worlds apart

We went to see Daddy´s cousin who is a travel agent to figure out the schedule fo te rest of our stay. After going to Viña this weekend, we´re gonna fly to Buenos Aires for 5 days next week, then stay in/near Santiago, maybe renting a car and oing back towards te coast, or visiting some of the vineyards nearby. I think Zach is dissapointed that we won´t get to go down south, but the weather and timing just doesn´t seem like it´ll wor out well. Perhaps in another few years we can rope Mom and Philip (and whomever else) into another trip down here, where we coul go down to Tierra del Fuego and make our way up the southern parts of the country.

It´s interestin being here and seeing the different parts of Santiago. Many areas feel very modern and "westernized." Others, feel incredibly different-- earlier today Zach and I went to Parque Bernardo O´Higgins, and walked by El Pueblito which looked like a dirt road, wih several resturant alongside it, that reminded me of the usual images of poor Mexico. It was actually the first time where I really felt out of place, and unsafe (despite thwe many warnings of pickpockets, there´s also tons of security around and although I´ve been guarding my purse well I haven´t felt unsafe hardly at all). There´s a huge outdoor mall right next to our hotel, and there´s many beggars out, some actually performing for money (we saw an impressive string quartet the other day), others who will come up and yell at you to give them money.

Tomorrow is May Day, which is a holiday I think like Labor Day is in the states. Zach and I will go see the a family we used to be friend with back in the day (their son Peter also was friend with Zach when he studied at UT for a semester), then we´ll go to Tia Dotty´s, a woman who was good friends with Mom and whose home I spent much time in as a child. It shall be interesting, as Tracey (of the first family) has warned me that things might be pretty sketchy here tomorrow, there might be some protests or demonstrations. I´m curious to see what that might mean. We have been advised to take a taxi out to their home, instead of trying to use the metro.