So in honor of 4 July, I thought I would do a Monday Memory from the U.S., but from the season in which I´m currently experiencing: Winter. (Last week was a holiday for us, and I completely forgot to publish a memory! woops!)
Though not like my former West Virginia winters, snowy and icy, it still gets quite cold here in Santiago. Well, you say, days where the high could be in the forties, the low just below freezing isn´t that bad…and you´re right, in comparison it´s not. HOWEVER, the States has this lovely little cozy convenience of central heating, far from the norm here in Chile. Heating is expensive, so we just bundle up and deal with it instead. My normal at-home garb: Leggings, sweat-pants on top; socks, fleece socks over those; a shirt with a fleece on top and generally a scarf. My bed has six blankets and I still get cold. Needless to say, I´m looking forward to my two-week visit in the States this August!!
Kamille Guitierrez in Uno Toma lo que Tiene (en Casa).
So the photo slide show component for my work´s website is being dysfunctional and making all vertical photos look horrendous. I will not have it; therefore I am going to publish the photos I took the other night of a great play Uno Toma Lo Que Tiene (En Casa) on my own website. For more about this far-from-conventional play, visit CiuSantiago! Continue reading Far from conventional…→
Starting two weeks ago, two of my friends and I started taking private salsa lessons. We chose my apartment for the location, as I have yet to acquire any furniture, despite having lived in it since February. Granted I have two camping chairs and two stools, but fold up the chairs, and my apartment transforms into a salsateca! We’ve been having so much fun and learning quite a bit.
So I dedicate this Monday memory to the love for Latin rhythm. The phlog shows its age though, as I have since been to this club and it is not really a place I would recommend. Seriously, don’t go to Club 4-40. As I wrote in an article for work, there are so many other places in the city to dance. ¡Bailamos!
Last night, two grand rivalries played for the national championship title, Universidad de Chile versus Universidad Católica. U de Chile had a major win, 4 to 1, and the streets filled with U de Chile fans, waving flags down the streets, beeping horns, yelling endlessly. It was crazy, and actually a bit dangerous to be out and about.
Chileans love their fútbol, and the madness reminded me of when all of Chile united behind their country during the World Cup games. During the games, the streets were virtually empty, as if time had stopped, and then after the wins, the streets came alive, transforming into a confetti-scattered party. So now, I bring you Monday´s memory, in honor of all those who kept me awake last night with their chanting and screaming and incessant horn blowing.
You´d think that after more than a year living here, the dogs would lose their charm. But they don´t. I don´t think they ever will. I was out in Plaza Italia Tuesday night and ran across this guy, sitting amidst the flowers, all the while some protest is going on and tons of bikers are gathering for Critical Mass, promoting bike culture.
Well sure, there are far superior views in this city, but since the view in my apartment is that of a concrete wall, this gets me pretty excited. As I mentioned in yesterday´s post, we finally got some rain here, which helped clear some of the smog and left my favorite mountain chain snow-capped. I love, love, love the giant Andes Mountains! And I love Santiago, such a beautiful place to live!
Well, Fall is falling upon us once again…how time flies. Yesterday we finally had our first rain in months, and alas, the giant Andes are back to their snow-capped glory.
Though it means winter is coming, I absolutely love Fall here in Santiago, and this is why:
I went to photograph a very interesting band last night, Kali Mutsa, named after the lead singer, the one in the little leopard number above. They play a very gypsy/cumbia style of music. They were interesting to say the very least. Keep updated at CiuSantiago for a full article and many more photos!
The South of Chile truly holds a special place in my heart. It’s beyond words beautiful, and for some reason, every time I go, I feel a little bit at home. I think it’s all the green, tree covered rolling mountains, surrounded by water and that it’s full of down-to-earth people. Continue reading Valdivia→
I can hardly believe it, but it´s true, I have now lived in Chile for one whole year. I have not been to the US, nor seen most of my friends or family in more than one whole year. Loco.
Much has happened in this year. I´ve gone from an English professor to finally utilizing my degree, I´ve improved my Spanish skills tenfold, made new friends and have really come to love Santiago.
I came here the second time for love, but before I made the move, I asked myself, would I still be able live there without love? Is there more for me there than simply feelings? Well, the answer was and is yes. This year has taught me patience and heartache, along with strength and what it´s truly like to live in the “real world.” Love didn´t work out, but I´m still here, making it, and generally quite content with it all. It´s not always been easy though, and from the bottom of my heart, I thank my parents´ for their continued love and support.
