where does the time go?

well! since i last posted (ages and ages ago) many big things have happened, which i will now list.

i turned 25 - HUGE birthday
i got tenure
i went on tour with my quintet to the south of chile (pictures below)
my uncle and best friend both came to visit (pictures below)
i played a contemporary music concert at one of the universities
OBAMA won the presidency, and virginia went blue for the first time in 44 years (go VA)
i fell in love with buenos aires (pictures below)
i bought my first painting (in BA)
my brother won the short course swimming national championship in the 100free (!)
i've partially learned to surf

so, lots of GREAT things going here. something that is not so great is that it is now technically the "holiday season" and yet it's getting warmer every day. i've been trying to get myself in the holiday spirit but things don't really seem to be working. how can people be putting up xmas trees and also wearing tank-tops? didn't THE church think of this when they spread Catholocism to the ends of the earth? didn't they think it would confuse everyone if jesus was resurrected in Spring, in April, and yet here, it is Autumn? this backwards season/holiday temperature issue has really been getting to me.

i tried to make xmas cookies the other night with a friend, and we listened to a bunch of xmas music, but none of it worked. not even the cookies - they came out as scones. disaster. so i'm hoping that at least when we're bbqing for xmas, i can compare the feeling to that of 4th of july. i'm going to my "family's" house in Las Condes for Christmas Eve since i'm not able to go home to the States. i've decided to make a Red Velvet Cake to take since they've definitely never had it and i associate it strongly with Christmas. it's the right colors, after all.

also, tonight and tomorrow are the last nights of work for me before the holiday week off. we're doing the "american" concert, and we're playing Copland Appalaichan Spring, Barber Violin Concerto (incredible oboe solo in the beginning of the second movement), Ives Unanswered Question and Bernstein West Side Story. a great program but i confess it makes me a bit homesick. especially since i'm from the appalaicha area and copland's open sonorities are so quintessentially american. also i don't know if i could love a concerto more than i love the barber. we have a great soloist as well, mark kaplan, who teaches at IU and is one of those soloists who really lets the music speak. we're lucky. it's all gorgeous.

here are some pictures of the south:



and also of my trip with my uncle to Hacienda Los Ligures:



buenos aires:



some pics of me and katie in pichilemu:

Decalogue of the Artist

Decalogue of the Artist

I. You shall love beauty, which is the shadow of God over the Universe.

II. There is no godless art. Although you love not the Creator, you shall bear witness to Him creating His likeness.

III. You shall create beauty not to excite the senses but to give sustenance to the soul.

IV. You shall never use beauty as a pretext for luxury and vanity but as a spiritual devotion.

V. You shall not seek beauty at carnival or fair or offer your work there, for beauty is virginal
and is not to be found at carnival or fair.

VI. Beauty shall rise from your heart in song and you shall be the first to be purified.

VII. The beauty you create shall be known as compassion and shall console the hearts of men.

VIII. You shall bring forth your work as a mother brings forth her child: out of the blood of your heart.

IX. Beauty shall not be an opiate that puts you to sleep but a strong wine that fires you to action, for if you fail to be a true man or a true woman, you will fail to be an artist.

X. Each act of creation shall leave you humble, for it is never as great as your dream and always
inferior to that most marvelous dream of God which is Nature.

- Gabriela Mistral

Translated by Doris Dana

San Pedro Pictures

Finally, pictures from San Pedro de Atacama

Shostakovich 5 and the Maestro

I survived. At least so far. The Maestro is the one who decides who stays and who goes and I've been trying to play and do my best so I get to stay. I love it here.

The Shostakovich went well, though it was weird to be on stage again after playing for two months in the pit. I felt rather exposed with the audience actually paying all their attention to the music instead of dancers and singers sharing the responsibility. But it was thrilling, as Shostakovich tends to be. His music has always been a personal favorite of mine, with his Eleventh Symphony changing my life forever back in 1998.

So it went well, I got to stand, but I was nervous! But after the Shostakovich, we began rehearsals for Bluebeard's Castle (Bartok) and Suor Angelica (Puccini) and I've been feeling confident ever since. (I had some great reeds.)

We just had our dress rehearsal of the operas and begin our run of shows tomorrow. I am entranced by the Bartok. It's incredibly spooky music, which of course perfectly follows the story: Judith marries Bluebeard, find these seven doors, wants to open them to have more light in the castle. Finds (not in perfect order) a torture room, an armory, a room full of riches, a garden with bloody roses, a view onto his vast kingdom, a lake of tears... and the seventh door contains the bodies of his previous wives, all murdered. She ultimately gets done in as well. Great plot, great music.

Then we move on to Suor Angelica: noble woman in convent because she had a kid out of wedlock, finds out her sister's is getting married and therefore must renounce her inheritance. She only wants to see her son, but finds out that her son died. She poisons herself thinking her son is calling for her, but realizes her mistake and begs for forgiveness. In the end, she sees the Virgin and her son and dies. Happy, I think. But it's pretty music, very Puccini. And we have Veronia Villareal, who is a very famous soprano (and also Chilean!) singing the lead role. Suor Angelica is an interesting opera because not only is it one of only three one-acts that Puccini wrote, but the cast is entirely women until the VERY end when a male chorus sings off-stage. Has a great couple of arias and really fun oboe/flute duets which Prema and I are playing with relish.

I love OPERA!

Trip continued

On the way to Valparaiso, we stopped in different villages, my favorites being Tunquen and Quintay. Somehow, these villages had so far escaped development, though I fear they are next in line. I want someone with a lot of money to buy the land and preserve it as a national park. Tunquen was a teensy dot on the map, and we passed through via dirt roads and through a river. On the OTHER side of the river was the sign that said “Don’t cross unless you’re in a truck.” Too bad they couldn’t get that sign for both directions. However, lucky for us, because it was breathtaking. Just some farms and houses scattered here and there, with giant cliffs (VERY steep) behind and the sea in front. Beautiful.

Quintay was similar, with the steepest road I’ve ever traveled leading into the town. We were a bit concerned our little rental car would make it. I can imagine that the people in the town like it that way – cuts down on the traffic. However, of course as you’re driving down the road, it feels as though you’ll drive straight into the sea, and at sunset, you want to camp out and forever live your life gazing upon the glittering water and the wet rocks rising tall from the sea. It was one of those moments I’d like to be able to have even when I grow old and my memory begins to fail me.



…

After our night/next day in Valpo (Neruda’s house, lots of walking) we headed north for La Serena, and stopped on they way to spend the night in Los Vilos, a coastal village with a giant beach which must be marvelous during the summer. We stayed in a little cabana without heat (we were cold a lot on this trip) and woke up the next morning to continue on our journey. Upon arriving in La Serena, we found a hostel (with heat!) and ended up walking around a bit and driving to see the now-defunct lighthouse and the beach. La Serena is a couple of miles from the beach, and there is now a strip of hotels, restaurants and a casino along the water. La Serena itself is very quaint and old, with a beautiful Plaza de Armas and cobblestone streets.

My priority upon visiting La Serena was to go to the Reserva Nacional de Penguinos Humboldt, the Humboldt Penguin Nature Reserve. I was so excited that penguins resided outside of Antarctica. There were also supposed to be dolphins, sea lions and during the summer season, whales. So we went. The drive was about two hours – an hour north on the big road, and then an hour heading west, on a dirt road with no signs and the occasional fork, which resulted in us taking the road that looked more worn. We drove through the desert until FINALLY we reached the little town that was a marker – Los Choros, and then into the town where we could hire a boat to take us around Isla Choros. (This isla was really an island.)

As we drove in, we were of course accosted by two men who REALLY wanted to take us to the island, and commenced to follow us around as we looked for some kind of visitors center or a place to pay an entrance fee for the park. As far as we could tell, there wasn’t any, so we stopped at a restaurant to get a drink. While there, I struck up conversation with an older Chilean couple who had, funnily enough, been accosted by the same two guys. We decided it’d be cheaper if we shared the ride. We found the two men close by (not surprisingly) and so put on all of our warmest gear, life jackets, and headed out to sea.

