Cementario

Salvador Allende's grave

Yesterday I went to Cementario General and I can honestly say I have never before seen a cemetery quite like it. I'm not sure that the word cemetery can accurately describe what it is, I think cemetery CITY would be better. It is big, and I mean HUGE. I got lost three times and it took me nearly an hour to find myself out. I'm not sure how big it actually is, but I can tell you that after nearly two hours of randomly walking around, I didn't see all of it. But really, it's like a city for dead people. You walk around, and just like walking around in a city, you notice the class differences, there are like different neighborhoods. Families with more money have entire mausoleums, distinct from one another. Some have large beautiful statues, others chose simpler or more modern designs. There are tons of individual graves as well, and like walking through a city, you seem some that are well manicured with fresh flowers and green grass, and then others that obviously haven't been visited in a while.

Then there's the section that I would call public housing. This is obviously where people who have less money bury their loved ones. These areas are huge walls filled with dirty looking gravestones, each given a very small area, that I'm not sure a casket could even fit in there. And these walls are huge. It really is very reminiscent of an old, run down public housing apartment complex.

This cemetery also houses the remnants of many of Chile's important people: past presidents, generals, priests, activists, artists, and so on. The military has a large, spotless, white building that has within it all the important military leaders. There is even a security guard that stands in front of it. Then there is another, slightly dirtier looking building with no security that houses lower ranked military members. There is also a section for police men. I didn't see all of the famous graves, mainly because it was hard to find them all, but I did see Salvador Allende's, which is strikingly simple and bare.

The other interesting this about this cemetery is that it is obviously a popular place to be. It was filled with people. Now I have always known that cemeteries in Chile are more commonly visited places than in the US but this one was different. It almost felt like a park. People gather with their family members to leave flowers at the grave sites. I saw a few elderly women sitting on folding chairs in front of graves, just watching, thinking. There were also a few funerals taking place at the same time, but the people in attendance seemed almost happy. The crowd was huge, people were wearing whatever they wanted, and I heard plenty of laughter.

I took a few pictures but not as many as I wanted to because it felt disrespectful somehow. Plus since there were so many people around I didn't want anyone to think I was taking a picture of them.

These graves are mostly not well kept, but this is not the area I was comparing to public housing. Those look worse and each grave is much smaller.

Tomorrow is another holiday, as it's November 1st. It's a little different than Mexico's Dia de los Muertos, though. It's called Dia de Todos los Santos, All Saints Day. It's got more of a Catholic feel to it. But it's clear to me that death is thought about differently in this culture.

Added Bonus! Here are some more pictures from the trip I took last weekend, just some that I like.

Destruction, Reconstruction

Even though my parents have returned to the states and the trip we took to the Lago Vichuquen area happened a week ago, I still want to talk about it. I want to focus this post on the topic of earthquake and tsunami destruction. Even though the humongous earthquake that shook up a large portion of the country happened eight months ago, Chile is still dealing with the aftermath. I have noticed bits of destruction that the earthquake left behind since I arrived here. Both in Rengo and in Santiago there is still a lot of reconstruction going on. Especially in smaller towns like Rengo, it is easy to find a plethora of buildings sporting huge cracks, evidence that the steadiness of their foundation was greatly tested. But it wasn't until this past weekend that I saw firsthand the damage of the tsunami.

We visited a few towns expecting to see damage from the earthquake so I can't say I was too surprised, but for some reason I've found that I often forget about the tsunami. So it was very interesting to visit a few towns on the coast such as Iloca and see firsthand how incredibly powerful the sea can be. We ate in two different restaurants with beautiful ocean views, and both were filled with water that day in February after the earthquake. Most of the businesses on the seaside (of the area we visited) have opened again, but they were all certainly affected. It's pretty strange to be eating a delicious meal, watching the waves come in and pull back, while imagining what the very place I was sitting in must have looked like when the tsunami hit.