As I said in an earlier phlog, I don´t know exactly what the next step is, the next piece to my puzzle, but I´m sure having a great time figuring it all out.
I chose this phlog for today´s Monday memory, because I´m proud of where I live. I absolutely adore this city and for now, it´s the place that I call home.
Well, it’s not Monday, but it’s surely a day for remembering…
This one is dedicated to my wonderful Aunt Connie, who sadly passed away today, way too young to leave this world. I really had a special place for Connie in my heart, and I’m not going to lie, this one’s a tough one.
I really attribute a lot of my traveling spirit to Connie. With her and my Aunt Peggy I took my first journey abroad to Europe, learned of all her many travels around this big ol’ world and I then knew, that I too would follow in her footsteps. She had the travel bug, and passed that on to me.
And that brings us to now, me in Chile, so far from home, not able to make it back to say goodbye and be with my family. I knew before I moved here that this was inevitable. Death is inevitable. I knew it all, but I’m not going to lie, when it happens, for lack of a better way to say it, it really sucks.
So I go back to a phlog I did not so long ago, which I wrote when two close to me were suffering from loss. Now I find myself in their position…
Life is for living
7/31/10
“Life cannot be cut off quickly. One cannot be dead until the things he changed are dead. His effect is the only evidence of his life. While there remains even a plaintive memory, a person cannot be cut off, dead. And he thought, ‘It’s a long slow process for a human to die. We kill a cow, and it is dead as soon as the meat is eaten, but a man’s life dies as a commotion in a still pool dies, in little waves, spreading and growing back toward stillness.’” -John Steinbeck, To a God Unknown
In light of all the recent Hydro Asyen protests here in Santiago, I thought I would dedicate today’s memory to being tear-gassed. Since last Monday night, there have been wild and violent protests against the new law that passed, giving the go ahead for the government to enter the pristine Patagonia area of Asyen and build dams for energy. I may like marches, but protests are a different thing: my one and only time of covering one ended up with me holding my eyes and screaming in the street that I couldn’t see, and that possibly–dramatic as it now seems–I would never be able to see again.
Tear gas is a horrible thing.
The thing is, I get being angry over something, and I respect whole-heartedly the freedom of speech and demonstration, but once violence is involved, I believe the voice and cause lose a bit. I mean, I’ve witnessed angry youth throwing rocks at policemen, people starting fires in the street and even, as you’ll see below, a squad car destroyed. It just seems so counter productive. Moreover, those who generally participate, are rebellious youth, whom I’m not even sure are as concerned about what their fighting for, as just being a part of it. It’s cool to protest, it’s cool destroy in the wake of your “anger.”
The bottom line though, is that 75 percent of Chilean towns are protesting this law. It’s sad to see the government do something against the majority´s will. They say it´s for the best, which promises lower energy costs. I just hope that what this makes this country so unique—it´s beautiful, untouched, not-yet-destroyed lands, dubbed an “eco-gem”—doesn´t take a blow, which according to the protestors, is exactly what´s going to happen.
Tear Gassed
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Innocent bystanders and protestors sprint down Alameda away from a stream of tear gas during a Mapuche protest.
The topic of public education in Chile is a hard one for a foreigner to grasp. I´ve heard people say it´s absolutely horrible, but I´ve also heard those defending it, or at least saying, “Hey, it´s not that bad.”
Whatever the case is, I can assure you, yesterday´s Education March as my proof, that there is a lot of dissatisfaction among Chileans when it comes to public education. Thursday, 12 May, I photographed more than 25,000 students and professors marching down Alameda, voicing the need for more funding, scholarships and general improvement.
You see, in Chile, it seems that anyone who can, pays for their children to attend a private school. Therefore, public schools become somewhat synonymous with poor people, where you´ll find the once poor students, teaching the now poor students, all lacking a good education, making a vicious cycle of ignorance. Continue reading we DO need an education…→
Santiago wouldn´t be Santiago without the street dogs. Though it´s actually quite out of control, I can´t help but love the hundreds of thousands of four-legged friends roaming about the city.
The Dog Blog
August 15, 2009
It didn’t take me but a day of living here to realize that Santiago has a dog problem. There are random strays literally everywhere–it’s like no other city or place I’ve seen before. So upon further investigation, this is what I’ve found: Continue reading Monday Memories – Dog Blog→
As a part of the international movement to legalize marijuana, thousands of Chileans participated in Saturday’s Million Marijuana March. Since 2005, Santiago has been participating in this event, joining more than 300 cities around the world. By marching, sparking public debate and signing a petition, the afternoon was all about having the right to possess Cannabis if one so desired. Their statement: We’re not asking for tolerance, we’re demanding respect.
