Stuff from All Over

Even a crappy golf course is made

scenic by nearby mountains.

Nice view. Notice how dry the grass is on the

left. It must have cost a fortune to irrigate

the course.

Leftover picture of Chanco from my trip

to the South.

Pretty awesome hang-time. This guy won 

the class-3 title.

Before the race we had lunch in the VIP

section, in the middle of the track, with

cars just zooming by, kicking up a ton of dust.

It's been quite a while since I last posted, and I apologize. Trying to stay up to date and faithful to a blog is not very, which is why many people start them up and drop them after just a few weeks.

I thought I'd take this opportunity to summarize what I've been up to this month, so far.

First of all, I'd like to inform everyone that my citizenship finally came through and am now waiting until the 22nd to get my ID and passport, which is pretty cool if you think that I am now a double-citizen with two separate passports. The Chilean passport will be great if I can fulfill my desire to go to Cuba while I'm here, which would be something that most Americans have never done.

As far as work goes, I've been quite busy of late. At the political science department at the Universidad del Desarrollo, I've been working on an integral project focusing on Chinese participation on behalf of Chile in the War of the Pacific in 1880. We're going to examine Chinese migrant worker participation during the war, and then hopefully translate that information into a seminar, a book, a documentary, and a monument in Santiago. It's a huge undertaking that has left me rather overwhelmed, but I'm working through it and hopefully the Chinese government will give us the funds necessary to make the project a reality.

At the University of Chile Law School's Department of Environmental Law, I've been researching a variety of topics. Most notably, I've written a position paper on a large hydroelectric power plant project in the south called Hidroaysen, which has been quite a controversial issue. I've also assisted a group of people who are attempting to rewrite part of the Kyoto Protocols to better assist developing nations in reducing greenhouse emissions.

As for my social life goes, I've continued to have a great time meeting people and going out. My apartment is slowly becoming the default place to go to before the pubs or discos because I am always willing to have people over and everyone else basically still lives at home. I've been all over the place, but still really want to go to the pubs and discos that are in the west side of town. It's hard to convince people to go because they feel unsafe, but I want to see how the average Chilean parties and has fun. I also hear that the discos there are wild.

In addition to going out, I also got my gambling and golf fixes, something I haven't done since leaving the states. A new casino was recently opened to the south of Santiago, and I went with my friend Erik and his girlfriend for his birthday. It was surprisingly nice and slightly reminiscent of Vegas. I won about $500 that night, which was a pretty sweet haul. As for golf, I went with a Canadian friend to the only public course in Chile, which is located near the airport on the "banks" of the Mapocho river. I say "banks" because the river is so low and dry right now. I would say that it's actual composition is 50% water, 20% piss and vomit, 20% battery acid, and 10% left over dead bodies from the various dictatorships. To sum it up, basically it was the most revolting smell I've ever gleaned from a river. The course wasn't too bad though and it was fun to get out and play, albeit that the actual golfing part didn't go quite so well.

Finally, I will be home for about two weeks in exactly one month. I'm excited to go back home for a little while, though I will miss the sun and the warm weather. I'll be coming back to Chile in early February, where I'll have the month off from work to go travel all over. I also recommend that anyone who wants to visit come during that time, seeing as how it's the coldest time in the states, the warmed here, and I'll be free to show you around. Also, tickets right now are the cheapest they've been in six months. 

Above I put some random pictures from RallyMobil (a rally race I was invited to), my golfing trip, and some other stuff.

Stay tuned later this week for my final food posting concerning my favorite meal!