Feliz Navidad!

I was hoping to send you some pictures of christmas here, but it has not been easy. Not only because I began to leave my camera at home, but also because I discovered that I'm northern when it comes to christmas: it just doesn't feel right when its 30 degrees celsius! The approach to this summery christmas produced a strong rejection in me - the decorations seemed fake, the songs contrived, the food totally wrong. Everything imported, marketed, and "unauthentic".

I went shopping with my sister-in-law, and commenting on this, she seemed surprised. She has no recollection of christmas ever having been different. This led me to realize that it makes perfect sense for christmas traditions here to be "like everywhere else". After all, christmas was brought by the Spanish, and later "dressed up" by the Italians and Germans. Our most traditional christmas traditions are imports and unauthentic; plus, the wars against the indians here meant there was little of an indigenous culture to survive and be mixed with the Catholic (unlike Mexico, for example). Like anyone, the European immigrants of the 18th and 19th centuries brought their pine trees, santas, jingle bells and candles with them, independent of the weather. Once I realized this crap is not all the product of recent market globalization I felt free to actually enjoy a hot christmas!!

Now some info on what christmas here is like today. There is no pretty way of describing it so here is a bullet point list:
- There are LOTS of police! Theft shoots up, informal vendors proliferate and the police comes out in large numbers to protect shoppers.
-  A large segment of the daily news is dedicated to presents, both where to shop and how to manage the debt that will follow. This was said literally on TV news: "It is ok to buy presents on credit because christmas is a one time expense, its not structural like school".
- Traffic increases. This christmas I would like Santa to check everyone's breaks so they stop screaching. Then I would like him to disconnect the horn on every car.
- The things I love about christmas don't really happen here. Very few people have to travel anywhere (most people live with their family), so there is no sense of the country stopping. And its too hot to eat lamb, roast beef, roasted vegetables, etc. For example, we are eating cold stuffed tomatoes and eggs (I'm not complaining! just saying).

And finally a little bit about me- things are going well and Im excited to be entering a new phase soon. This means travel!!! First, new years in Buenos Aires with my friends (Lola!!) and cousins and my mom. Then I'll be spending Jan. 10 to Feb. 10 more or less in Valdivia, down south. (that is where I'll turn 33... aagh). Then back to Santiago for a family holiday in the countryside, and then end of February to end of March in Coyhaique, Aysén, the Chilean Patagonia. To get there: a 15 hour bus ride to Puerto Montt, then a 24-hour boat ride along the Pacific, then a 2 hour bus ride from the port to the town. Something like 2,200 km. Desparately seeking a friendly research assistant.... anyone??!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS, FELICES FIESTAS, HOPE YOU ARE ALL WELL AND I MISS YOU!

Chilean Catholic traditions - here is the manger, and on the 24th late at night, you put out baby Jesus. This manger is in the shopping gallery where we bought our presents.

The formal vendor is accused by the Police of having informally expanded his business (taking up like twice as much sidewalk as his kiosk allows), to sell wrapping paper and small presents. Its all very christmassy...

Exasperation

"Chile, es un país que por las características de sus suelos y sus recursos naturales en general, es de una vocación eminentemente forestal."
This is the first line of a law written, debated and approved by Congress. The commas are misplaced, two verbs share one subject with no conjunction mediating this relationship, and the argument is completely flawed and vague. I'm so sick of reading Chilean laws.

Ivana

The past few days home life has been dominated by this story (for lack of a better word), that I want to share with you.

Today we (ie., my sister as bakery owner) had to declare Ivana as having abandoned her job as cook at the bakery because she did not show up for two consecutive days for work. On Friday Ivana was set to move, from the apartment she shared with her three children and husband, to a little house for her and the children. She was leaving her husband, though he had actually left her: some weeks ago, he boarded a bus for Ecuador, using a ticket another woman had bought him. Once in Ecuador, he was robbed of everything, and the woman he had gone to visit denounced him to the Ecuadorian police because he owed her money. She then called Ivana to ask for money in order to release her husband. Ivana and her parents-in-law (ie., the disgraced husband's mother and father) refused to pay for his release, giving up on him after years of drug and alcohol abuse; years in which he never held a steady job, betrayed everyone around him in different ways, and relied on theft and his wife for money. This man is the father of two of Ivana's chidren. The oldest she had at age 16, with another man. Today she is 27.
Ivana is from Salta, Argentina, and came to Chile following the father of the oldest child, until he left her. She then migrated from the Chilean countryside to the southern outskirts of Santiago, where the poor who can not afford housing live. She had been working with us for one year; she was a good worker, responsible, nice and charming. Despite everything she was doing well. Her mistake was this man, whom she was still willing to help: after refusing to send the Ecuadorian woman money, she sent him a bus ticket to return to Santiago. He refused to come back. Who knows what happened, but on Friday, before she could move house, her aunt and uncle came from Argentina to take her and the children back to Salta, with her mother.
We know all this because two other employees went to look for Ivana at her house; they talked to the neighbor, and then found the parents-in-law. Otherwise, we could equally well think Ivana had been kidnapped, killed, run away or sick in hospital. We will probably never hear from her again, even though we (my sister) like her a lot, did a lot to help her, and wanted to continue helping her. Instead, we have to scramble to re-arrange everyone's work hours, cover extra shifts and begin a new hiring process. And so everyone's frustration grows. The only comfort is to think that Ivana and her children will be better off back home, and that she has a family that cares about her.

Of 18 women between 17 and 34 that work in our bakery, 8 have children. Of these, only three are still with the father of their children (including my sister in law). One had her child one month ago and is likely to break up with the father by the end of the year.

Not Beijing

But almost? Or as much as we might want? One manifestation of Chile's growth is in urbanism: lots of new buildings, expansion of public transportation (after years of stagnation, 3 new lines have been built in 5 years plus extensions of existing lines), and the improvement of parks and plazas. Many places have changed beyond recognition, as I will now show you.
When I was little this - that round white tower - was one of the biggest buildings in Vitacura, a nice area of Santiago:

Apumanque shopping center, focusing on the old part. Please notice the untasteful and annoying advertisement around the top of the tower.

Now, the street leading to the right from the point where I was standing to take this photo, looks like this:

Rosario Norte Street, from the Manquehue metro station to the Parque Araucano

View from Parque Araucano- the buildings! they are so many! all corporate HQ, and the cranes.. there are more to come!!

Another set like this is the following: the Titanium Tower is now the tallest building in Latin America. It overshadows everything else and is visible from everywhere in Santiago. To build it they had to destroy the Omnium Center, also pictured. Half of the Center refused to move, and they won court protection to stay. The result is the disgusting, dirty, half of the Omnium Center (which I love because I used to get the bus from there to go skiing by myself years and years ago so I associate it with freedom and fun), and the ugly and disproportionate (and pretty much empty) Titanium tower. 

the shiny Titanium Tower, the dirty Omnium Center

This is just north of the Titanium Tower- Here you see its closest relative, the Milenium Tower. This corner gives my sister nightmares: the very old, somehow surviving with the new, to make a whole that makes no sense at all.

On the clearly positive side, a fascinating example of Chinese influence: the importation of public exercise machines, and with that of physical exercise habits that just don't traditionally exist here. The municipality where I live has installed these in all its municipal parks (there are a lot of them) and they are hugely popular! They are always being used by all sorts of people- young & old, fat & thin, sporty & not. Here, my niece and nephew having a go at it-

Tradition. Isnt she the best and the cutest you've ever ever seen??