Where in the world is Chris?: goodbyes to chile

So I'm finally leaving Chile... unfortunately without seeing the south, which is supposedly the prettiest part (and priciest)... but at this time of year, it's very cold and rainy, so it's not really worth it. I left my job in Valparaiso, which I'll miss. They treated me so well there, and Valparaiso is such an amazing place, unlike the any other part of Chile. One thing about Chile is that it really doesn't feel like Latin America in a lot of ways... it's too organized... hot water is too reliable... there aren't enough donkeys in the street or people selling things on the buses. When you take a bus from one city to another, it doesn't stop and pick people up on the highway. But Chileans are definitely Latinos, with Latino problems... and it's still very divided about what happened during the dictatorship, in which thousands were killed and never found... a dictatorship initially funded by the US government to get rid of communism. For that reason (I believe) Chile looks a lot like the US today... obesity, debt, strange subcultures, cell phones everywhere, capitalism. The wages in Chile are higher than almost all of the Latin American countries, but the prices of daily needs do not correspond. I've seen more protests in Chile than anywhere else, and they are organized. The school kids organize what they call "tomas", or "takings," where they lock themselves inside the schools, and literally "take" the school, with a list of demands to improve their education. While one person is in charge of cooking, another is in charge of calling people and spreading the message, and the older ones march in the street protesting... things that adults in the US don't have the balls to do... one thing I've realized about the US is that as long as you have your car, your job, your house, etc, and you're comfortable, you're not going to complain. And if you do complain, it's under your breath, not in the street, with a sign, with a message. I bet if everyone stopped driving for a week, gas prices would go way down.

Anyway, Chile, albeit a country that doesn't have the touristy appeal of other countries in terms of beautiful landscapes or archealogical sites or traditions or Latin flavor, is a country with beautiful people who are involved in the change of their country.

As soon as the highway opens up, I'm headed to Mendoza, Argentina... it's closed right now because of the snow.

Emmo heads back to Sweden.

Me, Felipe, Emmanuel, and Carolina at the airport.

The crew, the last night together.

La Titi, always made me laugh.

Teresa, mi madre part time.

Francisco, el primo, and Nikolas.

Eduardo, mi hermano...

The view from the hostal in Valparaiso.

Sad story... my guitar was leaning against the wall, and all of a sudden I hear something fall... low and behold, there was a reason that my guitar cost me 40 bucks. That sure as hell wasnt maple wood.