The Chilean winter

I´ve been a bum about posting to the blog lately, and here´s my excuse: it´s COLD here. Super cold. I never want to leave my bed because there´s no central heat in the houses here. And frequently, when I get home, it´s colder inside than outside. I would sleep in the street ... but Santiago is overrun with stray dogs. Although I´m sure some of them are very friendly (and warm for cuddling!), it´s not really a viable option.

Winter is supposedly the rainy season in Santiago, but this morning was the first rain we´ve had in months. It was enthusiastically welcomed by those of us living here because the smog was becoming unbearable. It turns out Santiago is in a geographical bowl that traps all kinds of nasty air pollutants. The government recently imposed rolling "blackouts" on driving cars based on the last digit of the license plate number, and advised people not to spend time outdoors. My Chilean mom told me that "only the first time is acid rain". Oh, fantastic. When the drops hit my face, I half-expected a sizzling sound. But now I can actually see the Andes and, man, they are beautiful!!

Being uncomfortably cold most of the day (sometimes, I teach in my winter coat) and night has taken a toll on my immune system and I´m starting to get sick. My Chilean mom has me gargling hot water with salt and lemon juice. It seems to help. I´m also sleeping a ton. Really, I can´t get enough. But I´ve been having really weird dreams that are even more confusing because they´re increasingly in Spanish. I can´t remember whether dreaming is a sign of good sleep or bad sleep, but being woken up in the middle of the night by a sore throat is definitely a sign of bad sleep.

Apparently a glutton for punishment, I´m heading down south (where it´s colder) again this weekend. This time, my destination is Concepción, a city about 6 hours south of Santiago. It´s famous for rain and rock music. The whole weekend might be spent inside with java and jive, but that will be okay. A good friend of mine lives there and we have months´worth of stories to share.

So I´m off. I hope all is well (and WARM!) wherever you are ...