of la luna, fiestas patrias, and ignorance.

it's been a little while since i've written, so let's recap.. 

Sunday through Wednesday night of last week was spent in San Pedro (of the Atacama), a small town in the Atacama desert of Northern Chile, inhabited largely by european foreigners. despite this fact, much tradition remains. on wednesday everyone gathered in the town for the parade and festivities held in honor of the national holiday. 

time spent in san pedro was pretty sweet. days spent traveling in a rusty toyota 4x4 in the mountains and nights spent gathered around a "fogata", or bonfire, which is central to every restaurant in san pedro. 

valle de la luna (valley of the moon). i was literally on the moon, i'm pretty sure of it.  pure salt floors, one foot into the just hardened snow-like ground, it was as if i was the first person to set foot on the moon. the only difference: i need a chilean flag. :) also, the stars. oh the stars.. my friend fabiola described it this way--i have shrunk x1,000,000 and am standing underneath a collander tipped upside down. the holes through which water flows, or in this case which let light come through, are the stars. :)

arriving "home" to antofagasta, i had no idea of the events that were to come in the four days that would follow.  to sum it up, two of those days were virtually spent gathered around the dinner table eating empanadas (a moon-shaped bread filled with lots of meat, also raisins and olives) and huesillos (dried peaches accompanied by bits of barley soaked in a bittersweet juice), drinking (wine, piscacola), conversing (most of which i didn't understand). between 2  and 11 pm on one day, i got up from the table twice, both of which to go to the bathroom. thankfully, the weekend was also full of nights spent dancing to burn off the empanadas. 

ignorant. a stereotype of americans. unfortunately, i seem to fit that stereotype. my glancing at npr's news in brief when i get a chance to connect on the worldwide web is not sufficient. on saturday the topic of conversation came up of the U.S. with its need for a vast government intervention to re stabilize the economy, i was shamefully unaware. how can i be expected to know what's going on in other countries when i can't keep track of my own. i hereby commit myself to a higher standard of self education. i will be informed..