca, where I spend the night. The next morning I get up around five am, catch a bus to the base of the mountain that houses the mine. The ride takes around an hour or so. We go through security, I eat there at the base, then head up the hotel mina where I write this entry. All the facilities are very nice, remind me slightly of the army, but are all much nicer. There is a very tight sense of community among the miners here. Most are away from their families for most of the week and often feel like visitors in their own homes.

I teacTuesdayay, sleep at the hotel, where I havsatellitete TV, and good food. In the morning I get up and teach all of my five one and a half hour classes once again, catch a ride down the mountain and then catch a bus to Santiago. Finally at around 3:00 am I make it home and can sleep in the next day (que rico!) It is nice to be on a bit of adventure during to week, not to mention the fact that it pays much better then Tronwell.

Anyways, it is about time for lunch,

hasta luego....

Gotta work in the mornin....every mornin

Yes that´s right, I now work every morning, at 8:30 am. I figure that at some point I will finally be used to getting up at this hour but until this day, I continue to down the Nescafè. It would be much nicer if I didn´t have to work until around 9:15 pm. I mean sure, I have some free time during the day but if it is less then a couple hours then I end up spending that time sitting on a park bench reading the newspaper.

In other news, Pinochet was stripped of his immunity by a Chilean court today, I heard this before, so I don´t know exactly what the difference between the two deceisions are. His name is a no-no, expecially in my spanish classes, it is one of the things that they warn you not to talk about. Pinochet was supposed to go in front of a court a week or two ago, but "fainted" the day before. I don´t know if I buy that one.

Chilean courts are also going through a dramatic change at this point as well. For the first time in recent history all trials will involve oral proceedings, instead of only written ones which was the system until now. This system had a test run in Conception, but now as of July 1st has came to Santiago. It already is having effects on soceity. A Chilean Senator, and accused pedofile, ended up confessing to his crimes because he didn´t want to face the oral proceedings. He then quickly denied that it happened the next day, but really, is pedofilia something you just admit to because you don´t want to go to court?

and the week begins again

Monday morning, it always creeps up on me. Luckily I didn´t have any classes this morning. Tomorrow I have a morning class at 8:30, if the student actually shows up. Getting people to come to class can be a difficult matter. Most people who need the classes are also quite busy. It means that I can never be certain how many classes will actually happen. If they cancel ahead of time, I don´t get paid, if the don´t I still get it on my check. It can make teaching a frustrating business as you never know exactly how much your going to make for a given month.

I have also deceided to start back up with Spanish classes. I really need to understand some of the grammar, and it just isn´t happening through conversation or reading the newspaper. It is money that I would like to save for traveling, but I think that it is going to a good cause, my ability to communicate here in Chile.

Been a little while

Let me just apologize for never updating this blog, it has been quite awhile since the last entry. Just teaching right now, trying to get some more classes, looking for other things to do in Santiago as well. The last two weekends I managed to get out of town, went to Coquimbo two weeks ago, stared at the sea, ate some fresh fish. Last weekend I went to a little lodge in the Andes owned by a French couple. Really cozy, beatiful scenery, even better food. I think that this weekend I will stay in Santiago and try to get some stuff down around town.

Also tomarrow I will start working at a house for 12 ninos, all orphans. It provides a place for them to stay and the majority of the work there is done by volunteers. I have been looking for some sort of vounteer opportunity, so we´ll see if this works out. I had interview, and complete a psychological evaluation, all in Spanish. Never thought I would be describing what the ink smear looks like to me in Spanish. Much to the surprise of many of you, I was pronounced "sane" what a relief!

Thinking

Life here can be quite complicated.

Micros passing me by, students not showing up, business deducting extra money from my check. It happens here in Santiago, it has happened in Iowa City, in the military. It is a certainty that there will always be tests, that life is never for sure. The only thing you really have to cope is how you view those complications. I realize that I have been taking the wrong approach, focusing on what I have, and trying to get certain results from many complicated situations. I need to change up my philosophy, to focus on the process of moving through these challenges. There are many opportunities, many openings around me if I allow myself to see them. If I close myself off to the possibilities, then I will never be happy, and never get anywhere. Especially when my mode of transportation is the micro...

a shout out

Hello world,

A quick shout out to Dan Hulsing, who will be going to Taipai to teach this July. He will be teaching mid sized classes of children, sounds excited about it. I would like to teach in Asia one day as well, maybe I'll have to make a run to Taipai as well sometime soon....

Crossing twisted bridges

bridge
Originally uploaded by deambular.

I seem to be able to find these places all to easy. I don´t ever seem to be happy, unless I'm balancing along, on a wooden handmade bridge.

Carnet

No longer an illegal worker, an issue which doesn't seem to be as big as in the US. My ID allows me to do wonderful things like pay Chilean taxes.

Haciendo tuto

Haciendo tuto
Originally uploaded by deambular.