It was chilly, but also refreshing, and as we made our way across the water, a pod of dolphins joined our boat. At first just two parents and a baby, but soon there were about 15 dolphins and one sea lion all swimming next to the boat, surfacing at the same time, disappearing for a while and then reappearing to the delight of all. The followed us all the way to the island where the dolphins dropped us off, and we headed to the sea lion colony. Sea lions are great creatures – so sweet-faced and awkward on land, but smooth and swift in the water. There were babies, mothers, the head of the family, and they were all perched on every possible surface you could imagine – ledges, the flat of rocks, huge angles – and somehow not one fell off.

There were also three different types of cormorants, which dove spectacularly for fish and then found their way to a rock to dry their wings. The penguins were next.

The Humboldt penguins are very shy little penguins who lay their eggs on top of the island to avoid have the sea lions eat them. Therefore, each day they cautiously waddle down the rocky cliff to fish. We saw some walking along and in turn, they played hide and seek with us, darting under rocks, waiting a few moments, then trying to run to the next rock without being seen. Adorable, and absolutely worth the trip.



We returned to La Serena that night absolutely satisfied, and set off the next morning for Elqui Valley. Now, Elqui Valley is where they make Pisco, the national alcohol of Chile, so one would expect a climate similar to California. Except that we happened to go on one of the three or so days a year that it happens to rain. And it rained. A lot. So we didn’t get to see the giant vistas or go on any hikes, but we did drive through all the small towns and see the pisco vineyards spreading out like a golden autumn blanket below. It was all quite picturesque. And we found some beautiful shops with pretty glass and bought some pisco. However, I think to fully appreciate Elqui Valley I’ll need to return on a sunny day.



The next day was sunny, and we drove back to Santiago in order to return the car in time to have dinner at the house of the Risopatron – Hoffman family. The grandparents of this family, Luz Maria and Rudy, know a couple from my hometown of Lexington – the men had been at MIT together – and their grand-daughter, Antonia was coming to visit Lexington for about three months or so beginning on 22 July. Because of the connection, I had connected with the family and they so generously had us to dinner. Luz Maria and Rudy’s daughter, Veronica (mother of Antonia) hosted, and we had an absolutely hilarious time. Juan Pablo, Veronica’s husband, makes the best pisco sours I’d had in Chile, and everyone was laughing and really enjoying themselves. It made me wish for my parents that they lived in Lexington, or that my parents would move to Santiago so as to have great friends around. This family is the kind of family that’s easy to sink into and relax – they are incredibly accepting, generous and funny and make you feel as though you are part of the family. Their family dynamic is just so incredibly energetic and joyful – you leave feeling light and exhilarated. Very special indeed.

The next day we took a trip up the mountains to see snow. There are 48 curves to get up to the ski resort areas, so as soon as there was snow to throw for a snowball, we returned, and spent the afternoon recovering from our weak stomachs.

We recovered just in time to celebrate an early birthday at the famous restaurant Astrid y Gastón. Reputed to be one of the best, if not THE best restaurant in Santiago, we had an incredible dinner beginning at 9, ordered by 9:45, food started arriving around 10 or so. We were there for about three hours, enjoying the different courses, the presentation and the uniqueness of the cuisine. This is the sort of restaurant where you have to pick your dessert at the beginning because they make each one from scratch and they need time for preparation. It was worth everything. And I received a book of poems and an autographed Tom Rush CD from William, whom I still can’t believe thought enough ahead to send Mom and Dad my birthday present so they could bring it to me. Great brother!



The next day, I did work while Mom and Dad explored on their own, and then we went to see Get Smart, though here it is called Super Agente 86. It was great. The next day was leisurely, buying some gifts in Bellavista and then finally saying goodbye, which was quite hard. It had been great to have my parents here and for them to see all the new things in my life. I was starting to feel kind of like a grown-up, which made it hard to have them leave. I so enjoy being a kid and it’s so easy to fall into that when parents are visiting. However, I had great friends whom I hadn’t seen for several weeks, and Shostakovich 5 on Tuesday, with the Maestro coming Thursday, so I charged right back into life.

Oh, and I got a new friend named Little Joe. Here he is:

Recent Events and Neruda

So I have been out of blog commission for some time, mostly because I’d had a rolling series of busy weeks. In review, since the last time I wrote:

I had been in San Pedro de Atacama, blissfully soaking up the sunshine and clean air and the fresh start I recaptured while there.

Then I got sick. Thankfully, I was off of work for the next three weeks, so I spent the week making soup and watching movies and generally feeling a little bit sorry for myself. (Note: Regression whilst sick is shockingly easy. I believe I regained my San Pedro confidence upon return to normal health.)

Then Mom and Dad came, which was great. We spent the first five days or so puttering around Santiago, and checking things out slowly, which was nice. We saw the Pre-Columbian museum (lots of cool art and even some mummies and also some Maoi –the big Easter Island statues) www.precolombino.cl, climbed San Cristobal and Cerro Santa Lucia and had a tour with the Risopatróns of the Las Condes neighborhood. Then came the pivotal moment of the trip. We visited Pablo Neruda’s house, where I will digress.

Now, I’ve always APPRECIATED Neruda and fallen into his web of imagery and intimacy – I’ve seen Il Postino, read the Captain’s Verses, but I had no idea that he was artist in every sense of the word.

Neruda had three houses which he built piece by piece over the years (Lexington folk, it reminded me a bit of Kitty and Ron’s house that was years in the making). His house in Santiago is called La Chascona, which loosely translated means “crazy-haired one.” Think bad bed head. However, he used it as an affectionate term for his wife Matilde who apparently had crazy hair. Sweet.

La Chascona is tucked away in Bellavista and I’d passed it several times without ever realizing what it was. The entrance is just a door in a white wall. You enter into the gift-shop area and then head upstairs for the start of the tour. All of a sudden, you are in the middle of a bizarre “yard” surrounded by different house parts, all built onto a steep hill. Neruda designed all three of his houses to look like ships. The doors are all narrow, the halls narrow with low ceilings, and every space is intimate. Even if it has an open feeling, such as the living room in this house, the room itself is a circle so it’s all connected and revolves around itself and an incredible fireplace. (All three have fantastic fireplaces. And bars.)

Neruda was a collector and each room in the house has collections – of colored glasses, flatware, silverware, pictures of watermelons, seashells, etc. However, my favorite part about La Chascona was the design concept itself. You can have other people “in the house” and never see them all day long. And it’s not because it’s a massive house, but because each room is its own separate section, completely disconnected. One has to walk outside to get to the living/bedroom section, library, kitchen/guesthouse, etc. It’s a brilliant plan to be able to work at home and still feel as though you could be anywhere. We were all quite inspired and impressed by Neruda’s ingenuity in this design. Not to mention he has a beautiful view of Santiago and the mountains on clear days… (Ah, the tragedy of smog.)

Then we got out of town. And on the recommendation of our Neruda guide Gonzalo, rented our car and headed to Isla Negra, the second home of Neruda. Despite its name, Isla Negra is not an island, but a very quiet beach town about an hour and a half south of Valparaiso on the rocky Chilean coast. The wind blows quickly off the water and the waves relentlessly pound the rocks. Neruda was clever to buy some of the only coastal property in Isla Negra that also had a bit of sand, so one could swim if one dared to.

Neruda’s house in Isla Negra is filled with everything maritime – ship masts, paintings of ships, ships in bottles, navigational maps, TONS of seashells, a pipe collection, and more colored glasses. It is his burial place as well of that of his third wife, Matilde. To me, this house had much more solitude, with the sea in front and large evergreens behind. It is open and free, but also his nooks and crannies provide a safe haven and intimacy. The house in Isla Negra is an ode of love to the ocean. He even turned his bed at an angle so as to see the sea from as many points as possible.



