the beauty of some things cannot be put into words, but nonetheless I will try to do so anyway (lunes 26 julio).

I love it here in Santiago and am having an amazing time. I feel like I've been here longer than just 4 days. I like to do a lot of walking, and it's a great city to walk around. Although it's winter here and the coldest one in 37 years, I like the crisp, fresh mountain air. It downpoured the first night I was here but I met up with some people from the hostel and wandered around in the rain to find a good place to try pisco sours.

The first day was frustrating because I was tired (I arrived at 7:50 and hadn't been able to get much sleep on the plane due to lots of turbulence). I also got held up at the airport. The carabineros were confused about the airport letter because it was in English, which they didn't understand. When I arrived I was dead tired from the flight but I stayed up and wandered around the city after checking into Hostelling Internacional on Cienfuegos, Barrio Brasil. It was a lot colder than I´d expected, but by my midwest standards, it was still pretty mild. I put on two of my zip-up sweatshirts and headed out. I listened to a military band concert across the avenue from the Moneda. Then I went to the Iglesia de San Francisco and el Museo de Arte Colonial de San Francisco. It was freezing there and I would´ve enjoyed it more if I´d had an actual winter coat. The tour guide there was friendly but talked a LOT! After going there, I found a store and bought a winter coat, which was on sale for the equivalent of 12 US dollars! I found some artesanías (art and craft shops) and bought a hat.

Then I walked to the Plaza de Armas and visited El Catedral Metropolitana, and El Mercado Central, which freaked me out because I saw this giant dead fish that had blood oozing out of it. It was lightly raining and a little chilly, and I was tired. I met a few other volunteers from the program, mostly Americans, but I felt awkward and out of place. Some of them seemed exactly like the type of people I was trying to ´leave behind`in the States by coming to Chile, but I figured I was just tired and jet lagged. It was slightly depressing and I felt like I´d left Kyle and my job behind for a gray, cold, smoggy city. I took a hot, steamy shower, took out my contacts, and went back to my room, which smelled sort of weird. I had to use a bedsheet to dry myself off with because the hostel had run out of towels, but it wasn´t a big deal and it worked. I changed into pajamas and decided to go to bed. I was dead tired and not in the greatest of moods.

Then one of my hostelmates came into the room and we started talking. Les, who is Canadian /Irish, and I got along really well and started having some awesome conversations. Eventually he invited me out for a few drinks. It was raining a lot and cold, but I decided some company could be a good thing, especially since we were getting along so well and I had yet to try pisco, the national drink of Chile. We walked to Forestal, which later I would fall in love with, and talked nonstop, not really minding the rain. We ended up crossing the Rio Mapocho and walking to Barrio Bellavista where we ordered pisco sours. I enjoyed it alot. After that we walked back to the hostel, tired after a long day.

The following morning I slept in until 10am, took a hot shower, and got dressed. We went to Cerro San Cristobal after a vegan lunch in a hole in the wall but nice cafe, and visited La Iglesia Merced. Then we walked to Cerro San Cristobal and went hiking up to the summit. On the way there were these really neat aloe vera-like succulent plants that were huge. It was a little bit muddy on the trails but extremely breathtaking. At the summit of Cerro San Cristobal, I drank in the view of city, mountains, and cordillera poking through wispy patches of fog. It was incredible.

There are many things in life you cannot pinpoint the exact moment you begin to love something because the process occurs gradually, but this was different. At the top of Cerro San Cristobal I was taken in by Santiago and realized I wanted to spend way longer than only 5 months in Chile. It was such a powerful experience, falling in love with life at the top of this cerro, so much life below me and nothing but open, foggy sky above me. I felt completely free, happy and energized. This feeling has intensified with each moment of my time in Santiago.

On the way down, we found some more artesanías and wandered through Bellavista with its rainbow colored houses. It began to lightly rain but the sun was poking through the pale clouds and a rainbow reached across the sky, which was great because we were in a neighborhood of colorful houses and murals everywhere when the rainbow appeared.

We crossed back over the Mapocho and walked along the river before going to El Parque de las Esculturas, where I got to contemplate the meaning of art, philosophy, and motives. It isn´t often I find someone who enjoys art and thinks about it the way I do, but I guess when you travel, you find other people like you whose view of the world is more open-minded and interesting.

