Santiago's historic centre

A fascinating and enjoyable Sunday afternoon can be had strolling leisurely around Santiago's historic centre.

First, there is none of the awful, frenetic, ear-blistering traffic that thunders (well, thunders slowly due to the congestion) through the city, engines droning in the background and the air punctured by repetitious blasts of beeping horns. Second, for a capital city, the streets are more or less deserted, so like a miracle you suddenly notice the wonderful architecture - all grecian columns and colonial arches rising serenely out of the now absent chaos.

There are some spectacular buildings in this area; from the imposing Ministry of Justice, with two flights of columns and intricately carved stonework, to the extremely well-preserved Museum of Santiago, located in a red-bricked colonial mansion with enormous thick wooden doors, dated from 1769.

Dancing cueca in Plaza de Armas

And then there is Plaza de Armas, as I have said before, the city's beating heart. This square is where the city (and indeed the colony) was founded in 1541 by Spanish conquistador Pedro de Valdivia. It is the place from which all distances are measured in Chile and boasts some fine architecture, including the Metropolitan Cathedral, the former seat of congress and first town hall (both now museums).

But what these grand monuments enclose is the life and soul of Santiago. The square is brimming with artists, craft stalls, musicians, marching bands, people dancing cueca (the national dance), itinerant preachers, old men playing dominoes and chess, tourists, street sellers, human statues painted copper (a miner, of course), nuns, vagrants, stray dogs sleeping in the shade, migrants sleeping on the benches... To take a moment in Plaza de Armas on a sunny Sunday afternoon is to breathe (downtown) Santiago in all its forms.

www.flickr.com jaynescarman's Plaza de Armas and around photoset

More culture

On Wednesday, thanks to my new-found membership of the Chilean press, I was invited to the dress rehearsal of the ballet Swan Lake at Santiago's Municipal Theatre.

This performance was a modern take on the story, with the male roles taking the lead. Their dancing was powerful, particularly the evil Rothbart character who was portrayed as a kind of half-man, half-swan mutant, his costume and movements almost reptilian in nature. Then balancing this was the very traditional sequences of swans on the lake - where a chorus of female ballerinas transformed themselves into a graceful flock, gliding hauntingly and delicately in the moonlight.

It was a superb production, which had the audience in raptures from beginning to end.

Swan Lake
Photo thanks to Carolina Sipos at I Love Chile

The Municipal Theatre itself is an amazingly grandiose building. Built in 1860, it epitomises the height of Chilean society. Its opulent interior includes an enormous crystal chandelier hanging from the centre of a domed ceiling, adorned with Sistine Chapel style paintings.

A spine-tingling evening

Santiago's citizens were treated to evening of culture last night from the University of Chile. In celebration of the institution's 168th anniversary, the university symphony orchestra and choir staged a free performance of Carmina Burana - a classical piece of music that begins and ends with a piece possibly more familiar to many in the UK as the "X Factor music".

It was a stirring performance, sublimely set against the backdrop of Santiago's Metropolitan Cathedral in Plaza de Armas. This central square is the city's heartbeat, where the original colony was founded and where today, Santiago in all its forms can be observed. As such, over 7000 people turned out to enjoy this aural spectacle, and were suitably delighted. It's just a pity there was no encore.

 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_P5O6bZz8d4

Big news

I'm not quite sure how this happened, but I have managed to find myself a volunteer position as online editor of I Love Chile News, Chile's only English language media group.

It all came about when I was looking through an ex-pat forum and stumbled upon a post about volunteer opportunities. I'd been thinking of volunteering as an English teacher, but found a short note from the editor of I Love Chile News stating they were always on the lookout for writers.

Well, writing is what I do, so I made an enquiry, which led to a meeting with the editor yesterday afternoon. Amazingly, he said he was looking for a website content manager and was this something I'd be interested in? (I'm sure any SUSTAiN folks reading this will be laughing by now).

So here I am, thousands of miles away from home and all of a sudden in charge of a major media channel. I had never thought this would be possible as it just hadn't occurred to me there would be opportunities in my line of work in English.

So keep an eye on: www.ilovechile.cl.

6 x 7 anyone?

I have a test coming up this week, which will ascertain whether I am ready to move up to the next level of Spanish classes. I don't feel particularly confident, so I have spent the last couple of days drilling. Hours and hours I have spent repeating over and over again lists of irregular verbs, conjugations for different tenses, formulas for making comparisons and expressing obligations and, of course, all the uses of the dreaded prepositions.

