La Politica nacional

Sunday is the day of national elections here, and Chile is on the verge of electing it's first government from the right since Pinochet was deposed. How does that affect me, you might ask? All the bars had to close at midnight Saturday night.

Speaking of politics, the change in the mood toward Americans since Barack Obama was elected is unbelievable. I've seen it talking to locals and British/European travelers. Ever since the Iraq war started, the tension towards Americans has been palpable. (A drunk Polish guy once tried to start a fight with me in a bar in Prague just because I was American, before his friends drug him away.) Now, it's totally different. More people than I can count have gone out of the way to tell me how much their opinion of the United States has improved since we elected Obama.

But, some people out there are doing everything they can to undo the goodwill. On the bike tour we took of Santiago, our guide asked me if it was true that a U.S. politician said that the earthquake was God's punishment to Haiti. I tried to explain that Pat Robertson was a TV preacher and not a politician, and that he was crazy. I´m not sure that the message took, though.

Giant corn at the Santiago fruit and vegetable market.

































The municipal drainage ditch Mapocho River splits Santiago in half. Notice the mural of prone Jesus behind us.

















This is the ¨old¨ U.S. embassy. Apparently our envoys recently moved to a fortress across town.

Santiago, Chile

Did you know it was possible for a baby to cry scream at the top of its lungs for nine hours straight? Neither did I until the plane ride here. The kid two rows in front of me only quit after we landed in Santiago and were getting off the plane. Actually, that´s not quite true. He did quiet down a few times, and his duties were immediately picked up by the baby three rows back. Needless to say, I didn´t get much sleep on the flight here. But it´s summertime now and the empanadas are great here (they´re HUGE, more like Calzones with far more stuffing choices), so all is better.

I was talking to a guy from Germany at breakfast the morning. He asked where I was from, and after telling him Kentucky but feeling like I should say more, I added, ¨We have fried chicken, horse racing, and bourbon.¨ To which he replied, ¨I met a girl from Kentucky at another hostel two days ago, and she said exactly the same thing. So it must be true.¨ At least we´re staying on message.

Speaking of message, here´s a note to any NBA manager/publicist who reads this blog. Last night I had a beer with a British guy who´s staying here. Turns out he´s a huge fan of Rajon Rondo and Tony Delk, but he´d never heard of Tayshaun Prince. Tay, your guys need to get step it up.

I didn´t get very many good pictures yesterday (I don´t recommend buying a new camera that you´re completely unfamiliar with the day before leaving on a big trip), but here´s a couple to get started.