Wandering the crooked streets of Valpo, and I came accross these two taking a nap on a beautiful day. They were quite the pair.

smoglight

smoglight
Originally uploaded by deambular.

The Andes at sunset around dominate the skyline, filled in the the red glow of the sun hitting the smog. I find it strange to find such beauty in something as ugly, dirty, and dangerous as Santiago's smog. As we move into winter, I notice it more and more. There are more days with rain, afterwhich the mountains are clear as can be. It is then that realize how bad the smog actually is. But, it allows for some beautiful sunsets, such as this one.

here we go

here we go
Originally uploaded by deambular.

I got invited to a costume party a couple of weeks ago. I ended up being Yung dum fuc a Japanese soccer player. Of course a sportsman of my level had to accompanied to an even such as this.

Reñaca 6

Reñaca 6
Originally uploaded by deambular.

It has been nice to be able to live so close to the sea. Having it as an option for a weekend geataway has been something that I used to dream about during cold Iowa winters. (and hot summers)

Its raining...

Everyone dawned their scarves, their coats and their jackets. People complain about the cold now, I don't think it is really that cold at all. You can walk around during the day without a jacket and not feel cold in the least. What makes everything strange for me, is that it is colder in my apartment then it is outside.

My place is located on the bottom floor, and in a corner of the building. I get direct sunlight into my living room for about 10 minutes a day. In the mourning it falls on the balcony, but usually the curtains are still drawn, so little warmth is gained. By nightfall, it is quite frigid, I have had to wear my jacket and hat inside a couple of nights. It always feels so cold, then I go outside and it never is as bad.

So it goes...

Been lucky...

So my three day weekend slowly winds to a halt. It is always amazing how fast three days can past. I was lucky enough to be able to get out of Santiago. It was the second weekend in a row, and I hope to keep it up if I can.

The family of one of Carolina's friends recently purchased a house on a hill overlooking the Pacific ocean. It has a large deck that offers a panaromic view of the ocean. You can sit and have breakfast while watching the ocean spray off the rocks in the harbor. The house is in this quite little town. It is an uppty area and each house is more of a castle, with a few reaching palace status. Everyone uses woodfire chimnies to heat their homes so the streets are filled with the scent of burning wood. Like many coast towns, it is filled with steep hills, lots of stairs to get you up them. Many of the roads and infrastructure within the town were made of stone. This lent a feeling of Europe, as did the architecture of many of the houses.

It was a relaxing weekend, there was really nowhere to go out, Carolina cooked some fresh fish with pasta, we played cards and drank vodka. Saturday, we hiked to one of the large boulders along the coast. I figured out that I have only went to the ocean around 16 times in my life, about 6 of them being since I arrived to Chile. This makes being on the beach such an experience. It is something that I need to do more often, especially if I am invited to stay in a nice cabin.

The week before, I made it to Valpariaso for a couple of days. It is an amazing town. Narrow, steep streets wind all about, elevators, stair cases, pass ways, all meander through the cerros. I think that you could live in Valpo your whole life and still get lost. There is an interesting aestetic, as well. It was one of the richest ports, but has since lost its importance after the opening of the Panama Canal. There are countless mansions, amazing houses, all falling apart and in need of serious repair. Murals line the narrow streets, and the view of the sea is never far. There is a brisk feeling in the air, and a level of energy on the streets. We stayed in hostel that had an amzing view from the roof, it was an old building. For lunch, you can pay around 2 dollars and get a huge plate of fried fish with a salad at the central market. I left Valpo feeling refreshed and inspired, not too mention full. It is a unique place, and only a little over an hour away from my place.

Santiago isn't a bad place to live, there are alot of things to do, and see. However, it is a place that you have to leave. The choas, noise and fumes of the micros are reason enough. There is something about the pace of city life that can get you down at times. Sometimes, you just have to escape, or else the humm of the micro might have its way...

Just wishin...

Just wishing my English grammar were somehow better. I teach English right now and my understanding of English grammar is awful. I think I know more about Spanish grammar to be honest. I have this big grammar book which I read but I can never remember exactly what the rules are, I know what sounds right. I know when something is just plain wrong, but trying to explain it all is another matter completely. All these people that come to study English, I wonder what they would think if they knew their teacher was just studying the same lesson to figure out what the hell it means shortly before class. Maybe it would be easier if I didn't know anything period, if there was nothing that I was knowledgeable about. Then I wouldn't have this feeling that I enjoy teaching, but that English just isn't the subject where I should be the one trying to lead the class...

Getting some sun...

Really nice day today, the kind that makes you want to stay outside. I wish I could just enjoy it but I have to go to work a little later. We are doing all these workshops. Pretty much the same thing we did while I was in their ¨training¨session. I am looking forward to being able to teach, talking about teaching when I'm not doesn't seem to do a lot for me.

