Although it has been a number of days since the ash clouds from Volcano Puyehue had completed a circumference of the earth, it was not until this past Sunday that the wind currents carried the mass to Concepcion. At first,…
The Lightness of Being
In the open pages of “Japan Style,” authors Geeta Mehta and Kimie Tada wrote, regarding the minimalization of Japanese houses and furnishings, “lightness was in part a response to Japan’s frequent earthquakes, and in part to the Buddhist teachings about…
Student Protests Continue
Massive student protests are taking place nationwide today. In Santiago alone, more than 50,000 students marched in protest along Alameda. Although not as large a movement, students are rioting in Concepcion as well. I had postponed going to the office,…
The Low Down Expat Blues
Even though the sun was shining in what was supposed to be the middle of a torrentially rainy winter season, I woke up feeling blue. Not just blue, but expat blue. It was an “oh-my-God-what-have-I-done” kind of blue, when questions…
Checking the Ugly Tourist at the Curb
Another round of classes in Santiago has me pondering what it is about travel that turns otherwise well-behaved, perhaps even model citizens, into traumatic, “IwantitIwantitIWANTIT!!!” children, demanding attention, not taking no for an answer (probably because they’ve learned that constants…