-----THIS PAGE IS DEDICATED TO MY PERSONAL GOD, JAMES DEAN----(not bad eh?..Danielle, don't you jsut love me right now?)
Basically, what we are viewing now is a diary...yes, "dear diary"...of all the things i have been doing. i will try, desperatley, to update this as often as possilbe...however my continous search for (radio active) Ricky Martin look alikes, and the roomping with my hefer neighbors,. (for all of those whom don't know, from time to time, the cows come calling...in my back yard!) i am usually occupied elsewhere, hope you can all forgive me. but, i will try my best.
___________________________________________________________________________________
November 17: School ends in two weeks, (just about).....thank god for reversed seasons. Have some classmates and we are talking about renting a cottage "cabanas" in Pucon.....lake town one hour from here..for probally a week or so. And it is so cheap, can you say five dollars a day for a house. I also have a friend in Brazil that i will be visiting......can't decide if i should go after New Years or for Carnival (the biggest party in Brazil) in February, but as for now am leaning towards the later. ¿¿what else, what esle??, (as i sit here pensivly thinking of generic things to say.....ok, the stream of conscioness is running low, so i wil ahve to conclude this entry...
___________________________________________________________________________________
November 25: Today is Thanksgiving, and yes i did get to eat turkey, pumpkin pie (sort of, it was made out of some squash "related" to pumpkins...it is not the season for pumpkins) and sweet potatoes. Many of the Americans here are either Mormons....who i don't really talk to, or Baptist missionaries...and the Baptist send thier kids to my school. I was actually sitting outside durning school (some teacher didn't show up, which is not unusual) and saw one of the American fathers who i am friendly with. he asked me if i wanted to skip the last three classes for the afternoon, which as you can guess i answered yes to, and i got to leave. I had a bit of trouble getting the inspector to let me go....uptight doesn't even begin to explain him.....he was asking me, "o why do you need to go?, what is teh point of this holiday?....yada, yada yada. Afer i told him how INCREDIBLy homesick i was and worked up a few crodicle tears, he eventually gave in......what i don't think he got was that I wasn't asking his permision, I was telling him that I was leaving....but luckily (for his sake) i didn't have to get tough. The dinner went really well, i met a lady here from Scotland (next time i will have to check g-mom if she knows any of our people) that works at the death school in town, and they have summer programs for the kids, so, being that she is short on help, i might be able to volunteer durning the summer. (in adition to that, i will be taking a photography class in January) After stuffing ourselves crazy, i sat down to talk with some of the parents, most of which wo were from Georgia, NC, Flordia, etc.....and you know somone is from the south when they make an anology like "i have seen my share of buetiful things, and nothing compares to a bayou sunrise,..it is as red as a Ban-dana´" but i wasn't finished eating yet, after this, i went to a party at the house of some family friends....and they practically forced fed me....basically they stood over m, offering me food until i took it..no matter what i said.....if i come home 20 pounds heavier, (which better no happen) it will be the fault of people like this!
___________________________________________________________________________________
November 27: Went for an incredible massage today.....the minuet I closed my eyes I could have sworn I was in some fabulous Holloywood spa....the lady was all hoky with her "releasing the evil spirits of tension from my muscles"..and funky hand gestures....it wasn't until I paid $14 dollars (for one hour...we wil deffinatly be taking advantage of that one) and steped out into the street that I really hadn't warped to Sunset Blvd....I was still in dreary, not to happening Temuco!....ah, oh well. The lady was really rough, (the fact taht I renched in pain, only gave her more incentive to beat the shit of me) she had her own perosonal theme music that she worked along....it was all dramatic and heart renching, something out of a Kenneth Braugna battle scene, and when it got tough, she got tough... but afterwards I felt incredible, so I really can't complain.
