Melodrama & Sushi

I thought I would try writing with proper punctuataion today. Is it easier to read that way? It´s definitely not easier to write. The things I do for you...

All these things about Santiago I haven´t even mentioned yet.

Like all the stray dogs. Hundreds, all over the city. Just following anyone who doesn´t kick them, hoping for scraps of food. I guess someone takes care of them, but I don´t know who. Also a few stray cats, but they are largely outnumbered by the pathetic looking dogs.

I just found out that there is a Chilean Social Forum happening in November. I don´t know a whole lot about it yet, but it seems very exciting: http://www.forosocialchileno.cl/. I finally found some lefty newspapers here: El Siglo and Le Monde Diplomatique Chilean edition. I´m hoping I´ll be able to participate in some way, like as a diplomat or something, which sounds really weird. I don´t know...

I don´t think I´ve adequately described the neighborhood I´m living in. It´s a great location, as it´s a twenty minute walk to the Campus Oriente, where the EAP Study Center it, and a twenty minute walk in the other direction to the Avenida Providencia, which is the same as Alameda, the most important road in the city. But it´s also one of the bourgier (more bourgeois) hoods: super suburban, as in it´s safe for peds, totally unaffordable, well-kept up, full of cyclists (not just the delivery type, but full-on CYCLISTS: it´s the only place in the city where it´s not weird to see someone riding with any kind of safety implement), AND I just discovered that it´s the home of one of the most right-wing parties: UDI, or Union for Democracy and Independence, or something like that. Yikes. Yeah, I think the left parties are probably a little closer to el Centro, or downtown.

But that is all to say, that it is very difficult living with a family (and not Tom!) and being in a place that reminds me ever so much of a town I will not mention but from which I escaped five years ago! So, I plan to find a spot in one of the Residencias, which are popular with students (especially extranjeros), or possibly in an apartment with my EAP friend´s new buddy from the thrift shop, adorable Leonardo. We´ll see.

The other night, the "monitores" took the gringos out to dinner. They´re Chilean students who show us the ropes by taking us around and out of town and answer all our questions about life in Chile. I´m in a group with five other gringos, and Viviana took us to this restaurant in el Centro Thursday night, where the food was super good. I guess that´s not so exciting, but I thought you should know anyway. In any case, next week she´s taking us to Isla Negra to see one of Pablo Neruda´s houses, as well as to a vinyard for a wine tasting. Yum!

Last night, we took a break from carreateando for a more culturally interesting activity: we went to see García Lorca´s Bodas de Sangre (Blood Wedding) last night at the theater of the Universidad Católica, in Ñuñoa, which is pretty close by where I live. Do you know the story? It´s super sad, about a woman who tries to marry a man to help get over a heartbreak (her lover married her cousin!), and on the wedding day, the ex shows up (with the suspicious cousin, as well as the groom´s paranoid and depressed widowed mother), and she freaks out and runs away with the ex. The ending is pretty tragic, but I guess you´ll have to see/read it for yourself. It was so beautifully done, with amazing acting. They mostly used dance and music to convey the story, which was so exquisitely artistic. Very impressive. I look forward to other trips to the theater here. Oh, and the student rate was about $6. Super-barato.

Afterwards, we went to this amazing all-you-can-eat sushi (yup) place and gorged ourselves. Luckily I got to walk home (yeah, that tough indie rocker kid, Andrés, protected me again, DON´T worry!) and thus did not burst.

The Intensive Language Program continues, and I´m skeptical about my improvement. I feel like my accent has gotten worse. I am, however, reading and comprehending much better.

Tomorrow we are either going to San Crisobol to see the city from on high, or to one of the many amazing museums in the city, which are free on Sundays. Sadly, there will be no Fourth of July celebrations for me. Boo hoo.

BUT I have to say it´s been fun but also pretty sad some days. For instance, having to miss my best friend´s wedding today was a huge bummer. I knew my life here would be different, but it´s hard to believe that I have six more months of this strange life. So far it seems to be going very slowly, which I think is good. I want to savor it, as much as I know I will eventually come down off my current excitement. I´m still in such a bubble with the ILP and just being around gringos all the time, that I don´t have to speak Spanish as often as I should, etc. It´s amazing, though, and I am happy to be here.