We then moved towards Valparaiso to see his third and final house. His house in Valparaiso sits on one of the twenty or more hills (cerros) that rise above “el plan,” the flat section of town that runs into the ocean and port. These hills are literally covered with houses of every imaginable color, shape and size. At night, their lights outline the curves of the cerros and gaze down upon the flat streets and the boats docked, rocking in the waves. I felt as I had in Venice, where I never knew where I was going to end up, or what awaited me around the corner. Magical.

Neruda’s house, La Sebastiana, also known as La Casa en el Aire, (The House in the Air), sits quite near the very top of one of these hills. Not only is its location impressive, but also the house, unlike the spread of his other two, is stacked four floors one on top of the other. However, though it’s not spread out, it creates the same effect, as one has to go to a different floor for the living room, dining/kitchen area, bedroom, and finally, his library. (It seems as though I’m not the only one to have the idea to design a house like a lighthouse, building a different room at each turn of the stairs…). From the study, one can see all of Valparaiso, and also a bit around the bend to Viña del Mar. It’s reported that Neruda also watched the New Year’s fireworks from his house in Valparaiso. It’s easy to see why.

We fell in love...

milagro

this was our favorite restaurant in san pedro. not only did oscar work there, but they had a roaring fire every night, a great 3-course menu del dia for only $5,000 pesos, and a rectangular hole in the ceiling above the fire where you could see the stars.

i believe that we ate dinner there 4 times, lunch once, and drinks about 3. we were there a lot.

the food was tasty as well. regardless, if you ever go, check out milagro. i'm addicted to their fire.

our first night, i was looking for a campfire, but our hostel didn't have one and there wasn't just one in the plaza, the way i thought there should be. every small town needs a fire pit! regardless, i was overjoyed when i found out that i could make milagro my own personal campfire.

the thing about campfires is that somehow, they make people open up and talk about their feelings. we had tons of great conversations around the fire, mostly because it's so mesmerizing. it crackles, the flames are endlessly entertaining and it's warm! and in the desert at night, to be warm is no small feat. also, personally, it's very calming and peaceful to sit around a fire. after all, without fire, the human race probably wouldn't have been nearly as successful - we would have lived mostly at the equator and eaten only fruits and nuts or raw meat. fires are a good thing. i miss them.

anyone want to go camping?

valle de catarpe/the end.

saturday, after having a lazy morning, bimbi and i began our horseback riding adventure. we left SP around 1 and were driven to a ranch where we met our guide, Stephanie. Stephanie is half Swiss/English and speaks German, English, French and Spanish. fluently. She grew up bilingual which we surmise made it easier for her to learn the other two languages. lucky lady.

it was just the three of us and so we set off on our horses for the valle de catarpe, another verdant spot in the middle of the desert.

along the way, we talked lots, saw a random horse escape without its owner knowing, crossed streams, climbed mountains, and cantered! that was thrilling. especially after i ceased being stiff and was able to get into the rhythm of it - had estella been able to canter all day, i would have gone along without complaint.

this, of course, furthered my not-so-secret dream of being a cowgirl and working on a ranch, riding horses and mending fences. stephanie assured me that aside from the US and Europe, you can pretty much move anywhere and get a job like this. if oboe and opera and being a singer in a band don't work out, i plan on moving to some place like SP and working as a cowgirl. we even have the hats.

after a nice hot shower at the end of the day, we went to milagro, ate some dinner until zoe, james and stephanie joined us for a drink. we sat around the fire and talked until it got a bit later, and then moved to a bar called "grado 6." we were pretty much the only females in the entire bar and it got more and more hectic until the bar finally closed and we all moved to a different party out in a field. more stars, more fire. i was getting used to that life....

the next morning i woke up with a cold, and we cleaned out our hostel and spent the day sitting in the sun and trying to resist buying lots of beautiful jewelry and art - i was only successful 1 out of 3 times. pathetic.

we flew back through a gorgeous sunset and arrived in santiago around 9:30pm or so. it is nice to be home, but i've fallen in love with the desert...

friday.

so, i'm back now in santiago but wanted to share about the last couple of days.

david, a friend that we had met during our first tour, was leaving friday night so we spent the afternoon with him. we had lunch at milagro (more on that in a bit) and then went for a hike near the Quitor fortress. however, instead of paying the 2,000 pesos, we hiked up a nearby hill where we had a beautiful view of the mountains, the small green patch of san pedro and endless sky.

we sat on top of the mountain, the sun shining down and talked about all the things you never get to on a daily business. the bread of life, if you will. it was lovely.

we lingered there in the sun until the wind got too strong and then meandered back to SP. we met up again for drinks later before he left to catch his bus for Arica. we were a bit jealous.

after that, zoe, james, bimbi and i went to the restaurant Quitor for some food and supposedly dancing. the food was tasty (swordfish!) and i was basically sitting in the fire, keeping warm. zoe and james left and bimbi and i hung around in the hopes that the rumors of dancing were going to come true. people began filtering in around 10:30pm or so and finally a band came.

the "bands" of SP are composed of recorder/flute-type instruments, little string instruments that look like tiny banjos, drums, guitar and usually some sort of wind-chime. very folky.

the place finally filled up and the dancing began. our friend Oscar, who had been our guide for both the flamencos and valle de la luna joined us and we hung out, dancing and talking and drinking wine until it closed around 2.

then we went to the illegal party. in SP, they had problems many years ago and have since become hard-core about the no-party law. people aren't permitted to sell alcohol after 1pm, and there are no clubs or anything remotely close. the kids have parties in the desert, and buy alcohol from houses on the outskirts of town where you approach quietly and knock on the window. the curtain parts, you whisper what you want, hand over the money, and receive your sins through the window without ever seeing who lives there. sneaky. i loved it.

the party was just down the street from the restaurant, but as the police passed by SLOWLY we ended up walking a few extra blocks until they turned the corner. then everyone rushed into the backyard of someone's house, where there was a fire and music. the police must know what occurs but are just too tired of breaking up the parties. also, i suppose as long as things are contained, people can't make too much harm...

anyway. fun night, gorgeous stars - i was able to pick out all the constellations from the night before and felt proud...

Las Estrellas

Last night we went stargazing, heading out with a tour at 9pm. Alan, the propieter, is a French astronomer who has lived in Chile now for many years. We arrived and his wife Alejandra gave us a great explanation of where we were in the galaxy as well as explained some basic information about the Milky Way, and how we can look at the sky.

We then walked inside their house and sat in a circular room while Alan prepped us for what we would be seeing through their 6 large telescopes.

It is hard to describe what the sky looked like last night, except to say that I doubt I will ever again see so many stars so clearly, and throughout the entire sky. Usually, because of pollution or humidity, we never see stars that are directly on the horizon - we usually start being able to see them about 15 degrees above. Last night, however, everywhere you looked there were stars, and of course with the telescopes, the places that looked empty were also in fact completely full of stars.

We also got to see SATURN and JUPITER!!!! and the Southern Cross, the Triangle, Scorpio, the Centaur, nebulas, spiral galaxies, star clusters, etc etc. I am so excited to be able to add to my constellation knowledge, especially since I knew nothing about the Southern Sky.

Supposedly, the southern sky is more beautiful because statistically it has a higher concentration of everything, and I believe it may be true. With our naked eye, with the best conditions, we are able to see about 6,000 stars, and I believe I saw every single one of them last night. What a glorious sight.

