So many things

So much has happened since last I wrote, and I have had so little time to write. Lets see...

First I went to see Harry Potter 6 with Spanish subtitles. It was an experience going to a movie in Chile. The theater we went to was huge, and was several stories tall. In addition to serving popcorn and soda, the concessions also served sandwiches. The theater was surprisingly crowded, especially since the average Chilean only sees one movie a year (a little factoid I learned in class). But it was still winter vacation for Chilean students, so they were all at the movies.

The following day was slightly more educational. We visited the Church of Saint Francisco, which is the oldest building in Santiago. It was beautiful inside. After that we headed slightly north to the Plaza de Armas which was the old city center. There we headed inside the National History Museum. They had all sorts of cool things to look at from Mapuche (local indigenous tribe) artifacts, to items from the conquest, to the sashes from the president. It was a little like going to a natural history muesum and then halfway through going through the Smithsonian. A little strange, but very fun.

From there, things started to get a little heavy. (Fun fact of the day, Chileans use the word 'heavy.' So walking around Santiago, you can hear, "La pelicula fue muy heavy") We watched a movie called Machuca in class. It's about an upper class boy who befriends this lower class boy during the Allende years right to the bombing of La Moneda. I highly recomend it, but it is a little intense. After that we went to the Parque por la Paz (Park for the Peace) which I was not prepared for. It was basically a Chilean Auswitz. It was this park that had been build at one of the locations where dissidents of Pinocet were troutured. It was a profound experience.

After our visit to the Park, we traveled to the cemetary. Beleive it or not, it was an uplifting expereince after the Park. We saw the memorial for Allende, the memorial for los desapericados, and the graves of some very famous Chileans.

Not to worry, I have been having some fun too. This weekend we had a dinner where there was traditional Chilean folk music playing, and to a concert by a Depech Mode coverband. Depech Mode is pretty big here, and several people's host brothers and sisters are excited at having tickets to their show when they come to Chile. I shall now leave you with these parting words:

"Reach out and touch faith."