Tuesday 29 April 2008
Photos of Barrio Yungay, a more South American neighbourhood
I went to Barrio Yungay which is near the Quinta Normal park and where there are lots of old colonial houses as it used to be a very rich area of Santiago. Unfortunately, now the people living in the neighbourhood don't have enough money to restore the houses to their full glory and a lot are being knocked down because they cost too much to heat and maintain.
Here are some photos of the houses.
Tuesday 22 April 2008
More photos on the Quinta Un-Normal
These short stories are part of a competition in Santiago and they were displaying some of them in the Metro of Quinta Normal. I translated two of them roughly:
Vacaciones en la luna - Holidays to the Moon
This year my family are planning to go to the moon. My mum told me that I could invite a friend if I wanted, so I don't get bored, she thinks of course. The truth is that I'm not that enthusiastic, I don't know, I've never really much liked leaving the plannet, I prefer eating noodles with sauce and cheese. In the end my friend said that she'd really like to go but she told me that I would need a new bikini, they say that on the moon women are very beautiful, but I don't think so. We are going to stay in The Armstrong Hotel and we're going to travel by Pullmanmoon (I hope they have toilets!) I will bring back a melon.
Mi increible papa-My incredible dad
I live with my dad in a small appartment where the streets Portugal and Avenida Matta cross. He works all day and gets home late. He's always got bags under his eyes but he smiles everytime that he sees me. He puts me to bed and stays with me telling me stories until I go to sleep. One night I pretended to be asleep and got up to see what he was doing. I discovered him putting on his special suit. A wig and make-up protect his secret identity and he carries all his equipment and appliances in a briefcase. He goes out like this every night. My dad is a super hero.
Vacaciones en la luna - Holidays to the Moon
This year my family are planning to go to the moon. My mum told me that I could invite a friend if I wanted, so I don't get bored, she thinks of course. The truth is that I'm not that enthusiastic, I don't know, I've never really much liked leaving the plannet, I prefer eating noodles with sauce and cheese. In the end my friend said that she'd really like to go but she told me that I would need a new bikini, they say that on the moon women are very beautiful, but I don't think so. We are going to stay in The Armstrong Hotel and we're going to travel by Pullmanmoon (I hope they have toilets!) I will bring back a melon.
Mi increible papa-My incredible dad
I live with my dad in a small appartment where the streets Portugal and Avenida Matta cross. He works all day and gets home late. He's always got bags under his eyes but he smiles everytime that he sees me. He puts me to bed and stays with me telling me stories until I go to sleep. One night I pretended to be asleep and got up to see what he was doing. I discovered him putting on his special suit. A wig and make-up protect his secret identity and he carries all his equipment and appliances in a briefcase. He goes out like this every night. My dad is a super hero.
More Quinta not Normal Photos
Nadie te pregunto - Nobody asked you
'Did you know that polar bears aren't white? They're black. Didn't you know? Are you sure? Of course you didn't know', a little boy tells me at the zoo, mocking, irritating, the contemptuous badge of the school that his father had always dreamed of sending him to shining. I followed him to the lion's pit. 'Did you know that lions eat little boys?'. 'You old ignorant liar' he replied, whilst I lifted this little person onto my shoulders and threw him into the jaws of the animal and tried to explain the dilema. 'This is an exceptional case' cried the little boy, still being pedantic, just before the animal reached his fragile little neck.
Quinta Normal and Shopping in Patronato
I spent the morning preparing classes and then headed out as the maestros (as they call them here) were fitting a new kitchen and were making a racket to put it midly.
I went to the area and the park called Quinta Normal which had a nice atmosphere and was really quirky although I didn't feel very safe. I went to the Museo Nacional de Historia Natural (Natural History Museum) which was a bit dilapidated to be honest and out of date but it had its charm and some interesting information about Chile and its regions.
I went to buy a cheese empanada at a kiosk by the boating lake which was playing regaton and was owned by a very fat man who I think ate all the pies as some new ones were just arriving in a van. He was very funny although I didn't really understand what he was saying, his laugh alone made me laugh. I walked around the park and as is usual with my luck some wierd guy started following me so I trotted back to the main entrance and got the tube to Patronato.