Valle de la Luna

yesterday we slept in and spent a nice morning in the plaza reading and soaking in the sun before heading off to El Valle de Muerte y El Valle de la Luna. No one quite knows how Death Valley got its name... there are three different possibilities. The first is that the man who discovered it thought it looked a great deal like Mars, and called it Valley de Marte (Mars) and it got changed over time to Muerte... The second is that the valley is where people go to die, and the third is that it's called this because nothing can grow there. All three seem plausible to me. Regardless, it does look incredibly similar to pictures I've seen of Mars.

Stunning views, red rocks and large dunes accompanied us as we trekked for two hours from the ridge down into the valley and then followed the path the river (which is no longer there) created as it made its way through the rocks millions of years ago. Once again, the area used to be a lake and the water was forced under when the tectonic plates collided oh so many years ago. The result is that many layers of the rock are made of salt, and in some places it is so thick it looks like snow in the riverbed. The salt also creates this amazing phenomenon which our great guide Oscar calls the Symphony. Because oxygen got trapped in the rock (very porous) underneath the salt, somehow when the sun shines on the rock, it heats the oxygen and creates millions of tiny little gas explosions which sound like pops and crackles (rice crispy-ish). It's truly amazing to sit there and have the canyon walls talk to you. Even more so that it's been happening for millions of years.

There was also an amazing cave that was created out of compressed salt which turned into quartz. It was fun to enter and realize that crystals were holding up the ceiling of the cave.

After we wound our way through the Death Valley, we headed over to Valle de la Luna where we climbed to the top of the mountains to watch the sun set. Moon Valley also deserved its name! There were incredible sand dunes, a salt ridge and the ring of Andean volcanos around the edge. Others sat to watch the sunset, but I continued walking to the furthest outpost on the Cordillera de Sal (salt mountain range) until I was the only one aside from the ranger, looking out at the entire 360 degree view. I have been appreciating the sun here. In cities, the sun doesn't change the colors as much as in the desert, where it lights up and alters everything every moment of the day. I stood there watching the mountains change from gold to pink to blue as the sun went down. Afterwards, we trekked to the other peak and then flew down the volcanic black dune and headed back to San Pedro.

El Tatio Geyser

This morning we woke at 3:30am to leave at 4am to visit the geysers at El Tatio at dawn. We slept most of the bumpy way there, arriving to see steam rising throughout the valley.

I seem to be repeating myself, but dawn at the geysers was equally as magnificent as dawn at the salt flat. Maybe I need to experience dawn more often. The geysers gurgled and sputtered, throwing the occasional water in the air, but with vapor always rising. And of course, as the sun finally came out, the entire area sparkled. I felt as though I was living in an Ansel Adams photograph.

There are four different types of geysers in the park: thermal, mud, gas and (i forget the name) but whichever ones are pressurized and actually shoot water in the air. The thermal geysers were so inviting and I wished I had brought my suit with me to climb in to escape the -8 C/10F air. The mud geysers looked like boiling mud-pies, all bubbly and as though they could have been in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The gas ones just steamed (delightful noises!) and the ones under extreme pressure shot up into the air, the beads of water exploding upwards like fireworks and looking like flying diamonds in the sun.

After spending lots of time playing around the geysers, (some of which were different colors because of the bacteria - red, yellow, green - gorgeous!) we went to a village and ate some llama meat. It was tasty. I felt a bit bad because I've been kissed by a llama before, but the THREE people who live in this village subsist on it, so I bought a kebab. Delicious - very tender.

Next stop was a cactus forest which grew on rocky hills, and in the valley between the hills was a stream and hundreds of fox tails, which waved in the wind and stood out in stark whiteness against the clay colored, cactus covered hills. We climbed to the top and were able to look back over the entire valley ringed by mountains. When we turned the other direction, we could see the Dameyko range and the salt flats we visited yesterday.

I am happy...

Los Flamencos

We woke up at 5:30 this morning and drove with our tour to the Flamenco National Reserve, which hosts three types of flamingos that thrive in the salt flat called the Chaxa Lagoon. The salt flat is exactly how it sounds - flat land covered in salt crystals, with various shallow ponds where algae, teeeensy shrimp and other micro-organisms live and support the birds and other wildlife.

The Chaxa Lagoon lies between the Andes and the Domeyko Mountain Ranges and used to be a sea before the mountains pushed their way up and the water formed underground lakes, leaving the salt behind. What is left looks like a giant white coral reef which stretches for miles.

We arrived before dawn, shivering a bit as we walked through the clear morning, and watched the flamingos feed and fly as the sun rose from behind the mountains and finally shone full-force on the sparkling water, lighting up the mountains in purple and pink hues, the colors slowly seeping downward towards us.

The other magnificent occurence of the day was the hike to more than 14,000 ft to see the two Altiplano Lagos, which rival the Texas sky for their intense color. The lakes were pristine, with salt rings around the edges, and birds flocked on the shores. We were looking down on both lakes at the same time, and also were able to look out on the valley and the salt flats from above... truly spectacular.

pictures to follow when i return to santiago...

San Pedro de Atacama

i am in the desert, about 1500 km north of santiago. my friend bimbi and i took the 23.5 hour bus ride from santiago, and arrived today at around 3pm. for all of today, it was the exact same scenery, which consisted of nothing except various hills/mountains of rock and sand. there was absolutely no vegetation unless we were close to a village, which is also where some of minute amounts of water exist.

we did see a lone alpaca, with no owner or companion in site.

we are staying in a hostel and right now i am bundled up as much as possible, since it's about freezing right now. during the day, however, it was about 75F.

tomorrow we're going to see the altiplano lakes, with flamingos, and for a nice trek to "see the flora and fauna."

right now, however, in the middle of nowhere, the stars are incredibly bright, and last night we saw a sunset that we can only hope to see again sometime in our lives. the sunrise this morning on the bus was equally magnificent, backlighting the craggy horizon.

another sunrise tomorrow...

my life has been renewed.

i found cheddar cheese. i'm not even joking. i felt uplifted, as though i finally had hope for the flavor selection in chile.

it is called "Cheddar: Light, Tasty" and is made by an Australian company called Bega. So exciting. It actually manages to taste like something.

The little things you miss...

on a sad note...

today, whilst descending the san cristobal hill, i heard a dreadful crying that sounded like a child. i went over to the side of the road and saw the smallest little black puppy. it seemed as though it had just opened its eyes - it couldn't have been more than a couple weeks old at most. my heart pretty much broke. i started petting it, and it kind of stopped crying, but then i picked it up, and it started up again. the little one had dirt caking his right eye closed, so i tried to wipe it off.

a man was passing, and i asked him what i could do. he suggested i just leave it because probably the mother went off to look for food and would come back looking for her pup. there had been a smallish black dog that joined us part-way up the hill, and she looked as though she could be a mom. maybe she told him to stay put?

so i put him back, and he stopped howling. but it was one of the hardest things to just leave him there. i'm trying to tell myself that his mom came back for him, or at the very least, that someone else might have picked him up and taken him home.

this dog issue is a real problem here in chile. i think they should spend less time watering the grass and put more money into programs like taking care of all the stray dogs and cleaning up the river. the dogs are domesticated wild animals, if that makes sense. they chill with people during the day, conduct traffic (literally, they don't let people cross the street until it changes from the red to the green man) and protect their territory. however, at night, they turn into the pack animals they are, and literally run around santiago, 5+ at a time. i'm not quite sure what they do, but they do it really hard. that is why they lie around looking dead during the day.

regardless, most of the time, the dogs are great, they seem happy, random people feed them, homeless people try to sell them, but the puppies --- the puppies break my heart.

rain

today, for the first time since i have been here, it is raining. it sends the smell of the earth and fallen leaves into the air, mixing the fresh with the damp smell of decay.

climbing san cristobal hill today, one could finally see all of santiago, even the snow-capped mountains! the one bad thing about winter here is that the smog settles. for weeks, we haven't even been able to see the foothills of the andes, and i haven't seen snow-capped anything at all. however, today, the rain cleaned the air, washed away the smog (probably in the river - ooph) and all was clean and clear and crisp.