The sand was covered with rocks and seashells but you could also find other things such as glass, pieces of ceramic and tile that I'm sure came from people's houses.

Here's a bench that faces the ocean. The majority of the benches in this area look like this.

This building was obviously hit by the tsunami.

We also visited the town of Vichuquen which was greatly affected by the earthquake. It's a small town with a strong Native heritage, it was the southern most point settled by the Incas. Therefore Vichuquen was made up of mostly very old adobe houses. Sadly, most of those buildings did not hold up after the earthquake. Wood is able to shift and sway with the moving earth, but building made from mud and clay such as the adobe style do not have the same flexibility as wood, and often end up crumbling and falling to the ground. Unfortunately this happened to much of Vichuquen. While I can see that the clean up effort and some reconstruction has begun, there is still so much to be done. Because the adobe style is so important to the town's heritage and legacy, they hope to preserve that as they re-build. However, changes will probably have to be made, because this is Chile and earthquakes happen all the time. I know that one option they are considering is to rebuild buildings using wood and materials that hold up better to the shaking ground, but still keep the adobe style in the front.

The town was very dusty. The sign here reads Vichuquen needs you.

I'm not really sure what these markings mean but I'm guessing it has something to do with reconstruction. It reminds me of the grim markings that were all over houses in New Orleans after Katrina, indicating the number of bodies found inside.

A lot of Vicuquen still looks like this, piles of dirt and rubble.

Seeing the damage that remains after eight months just reminds me how powerful and unpredictable nature is. I think it's very important to remember that we as human being don't and can't control nature. We must respect and revere the natural forces because our strength and power is nothing compared to that of the wind, the sea, the earth.

Hacienda Laguna Torca

This past weekend I went on a little trip a few hours south with my parents and my Tía Maria and we had a wonderful time. I took hundreds of pictures and there are many things I can think to write about, so I might have to split it up into a few separate posts.

The first thing I want to write about is the place we stayed. I enjoyed the place we stayed at so much and I was very impressed and pleased with the hospitality and friendliness of our hosts that I must give them a bit of a promotional moment. We stayed at Hacienda Laguna Torca, a beautiful farm tucked up in the hills of wine country, close to the ocean and the serpent shaped Lago Vichuquen, which I would describe as a sort of less commercialized Lake Tahoe. If you ever find yourself exploring the VII region of Chile, I would definitely recommend staying here. For one thing, the location is absolutely beautiful and peaceful. After following several bumpy dirt roads, you arrive to Hacienda Laguna Torca, which consists of a field of olive trees, tree covered hills, and colorful flowers everywhere. The Hacienda is home to two gentle horses, a dog who is very friendly albeit a bit timid, and four curious llamas.

Not only is location itself worth seeing for it's peaceful and simple beauty, Hacienda Laguna Torca is owned by some very welcoming, friendly, and accommodating people. We enjoyed chatting with Charles, Soledad, and her mother, all of them kind and interesting people. Charles is from England and has been in Chile for the past ten years after falling in love with and marrying his wife, Soledad. A gringo married to a Chilena named Soledad, hmm sounds familiar, doesn't it? What really struck me about these people however, is how happy they seem to be living where they are living, doing what they are doing. And their happiness and pure love for their land and their lives they are living on it is contagious. Who doesn't like to be surrounded by content and positive people?

Okay enough with the advertising. Seriously though, I am genuine in my praise, I throughly enjoyed my time there. I was able to just let go and enjoy myself in the moment, something that is sometimes hard for me to do.

Time for some pictures! As I said, I took so many, so I will continue to post more the next few days from some of the different places we went to. These are all from the Hacienda.

I took several pictures of these flowers, I just thought they were so pretty.

Hiding behind all those trees and flowers is the lodge we stayed in.

My mom's new friend is sneaking up behind her.

We all fell in love with this dog, although he always seemed a little scared of us.

The view of the farm from the porch.

