recently, a few other fulbrighters and i took a day hike at the nearby yerba loca reserve. i was unprepared for the stunning vistas! it's springtime here, which means that even though the andean peaks are still snowcapped, the valleys are lush and green, and running with bright flowers and creeks.



left: emily and patrick pause to take in the glaciers.
right: ken and meredith make a splash during our descent.

a warm welcome for president bush in santiago today...
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6530505/.
in other news, i am apparently allergic to tear gas. for future reference, i feel this is good to know.

interviewed live on radio tierra just now! i was the guest on a weekly program called "living city". it's hosted by members of ciudad viva, my host organization. i've never seen the inside of a recording studio before, but i was impressed. all the gadgets appeal greatly to my tech-girl sensibilities...^_^

i ran into ricardo lagos, the chilean president, yesterday...literally. at a seminar on transantiago (the urban transportation project i'm here to research), i attempted to make a discreet dash to the bathroom during a coffee break. little did i know that the president, who had already made his opening remarks, intended to use this opportunity to leave the seminar. because i never look where i'm going, i crashed into one of his bodyguards, then stumbled across the president's path (as well as the sightlines of a crowd of photo-snapping journalists), before i finally regained my balance. all in all, a rather clumsy introduction. not one of my prouder moments...but at least i recovered in time to snap a couple closeup photos of my own!

i passed by this window on my way to work, and it struck me as oddly fitting.


america...trapped?
yes, permit me my moment of melodrama. i promise i will clamp down on the political talk from now on, though...even i am getting overwhelmed. still, this image was just too powerful to pass up.

who are these millions of fanatic bush supporters? what has he done in the last four years to command anything except resentment or shame? how can so many find the remotest justification for voting that maniac back in again? it boggles my mind. i am at such a loss. am i even american? i don't understand my own country.

i think that is what saddens me the most about this whole mess. before, i always made a distinction between the shortsighted and destructive actions of the u.s. government, and the intentions of actual, everyday americans, whom i held to be more accurate indicators of our country's mentality. i tolerated the trespasses of this reckless adminstration because i believed that, ultimately, when given the facts and the choice, the american people would not approve of being deceived. they would not approve of having their hard-earned money stockpiled in the savings accounts of the rich, living in the shadow of a trillion-dollar debt, robbing future generations of social security, writing discrimination into the consitution, losing essential civil rights and freedoms, hijacking the republican party's fiscally conservative and small-government standards in favor of an extremist, intrusive, and dogmatic agenda, or, least of all, carving a swath of wanton destruction through millions of civilian homes, without evidence of threat, semblance of international support, or adequate plans for post-war peace, and at great loss of american life, security, and respect worldwide.

i was convinced that, despite political or ideological differences, surely americans as a whole could not condone such damaging, poorly conceived, and poorly executed policies. and because i truly felt that i related to americans on a fundamental level, both culturally and morally, i didn't think i could be that far off the mark. now, i'm not so certain that i even understand the average american. i accepted the previous blunders and miscalculations of our country because i always had faith that, in the end, the american people would gravitate back to the same basic values of equality, freedom of choice and expression, tolerance, and compassion. given the results of this election, that's not so easy to believe anymore. i'm beginning to doubt whether the underlying connection that i thought i shared with my fellow citizens truly exists.

it's disheartening...having to acknowledge that i am not as in touch with my own people as i thought, or wished, i was. it's even more disillusioning to admit that many of the traits i consider to be intolerable in a president (rigid even in the face of overwhelming counter-evidence, dangerously oversimplistic in one's depiction of the world, reliant on "gut instinct", "faith", and messianic delusions in situations where reason, balance, and nuanced, fact-based analysis should rightfully be employed) are the same things many americans deem admirable. laudable, even. despite all my criticism for certain policies, i have always been proud and grateful to be a citizen of the united states. nowadays, sadly, it's simply that much harder to maintain that pride.

Dear All,

As Election Day gets underway, I find myself unable to concentrate on anything else. I can only imagine what it’s like back home.

I’ve been battling a feeling of helplessness ever since I sent off my absentee ballot two weeks ago. I wish I could have flown in to help all those (KT, Dela, Sach, and more) who went into communities to promote voter registration and action for this year’s crucial election. I thank you so much for your efforts. Your contributions, along with the individual votes of every single one of you, are invaluable to the future wellbeing of our country and the world.

Living out here, I am continually astonished by the gulf that lies between Americans’ perceptions of themselves and their nation (my own included), and those of the rest of the world. Even though I am fully prepared for it, it is still shocking...having to contend daily with accusations or observations of the US that even I, as a well-informed American, have trouble acknowledging or defending against. It’s a continual struggle, preserving the loyalty that I instinctively bear for my country, while trying to understand things both objectively and through the eyes of foreigners.

All I know is this: if we continue along the path we have taken over the past few years, it will only provoke more hostility, more antagonism, and more estranged relations worldwide, distancing us even more from the consciousness of other nations. And, no matter how you spin it, being out of touch with the world is _not_ going to make us safer. Unable to truly comprehend the nuances of the threats against us, or even the potential alliances that can offer us inestimable aid, we are inviting disaster. For the sake of peace and stability in our country and the world as a whole, we must not allow this to happen.

I’m with you as you cast your vote today. I miss you all and desperately wish the very best outcome to all of this. Stay strong and keep fighting the good fight.

i spent the weekend at a friend's almond orchard at pirque, a rural town just outside of santiago. the weather here is just beginning to take on that intense, drowsy summer heat, even though it still gets cold after sundown. we ended up lounging about on blankets and hammocks during the day, visiting the neighbors for country-style empanadas (prepared in a stone oven), fresh eggs, and warm bread whenever the munchies hit, and hovering over a crackling campfire at night. i got the chance to watch both the moon and sun rise over the andes...and realized that all the constellations here are upside-down! when orion first appears in the northern hemisphere, his sword is on the half that's closest to the horizon. over here it's the opposite.

the results for santiago's local elections were announced last night, too. at once, processions of honking automobiles with loads of shouting, flag-waving people hanging out the windows took to the roads. it makes me think about how much more participatory the electoral process feels here, with the supporters on street corners waving banners and pressing flyers into your hands every day, or the rowdy rallies taking over the local plazas, or the roaming trucks blaring campaign songs through their loudspeakers. it makes me wonder how close to home the presidential elections have hit the average american. have people come to realize yet how much the outcome affects them directly? will they find the motivation to get out and vote tomorrow? i also wonder whether this kind of infectious elation will be seen on the streets back home in two days, and whether i will be a part of it, or deeply saddened by it.