i am starting to think of carving pumpkins and halloween costumes, not to mention thanksgiving. sadly, down south, we'll be getting those holidays when it is warm again, almost summer.

however, this rain takes me immediately back to salzburg, summer 2003. i was staying in a fraternity/hostel house, and it was still chilly, early in the summer. rain was pouring down outside and we all gathered in the bar area of the house (only in salzburg!) and listened to getz/gilberto "girl from ipanema" and danced, the heat of our bodies mixing with the cool air, creating a misty, truly magical atmosphere. that night, we were all so connected, needing nothing more than the rain and the music.

tonight i listen again to "girl from ipanema." though i am now in chile, the smells are the same, and the rain feels just as clear and pure.

internet update

i've got it. and you can now call me at 540-458-0145. i'm having a couple of technical difficulties - at the moment i can't call OUT on my phone, but i can accept calls. if i miss your call, i will skpye you back and then hopefully we can arrange a time to talk on the phone, which has a much better connection.

poco a poco...

boheme and beethoven

right now we're in the middle of our run of La Boheme, and it has confirmed my secret belief that i really want to be an opera singer. how amazing to get to sing those melodies that Puccini and Verdi wrote! not to mention the ability to act at the same time as you are expressing yourself musically. *sigh*

it's a gorgeous opera, and luckily for us we're playing it about 10 times. tomorrow, though, we begin rehearsal for beethoven 7, which was added as a lunchtime concert smack dab in the middle of our run of boheme. not great timing, but great music!

we have three rehearsals for the beethoven and then a concert at 1pm on thursday, followed by boheme at 7. a richly musical day.

it is lots of work, but i do feel extraordinarily lucky that i am being assigned such great music. i kind of feel as though this season i'm getting a run-down of the "best of." opera, ballet, orchestra... later on we're playing shostakovich 5, also sprach zarathustra, marriage of figaro, barber of seville, suor angelica, bluebeard's castle, and the ballets sleeping beauty and the rite of spring.

jobs are so exciting!!!

cold!

it is now officially chilly here. i have to wear a scarf and coat and mittens or else i freeze!

this has become an issue mostly in my apartment. my building is old - it even has some broken windows in the stairwell - and it also has no heat. no central heating, no radiators, no gas, etc. again, it is "non-furnished."

this means that soon i will be purchasing an 'estufa,' or rather, a stove, to heat my apartment during the winter. they really love gas here because the electricity is so comparatively expensive. however, i've been told that if i buy a gas stove, i need to crack the window so i don't die of carbon monoxide poisoning. *this is mentioned to me in a very casual, offhand manner.* alternatively, i could get a carbon monoxide sensor and then when it starts beeping open the window.

for some reason, i was under the impression that as long as gas is being burned, there's not a terrible danger of monoxide poisoning. for example, many people have gas stoves, and there's no concern unless the gas is on and the stove isn't lit. anyone have thoughts on this? shouldn't it be the same for my estufa? and, presumably, if i buy a decent estufa, the chances of dying should be lower...

internet!

so, everyone, get excited. i will be getting internet in.....

the next 13 days. i repeat. 13. this is the kind of lovely timetable that chile offers you for pretty much everything. deliveries, internet, mail, etc. everything takes about two weeks. which is fine. i'm just glad i now have it! this is all thanks to my friend Claudia who plays second oboe. she allowed me to use her RUT number, which is their chilean id number, kind of the equivalent to our SS#s. regardless, you can't do anything in chile without a RUT, not even buy something online from a department store with a credit card. because first you have to make an account, with your RUT.

i've been thinking that the chileans would want to take advantage of all the foreigners here, but they seem content to just make it really frustrating instead.

thankfully, i should be getting my work visa and therefore my id, and therefore my RUT in less than 6 months. :-) in the meantime, however, claudia was generous enough to let me use hers.

so, you will most likely be hearing from me with more frequency in the next 13 days, when i'm wired. cheers.

autumn fruit

It is definitely now autumn, my most favorite season of the year.  People are reluctant to give into this one, playing games in the parks and strolling down the street even though now one needs a sweater and a hat.  Here in Santiago, the jugglers practice until they can no longer see, and lovers reluctantly head home from their nests on the park benches hours earlier than during the long summer days.  Cafés have closed their patios and the sting of warmth and smells of coffee and spice are bold as you open their doors.

I was gliding through the autumn air this evening, clutching my purse and bag of fruit.  It was dusk, and I had just caught the end of the market in Bellavista, called Vega, where fruit and vegetables are sold fresh daily.  I was pleased to discover a stand that sold the precious end of the season strawberries and raspberries.

I felt great pride as I crossed the river toward home, gazing at the outline of the churches and buildings against the darkening sky.  It reminded me of the important river views in my life - the view of Manhattan from the Q train as it crosses the river, the view of Notre Dame from the Seine - and now of Santiago.  Not the most romantic city, nor the most famous, but it has tremendous passion and care for the things that matter most.

This season, this city and I... we're going to be just fine.  It's becoming home.

protests

Yesterday on my way to Spanish class there was a massive protest that was becoming a bit dramatic and not so civil.

I had crossed the river into Bellavista and noticed there were hordes of people crossing at the next bridge, the carabinieros (police) were out in full force, though at the moment, everything seemed quite peaceful.

I began walking up the street towards language class and suddenly, these students which had been loitering around the corner (think teenagers) suddenly began screaming and shouting and running up the street, looking behind their shoulders as they passed me. Needless to say, I was a little nervous. I could hear sirens, but couldn't see anything and I didn't know why the kids were literally running away. (My favorite Spanish verb, by the way: huir: to run away, to escape.)

This continued the further I walked up the street, and I also noticed that the shops were closing their doors and pulling down the chain-link fence that stores use for extra protection. Fortunately, I met Piedad at this time, and she hurried me into our building, after refusing to hide of the kids.

It turns out the probably what began as a peaceful protest against the inequality between the public and private education system became less so. Often times, random people in the street will use the opportunity of a protest to take out their aggression against the Carabinieros by throwing rocks and such. Not that bright of an idea. Clearly, this has the result of the Carabinieros fighting back and I guess that's when the tear-gas was used.

Piedad and I were sitting in our room and both started sneezing and I had to blow my nose about 8 times because the tear-gas had infiltrated our room. Not pleasant. It eventually dispersed, but I definitely was rather nervous the rest the day, and especially as I walked back to my apartment. However, it fortunately had quieted down and didn't last much longer. Exciting!

One thing that it certainly highlighted was how easy it is to manipulate a crowd, and how difficult it is for people to think for themselves when other people around them are panicking. Granted, there were about a 100 kids running around me screaming, and though I didn't run, or scream, my heart started beating faster and I definitely felt the fear that was translated by their actions.

canciones de cebolla y Piedad del Solar y Language.

In Chile, they have an expression, ¡Que Cebolla!, which literally translated means "what onion!" They use this to refer to anything really cheesy, for example: Enrique Inglesias songs, romantic comedies, Titanic, really sappy comments, etc, but ONLY in Chile.

Chileans seem particularly thrilled that I know this phrase, as it says it all in only two words!

This is all due to my lovely Spanish teacher Piedad del Solar. Piedad is Chilena, bilingual, and I been taking classes only with her for about the past month. We have become friends, and have gone out on several occasions and are in the midst of a book swap. We have often hilarious times, especially because she corrects my spanish as we go along, so sometimes it takes a REALLY long time for me to complete a thought. (I have also shared her teaching skills with all the other gringos here, in the hopes that soon we can stop speaking English. She is now teaching three others.)

With her tutelage, though not in excellent use, I now have every single verb tense there is to have under my belt. About 14 tenses or so. This is VERY exciting to me because now I technically can say whatever I want, it's just going to be a matter of putting together the pieces.

