So much has happened, and I will update about it all later, but that will be a very long post, so I'm going to leave that for later.
Last weekend was September 11, which is the day that Pinochet had his coup. Tensions run a little high on this day since the country remains deeply divided on this issue. About 25% of Chileans are firm supporters of Pinochet, while the remining 75% are firm supporters of Allende and are against Pinochet. Since I'm living in the capital (Santiago) me and a few friends thought it would be a good idea to get out of the city and try and avoid the protests which tend to become violent.
So off we headed to Viña del Mar which is a costal city just north of Valpariso. Since we are still technically in the winter months here in Chile, the beach was a little cold, windy, and grey, but it was still wonderful to get out of the city. It was rather relaxing and the sounds of the ocean were wonderful to listen too. I will definitly be making a return trip.
THIS weekend is the 18th of September which is Chile's Independence Day. The city is already a little empty feeling since many families take to the countryside for the week or go and visit family members in other cities. Not to worry though, the remaining Chileans will all take to the streets and celebrate in what are called Fondos. They are huge parties with empanadas and dancing in the plazas of the cities. Most likely I will dance the cueca, the national dance, several times.
The cueca is a very interesting dance, which I find difficult and fun to dance. I've had several lessons and classes on how to dance the cueca, including durig my gymnastics class, and I think I've just about mastered it. It´s based of the matting dance of chickens and roosters. In addition, everyone has hankerchiefs called panuellos that they wave around in the air. Here's a link to a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvGURVqOmH0