the accidental mullet

I’ve always liked Joans. First, Joan of Arc, then I fell in love with Joan Jett. Well, Now I have the fortune of looking like the latter of my heroines. It was an accident, and exactly the reason that many of my friends refuse to get their hair cut in this country. I am now one step closer to being Chilean, because I’ve now got the official national mullet (thinking abt correcting that, but it's kinda growing on me).

In other news, it’s Halloween and election day here. That means that the city is dead, and finally all the campaign bullshit for the municipal positions is over. Really, the superficiality of the politics of mayorial/city council elections here makes the current US presidential campaigns seem a shining example of elevated political discourse and change: it’s all faces, images, and meaningless slogans, both on the "left" and the "right." You would think that this city had absolutely no issues of any importance: all it needs is the assurance that

"This is how Santiago votes"-Alcaino, the Right’s candidate for mayor of Santiago El Centro; also advertises himself as "The Engineer: All-Terrain Mayor"
"We’ve Already Decided Who We’re Voting For"-Labbé, candidate for the comuna of Ñuñoa
"Now, with More Will than Ever"-Who can keep track of all this crap?
"The Woman of Change"-The current mayor of Santiago’s wife, who I’m sure represents a huge departure from his politics, will change things…
"A Great Team for Providencia" will lead the way
"The Youngest Candidate in Chile" must be the best choice…

Did I tell you about the voting system here? Everyone over the age of 18 can register to vote, but once they’re registered, they have to vote in every election or pay a fine. Most of the Chileans I know—that is, my housemates and their friends—are not registered, which is typical of the 30-and-under crowd. I’d say that there’s a lot of cynicism here, but it’s interesting that many of the unregistered people I’ve met say that they’re going to register, so they can vote for Michelle Bechelet for president next year.

Anyway, the voting is always on a Sunday, since everyone "has" to take part, and I think they stop selling alcohol on the Thursday prior to the elections, so everyone has a clear head when they go to the polls. A little paternalistic, if you ask me. And I know that no Chilean asked me to critique their voting system, but I’m here, so I’m giving my two cents anyway. The point is that tomorrow, every city in this country will have a new mayor and city council, and I’m not sure that anything will be different.

(Unfortunately, I won’t be voting in The Most Important Election of My Lifetime [or, the second, since I think the 2000 elections were also The Most Important]. Hopefully I don’t contribute to the rise of fascism. Well, maybe I would if they counted my vote anyway, because I’d be writing in Nader. But Kerry’s the spoiler anyway.)

Somehow I end up being in this lame city during holiday type days, and tomorrow is one too, something celebrating the saints (hmmm, funny thing, living in a Catholic country). It’s nice, because there’s hardly anyone on the street, and therefore much less pollution, so I can breathe. I went to Cerro San Lucía (Kissy Park) again, not to torture myself, but to find a nice spot to read. Somehow, it fell to me to do a "contol de lecturas," to prove that I had read for class two books we aren’t even going to be discussing for another two weeks at least. So I’ve been devouring Goethe’s and Marlowe’s versions of the story of Faust. Fun stuff. I suppose that’s appropriate to be reading on Halloween, though, since I am officially doing nothing else to recognize that holiday. Won’t be selling my soul to the devil anytime soon, but I wish I could go out and party with the goths and punks today.

Aside from bad haircuts, observing elections, and homework hell, I did do something interesting. One more official excursion offered by EAP, this time to camp at hot springs at the ends of the Cajon del Maipo. It was so gorgeous. We got there Friday night after a three hour van ride down dusty roads through the canyon, to witness a surreal sunset over the cordillera. I don’t know—it’s beautiful, but am I a brat to say it’s not as cool as what I saw in Perú, because the landscape just isn’t as dramatic? That is, the elevation isn’t so high, so though we’re looking up at great sites (I think the mountains are all volcanic in that region, too, if I’m not mistaken), it’s not that high up…

The best way to feed 14 people in the middle of nowhere is a BBQ, so we lit up a crazy fire, threw on some raw flesh and veggies, and chowed down for hours. Yuck, I don’t even want to think about food after all I ate, and the yummy artesanal wine I washed it down with. While others spent much of the night under the stars and almost-full moon (can I tell you how bummed I am that I missed the lunar eclipse this week?) in the hot springs, I passed out around four, with all the grime and ash caked to my face you can imagine.

Yesterday, I took a hike with a few other folks, which was nice, and after a dip in the water and lots of admiration of the scenery, we headed back to Santiago, so I got home in time to go to bed kinda early to recover.

I’ve been totally itching to get out of Santiago and see beautiful things, so the "official" excursion was a nice means to get that done, but I’m realizing I’m too melancholy to really enjoy myself. Which makes me think about all the fantasy travels I’ve been planning. I was about to explain all that in my usual linear, logical fashion and decided against it. Let’s just say that though it’s an amazing opportunity to see parts of the world I may not have a chance to see again, what makes me think it would be fun, given the recent state of my heart?

So goal number one is to get better. Any recommendations?