another good christmas

As I'm writing this I find myself at the end of my fourth day in La Serena, and at the end of Christmas day. La Serena is a beautiful city of around 300,000 (including the other adjacent cities) and has at least 20km of beach to offer. It's a comfortable city, seeming both clean and very livable. In most ways, it's no different from any other city in the states or Europe. It rains here, though very infrequently, so the buildings tend to incorporate large courtyards, and are very open. It's a style that's only practical in places like here, Florida, and southern California, but I love it.

The hostel that I'm staying in is wonderful. I found it though a little bit of luck -- it was recommended by the taxi driver at the bus station. It's run by a wonderful family, who also live there. Every morning I've awakened to the sounds of children playing, which is a wonderful way to wake up. Last night they had a big Christmas dinner that included both their family and all the visiting tourists. I did my best to make an apple pie for desert, but had a bit of a fight with the oven. In the end, everything worked out, though.

I had a delightful moment with one of the kids this afternoon when she saw my camera. I turned it on, and she loved looking at the LCD. She's point it at her mother or sister, and then try to get them to come look at it. But, of couse, when they're come to the other side of the camera they'd disappear from the display much to the frustration of the budding photographer. She later came up and asked me to play with it again, but I told her that she'd have to let me take a photo of her first. She didn't much care for that deal -- she ran off and hid. She'd make my sister proud.

I've now spent Christmas on three different continents, and each one is different. Christmas everywhere is about the same things, it seems -- being together with family, and buying gifts. Things seem to be very laid back here, which is fitting with the rest of the culture. It's been strange for me because it is warm, and it just doesn't feel like Christmas at all. In large part, that's the warmth, but there also doesn't seem to be the same wealth of Christmas tradition here as there is in Europe or the states. Or maybe I'm just not clued into it. The Christmas markets, for example, sell wrapping paper, but look otherwise just like normal markets. The Christmas markets in Zurich couldn't have been more different, and still have been markets.

The night before last I went for a run along the beach. After two weeks in the Andes, it's great to come down to sea level and run. It felt great to have the beach virtually to myself, running and listening to the waves. I'm very comfortable here -- very relaxed.

The first night here I stayed up 'till 4:00am talking with the different travelers at the hostel. There was a pair of Canadians, one of whom was Chilean; a couple people from the states who were studying in Chile; and a few Germans including Anna, who came with me from San Pedro, and the crazy, alcoholic guy who I first met in San Pedro. It was a very interesting group of people, and I very much enjoyed all of them, with the exception of the crazy guy who became very drunk and somewhat offensive.

We spent a while talking about out different impressions of Chile, and about politics generally. It was interesting to hear the perspective of some Canadians on a lot of the issues in the US, and on Canada's relationship to the US. One of the things that I've found about traveling is that the people you run into tend to be very worldly, and very well informed. Discussions like this are common, and they're quite interesting. I'd like to learn more about economics, as it has a way of coming up quite often, and, from what little I know, I'm not very comfortable with a lot of the usual conclusions people draw based purely on economic reasoning. (I don't remember the specific details now, but I had a number of questions relating to the economics of NAFTA, and what economic theory had to say about the Macinadoras on the boder of Mexico.)

I also got to see a concrete example of something that I'd been talking about with a dutch guy back in San Pedro. He said that he very much liked the internet because it kept him connected to his home, and he had a very strong sense of home. He knew his local (home) history quite well, and would relate other things to it. He said that he needed a goal, and to stay in touch with home, to keep himself sane when traveling. I hadn't thought about that before, but after I heard him say it, I found myself agreeing quite strongly. Having a connection to home -- even though you're not there -- is important. It gives you perspective, and keeps you anchored in reality. I find it very helpful to think in terms of "that's an idea for my blog" or "that would be interesting to the folks back home" when I look at things. It adds perspective. But more than that, it gives me a sense of belonging to somewhere.

I don't think the crazy guy had any such connection, really. He seemed disconnected from the world of responsibility and of real people. He may travel to many places, but it he'll never return. He'll never apply what he's learned to anything else. I don't think I'm in any danger of winding up in the same place, but I can start to see how that would happen.

On a lighter note, I've been to the store every morning to pick up a breakfast of fresh bread and fruit. It's excellent and cheap here. I don't care what the lonely planet says -- I like the food. Fresh bread every day. Who can complain?

Tomorrow I'm planning on heading to Vicuña, a small town in the Valle del Elqui. It's supposed to be a beautiful valley, and there's a pisco factory that offers tours. (Pisco is a grape brandy, of sorts, and is very popular down here. It's growing on me.) After that, I think I'll head father south again. I'll probably spend New Years in Valparaiso, and then try to do a camping trip in the south before heading to Coyhaique.

Posted by vanwie at December 25, 2003 06:42 PM