The last few days it has been raining a lot, at least once everyday. Santiago doesn't get too cold in the winter, by Iowa standards at least, but it does rain all the time. It should lead to a nice clear view of snow capped Andean peaks afterwards. I am so confused about the weather, doesn't feel like it is almost May. This will be my first winter in a year and a half! I think it will be a little different from an Iowa winter. Maybe if I can, I'll try to get up into the Andes for some skiing. Though I'm not sure if I'm up to it.

So it goes...

Can move a little more now...

Ever since I moved out of my last apartment here to Nuñoa, I lost access to a bicycle. At firs it didn´t seem like sucha big deal, there were other things I could do. I had new places to explore with new people and for the time being it was sufficient. Slowly though, I began to crave the feeling of moving on two wheels. I started to feel out of shape, had less energy, and felt bored with my surroundings. I realized that I needed to buy a bike last week, when it just became too much and the craving was on the forefront of my mind. I had found another job and was ready to focus on other aspects of life.

So I went this weekend to the neighborhood that has all the bikes. It is jam packed full of bike stores. There is also a market that has lots of bikes for dirt cheap, however most are stolen and I didn't feel right buying one. So I went looking through the stores, bargaining for the best price. Carolina came along with giving me more of an bargaining edge then had I went alone. Finally I decided on a Spitfire, some cheap bike with all kinds of flashy stickers that I immediately removed after buying. It has front shocks and is fun to ride. Yesterday I went up to San Cristobal, which is even more of a ride now that I am further south in Nuñoa. It was a good ride, but wore me out, which is something I have been longing to feel ever since I moved.

So it all moves a bit...

It wasn't too long ago that I was living next the daily chaos of Vicuña Mackenna, one of Santiago's arteries of communter traffic. My window overlooked the parallel road, General Bustamante, which from 7am until late resembles a NASCAR track. I was living in an apartment that was always changing, the other room that was available for rent usually went to a Spanish student at the Senora´s institute. So I had roommates from Austria, Germany, Brazil, and Japan. It was interesting of course, but didn´t make the place seem stable by any means. It is sometimes strange for me to talk to someone who is only in Chile for a short time weeks. Their minds are in a different place then mine.

It wasn´t the smoothest transition to the place in Nuñoa, I spent a week sleeping on the floor of a friend´s apartment. I had tried to extend my first place until I could move, but the month I had paid for ran out, and she wanted to charge me more then a week´s worth. So I just left.

I finally moved into my new place about two weeks ago, it was quite nice to have a closet, a bed, and a key to get in and out once again. It also made it possible for me to move my thoughts to other matters, such as my employment situation.

I wanted to leave Bridge, then I learned that my boss was quitting, so I had to leave Bridge. It is more of a business then a school anyways, I hardly had any classes, and I wanted to get a sense of other working environments here in Santiago. So I wait now, in a training session at a Chilean run school, hoping it will work out. This institute is called Tronwell, and it full of activity. Many students at all times of the day. The halls have a feeling of energy that Bridge lacked. I just hope that I get the job.

Maybe after I have that lined up I can focus on some of the other things in life. I can refocus my effort to learn Spanish. Start to make some books again, play some music, get a paycheck, some of the basics that I haven´t been able to enjoy since coming back to Santiago.

I´ll just have to wait and see...

Changes coming soon...

Got out of Santiago this weekend. Wandered with Carolina to the Canjun del Maipo, walked and walked until we reached the foot of Mt. Colorado, with the San Francisco Glacier lining it's towering peaks. I haven´t been out in the Andes enough, there is nothing quite like them. From what I've seen, now Santiago to the Ausengate, I can safely say that they are a force that can change the way you think about yourself and this awesome planet we inhabit. All sense of human scale is diminished in the face of these structures. The scrape the sky, are more rugged then one can imagine, and have a silence to them that will clear your mind of all the human jumble that lurks in our cities. My mind felt so peaceful when I was there, even though many questions were waiting for me when I got back to Santiago.

I think that I need a big change here in Santiago, I have some new options opening up, nothing for sure, but just enough to give me some hope that my work situation will change. I feel my time with Bridge slowly winding down, tomorrow I will know more. Today, I just think about those mountains and nothing can take me down for now...

day to day...

Just living it day by day for now. Still not too many classes, wondering whether we will ever get more. Feels like I might need to look elsewhere because all this inactivity isn't fun at all. Plus I would like to earn some money so I can eat, pay rent, travel a bit, nothing to grand. Chile's focus slowly has started to return to more daily activities after the death of the Pope. For awhile it was all that one could find on television.

My new apartment is nice, the only downfall is that there isn't a metro stop nearby, making the commute to those few classes I have quite ugly. I like the place though, so I will stay for now. A good living situation is worth the micro ride every mourning. There are also some good places to hangout nearby as well, not that I have gone out in a while, once I get some more work I'll be able to afford such luxuries. So for now I just try to practice my Spanish, read the newspaper, hang out with friends, and make the best of these times...