For dinner I ate a liviana, which is a sandwich, and jugo de chirrimoya. On the way back to the hostel I passed this rectangular fountain of psychedelic water and enjoyed the stars. In Santiago at this time of the year it starts getting dark around 6-6:30pm. We found a bar with this Michael Jackson impersonator who was interesting to watch. I tried Escudo, a type of Chilean beer, but it had a funky kind of aftertaste.

On Sunday I got to sleep in. I went to el Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombiano, where I enjoyed looking at artwork and artifacts from the Incans, Aymara, Mapuche, Mayans, Aztec, and other indigenous peoples. I was able to use Spanish more comfortably today. I went back to the plaza de Armas and listened to a military band concert. Then I visited el Museo Histórico Nacional, which had rooms explaining what life was like for the early settlers of Chile and the different social classes there. I found a park where a Chilean college student was passing out poetry and trying to raise money for the earthquake victims in Concepción. We talked for a little bit and he asked what part of Chile I was from. I guess my Spanish must be improving...at least I hope so. I walked to Cerro Santa Lucía and hiked to the top of it. It was beautiful, and I felt so inspired and in love with this city. I ended up finding a bench in the sunlight and writing poetry in Spanish because it felt more creative than using English, which seemed too `normal´ to capture what I wanted to say. After that I wandered down to Huérfanos where I heard a protest concert of Chileans protesting the immigration policy of Peruvian refugees. I walked down Paseo Ahumeda and decided randomly to get another piercing in my right ear...the place was there and I liked the spontaneous idea of getting something done. I talked to the guy in Spanish and then continued on my way.

Back at the hostel I met up with Les, and his roommates, Sebastián, Dave, and a guy from Spain. We went to a bar in Barrio Brasil and had some wine and a great conversation almost all in Spanish! For a few minutes Sebastián (from Argentina) was going on about how `mystical`my eyes were. I suppose people here are not used to seeing people with blue eyes.

Today I dragged myself out of bed at the ungodly hour of 7:30am, took a scalding shower in an otherwise arctic-like hostel. Everyone was dressed up a lot more than I was, but I´m not really that kind of person. A few others wore jeans, but it didn´t really matter since we were just sitting at tables most of the day. For lunch I went with Lisa and Katelyn to a restaurant called Comida Chilena, which we thought was kind of funny.

The program seems really great so far. Today's orientation was sort of repetitive since I took the TEFL course, but then again, it won't hurt hearing things again. The people doing the presentations today were great--super friendly and helpful, and it wasn't boring at all! I am having a wonderful time and although it's only been 4 days, I am falling in love with this city and the people here. There are a lot of artesanias which are interesting to look around and many fresh fruit/veg markets, which makes me happy (I decided to go vegan upon my arrival here). This weekend I have Sat and Sun free before my flight up north on Monday, so on Sat I'm going to take the metro to take a tour of one of the wineries.

After orientation I decided to go running. There aren´t many runners here because of the busy streets and smog. But then again, I´m the kind of person who if I love doing something, am not going to be deterred by a little bit of smog, which I really don´t think is that bad. The parks here are beautiful and completely outweigh the busy streets and smog. Running here is like freedom.There is nothing holding me back from anything. The Santiaguine night air is crisp and refreshing, and I love having endless darkness stretch in front of me, like I have the world in my hands and all of it is mine to explore and do whatever I want with. While running, my mind lapsed into this state where I think of everything and nothing at the same time. It´s meditative, calming, yet energizing. I love the feeling that I can completely rely on myself and my own two legs to carry me along wherever I want to go. I did get a few weird looks from people. An old man told me, `ten cuidad,`and a Chilean college-age student in the Plaza de Armas stood up, started clapping, and yelled, `quieres ser mi amiga?` I kept running but yelled back, `solo si corres conmigo`and laughed to myself.

Anyway, I am heading out to meet up with some people from the hostel for dinner. I'll post some writing on my blog later, but honestly am REALLY enjoying not having to worry about having a car, cell phone, computer, etc. I like living on not a whole lot because I can enjoy the smaller, more often missed-out-on things here. Being here is definitely changing my perspectives on things in a good kind of way.

Nos cachamos!

written by  Sara Florecita on July 26, 2010 from Santiago, Chile
from the travel blog: año de dos inviernos (Chile 2010)
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