The lodge we stayed in was built into the hill so the rocks are very much a part of it. This is the view from the living room. One of my favorite parts of this lodge was one of the bathrooms, the wall of it was entirely rock. It kind of felt like showering outside, and I loved that.

We hiked to the top of the hill and the view was breathtaking. I tried to get a good picture, but the sun was shining so brightly, I couldn't do the view justice. You can't really tell, but this picture was taken from pretty high up. The hike up the hill wasn't easy, it reminded me that I've been eating a bit too much bread since being in Chile and maybe not exercising enough.

This is Violetta, she's a workhorse, so strong and beautiful. We all took a turn riding her right before we left, she was very gentle and easy to ride.

This is Laguna Torca which is just down the road from the farm, what's special about it is that is home to black necked swans. I think they look fancier and more elegant than regular swans, like they are wearing tuxedos.

A few different things

I am feeling a little bit sleepy with a dull headache, so I don't think this post is going to be very focused.

First, I wanted to post pictures I took this morning of the Capsula Fenix 2 which is still hanging out in front of the Moneda. Now I have some opinions about Piñera's current media tour across Europe, but I will not share them here, the purpose of this blog is not for me to write about my political opinions. But what I will share are these pictures! As I think I said in my previous post, it was a lot thinner than I had imagined. And it looks a lot like a rocket ship in it's shape.

Here you can see the line of people waiting to get their picture taken inside of the capsule. I personally have no desire to go inside of it.

The picture doesn't quite do it justice, but you can kind of tell how narrow it is compared to the size of the woman walking by. I can't imagine what it must have been like getting in there and being pulled up through half a mile of rock after being trapped underground for more than two months. It looks (and sounds) like something out of a story book to me.

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I also wanted to show you the view from my balcony; I guess you can call it a balcony, although it is really only about one foot of space jutting out from my apartment. Once again I feel that these pictures don't really do it justice. But you get the idea. There are some tall buildings here, but not so many like in parts of Chicago. But of course, what I love the most, are the hills and mountains.

Feliz Cumpleaños Sole

My mom has been talking about turning 50 for the past year, and this past Saturday it finally happened. The family got together (we were only missing a few people, most importantly my brother), we hired a DJ, and ate, drank, and danced into the early morning hours. Many people helped to make the party happen and in my opinion it was a great success. My mom was so happy, rarely have I seen her smile so big an entire night. It was a beautiful night for a family that isn't always able to get together to celebrate happy events. A lot of great memories were made that I will definitely treasure for a long time.

Here are some pictures. My mom made sure to take a picture with pretty much every person who was there, but I won't post all of them; there were A LOT of people there.

It was hard to get a good shot of the whole table, it was just so long.

A little blurry, but a good indicator of all the happy dancing that was going on.

Love.

I definitely think I look my mom, lucky me! My only regret from the night is I never actually ate a piece of cake because I was too full at the time, and then it was gone. I heard it was delicious.

My beautiful mama blowing out the candles.

Brothers and sisters.

It's been so nice spending time with my parents. They've stayed two nights in my apartment and I've enjoyed that. Today they took of for the north, wish I could have gone with them. This weekend we are taking a little trip though with my Tía Maria, so I have that to look forward to.

Side note: This morning, after teaching a class in the center of the city, I was walking past La Moneda (where the president worked) and I saw a large crowd of people gathering so I went to see what was going on. Turns out they have displayed the capsule that pulled the miners out of la Mina San Jose. It was a lot thinner than I had expected, and also a lot longer. And it looked like it had been through a lot. It was cool to see it.