Today I also had my first orchestra practice, right now I am borrowing the horn of a teacher until mine arrives, it was a bit rough on the chops (my lips)..haven't played in soo long...but am glad to be getting back into it. The conductor must have introduced me about 500 times....it is more that he forgets my name, then the students forgetting my name i think.....it went prettt well, luckily i will be playing with some professional, so he can make me seem really good! Yesterday when got the horn, the valuves were really tight, and OF COURSE, there are no stores in Temuco that sell valuve oil. So, knowing that there was a military band in town, I figured that someone would be nice enough to lend me a liitle bit of oil to fix the horn. Well it actually wasn't as hard as I had anticipated. I walked right on to the base, no one stopped me, (I guess they didn't know what to make of me, and when I can, I use that to my advantage!) and found the music director. He was so happy, (didn't know why) that he gave me his, and I can return it when i get my horn...not bad, eh? he and his officers were all trying to practice their English....but all they managed to get out was "hello", "my name is...", and "the time is.."
Tommorw, wether permiting, I will be going with my neighbor for a "little sightseeing around town" as he put it....although we won't be taking a car, walking, our some sight seeing tour.......we have choosen more sophisticated means of travel......flying. Yup, his hobby is flying little air planes....this should deffinatly be exciting. will get back to you on this one.
___________________________________________________________________________________
December 2: Can hardly beleive it is December......have six more months to go! One more week of school, and I am done for the year. don't have any definate plans for summer so far, except that I AM planning to be abducted by alines! A frind of mine here wants to go to this UFO convention in La Serena (a city in the north of Chile). Well of course, you can count me in. I don't know how serious he is, but i took the inniaitaive and invited myself, he couldn't have expected to have had a good time going solo. It is some time in February....and i am definatly am excited to see my not so distant relatives!
___________________________________________________________________________________
December 9: Had quit the encounter with the post office haggard (the male version of the post office hag)....was trying to mail some Christmas goodies, and not only can he be extremly slow, he also is quit good at being difficult! On one package, he went to the point of shaking it, trying to figure out the contents.......i could of smaked him, could he not read the bold, largely printed ¡CUIDADO! (CAREFUL!) sign? well, we will jsut have to get around him, going to go back tommorow, and hopefully there will be someone else working the counter.
Trying to think of what else i can waste my time writing, well....ofically no more school, for me at least....no this is not self declared, there are exams next week and i don't have to take them. Funny story, last friday wanted to get out of class early, that night was the "big" graduation party!! (it is the same thing as prom, but only they have it for graduation...apparently the rules of the Baptist school...(b/c it is against their religion) do not permit dances of any kind.....THE SEDUCTION AND DEVILISH ACTS THAT GO ON IN A SITUATION LIKE THAT!!!.....it is absolutely SCANDELOUS...(pat wood)) well any way the party went really well, got home at a SCANDELOUS 7:00am, was SCANDELOUSLY tired the next day, but that did not stop me as i went out to another party....anyway, back to school, so everyone was leaving early....which is quit easy to do, but by the time i reached the push over of a inspector he had most likely heard all the tummy ache stories that he could handle.....not that would prevent him from beliving that story again, he is not to bright........so i got all spastic and told him that i ran out of tampoons. so after he picked his jaw off the ground and got appropiatly red in the face, he wrote me a note saying i had to leave for personal reasons..easy as that!
Yesterday i started playing soccer..or futból as it is called here. My team is called Rosen, a bed manufacturing company. They even gave me a free t-shirt..(definate insentive to stay on with the team!) I played an ok game for not having done it in such a long while, guess all i really need is practice....don't worry Ry, i won't let you down. The women are really cool, and quit tough!...my kind of girls!..our captin has got to be pushing 45 and she is such the Zena Warrior Princess....they are all really funny, and sarcastic, but the one thing i didn't get was the minuet that we stopped playing they all picked up their beers and cigeretts and had a little minnie party right there on the field......the game was a all day affair.......I am now very sun burned, we were the first to play then stuck around to watch three other games. and if we win thie game on the 18th then we get to go to some fabulous tournamnet in Valdivia.....a town two hours from here......(here i am talking like i have made some big contribution to this team, and i have only played once!......but we do have a game this Saturday.......and they play all throughout the year...so i hope it goes well.
