While I would have loved the opportunity to spend another week in Buenos Aires, our early return to Santiago proved to be an excellant choice. We returned on Friday as opposed to Sunday in order to celebrate "Las Fiestas Patrias" in Santiago. These holidays, celebrating Chilean independance and the military respectively, occur on the 18th and 19th of September each year. Although many liken the festivals to July 4th in the USA, Chileans celebrate with considerably more patriotism and fervor. For example, every residence and building in the city proudly displays the Chilean flag in accordance with national law.
As our bus did not arrive in Santiago until slightly after 1:00 on Friday, my celebrations started a bit later than most. Rather than immediately racing about the city, i rested for a few hours before joining my friends to attend the festival at Parque O'Higgins. Given that I barely slept eight hours combined throughout the next few nights, this proved to be a wise choice.
As numerous people had warned me about the mayhem found at Parque O'Higgins, I was pleasantly surprised to discover a crowded, albeit calm, atmosphere...at first. Hundreds of children frolicked in the grass while flying kites and battling with them, as occured in The Kite Runner. Others rode ponies, snacked, or watched performances. My friends and I just reclined in the grass to people watch, chat, and watch the sun set on the snow covered Andes. So beautiful. So serene.
We soon realized, however, that our calm patch of park was merely an oasis. Hungry, we ventured away from the grass in order to find food in the fonda. The fonda is a path through the parklined with shops, restaurants, dancing venues, etc. In it, we found pandemonium. So many people had crammed into the roadway it was impossible to move on your own. The crowd just carried you in whichever direction. Many obviously didn't enjoy this andinteractions occasionally became a bit heated, although we did not see any fights. Eventually, we settled in a restaurant to enjoy some Chilean treats before leaving the insanity and stopping at a friend's house to celebrate for the rest of the night.
After a tranquil Saturday morning, the festivities began once again when I attended a family barbaque for much of the afternoon and evening. Delicious...of course.
Anyways, once darkness fell, my cousins and I journeyed to the nearby Estadio Nacional to attend another fonda. Unlike the fonda at Parque O'Higgins, one had to pay to be admitted and it was considerably cleaner and more organized. Obviously, this made it slightly more enjoyable, but I still question the enterance fee. It's a public park, but the cost made entry prohibitively expensive for many poorer members of the city. The festival, therefore, seems somewhat discriminatory, while it celebrates events that should be bringing the entire country together.
Regardless, I stayed at the fonda for awhile enjoying the food and chatting with my cousins. Eventually, I left to reunite with a few friends before traveling to another friends' house to celebrate (although this verb is controversial as many of Chilean companions that evening do not acknowledge the holiday on the 19th as they do not believe that the army should be honored as glorious) for the rest of the night. And by rest of the night, I mean until dawn...literally. It was quite enjoyable to watch the sunrise over the Andes mountains while walking home. I should note that partying until the AM is typical in Chile...most university students rarely return home before sunrise on the weekends. I'm just now beginning to adjust to their schedule.
Unfortunately, I rolled out of bed only a two hours later. The celebrations continued with another family barbaque lasting well into the evening. Once again, amazing food, although it was struggle to keep my eyes open even after drinking several cups of coffee.
The past few days have marked the return to the routine. Classes, running, trying to speak in Spanish, etc. I've even found some free moments to start uploading pictures:
Isla Negra:http://picasaweb.google.com/ChristyChile/LaIslaNegra#
Argentina: http://picasaweb.google.com/ChristyChile/ElMundoDeTangoCheYCarneArgentina#
So many pictures from Argentina. And I only posted about 1/2 of my favorites. Sorry if it's a bit repetitive
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