Mision Cumplida, Chile

They did it! 33 rescued miners, safe and healthy. I got home just in time to watch the final miner be pulled from the mine. And of course I stayed up late last night to watch the first couple of miners be rescued. Right now, from my apartment I can hear lots of horns honking and people shouting. The city of Santiago, along with the rest of the country, is celebrating. It has truly been an amazing event. I think this shows what human beings are capable of when we combine unity, cooperation, hard work, and a lot of faith. The dedication and support that came from the rescue workers, the families, the President and his government, and all the Chileans who came together with faith and pride absolutely amazes me. I feel proud to be a citizen of Chile; as a country, we have demonstrated how it is possible to unite and overcome such a terrible event. Also, I just feel proud to be a citizen of the world, because I know that people from all over the world have contributed their expertise and support throughout the rescue. This rescue to me is a miracle. Before the miners were found to be alive, I remember talking to my mom about this, and we both thought, there's no way they were going to survive, to us it was already a tragedy. I'm so glad we were proven wrong.

I am listening right now to President Piñera talk and I am touched by how he is clearly feeling overwhelmed with pride and emotion. He talked about how now, Chile is more united and stronger than ever. He said that Chile has proven it's strength to the world despite being a small country that is so isolated as it is surrounded by ocean and mountains. This small country has earned respect from the rest of the world. Of course, no country is perfect, but Chileans are very proud people and rightfully so. I am amazed by all the trials and hardship this small country has managed to overcome. I am so happy and proud to be able to call Chile my second home.

Los Mineros

I am now settled in my apartment and enjoying it, but I will talk more about that another time. Right now, I really must talk about the issue that has put Chile in the center of the world's media spotlight right now, the 33 trapped miners.

As of right now, it has been reported that the rescue is possibly only hours away, beginning most likely at some point later today. As I'm sure you know, this is a huge story. Journalists from all around the world has been following the rescue efforts since the day in August when the miners were discovered to be alive. And of course, there's the note they sent up, written on a scrap of notebook paper, which has already become almost iconic here in Chile. The phrase has been repeated over and over in the media, printed on shirts, ingrained into the memory of Chileans. "Estamos bien en el refugio, los 33."

Now I know that the media all over the world is covering the story, but obviously, over here in Chile, the media coverage must be more extensive than anywhere else. For the past two and a half months, this has been essentially the only story in the news, with a few exceptions of course. But I can tell you, that today, it is the only story. Every Chilean channel has thrown normal programming out the window and right now they are all showing live coverage of what is happening at La Mina San Jose, commercial free. I have been watching one of these channels for the past half hour, and during that time I have seen interviews with family, seen a profile on one of the miners, and I've learned that President Piñera has now arrived at the mine and is being briefed on the operation. There was even a story about whether the numbers of the miners and the important dates (the day the mine collapsed, the day they were found to be alive) have any sort of significance.

Without a doubt, this ordeal has united the people of this country. Chile is a country of extremes; geographically, physically, as its people are spread out along a great distance, and socially, as there is great disparity between the rich and the poor here. But people from all over the country have come together to show their support for the miners and their families. Everyone wants to see the story end well. Los mineros has been a common topic for conversation in my life, among my family and my students. The president's approval rating has steadily risen throughout the ordeal, as the government has spared no expense for rescue efforts. Experts from all over the world have gathered to work on the rescue, never has an operation quite like this been done before. There has even been an improvement between the normally tense relationship between Chile and Bolivia as one of the miners in Bolivian. The president of Bolivia will be joining Piñera in greeting the miners as they come out of the mine, one by one.

So of course, there is an increased sense of pride and patriotism amongst Chileans as everyone is well aware that the world is watching. And more than anything, everyone is just hoping and praying that everything goes well and the miners can make it out safely. I must admit I also feel emotionally invested in this story, how could you not? It is truly an incredible story. I have to go to work in an hour, and I'd really just rather stay here and continue to watch news coverage, hoping to see the first miner emerge safely from the mine.

When this is all over, I'm sure the criticisms will begin. There are a number of different opinions on what to do in order to improve the safety of the mines. Many will complain that the government has spent so much on the rescue operation and as a result, earthquake reconstruction has for the most part been placed on the back burner. But at least for the time being, we can all agree and come together with hope and support for los 33 and their families. Fuerza Mineros! Viva Chile!