Have a "asado" (the Chilean name for a hard core Bar BQ) tonight with my classmates and their parents....some where out in the middle of nowhere...i swear these people a hell of alot of red meat.....
___________________________________________________________________________________
December 10:
Last nihgt had a party with all of my compañeros and their parents at some quaint little
field in the country. We all ate to our belts burst, played a bunch of silly games like:
“los países” (the countries), some odd form of futból and Royal Rumble (i
tried to be a good American contigent rob, but falied miserably) There is nothing like
having your faced smashed against some hard surface!! Can’t get enugh of it!......i
figure, hey, you guys (refering to “the boys”) througly enjoy watching me wiggle
and writher in pain..(that and of course my avoidence of tickiling yelps...which i get
teasd about here to...by tickling me of course..everyone sits around saying “make her
do it again!!”) so i might as well be treated to the same treatment here.
Next story, after the asado “BBQ” went with some friends to some club...and it
jsut happened to be ladies night....so we ditched the guys for 30 minuets to check it out.
To bad we had to leave b/c there was a striper..and he had this oddly humerous obsession
with Mickael Jackson songs.....personal favorites including Thriller, Billy Jean......if
only he had playes Life of the Party, or ABC from Mickael’ s oldenays..then it would
have been really worth the while. But I have to admit the reaper costume and fly away
pants were quit the touch. It didn’t get any better than that later on......we stoped
by the club where my host brother works, Barbaros (Viking---how is that for a tough name?)
and i got everyone in for free......but it was Techno night and no one really
danced.....BUT they did play Horny 98 (paul) and i couldn’t help but shake my booty
to that one!
___________________________________________________________________________________
December 13: HAPPY BIRTHDAY CASSIE!!!!!
(Side note story): Today at the post office I had a mormon encounter,.....was working at the median, and heard someone speaking english.....so i looked up and Elder "what's his name" looked at me, and i quickly pulled an avoid eye contact moment......quickly finished my work ,and get out of there faster than you can say Brighim Young. One day got lost, and was trying to find my way home, it was like my third week here.....however i didn't want to tlak to any of the Mormons, so I asked this nun, figured it was safe...boy was I wrong, she spoke spanish...(go figure here in Temuco) and gave me the wrong directions..but obviously as is well as i am here with you now writing this. don't exactly remember how it was i got home.
To Continue: Yesterday was the presidential elections, and boy was havoc loose in our fine city of Temuco. Everything was closed so that the poelpe could vote....and being so interested as i am in Chilean politics, i went with Cecila to the voting booth, which really only consists of a piece of paper, card board box, and a pencil...yup, you got it, they vote old school....secret ballot.....no machines for these people. We americans are so lazy, "why use a machine when you can count teh votes by hand?!" Well, there 6 candidates, a socialist, a humanist, independant party, a comunist and a republican...8i know that is only 5, i forget what the other candidate was)...doesn't this sound like the opening to a political joke? they also had two female candidates running...but the real election was between the Republican and the Socialist....a former communist....(oh!! as we all gasp) The finally tally at the end of the day left Lavin (Repub) with 47.5% of the votes and Lagos (Socialist) with 47.9% of the votes. Therfore ther is going to be another election to between Lagos and Lavin the second week of January to determine the "real" man for the job! Last night i went with Cecial for a ridde around Temuco...we really went out to go to the Parmacy, bt we ended up going around the town center honking the horn for Lavin....in the main square there was Lagos Bonanza.....his supporters were going crazy...singing songs, chanting stuff..and sor forth..(hello but the guy hasn't even won yet)...meanwhile, three blocks away, on some lowly side street (in front of Temuco Lavin Headquarters) the Lavin supporters were having a ralley of their own, complete with banners and all......these people are extremelly vocal when it comes to politics.....well all i had to say is that is was a good thing the coppers were out, because I would not want to be around when those two groups meet.....talk about a braul of all brauls....it jsut might top a "ROYAL RUMBEL" (just might, can't get that extreme can we Rob?) It has been know to happen when one group doesn't win, they get pissed and beat the other political group up...literally......I will arange a safe location to watch that one, coming this January after the next elections.
I read this today online.....it is about the elections:
Chileans
Voting for New President
The Associated Press
Dec 12 1999 1:10PM ET
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) - Chileans voted for a new president
Sunday amid pledges by the main candidates to strengthen the nation's young democracy, end
a yearlong economic recession and curb a roaring unemployment rate.
Socialist Ricardo Lagos and rightist Joaquin Lavin were widely considered the favorites
among the six candidates vying to succeed President Eduardo Frei for a six-year term
beginning March 11.
Most opinion surveys predict neither Lagos nor Lavin will pull in more than 50 percent of
the vote, the total needed to obtain an outright victory. That makes a Jan. 16 runoff
likely between the candidates with widely divergent economic ideas but similar,
middle-of-the-road economic programs.
``I am confident and I am convinced that we are headed toward a runoff,'' the 46-year-old
Lavin told reporters after casting his vote in Las Condes, the upper-class Santiago county
where he won national prominence as a successful mayor.
Lagos, 61, who is backed by the ruling center-left coalition, cast his vote in downtown
Santiago.
The socialist leader resisted making predictions on the outcome of the third presidential
election in Chile since the end of the 1973-90 military dictatorship of Gen. Augusto
Pinochet. He praised Sunday's election as a strong show of democracy, saying the vote
allowed Chileans to ``decide our own destiny, something we could not do for 17 years.''
The four other candidates are communist Gladys Marin, humanist Tomas Hirsch,
environmentalist Sara Larrain and independent rightist Arturo Frei, a cousin of the
outgoing president. The four are expected to receive comparatively few votes, but their
supporters could play a decisive role in the event of a runoff.
Authorities said turnout appeared slow at the outset, but was expected to pick up by
midday. No major incidents were reported. ``There is absolute calm and normalcy throughout
the territory,'' Deputy Interior Minister Guillermo Pickering said. The status of
Pinochet, who remains in police custody in London as a Spanish judge tries to extradite
him on human rights abuse charges, has loomed over Chile for most of the year. But few
candidates invoked the former dictator's name during the campaign. Neither Lagos, an
avowed Pinochet foe, nor Lavin, the general's admitted admirer, sought to make the
84-year-old ex-dictator a campaign issue. Both candidates pledged not to change the free
market policies first implemented by Pinochet in the mid-1980s and maintained by his
civilian presidential successors.
___________________________________________________________________________________
December 14, 1999:
Two months exactly to my birthday......just a hint, I like James Dean and Enrique
Iglesias...(I have gotten over the Ricky Martin phase)
Had a very eventful day...so far...it is about 2:30, and am waiting as some friends take
their final exams. This morning on the way to the gym i passed by this thrift shop that i
have been meaning to go to. Well, it was fantasitc! I totally could have gone to
town on that place. The clothes were so cool, a) because Temuco is such the old ladie
town, (these old folks have got such the fashion sense) and b) Temuco is pretty
underdeveloped/poor...(however you want to phrase it), therefor making the clothes really
interesting. I found this really cool coat for two dollars, and when I told the lady that
I liked it but was looking for something a little shorter..she was like "no problem,
we can cut it for you, no aditional cost"..how is that for helpful? unfortunatly,
being that it was an old lady's coat, I had a little trouble with the arms, wasn't enough
room in the shoulders. but I did come across a fancy scarf, in fushia....just my color!
this definatly makes for a good day!
___________________________________________________________________________________