A Neighborhood and the Best Week to be in Chile

This post corresponds to some new photos on my flickr.com page.

My neighborhood here is really nice. All the houses have full fences, some with electric wires at the top. There is a special police-like force just for our section of town, Las Condes, and these goofy motorcycle cops drive around all day. The houses are very pretty, sometimes colorful, and everyday when I walk from the bus stop to the house around 5:30pm, there are nanas (maids/nannies) who are watering the grass on the sidewalks. When I go running around a big hill near my house people stare because no one runs on the streets, they go to a park and run the perimeter over and over again. Tons of houses have dogs who bark like crazy as I go past. There are lots of cars, nice cars (Audis, Peugots, Mercedes) around here.

The house itself is very cool. I think this will be fantastic in the summer. The living room and dining room are comfy and bright on sunny days. The backyard has lots of plants, and when it's sunny I sit out there and read.

This week is a big deal in Chile, as it culminates on the 18th with a celebration of Fiestas Patrias (Homeland Parties), the celebration of Chile being Chile. I'm gonna go ahead and say that Chile does it way better than the USA's 4th of July. For several reasons:

1. The whole week is a party, not just the day. There are fondas (big public parties) all over the city with music and drinks and food, all week long. There have been several at La Católica, my university, with lives bands and students cutting loose after class.

2. Chileans have a national dance, la cueca, which is meant to be a dance recreating a rooster chasing a hen. It's really weird, and the costume involves a whole huaso or Chilean cowboy outfit for men, and a pretty country dress for the ladies. More on this later.

3. There is a national drink for the celebrations too. Chicha is basically fermented grape juice, but it's not quite wine. It's less strong and much sweeter, and people buy it in mass quantities.

4. Weather. Honestly, the 4th of July can get a bit hot for my liking. But with spring showing its first signs here, the weather is wonderful to hang out in the sun. The nights are crisp but not cold.

To expand on the whole cueca thing, I got the chance to learn the cueca and perform it. I volunteer at a Catholic high school that is half subsidized by the government and half tuition. Anyway, for the last two weeks, the teacher I'm supposed to be helping in English class sent me to her friend, the gym teacher, who taught me and the other gringa (Noelle from Notre Dame) how to dance. I showed up Tuesday and saw each grade school class present a different folk dance, and on Wednesday had the terrifying pleasure of breaking it down in front of the packed gymnasium after the high school girls danced. They presented dances from each region, north to south, and the music and costumes varied as well. It was really cool.

Then Noelle and I got in the middle, dressed like Chileans, and received a wonderful introduction. You just have to watch the video, that's all there is to it. We went to the staff party after and ate grilled food and danced a bunch more to the live band. I felt welcomed and slightly more Chilean. Today I leave for the surfing town of Pichilemu to spend the weekend with my host brothers and their pals, renting a house and maybe surfing. Oh, Chile.