A Few Firsts

Happy Thanksgiving

I had definitely never attended school before on Thanksgiving. Normally one of my favorite holidays, this year´s Turkey Day proved to be very odd - About 90 degrees, school, everything open, and a barbeque in a park. It wasn´t bad, just different.

After waking, I didn´t actually think about the holiday until I got to school and found the other Americans discussing pumkpin pie options...at the barbeque we had a really good squash pie-thingy that a few of my friends cooked up. Pumpkins couldn´t be found.

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Also, regardless of the whole "summer" season, it´s been weird because Christmas is already in swing. There is no starting date like the States. They obviously don´t wait for Thanksgiving to pass down here because they don´t celebrate a few Pilgrims making it through a winter! So for a few weeks now there has been Christmas flair - Pretty much the exact same as the States: Santas in full suits (I was hoping for a shorts and t-shirt santa... but alas.) several gigantic, fake trees randomly spread through the city, that sort of stuff. My personal favorite is in Plaza de Armas where it is right next to a palm tree.

I understand that the globalization of capitalism could influence the shopping and literal appearance of Christmas, but not the sounds. Surely an extremely Catholic country would have its own music for Christ´s birth......
Kristy and I are walking downtown and I can´t figure out what I´m hearing. She helps me out. "I´m Dreaming of a White Christmas." So there it goes, kill individuality. Bring American music to a country that celebrates Christmas in summer - I´ve heard more since then!

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Micro Musicians

I planned on simply heading down to Club Hipico to photo horse races Friday afternoon. Danielle called and suggested a switch of plans. Why don´t we try to perform on the micros? I played guitar and sang on the crazy buses flying through Santiago´s streets. We only played on 3 micros, but it was a blast. It was also fun to ask for money - we made about $3 a piece! It didn´t matter that we constantly butchered the words as we sang James Taylor´s Fire and Rain, John Denver´s Leaving on a Jet Plane, and the Beatles´ Yesterday, because the vast majority of the people didn´t understand the english words! And I have new-found respect for the other musicians who somehow balance as they stand and play on the swerving and lurching micros. I almost fell about 10 times. The passengers thought it was hillarious. I think we´ll do it a few more times, if for no other reason just to ride for free and make some extra money!

Then, when we get off of the last one we run into a journalist who had suffered through our ear-curdling harmonies. We exchange contact information as he explains that his paper, "Las Ultimas Noticias," likes to highlight freak or exotic acts. He said 2 gringos playing on a micro was just about one of the most unusual things he had ever seen! I´ll keep you updated if there are any articles coming out with my singing face on the front.
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Club Hipico

I finally made it down to Club Hipico. It was later than I planned due to the guitar playing and sharing a drink with a cool Chileno I met on a later micro ride. But I finally made it to the track. Although I´d been before, I am slowly trying to make this a regular photo stop for me.

It is a world unto itself - Betting in an amazing antiquated structure...Seeing the storied racing grounds become more and more sponsored...Watching homeless kids weave in and out of spectators to pick up discarded glass bottles that they can marginally profit from. I spent quite a few hours there taking in the sights and trying to learn the place. I shot very little, mainly because I lacked light by this point in the night.



Trainers and horses wait together and slowly warm up as the next race nears. It is a very structured process: parading horses in front of the stands before one race starts, preparing them during the race, and heading them out as soon as the previous race is finished. There were 19 races Friday night. Some of them were on grass, like the one below, while others were on the dirt track. I neither knew nor understand enough to explain why, seeing as this was my second time ever to a race track.



One of the final horses exits the first holding area as it is led in front of the stands prior to being saddled for the race.



After talking to a photographer who had seemingly full access to all parts, I found out who I will need to talk to in the future for more opportunities. Considering the track is about 5 blocks from school, it could be a great place for a photo project.
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Saturday was lazily spent walking around the center with Kristy and louging at home. And Sunday was quite a bit of the same, except for that I visited my father Tallu´s side of the family in western Santiago.