At the bottom of the escalators in the metro station there were a few poems displayed with funny pictures including one about a someone who gets fed up with a know-it-all at the zoo and feeds him to the lions.
As I had an hour to kill, I went to Patronato (which is a really cheap shopping street like Camden Town but even cheaper where lots of Koreans and Arabs live) to walk around the shops and see if I couldn't find some leggings to do sport in. There were a few shops as I walked past which were full of women rifling through heaps of clothes and there was a man or a woman on a microphone saying something and all the women were saying 'Siiiiii!' or 'Nooooo!' I wish I knew what was going on but I felt a bit scared to go in in case there was a fight for a pair of shoes or something.
They are willing to barter there so I managed to get two pairs of leggings on a deal at some stall (£5 although probably still conned.).
There were lots of funny names like 'Mina' which means babe which I thought was funny and lots of interesting graffiti. I was a bit scared to take my camera out and take photos though in case it got stolen. I plan to return with a thief spotter another time so I can take some pictures.
After a while the fun was over and I went for my lesson with Francisca in Las Condes and back to the less Latin American part of Santiago.
Monday 21 April 2008
Climbing in Cajon de Maipo
I went to Cajon de Maipo with a guide called Jesus to do some climbing this Saturday. It's where the Andes begin and is a really breathtaking place. There was a campsite nearby and a river so you could almost make a weekend of it but I didn't have a tent. It was my first time and I suspected I may like it and I was right. It took a while to get used to trusting the person on the other end of the rope (I had a harness and all the safety equipment) and to being vertical and just hanging on to a rock high off the ground but after the fist climb I got a little less nervous.
I did two more similar climbs looking for places to put my hands and feet which there always were and then did a much harder climb. There were very few footholds and places to grip with my hands and at some point, I was hanging on by a couple of fingers and a foot. Each time I got to the top and touched the top of the rope I abseiled down the rock and couldn't quite believe I'd just climbed up there.
We finished at about six-thirty and it started to get dark before we reached the road. We couldn't find the path we'd come on so decided to stick to the main road and hope that the guard at the exit didn't charge us (we had come in another way where we didn't pay as much.). After getting barked at by a few dogs along the way we reached the main road and the guard let us by without paying. We hopped on a bus and I caught a couple of metros home.
My arms were aching by the time I got home although my legs were fine. I went to a wine tasting festival in Vitacura with a friend of one of my LITE students called Monica and my arms were so weak I could barely lift my glass (OK that's a bit of an exaggeration but almost) but managed to enjoy myself nonetheless. Unfortunately I got there so late after climbing that I only had one taste of wine before it finished at midnight more or less. I fell asleep as soon as I got into bed and didn't even manage to turn the light out!
I did two more similar climbs looking for places to put my hands and feet which there always were and then did a much harder climb. There were very few footholds and places to grip with my hands and at some point, I was hanging on by a couple of fingers and a foot. Each time I got to the top and touched the top of the rope I abseiled down the rock and couldn't quite believe I'd just climbed up there.
We finished at about six-thirty and it started to get dark before we reached the road. We couldn't find the path we'd come on so decided to stick to the main road and hope that the guard at the exit didn't charge us (we had come in another way where we didn't pay as much.). After getting barked at by a few dogs along the way we reached the main road and the guard let us by without paying. We hopped on a bus and I caught a couple of metros home.
My arms were aching by the time I got home although my legs were fine. I went to a wine tasting festival in Vitacura with a friend of one of my LITE students called Monica and my arms were so weak I could barely lift my glass (OK that's a bit of an exaggeration but almost) but managed to enjoy myself nonetheless. Unfortunately I got there so late after climbing that I only had one taste of wine before it finished at midnight more or less. I fell asleep as soon as I got into bed and didn't even manage to turn the light out!
Sunday 20 April 2008
Ben's Cake
I was out walking in Providencia this evening and out of the blue I got a call from Marja inviting me round for dinner on that very same evening in true Chilean last-minute style. Ben (her American flatmate) had bought a big chocolate cake and they were all cooking dinner to celebrate. So with the mention of chocolate I went round and had a histerical evening and of course chocolate cake and here is a picture although it doesn't do it justice, it was DIVINE!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)