*******

When learning a language, one learns much about oneself. For example, I realized that you can ask for pretty much anything with "Puedo tener," "Can I have?" which I use about a million times a day. Also, I found myself needing to have Piedad translate for me "I would, I could, I wish I could." Turns out I spend a lot of time speaking in the Condicional. I now know the condicional and am using it a lot. "I would like to have," instead of just "Can I have"; "I would go to the cinema, but I have other plans," etc etc. V Satisfying!

*******

Some informational nuggets about the Spanish language.

There are EIGHT past tenses, and only TWO future tenses. My previous teacher Alejandra explained that every language tells a lot about the culture. Therefore, the Spanish people spend a lot of time looking backwards, as they have different tenses for very specific different periods of time. Also, clearly, they're less inclined to think about change and such.

Whereas we Americans and English speaking people have a lot of ways to talk about the future, and it's all involved in the future as well. (Only one of the Spanish future tenses is actually about only the future - the other is talking about things in the future from a point in the present or past...)

avocados...

...are in season here all year round.

more club de jazz...

the other night i went with zoe, james and ben to hear this trumpet player named Cuturrufo play. he's a pretty crazy good player, and his band was totally rockin' as well. i heard some of the best drumming i've ever heard. i wish i'd been able to catch his solo on video.

regardless, here is an excerpt of the opening trumpet solo at the bar where they played after the club de jazz. two gigs in one night - the second was much more on the funk side of things.

the video is pretty dark, b/c i just have a little baby camera, but you can hear the trumpet pretty well.

Flamenco

I've fallen in love with flamenco music. I went several weeks ago to a Flamenco restaurant in Bellavista with my friend Takeshi. Here is a picture and a short video of the woman dancing.

Construction Zone

Right now my apartment is a construction zone. It had been lovely and clean, albeit with some cracks in the walls and the ceiling crumbling a bit, but CLEAN. Now, Renan is fixing my apartment, and though he put newspaper down, I’ve never met a fixer who can also clean up after him/herself. There are lovely bits of plaster on my floor, on all my belongings, and on all the surfaces that Norma and I had spent hours cleaning. At least there’s nothing else to get dirty. The only things I have at the moment are a bed, bedside table, fridge, microwave and various kitchen items.

Oh! I finally got an office chair… You have no idea how difficult they are to find here in Santiago. Department stores do not sell them, only office furniture stores and this place called Sodimac Home Center, which is literally Home Depot en Español… Literally, down to the orange sign. A taste of home?

Norma

So, I have a confession. I have a Nanna, or, in English, a maid. I realize that I’m only 24 years old and that having a maid is a little bit on the excessive end of things, but it’s the culture here. Plus, I kind of inherited her when I got the apartment.

I came by the apartment to make sure that I was certain I wanted it, and Norma was here, cleaning. She had worked for the couple since they’d lived there and worked for the man’s family for years, so she is very trustworthy, does a good job, etc. Anyway, the woman, Brieta, asked me if I just wanted her to keep coming for me. For only $10,000 pesos a day, which is about $20. She comes for eight hours, cleans, cooks, goes to the store, washes dishes, irons, does laundry – you name it, Norma can do it. It’s remarkable.

Norma came this past Thursday to help me clean the apartment before I moved all of my belongings, so that I’d start off on the right foot. First thing, we go to the supermercado, because I clearly have NOTHING in the apartment, except some yoghurt, diet coke and a sponge. We buy cleaning supplies. Then, halfway through the supermercado, she asks me what I want to eat for lunch, and what kinds of things I like, so it turned into a grocery trip as well. When we returned, she put everything away and I went to rehearsal.

Later, I bought a vacuum and some other things on a list that she had given me, such as Tupperware, Ziploc bags, dish towels, etc. When I returned to the apartment, it smelled so fresh and so clean clean and then she began to vacuum. I felt like a princess.

Did I mention that she made me food and put it all in the fridge and that I haven’t had to cook the past two days because I’ve been eating this tasty brown rice/chicken/eggplant dish that she somehow made kind of like risotto?

I am so thankful for Norma. I don’t know if I’ll be coming back to the States…

Music of India

Last night I went with the ladies plus James to hear Pedro, one of the Percussionists in the orchestra, play tabla at a concert of “Cuerdas de India,” strings of India. It all took place at the Yoga Center here in Santiago, a beautiful building with a fountain in the back and a rock garden and bamboo and skylights. There were four pieces, though the concert lasted close to 2 and a half hours. Pedro is a great tabla player, as far as I can ascertain, and he played two of the four pieces. In the last one, his hands were moving so quickly that I couldn’t tell which sounds were being made by which hand movements. It was a lot of fun, and they had cheap samosas and other tasty treats for sale, and we all sat on the floor and had to take our shoes off, etc. They had turned the lights off and had candles lit, and you could see the fountain and rock garden through the glass. They also had a couple of meditations written on the walls.

The lull of the third piece put me into a meditative-type sleep (long day) and it was actually really nice to be in the audience for some music, and also to be so connected with all the people there. Sitting on the floor in tight quarters is certainly different then sitting in chairs at a theatre. The room itself was not enormous, so the entire concert was very intimate. When it was over, I felt peaceful. The combination of drone, dancing tabla and repeated ostinato in the string instruments created an interesting outlet for me to kind of delve into the sound. Going to a bar after a concert like that would have been an intrusion on the experience, and I don’t think the juxtaposition would have worked at all. It was one of those rare moments for me when I felt completely satisfied and very content.

Club de Jazz

The next night, Saturday, after our first concert, Julia, Zoe, Carlos and I went with Ximena and Leonardo for dinner to a restaurant and then to the Club de Jazz in Santiago. Ximena’s brother plays jazz vibrophone and is pretty incredible. We all sit at this little table listening to jazz in the middle of Santiago. This Club is the most famous in Chile. Back in the day, Louis Armstrong played there, and so has Herbie Hancock… Any jazzers want to tour to Chile?

The building has high ceilings and wooden support beams and the jazz makes its way into every corner. Thankfully, the Club has banned smoking indoors, so it’s also a smoke-free haven to enjoy the different bands that play.

One of the bands that night was called “Lemon Pie Jazz,” www.lemonpiejazz.com. I laughed at their name.

Leonardo

I think my favorite person in the orchestra is Leonardo who plays second clarinet. He’s very soft-spoken, unassuming, laughs easily and seems very peaceful – as if he has some sort of secret that allows him to be so content. He’s Chilean, probably in his 50’s or early 60’s and I want him to be my buddy in a serious way.

It all started with the fact that he invited us over to his house in Nuñoa, (a neighborhood in Santiago) for a woodwind party. It turns out that in Chile, often times if you invite someone over for a party that starts before midnight you also feed them. Everyone was to give him the equivalent of $8 and bring a bottle of wine (about $4 will get you a good bottle of red, more on that later…)

Carlos, Julia, Zöe, Luke and I arrive in a cab to Leonardo’s house and are escorted past his large Shepherd-type dogs to his back patio, which is enormous compared to my hotel room, and has a beautiful tree, GRASS, lovely stonework and twinkle-lights hung in the branches. There are two tables set up and we don’t really know what to do, as Leonardo just kind of shows around and tells us to sit.

Enter Ximena, Leonardo’s wife. (Could be spelled with a J instead of an X… will get back to you on this one.) Ximena has got to be around the same age as Leo, and she used to be a dancer before she retired – think ballet… She has a huge laugh and big smile and has got to be the polar opposite of Leonardo. I soon find out that she has more energy than anyone I know and is always looking to have a great time and to make sure everyone else is as well. Perfect hostess.

She is completely delightful and makes us a round of Pisco Sours (Pisco is Chile’s national drink, honest!) As more people arrived, Leonardo gradually started speaking more, and I met the rest of the woodwind section that hadn’t been playing the Spanish concert, as well as a conductor names Santiago, who conducts a chamber orchestra in town.