Feeling like I was back at school, I came to the realisation that this is actually how you need to learn a language. It's all well and good taking a relaxed attitude and resting on the idea that because you are supposedly immersed in a language by living in a foreign country, you will automatically start to absorb it simply by osmosis.

Up to a point, this is true; by being constantly exposed to a language you can't help but start to pick it up. However, to be able to function in a language, to have what you want to say ready on the tip of your tongue rather than finding yourself drifting off in mid-conversation while you cast your mind back to a lesson you were in once, for that you need to have the grammar cemented in your brain. And the only way to do that is to revisit your school days, when you sat at home reciting times tables in preparation for a test the next day.

Our first barbecue

Continuing on the food theme, tonight Carlos and I finally had our first ever barbecue.

Barbecues are a big tradition here. Chileans love meat, particularly beef, and there is no better way to spend a social gathering than around glowing coals. In fact, many blocks of flats here have built in barbecues or quinchos on the roof. Our building is no exception. And, after a bit of improvisation involving a cooling rack, oven pans and a ladle, we were off...

DIY barbecue

We started with the staple choripan - a chorizo or longaniza style sausage in marraqueta bread, which is a kind of double-breasted bread roll which handily splits into hotdog-sized buns.

Then as the sun went down, it was onto a nice steak. Everyone we had spoken to about the barbecue had their opinion on the steak - which meat it should be, which cut, how to prepare it. Whether or not we followed the Chilean rules, I don't know, but it was certainly tasty!

www.flickr.com jaynescarman's Sunset from the roof photoset

In desperate need of a decent cheese

Horrible plastic cheese lurking in an
otherwise tasty steak sandwich

In conversation with a fellow European classmate last week about some of our observations of Chile so far, we struck open the realisation that Chileans just don't do cheese. At least not cheese as we know it.

What passes for cheese here is usually that awful plastic stuff you get on burgers in Macdonalds. Take, for instance, the delicious oregano-flavoured steak sandwich I enjoyed recently, which was very nearly ruined by the addition of a fat, slithery slice of plastic cheese congealed on top of it...

Alternatively, if you want something a little less processed, generally the best you can find is a very mild, slightly rubbery cheese. Oh how I miss the humble cheddar.

So to all of you who have been asking if there is anything you can't get hold of here, the answer is most definitely: a decent cheese. But please don't try to send any through the post.

Birthday Abroad: Part 2

Having had a wonderful day doing fun things around Santiago on my birthday, I was intrigued to be told on the following morning that I was required to meet Carlos after work that evening for my 'surprise'.

The only clues I had were my instructions to:

• wear something warm;
• wear something smart;
• bring my camera; and,
• bring my epipen.

All very mysterious. Was it a meal... but why the warm clothes? Some kind of walking tour... but why the epipen? Or outdoor theatre... but why the camera?

Well, after a bit of a walk around Santiago's business district, I was ushered into what looked like a hotel and into a lift bound for the 17th floor. At which point I began to panic a little... Anyway, the lift doors opened onto a rooftop bar that presented us with the most stunning panorama. We were seated at a table on the east-facing terrace, with an unbeatable view of the Andes.

It was the perfect evening. The previous night it had rained heavily (rare in Santiago), leaving the Andes sprinkled with fresh snow and giving us a crystal clear sky in which to appreciate them.

As we watched the sun go down, we saw the mountains change from brown, to pink to red, until finally night fell and we saw all of the city lights twinkling below us.

www.flickr.com jaynescarman's Birthday surprise on the 17th floor photoset

Birthday abroad

I wasn't sure how I would feel about my birthday abroad. I was a long way from home (over 7000 miles) and friends, family and the usual things I would do seemed far away. However, it all picked up when I managed to finally clean the oven (not our mess I should add) and bake some cakes!

So the day started at midnight with the cards and presents that had managed to withstand the postal system. I'm still looking forward to those that remain en route...

Then in the morning, it was a quick Spanish class - where I shared out the cakes with my fellow aliens - followed by a trip to Santiago's Museo de la Moda museum for an exhibition about 80s fashion. The museum's collection housed some amazing pieces, including couture from Jean Paul Gautier, Armani and Chanel to name just three, plus outfits that had belonged to Madonna, Princess Diana and U2.

Art installation at the Museo de la Moda
(nothing to do with Chilean traffic)

After popping to the shops (it had to be done, although weirdly, I didn't buy anything), I rounded off the day with a pint in an Irish pub with one of my classmates. Horror of horrors though, it was an Irish pub that didn't sell Guinness! How is that even allowed under the trade descriptions act? Still, the local brew went down equally as well.