la casa más romantica (so far)

Yesterday, we had another excursion with our ´monitores,´ the Chilean students who are assigned to hang out with the gringos and show us the city. It was really fun, because two of the women in the group didn´t show up, so it was just me, Manuel, Karla, and Vivi, the ´monitor.´ First, we went to La Chascona, the Santiago home of Pablo Neruda and his ´mujer,´ Matilde. It was amazing, though I hear that the house at Isla Negra is the best, as well as his favorite, where he rests to this day. How can I describe the house? It was a vision of his completely, and he had it built for Matilde, whose crazy hair is its namesake (chascona=crazy haired person). So it´s really something like 6 buildings built into this hillside in Barrio Bellavista, which is where all the bohemians started hanging out after Neruda built the house there. So of course everyone knows he built houses ´to house his things,´ rather than buy things to fill his houses, so he´s got amazing amounts of art and furniture and books (most of his library was donated to Universidad de Chile after he died in 1973), and of course all the most important artists and writers of his day came to visit, plus Fidel Castro! Anyway, it´s amazing, and I can hardly imagine living there, because it´s so magical. The main ´living room´ is in the hillside, and it bears amazing resemblance to the house of Fred´s parents: stone wall, fireplace, super-bacán art from all over the world, and a huge picture window (everything is supposed to resemble a boat) that in his day surely offered an amazing view of Santiago. They don´t let you take pictures in the house, but I took lots out in the garden, which will soon appear on this very site. And of course the most important thing about being in Santiago right now, aside from my education at La Chile, is being here for the centennial of Neruda´s birth, so there are all kinds of festivities all over the country, but especially at his three houses (here, Isla Negra, and Valparaiso), not just this week (his actual birthday), but for the rest of the year. Lucky me!

After that, we took the funicular (super-scary cart that goest up the steep mountain) up Cerro San Cristobol, which is this big hill in the city, where there´s a giant statue of the Virgin Mary (as well as an old church and an outdoor seating thing for masses), which you can, of course, only see from all over the city on days without impossible amounts of smog. Which is to say that it can be a good guide (take that as you will, literal or spiritual: I´m inclided to believe it´s both for many Santiaguinos), as you can associate the Virgin with the North of the city. It´s really beautiful up there on a clear morning, but of course yesterday, we couldn´t see that much, except a beautiful sunset. Photos are coming, though!

After coming back down the mountain (again, super scary, but so far no one has died doing it!), we hung out in Bellavista at this bar for "las onces" (by the way, I just learned another story about the origins of las onces, so now I really don´t know what to believe)/dinner, and then most kids went to watch the all-important fútbol game. Alas, I cannot get that excited about fútbol, though I imagine it will grow on me. We also met some cute Chilean guys (ha!) and shared a big pitcher of what I would call sangría, but they called it something else, I can´t remember...They also took great delight in teaching us palabras feas, or dirty (and not so dirty) Chilenismos, ¡huévon!

I´ve still got this nasty cold, but I have to swear by the nasal douching (funny enough, there´s another Corinne/Corrie--for reals, she spells it exactly like I do!--on the program who can vouch for the nasal douch--but those two things are about all we have in common) and gargling with hot salt water and little aguacitas of lemon juice, honey, and hot water. I hope I get better, because I´m headed for La Serena tonight. I get to see some stars! And galaxies, for sure!