Mari Mari

domingo 2 septiembre:

Today was better, I understood roughly 45% of what Maria said to me, and I spent time with my other classmates at orientation and around town. Maria, Flo, Cele (nietas) and I went to a market to kick off el mes de las fiestas patrias. 

Maria Isobel calls me Zo, but with a very soft Z, like “So”.

Santiago was SO NICE today, hace mucho sol. 

martes 4 septiembre:

Yesterday and today were scorchers! Ice cream and cold cold Heineken got me through. I am two classes into the language program here and am loving the refresher on basic foundational spanish. And today we toured the Palacio de Moneda where the president works and where much of the crazy coup of 1973 went down. 

I am very comforted by this city; around every corner there is chaos but it is rhythmic and everything happens when and how it needs to. Sometimes I feel I want to dance to the beat of the heart of it.

Ended tonight late with pizza on the stone streets of Lastarria in Santiago with some darn good friends. 

viernes 7 septiembre:

On Wednesday I went on a chilly run around La Reina (my neighborhood) and then to La Ecofería, an artisan-craftsman/urban garden/farmers market which of course is right up my alley, hippy-wise. In Spanish class we learned a little about Mapudungun, the language of the indigenous Mapuche people. "Mari mari" means Hello, for example. 

Yesterday we toured the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino and ate empanadas and chorrillana (loaded french fries). My commute home is long but I love it.

domino 9 septiembre:

I went to the ocean this weekend with Maria Isobel and Josephina (nieta). We stayed in Pichidangui, a small peninsula town of yellow dirt roads, wild horses, and loads of cactus. I heard tales of penguins, too, but failed to get proof. The swell was thumpin and I have never stood so close to a wave that big, thick walls of deep blue exploded on the rocks, one after another. 

Coming back to the city oddly felt like coming home, but a taste of the campo (countryside) this weekend made me all the more jazzed about my upcoming trip south.

lunes 10 septiembre:

Ended a day in the city with the gals with my first taste of terremoto, a classic chilean drink with white wine, grenadine, and pineapple ice-cream. (yup) After that: a looong commute home, an extra hot shower and some perfectly crafted buttered toast. 

My school (!!!):

Palacio de Moneda: 

 Plaza de Armas:

Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino:

 Pichidangui:

Las chicas: