On to the randoms...


After coming back to santiago, my parents came to visit for about a week --yay!!!-- and I took note a few of the comments they had. I thought that it would be interesting to see what their impressions were and what they noticed to see if I had become desensitized to things yet or not...here's a bit of a list:

**People here are really inconsiderate. ie. when you're on the subway, people will stand right in front of the door even when they aren't getting off, and they won't move out of your way even when you say "excuse me"

**The busses are ridiculous. Confusing. Filled with more rude people and other random people trying to sell you something even more random than they are. ie. kleenex, band-aids, popsicles, etc.

**Customer service is TERRIBLE. It takes forever to get a drink at a restaurant and even longer for the food. And once the waitress brings the food, they don't come back. You have to hunt them down to get the bill and can just forget about being asked if the food was good or not. --my thoughts on this have wandered to the fact that waitress wages here aren't dependent upon tips like back in the states, so they don't have to work extra for their paycheck; their money is already coming to them whether they're attentive or not.

**Everyone stares at you --well they noticed me in particular seeing as how they're my parents-- When a blonde walks by, men look...and they aren't discrete about it in the least.

**The flowers and trees here are gorgeous and well kept. The Chilleans take a great deal of pride in their flora.

**The hotel staff were particularly adament about cleaning the room in the morning and then turning it down again at night. If you didn't want it done, you had to practically shove them out the door, and even then, they insisted upon giving you the chocolates that would normally be placed on the pillows.

I managed to take my parents to a few touristy places around here during their stay, including San Cristobol Hill --complete with a trip up the telefericos (the little cable buckets)...despite much protestation from my mother--, Vina del Mar, the fruit market, and Colchagua Valley --a famous wine valley. It was really nice to have them here, although I think it was even harder to send them off this time than it was for me to leave originally...Here's a few photos from our adventures:









aren't they just adorable???




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To switch gears a bit, I've decided to post three talleys of mine that i'll be keeping until the end of my trip:

earthquakes (that I've felt) -- 2

postcards sent -- 31
**If you would like to be on the receiving end of one of these, post your address and I'll be more than happy to send one to you.

self-portraits completed --
paintings -- 3
drawings -- 2
***if you know anything about me and my artwork, you know that i LOATHE self-portraits and avoid them at all costs so this is huge news...

I would like to also note that I was trying to keep a count of how many empanadas I have eaten, but I lost track after the first month...


To update a bit about my artwork, I've completed one large figure painting. The result isn't as great as I would have liked, but considering it was my first oil painting, I'm reasonably pleased. I've also become rather accustomed to drawing the human figure and am reaching the point of feeling as though I could do so in my sleep.
I'm currently working on a project for my general projects course that I will be continuing through the rest of my stay here. I am constructing a self-portrait using the tickets and receipts from my travels since my arrival here in Chile. I have amassed a large number of these such objects (including an insane amount of tickets from the micro busses that i take every day...and have saved for some impulsive reason), and have discovered that who I am while I'm here has been defined by where I go and what I do. Because of this, I have constructed a mold of my exact hand from bus tickets sewn together and am about to begin a corresponding foot.





I've reinforced the idea that I enjoy repetitive works that include extreme multiplicity. I'm now exploring the idea of multiplicity and playing with its effects being either numbing or astounding. I've also found a new love for sewing, although I'm drawn to sewing things that aren't clothing...

On another completely random note, I recently delved into the world of podcasts on the recommendation of Michael (I now have my laptop and can actually connect to get them...), and have been catching up on my NPR and world news --this country has a lack of decent world news coverage. I heard two stories in particular that seemed particularly relevant to my situation. The first was one about a steep decline in the number of students who used cursive on their SAT tests. The number has gone down to something like 5% and even more surprising, it is apparently not even being taught in some schools. Coincidentally I was sitting in art history class the other day when I realized that I haven't written cursive in years. Now granted I despise my script, but that is partly because I never use it. So then and then there I began writing in cursive in an attempt to reopen that part of my handwriting. Something about cursive just feels more authentic and warm as opposed to the cold and open writing of print. To piggy-back on this, I heard the news story about the Amish school girls who were killed recently. And while the story was very tragic, I found myself drawn to two particular statements that people from the town made about their way of life. One being that people should be satisfied with what has worked for generations, and the second being that tradition is extremely important --they're very similar...i know. This led me to thinking about what has happened to our traditions??? Being here in Chile has made me realize that we don't really have "cultural traditions" persay back in the United States. We're a melting pot, so unless you come from a very strong line of heritage, you don't really practice any cultural traditions. Sure, the United States has Halloween and the Fourth of July and such, but there's no traditional dance such as the flamenco or salsa. There's no traditional food or drink like Chicha or Churipan. We don't have asados, we don't have ponchos, we don't really have anything specific. And while on the one hand I love the wide range of people that live in the United States with their different thoughts and views and ways of life, I can't help but feel a lack of a heritage. Don't get me wrong, I have family traditions which I love and will continue and will pass on to my children, but that's not the same as cultural traditions. The United States is the land of diversity and opportunity, but when we accepted that, we lost any true cultural heritage or traditions...

enough randoms for now...more shall follow i'm sure...