An hour later, out comes paella - homemade, gigantic, everything in it paella. Chicken, chorizo, mussels, shrimp, squid, mushrooms, peppers, etc. The pan it was in was cast-iron and literally the same size as the top of a stove – MASSIVE. And she hadn’t cooked just one. She had cooked TWO. Incredible, and delicious to boot. And after paella, fresh fruit… HEAVEN!

The wine flowed, the tummies filled and then Ximena decided it was time for a dance party. The music got turned up and she danced salsa with Jorge (Principal Clarinet). Leonardo does not dance. Ever.

However, Ximena was incredible to watch and pretty soon, people were up and moving to the music, dancing under the Chilean night sky.

More Random Facts about Santiago

1. Mullets are shockingly popular, as is long hair on guys.

2. Heavy metal is HUGE. My first week here I saw tons of Iron Maiden shirts – turns out they had played the week before. I guess it helps to have long hair for head-banging.

3. Stray dogs are a huge issue. Except that no Chilean seems to think so. They’re kind of just around and chilling and doing their thing, ie, sleeping in the middle of the road, or peeing on the sidewalk or snoozing in the sun in the park. People feed them and they actually seem pretty content. None of them look that skinny, either. In fact, it’s the dogs WITH leashes and collars that seem kind of annoyed that they can’t just do whatever they want.
a. Julia and I ate at a restaurant outside of which hangs this middle-sized, kind of yellow, wiry dog. We were eating dinner on the patio in front when a man came up begging, and the dog went ballistic, as if to say “Don’t bother my customers, you’re on MY territory.” The man ended up kicking the dog (very sad) but he did go away, and the dog remained.
b. I was doing sit-ups in the park during a run, and after about number 89 or so, this dog came up to me to say hello. Gave me a little lick to say “how you doing? Just checking on you.” Very cute dog, actually, and then he gave me a couple more licks and I left. He seemed very content to stay at
the park.

4. There are stores specifically dedicated to one thing. Granted, we have department stores here as well, but my two favorite one-item stores are the optician and lamp stores. There must be an eyesight problem in Chile because in the Centro, there is literally at least one optician in EVERY SINGLE BLOCK. No joke. Also, there is one entire block that has only stores that sell lamps, lightbulbs, and lamp-related items. To compound the face that there are 8 (I counted) lamp stores RIGHT next to each other, they also seem to stock pretty much the exact same items. Confusing.

5. There is a national drink, called the Pisco Sour. Peru and Chile are forever fighting about which country actually created Pisco first, but regardless, it’s the national drink. Pisco is a clear liquor, somewhere in the white rum department, I believe, and is combined with sour mix and ends up being very frothy and a bit deadly as well. Turns out in Chile, when a liquor says, for example, 40 Proof, it’s actually 40%, and is therefore 80 Proof. Caution.

6. Wine is tasty and cheap, kind of like Italy, but, dare I say?, even better and even cheaper. I haven’t purchased any wine for more than 2,000 pesos, roughly $4.50, and every bottle has been great. Imagine what kind of wine you’d get if I spent the equivalent of how much I’d spend at home. Divine!

7. Cheese here is bad, at least at the grocery stores I’ve been to. I’m sure there’s a gourmet shop I haven’t discovered yet. However, if you buy Gruyere in the store, it doesn’t taste like the Gruyere in the States. It tastes kind of like bland Swiss. And they’re really into their semi-soft cheese here – Gouda, etc. So far I haven’t found a single Cheddar. They do have Brie and Camembert which tastes normal.

8. Everything imported is kind of expensive and everything that isn’t is not. For example, I’ll be buying a refrigerator soon, and the Chilean brand, Mademsa (sound like Medusa, anyone?) is by far the cheapest and also hasn’t been sent halfway across the world, thus also making it the most environmentally friendly!!!

9. They don’t recycle, except for glass, and they pick up trash EVERY SINGLE NIGHT in the center.

10. There are tons of Hamberías, kind of bizarre, fast-foodish places that sell Hamburgers, Hot Dogs and Fries but also Empanadas and other usual Chilean fare.

11. Cafes con Piernas are not quite as rampant as they used to be, but there’s still a good number of them in the center of town. “Café with legs” is the translation, and basically, it’s men only, and the topless women inside serve them coffee. These cafes have tinted windows, and it’s all a bit delightfully scandalous.

Ana Karenina...

We are now working on Ana Karenina, the ballet Tchaikovsky didn’t write. It was arranged by some Brit by the name of Guy Woolfenden (or something) for the Australian ballet back in the late 70’s. Now, in my opinion, this is foolish. If you want a ballet about Ana Karenina, just commission it. I suppose that considering they couldn’t commission it from Tchaikovsky himself because he’s been dead for a while, piecing the ballet together from his obscure works was the next best thing.

Our conductor du jour is Jose Luiz Dominguez, a Chilean who is blessedly clear, kind, and inviting for the musicians. Also, he can cue and keep the beat pattern. AMAZING. We had our dress rehearsal today, and Erika Zamora (sister to Maria Elena) plus one, as well as my Spanish teacher Piedad del Solar plus one were there to listen. I think it went over quite well, except for one thing…

Warning: if you are reading Ana Karenina and don’t want the ending spoiled, skip ahead. Well, this one thing is the coordination of the suicide train. It seems that this is the part rehearsed the most – Ana throwing herself in front of the train instead of just trying some couples therapy and some intense one-on-one counseling. Alas, had the plot been changed, we could just cut to a sofa and chair with a therapist saying “Now, how does it make you FEEL when your ex-husband because you left him for another man forbids you to see child?”

Alas, this is not the case, and instead, there is a massive black train with headlight backstage that is quite noisy and creaky, but not in a train way… this is in the “oh no, I hope the 2x4’s that we made the train out of don’t fall apart” way.

In the meantime, while we’re waiting for the train to rumble onstage, the orchestra is holding a tutti high F-sharrp, or some such note above the staff, and the violins are using as much vibrato as possible, and the fermata is obviously held to wait for the train, and it is much too long. Aside from this small technicality, *ahem*, everything else seems to be appropriate. Lots of lights made to look like falling snow, the Russian sleigh-bell, “yeah, it’s winter and probably also Christmas” bit, the waltz that sounds VERY similar to the sleeping beauty waltz but not as interesting, good ol’ Tchaikovsky drama, and a bit taken from his Suite #3 for orchestra, entitled “Polacca.”

All-in-all, a must see, even if it was pieced together by a guy named Guy.

first concert - SPANISH!

I made it! I finished my first professional concert… here is a short video of the hall the night of the first concert, a program of Spanish music. week!
The hall is always practically full. It’s not very large, but beautiful with quite good acoustics.

It was an interesting week, to say the least. There were some disagreements between myself and the conductor, and the age-old question of what to do when that happens. Considering it was my first week, I ultimately did what he wanted, though it was completely contradictory to what the composer had written. I think line-crossing occurred. However, we came to an understanding that resulted in a compromise for both, and I think it ended up being a quite successful concert, with both parties more or less pleased. But what a way to start my first

more cascadas

movie...

Cascada de las Animas

today Bimbi, Luke and i went to a national park called Cascada de las Animas. we took a 2+ hour trail ride on horses, got beautiful views of the mountains and a look at the waterfall itself! here are some pictures and a short video... i'm still learning!
pretty flowers

view from the entrance

mighty dirty river, the Mapoche

on top of the nearby mountain

bimbi on her horse - one of the first times!

Las Señoras Zamoras

since my arrival, i have been staying with las Señoras Zamoras, two sisters in their 50s, and Camilla, a 20-year old daughter of one of their friends. it was set up through my language school and is in a great location, right across from a metro stop.

