Iīve noticed that the longer I go without using the internet the less I want to. I guess itīs kinda like cleaning the bathroom or washing my clothes. Man, these poor pants are still walking around with ahí sauce I spilled on them when I was in Pisco Elqui a month and a half ago. Anyway, last weekend was really good, Santiagoīs a really cool city to live in. On Friday I got my rock on, the second band called Fruto Prohibido was really good, kinda like a bluesy Stones throwback and they played a long encore and everyone was rocking out like mad. Since shows here donīt start till 12:30 in the morning they didnīt stop till ībout 3, and thatīs when the 80īs and 90īs pop music dance party started. I havenīt danced that hard since the second time I saw the Faint play almost exactly a year ago. Itīs so great to know that the Pixies, the Hives, and Joy Division are as loved here by other people as they are by me. I got home Saturday at 7 am. Kinda dicked around, did some homework, played my guitar and came up with a wicked chord progression. Sunday we had the house soccer game, man oh man it was so rad playing soccer again. There were ten of us beating the shit out of each other and the high point of the match for me was when I took out Marcel the pretty boy German housemate who never does his fucking dishes and has about 25 pounds on me. Take that, wanker! We had us a barbeque on the roof afterwards and I fell asleep like a baby in social services, all beat up and relaxed.
Easy school week, in history class yesterday we started learning about the transition to democracy from the military dictatorships in Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, interesting stuff. Andrea and I just watched a sobering documentary called The Case of Pinochet about Spainīs efforts to extradite his punk ass and try him for crimes against humanity. They got him to Spain but then Judge Balthazar Garzón who right now is involved in a really interesting debate with Subcomandante Marcos of the Zapatistas regarding the Basque Country decided that Pinochet was too old and ill to stand for trial. He was returned to Santiago, the old fucker, where he is right now probably no more than a half hour from where Iīm typing. The toughest parts of the documentary to watch were the scenes with Pinochetīs supporters, especially the scene where good olī Maggie Thatcher visits him at the house where he was confined for five months while lawyers in Spain worked on getting him extradited and told him that "We know that you are responsible for the transition to democracy in Chile and we thank you for all the help you gave us during the conflict in the Falklands." among other things. This conflicted slightly with the interviews of those whoīs kids and siblings and spouses and they themselves had been brutally tortured. Thereīs a house that Iīm going to visit tomorrow where many, many people were tortured and murdered and the lady who gives tours there is a survivor herself, should be really interesting.
Another weekend in town, prolly not gonna leave Santiago again till the following weekend to finally get back to Valparaiso, been itching to see that city again. I canīt believe that itīs the end of March, this semester is over in a little over a month. Poor Andrea and Theresa are heading back to Reno right after it ends, Iīm thanking my lucky stars that Iīm staying around another couple months to travel. And holy fucking shit Danīs back in Reno, probably thinking about what Iīll be thinking when I land in SF in July. Howīs it going, bro?
So Vince had been telling me about how awesome this Chilean band called Glup! is for a while, I hadnīt heard them but was pretty intrigued, then at the show last Friday I saw a notice that theyīre playing this Saturday so Vince and I are gonna go rock out like mad, he was super pumped when I told him about it. Hopefully another danse party ensues. More soccer on Sunday, thisīll be a weekly thing. Cool, off home to eat leftover pasta and do film class homework.