HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LINCOLN

You know that awesome feeling of people asking you directions? A feeling of pride that someone thinks you know your stuff. I love that feeling and it happened to me twice today in the metro. The first time, a group of older British guys were on the same car as me and when we got off, they were confused because there are lots of false exits in Santiago stations if you don't know Spanish. Seriously, would you know what "SOLO CAMBIO DE ANDEN" means? Anyhow, I approached them and asked if they needed help, they said yes and I showed them out. Then tonight, on my way home, a Chilean woman came up to me on the platform and asked if I knew when the last train left from the station we were in. I didn't, but it was still cool that she assumed A) that I spoke Spanish and B) that I would know the answer to her question.

Anyhow, yesterday we went to Sewell, the oldest mining town at the oldest copper mine in Chile, which also happens to be the biggest subterranean mine in the world. It's still a functioning mine, but no one lives in the city anymore. It's now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The drive there, up from Santiago into the Andes, was gorgeous, and the town itself was really interesting. It's on the side of a hill, so there aren't many roads or walkways, you have to get almost everywhere by stairs. We had a snowball fight (!) and ate lunch and then went to the mine itself, which is called El Teniente, for unknown reasons. It was very interesting and we all got to wear masks and special jackets and boots and helmets. Also, best of all, we watched a gigantic mortar and pestle-type thing crush the bejesus out of tons and tons of rocks, which came pouring down from above. It was really loud and amazing to watch the thing work. Awesome. Anyhow, we got home late, which stressed me out. To explain, I will relate the two hours after the bus dropped us back off in Santiago.

It was 8:30, I had to buy flowers for Luz María (it was her birthday yesterday), so I walked to the Lider near Rosie's apartment (the bus dropped us off near there) with Rosie. We started walking with a big group but people peeled off to catch buses or take other streets; it was kind of funny, actually. Anyhow, I picked out some flowers and then went to pay. Slowest express lane ever. Then I gave the cashier my card cause I didn't have any cash. Rosie bought the flowers, bless her, then I hauled ass to the metro, making a trip that usually takes me 35-40 minutes in 22. I burst in the front door at home to a house full of people all dressed nice. I said happy birthday to Luz María and hi to everyone else and gave her the flowers, then tore back to my room, took a 2.5 minute shower, got dressed and went back out to meet people and tell Luz María that I had to leave instantly because I had to be at the Club de Jazz by 10:30 to meet up with people and make sure we got a table. She said it was fine and introduced me to some of her family and friends, her niece offered me a pisco sour, which I drained (it was really good...one of the best I've had here). I was out the door at 9:55. I walked to Avda. Ossa, which is where the bus that goes by the club runs (it's about ten minutes from my house) and proceeded to wait 20 minutes for a bus to come that said "Irarrazaval" on it. Brief aside: the buses here have all the streets on their route written on the front, so even if you don't know the number you need, you can just look for the street you're going to and hop on that bus. Usually it's good to double-check with the driver that he's going where you need, but really it's a pretty good system. Okay, back to the story. I got on the bus and made it to the Club at 10:40. Not bad. I was the first there of the people I thought were coming, so I bought my ticket and sat down at the same table we had the last time, which was kind of funny. Kind of not cause it's not that great a table, but that place is so small that anywhere's really okay. Anyhow, Tim and Gabby, who I knew were coming, and Valeria, who I didn't, showed up around 11:05, just as the first band was getting into a groove. Charlie and a girl who used to live with his host family showed up about 40 minutes later, which wasn't too bad cause the first band kind of sucked.

Paragraph break. We got drinks and a bottle of wine and their little cocktail empanadas that are so good and just chilled for the next two acts (Saturdays have three), which were both really good. The show was wrapping up around 1:30 when we left (shorter than last time) and after saying bye to Charlie and the girl we split a cab over to meet Elan, a couple of his friends, Durham, Rosie and Tim Becker to continue the party. After some confusion about where to go, we ended up in Suecia, which is this hilarious, kitschy, gringo-friendly street in Providencia with theme restaurants and bars (my favorite is Alabama Grill). We found a cheap club (2000 for guys and free for girls, and the guys' cover included a drink, which was crazy) and went in and after drinking my second, and MUCH cheaper (cover AND a drink for less than 4 bucks? come on, drinks at the club de Jazz are 6 bucks or more on their own) gin and tonic of the night, I joined the dancing. [CENSORED FOR THE SAKE OF CERTAIN PEOPLE'S WELL-BEING]. Gabby and I split a cab home, which was great. It took her to Las Condes for about 1200 and then me from her apartment for another 1200. That's a lot cheaper than the 4000 I'm used to paying for cabs.

Today I woke up at 1, made myself some breakfast, apologized profusely to Luz María for leaving so quickly last night. She said it was okay, but I still feel bad about it. Anyhow, this afternoon I went to the Museo de Arte Precolombino (Pre-Columbian Art Museum) with Rosie for our class on Chile, los chilenos y su cultura. We have to write an essay on nonverbal history and how the pieces in the museum tell their creators' history, or something like that. I think it might actually even be more general than that. Just a short reflection. The museum was unbelieveable. The collection is astonishing, it's incredibly well marked and explained, everything is tastefully lit and the building is nice. Unreal. I will back many times, I predict. Rosie had been very upset about a realization she came to earlier in the day, but the museum was so great that she cheered up. Afterwards, we went back to Plaza de Armas, where we'd met up, and sat on a bench and talked for a while. She tried to tell me what she'd been upset about and I tried to talk to her about it, but neither of us could make the other person really understand what we were saying and it was very frustrating. We had just started moving onto other topics--namely, that we both really wanted a barros luco--when a guy came up to us and told us that we were on his sleeping bench and could we please leave. We laughed and obliged him. We got our barros lucos and then I went to her apartment to do some reading for class. It's funny how much we take for granted the freedom we have in the States. We both would have loved to watch a movie together on her bed, for me to sleep there, just to be able to be in a private place in which we weren't bound by someone else's stuffy and repressed cultural norms. We both had the feeling during our conversation that if we were able just to lie and hold each other that understanding would be much easier. But here we are in Chile, and I left at 10:30 to take the metro home, and here I am, writing this. Anyhow, I'm going to do some more reading and work on that essay and listen to the mix that Rosie finally finished for me. I have not been able to call someone a girlfriend since the beginning of 11th grade. It's nice. 'Night. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LINCOLN