As I walked toward the starting point, close to Los Heroes Metro, a distinct smell permeating through the air got stronger and stronger. Knowing that just a few years ago, Chile changed their marijuana laws from a slap on the wrist to more stringent repercussions–it’s now classified as a hard drug, equal to cocaine–I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. Continue reading Grow you rights – Cultiva tus derechos→
Did you like how I kind of kept you hanging with my last post, Behind every door…? I bet those ellipses really had you wondering. Wonder no more; it´s simple, behind every door, there´s a story.
Ok, so I didn´t actually knock on the doors and ask to come in, take photos and learn the story, but rest assure, I did take more photos. The story is historic downtown Santiago, the birthplace of this now booming city. In this phlog, I once more chose to focus on the details, the real life of downtown, therefore you won´t see the presidential palace or any other map marker, no, you´ll see the heart. This is the area that has seen it all, from becoming an independent nation, to massive earthquakes, to dictatorships, to an atheist, single mother president, to more massive earthquakes; and it´s survived it all. This is the area that I call home, whose streets I walk daily, for which my heart has a soft spot. Continue reading …there´s a story→
Well, in lieu of Jamiroquai, I had to push back Monday Memories until today…a Tuesday Token?
This phlog is proof that I have to play more with my macro lens!
A phlogisophical to ponder
9/23/10
“Time sometimes flies like a bird, sometimes it crawls like a snail; but a man is happiest when he does not even notice whether it passes swiftly or slowly.” -Ivan Turgenev
Do you think a snail is overly concerned with his end result? Is he really striving to achieve something in the near future? Possibly, how can we ever know? But, maybe he’s just thinking and concentrating on his subsequent step, the very next move.
Progress is a slow process for a snail. But slimy millimeter by slimy millimeter he makes his way; and he often rests, for he’s realistic—it can’t all be done at once. Continue reading Monday Memories – Take it easy…→
I was Jamiroquai’s Cosmic Girl last night…his show at the packed Movistar Arena was out of this world. It felt so good to get in there with my camera and photograph this man’s unstoppable energy; I truly enjoy photographing musicians. These few photos are just a tiny taste of what’s to come! Continue reading Cosmic…→
I wrote an article about this not too long ago, and I feel the need to share it on my personal site as well.
Too many times have I heard grand misconceptions about the country in which I currently live. The one that gets to me the most is when people ignorantly refer to it as a “third world country.” Chile is booming. In fact, their money has surpassed the dollar since early 2009. I have seen the third world…it looks nothing like this, it´s hopeless, horrendous and something I wish upon no life. I could go on and on, but I feel it´s not even worth the fight. If you really consider Chile a third world country, I kindly invite you to leave my sight. Continue reading My third world…→
This makes me want to hop on a bus and head to the shore immediately!
We are but small fish in a big pond
3 November, 2010
My friend Matias conquers the Pacific!
What on Earth is more fascinating than the ocean? It is this giant body of water, of which 95 percent remains unexplored, that consumes 71 percent of our planet. It has immense power, both in destruction and tranquility; and though we can monitor and study it to no end, we still cannot accurately predict its behavior. Continue reading Monday Memories – Hang ten→
There’s no doubt that life is like a puzzle, each part having its own unique shape and proper place. And while you need all the pieces to get a complete picture, it starts to take shape long before, giving you and idea of what it might look like.
When I think back to this moment, my heart still skips a beat. Skydiving is one-of-a-kind, truly exhilarating and unforgettable. Mom, I’m still sorry about going against my word to not take unnecessary risks.
Free Falling
Thursday, October 29, 2009
The blood has never pumped faster through my veins, yet all the while a true sense of tranquility washed over me as I jumped out of an airplane 12,000 feet in the sky. It was amazing. Continue reading Monday Memories – Skydiving→
Long before I ever considered living in Chile, working as a waitress at Paradise Grille in Parkersburg, WV, I knew Chile for one reason: I sold Concha y Toro’s Casillero del Diablo wine to customers. It was a great up-sale story: Back when the winery was first producing, they noticed that barrels were disappearing. You see, the wine was so good that the work-hands would sneak in at night and steal barrels of it. So, the owner moved the cellar underground, swearing it to be possessed by the Devil. The workers, very superstitious, apparently never stole another barrel. So now the wine is known as Casillero del Diablo, the Devil’s Locker. Continue reading Wine→