Elena and Erika are sisters, but Elena is the older one and definitely runs the house. she also has all sorts of funny rules such as:

1. as soon as you enter the house, you must wash your hands
2. when eating at the table, you just use the tablecloth, and when you are done, it must be removed
3. you may not wipe your hands on the dish towel, nor dry the dishes with the hand towel
4. same goes for the bathroom - you are not to use your bath towel to dry your hands.
5. there is a certain way to wash the dishes, involving a little cup that holds soapy water - you are to dip the sponge in the cup and then commence washing

i'm aware that these seem to make sense, but it is odd since she is picky about nothing else. she doesn't care if i'm out late, or if i don't come home at all. she's growing on me, though.

since my spanish has improved, it is easier to understand the women. they can't remember to speak slowly, so i just nod along. occasionally, elena will look at me and say in spanish "you don't understand." then she sighs and tries to explain a different way, often with better success. however, she likes keeping tabs on me and is always asking me what i'm going to do, where i'm going, etc. they are certainly both quirky, but it's nice to have some people with which to practice spanish when i'm not in class.

i'm sure more elena adventures are to come. i'm going to see if she'll help me call for apartments... though she has her own opinions on that as well!

estoy aquí!

well, i made it. i'm aware i'm going to have to do some backtracking, but i'd first like to share my experiences this evening.

i had a late start of the day because of a late night, and eventually wandered out of the house around 9pm, after spending the afternoon watching Ben-Hur in dubbed Spanish with Erika, one of the ladies of the house, while simultaneously looking for apartments online and catching up on business affairs.

i was headed out 'sola' because all the lovely people i had met last night had gone to the mountains or to the beach. i decided to take advantage of my lonely planet guide and find a new part of town in which to have dinner. off i went, to a new part of providencia.

av. providencia is beautiful, with plane trees lining the avenue and wide sidewalks for ample strolling opportunities. there are churches scattered here and there, restaurants and stores all mixed together with apartments and office buildings above.

however, on this good friday of semana santa (holy week) there was hardly a soul in sight, and i set off feeling as though the street had been made just so i could walk its length. i arrived at the restaurant, only to find that it was closed. i was about to turn around when three young people started asking me questions in rapid spanish. turns out they were foreigners as well, and that my handy-dandy lonely planet had the very restaurant listed that they were looking for. we started back towards the correct street, and i asked if i could join them since my restaurant had been closed.

so, there i was, with three new friends, Lina, David and Álmanzo. They study engineering, politcs and geography, respectivally. And, it turns out it was Álmanzo's birthday. We headed to Pizza Nuestra, which was delicious and very Italian in its thinness, and had a good time discussing what we all did, how we each came to be here, and then finally, the Iraq War and the upcoming election. (They want Bush out and the war over.)

My new friends walked me all the way back to my homestay and then we exchanged numbers and they walked off into the night. I think this is a good town.

chile!

Teatro Municipal, my future home!

i have received, signed and faxed my contract. it's official! i was deeply scared of the possibility of it not going through, but lo and behold, i have a job after all. i was so relieved when i got the notice, i literally burst into tears. hurrah for new beginnings!

...

in certain cases (Jorge, for example) instead of using an ellipsis or an et cetera, he says "ta ta ta ta ta."

For example: the flowers could be pink or white or ta ta ta ta ta.

i LOVE this onomatopoeia, and encourage everyone to use "ta ta ta ta ta."

Jorge!

i have purchased spanish lessons. private, one-on-one, 8:30am spanish lessons. my teacher's name is jorge, de colombia. when i initially spoke with raul gonzales, of the gonzales language school, i requested someone who would work on my conversation and not speak english with me. grammar i can do on my own. i need my speaking spanish only time.

jorge doesn't speak much english. he speaks haltingly and of course with an adorable accent. he's probably in his 50's, with a son my age and a daughter in high school. an example of jorge's english follows:

me: "cuando una cosa no está mucho dinero"
jorge: "ahh! cheap? cheap?"
me: (excited) "si si si!"
jorge: he proceeds to write it on the board to make sure we're for sure on the same page.
"s h e p."
me: i nod.

sometimes, however, when he writes an english word on the board, he asks me if it's correct and i'll fix it, or praise it accordingly. mostly, we're buddies. the conversation drifts along as it would with any friend.

friday, we started with what i do when it's cold out, hot out, etc. then we moved on to the neighborhood that i want to live in once i arrive in Chile, called Bellavista. (in the south american pronunciation, it is more like bejabista, which makes me think of bouillabaisse.) i describe the neighborhood, the two collinas (hills) y el zoológico! (very excited about that one.) the discussion then progressed to the ridiculous number of activities i pursued as an over-achieving child. after the swimming came up, and he found out i swam "la mariposa" (butterfly), he mentioned that he once had a girlfriend for two years who was a swimmer and swam butterfly in the pan-american games. this got us onto relationships. i discussed my recent one, which got us into the feared south american "machismo."

now. the machismo is the type of man found in all countries where men are beautiful and flirtatious, namely france, italy, and, clearly, south america. however, unlike general guys whom will sometimes admit to having a wife/girlfriend etc, these machismos love to take advantage of the beautiful women around them by seducing as many as possible.

they do this in a variety of ways, mostly by praising, spoiling, whispering lovely things into the ear, and certainly without wearing la argolla de matrimonio (that would be the wedding ring.)

jorge speaks vehemently against these men.
"lillian! these men are very very (think berry berry) bad and are lars.
me: "qué?"
j: "lars. de don't tell de truth!"
me: "oh, LIARS!!! cómo se dice, liars?"
j: "MENTIROSOS! los muchachos de sur americana son mentirosos!"

i love this new word. it sounds dirty and sneaky just saying it. fitting for its definition.

i have heard of this phenomenon, so i ask jorge, "if they're so sneaky and clever, how am i supposed to know if they're mentirosos or not?"

jorge continues to tell me that i must speak with the women. ask people, "take notes" (i couldn't believe it), and follow up. if he asks you to go to a bar with him, ask someone else if it's in a good part of town. basically, one must do thorough homework prior to making out, or you might be chased down by a wife or mistress. latina women are fierce.

jorge then says: "lilliana. soy un papá. tengo dos hijos, y te dico la verdadero. no dices 'si' a la primero hombre qué dice 'hola.' Tu debes tener paciencia, paciencia. Hablas con las muchachas, preguntas sobre el muchacho. tu estás joven (young), y debes estar tranquila."

so. no saying yes to the first man i meet. i have to take notes and talk with the ladies. at least this will force me to be VERY selective. i'm looking forward to the challenge.

dallying.

when you live by yourself, one can easily persist in what i have coined "the dally state." it is time to go to bed, but you don't really feel like it, so dallying (also known as dilly-dallying) ensues. various internet sites. trips to the kitchen to see if something has magically appeared since you last looked. deep thoughts about the things you should be doing, namely, sleeping.

i will have to admit that i am in the dally state right now. however, in defense, i must also say that i often learn useful things while dallying.

tonight i have learned:

1. it costs roughly $175 to ship a 5lb package via DHL or FedEx to Chile
2. my friend melanie sold her car
3. my friend al found an AMAZING sign regarding prostitution
4. john mCcain won the florida primary, so hopefully romney is out
5. clinton technically won florida as well, but no delegates were awarded
6. carrots and peanut butter are delightful together
7. i was right in high school when i used to eat punjab eggplant on a daily basis. it's still delicious.
8. water is tasty, too

9. a variety of other things that weren't that interesting.

that's about it. mostly, i'm hoping that one day soon i will conquer this dally factor and do something useful like read my marquez book or do my spanish homework. verbs!

good night.

favorites...

i have a new favorite word.

apocopate - to cut off the end of a word. example: "Wow, that's gorge!" gorge=gorgeous

i learned this word from two of my smart ladies, marie and daniella, in which we had a weekend full of apocopation. obv, it was fabulous.