Rain

Dear friend,

Rain pitter-patters. Pit-pat, drip drop, on my head. I’ve got a slow jam playing in my ear as my feet dodge puddles on the sidewalk. I can see my breath, rising up to meet the top floor of whatever building I’m standing by. A cold breeze wafts off of the concrete and picks up the fragrance of the cherry blossoms I approach. But suddenly, my cold hands, runny nose and wet socks remind me of home and I’m suddenly not so irritated with the absence of street drains or the fact that my jeans will be wet for the rest of the day. No… no that’s a lie, I’m still upset with wet jeans. But Santiago rain was a nice dose of a familiar winter. Although I can’t have the familiarity of a broken defrost system or the comfort of riding in my own car, being able to wipe the condensation off the bus window as I stand shoulder-to-shoulder with whoever is an experience. I’m not sure what kind of experience it is, but it definitely is one.

That was Monday and Tuesday.

Today, however, was the complete opposite.

Getting on the bus was like entering a dirty, public sauna. My brow was already sweating and the stagnant air of the bus almost made me cry. I picked a spot near a window. Standing. The seats were taken by old women, pregnant ladies and men with canes… or sleeping toddlers. The warm weather (26C) and sun combined with Weezer and a pair of shorts and a t-shirt made the day feel like summer. I think the rest of Santiago felt that way, also. Either way, winter here is nothing like “winter” as I have known it. I think we’re starting to transition into spring. I can’t imagine what summer will be like if I can barely take the heat now.

Anyways, not much has been going on. I am, however, settling into my schedule for the semester. I know it’s week 6 of school, but just now have things firmed up. First… week 6 of school! I’ve been here for 2 months, but I feel like I’ve done so little, seen so little, experienced so little. I can’t wrap my mind around that. I just hope the next 10 months don’t pass so quickly. I’m going to be moving out of my home stay in October. It’s really expensive. One of my Chilean friends told me he was really surprised that I had to pay that much, which I think must mean that I’m paying a lot even by their standards. Plus having to live with a family (other than my biological family) after being more or less on my own for two years is extremely difficult. So, I’ll be starting my apartment search sometime very soon.

Yesterday was Sept. 11, which marks the anniversary of the 1973 coup d’état that brought Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship into power. It’s a sore subject for a lot of Chileans. The government used to give Chileans the day off as a way of remembering all the people killed during Pinochet’s regime, but not anymore. So a lot of people protest/demonstrate/cause chaos for different reasons- some march to remember killed family members, some wave flags in support of making the day a national holiday and others (a majority of demonstrators nowadays) just burn things and throw bottles because they can. Some parts of the city get really crazy and really dangerous, apparently. We were all told to be home before dark and not to go out and to be really careful. In my opinion, everything was severely exaggerated. I didn’t see any demonstration. It was nearly disappointing.

Also somewhat interesting… I got suckered into saying yes to running a half-marathon in October. I have a month until race day. It’s the North Face Endurance Challenge in the Andes. It’s going to be sick. Check it out here http://www.ultramaratondelosandes.cl/english/index_english.html. Anyways, now I’m starting to bump up my mileage and do some hill training so I don’t die on October 12th. One of the guys on my team here ran it last year and got 5th, so I’m hoping for a top 3 finish… but I feel like running at altitude at the crack of dawn for 21km up and down hills won’t be as easy as I’m trying to convince myself it will be.

Also, this coming Friday, the 18th, is Chile’s Independence Day, which means lots of barbeques, lots of parties, and not many classes—all of which I like. I’m hoping to go into El Centro to see some Cueca (Chile’s national dance) and then have a barbeque with the family and then a party later on that night. Since the whole week is kind of a celebration, I’m going to cook some 4th of July food for my family and some friends, I hope.


“I have realized that the past and future are real illusions, that they exist in the present, which is what there is and all there is" -Alan Watts