Women's lib

So, Chile has finally done what many deemed impossible in this conservative, Catholic country. It's elected it's first female president, someone who defies the stereotypes, but is apparently helping ordinary Chileans to reconcile themselves with the past and move on. Michelle Bachelet is the highest profile politician in Chile to have been tortured during Pinochet's military dictatorship. Her father, an air force general, even died after being arrested and tortured for supporting Pinochet's predecessor Salvador Allende. When Michelle Bachelet came back from exile in Australia and Communist East Germany, she rose up the ranks of the Socialist party, ultimately becoming Defence Minister and effectively controlling the same military that had killed her Dad. As well as this, she is an agnostic single mother of three kids by two different fathers and it's quite something to be that and become president here in a sexist country, traditionally dominated by the male political and business elite. But, as well as providing proof that Chile can move on from the horrors of the Pinochet era, Chile's new president has managed to woo the marginalised sectors of society - the middle and lower classes, the indigenous people, women -- precisely because she belongs to part of that group. But, she's not a totally new slate for Chile. She does represent the ruling coalition, which has been in power since the end of the Pinochet regime in 1990 and her popularity was certainly boosted by the success of the current government, whose policies mean Chile now has one of the fastest growing economies in the region. But, for all that, she has done something no other women has done before, something quite extraordinary, by representing those in Chile who regard themselves as ordinary.

Airs and graces

Well, Buenos Aires might mean good airs and certainly there's a lot of great things to be said about the Argentine capital. We had a fun few days there and managed to cram in a fair amount, from the tourist spots like la Casa Rosada - which was used in the film Evita, and was the place from which Eva Peron addressed her 'dear' people -- to visiting an Argentine naval frigate that sailed around the world 39 times between 1899 and 1939 and was built in Birkenhead. It was a beautiful boat and am including a picture. In fact, wandering around there reminding me of Grandad because there were maps showing routes across the Atlantic and round South America, and of course the boat was born only a few miles away from where we were. I also managed to get a fair bit of shopping in, thanks to the weakness of the currency and the retail strength of my friend Marcia, who was over for a couple days and works in the embassy in Santiago. I gave up not eating beef, because you can't really go to Argentina and not eat lomo if you're a non-veggie. Actually it was good, but the following morning I rather regretted the fact we had eaten so late as beef does tend to be a bit heavy on the tummy. Better still was the fabulous wine, which was matched only on the tasty front by the men...yummy; nothing like a bit of window shopping. The weather was pretty odd. A couple of the days were almost unbearably hot with humidity like I have rarely experienced and then there were nights of massive thunder storms, incessant rain and quite terrifying noise and light shows. However, it was a great experience and it's much more buenos than malos aires. So, here is a pic of yours' truly outside the Casa Rosada (which means Pink House). And, next posting, I promise I'll attach some more pix of our trip down south over New Year. My feet have stopped being itchy for the moment, which is good news. Hasta la vista.
xxx

Good winds

I will update my blog with some more news soon, but have decided to listen to my itchy feet once again. As events here seem like they will be overshadowed for some time by stories about Sharon (and am not talking about the Sharon and Tracey kind), Jon and I are taking advantage of a cheap deal to go to Buenos Aires...which means good winds. I am not sure what kind of winds exactly will be emanating from said city, but I will repeat on whether I agree with that description when I get back. Have had a great thought...how about a wedding loop blog?

Christmas ramblings

Where to start....? So much has happened since I last wrote anything of note. But, I will try and summarise as best as I can. I had a fair bit of work in the run up to Christmas, including a trip up to the mountains outside of the capital to do some research for a piece I am writing on ski homes in Chile (quite hard to write it as it's not ski season at the moment, but of course it is in Europe and North America and the person who commissioned the piece wanted a balanced look at what's on offer across the world). The mountains are only about 30 km from Santiago and even though they are on the doorstep of the city, it's a very different world. Old wooden chalet type houses, men with their traditional broad-brimmed hats leading horses weighed down with wood. On the day before Christmas Eve, Jon and I went with a friend from the embassy to a party held by some of her friends. It was strange dancing to Christmas music and celebrating the festive season outside in the warm (I don't think I'll ever get used to it), but the party was great fun and quite a lot was drunk and we ended up in the swimming pool. I was still quite sober, because I had a big day on the 24th -- although my definition of 'big' might not match any or yours'. I joined about eighty of the other members of the running club and we ran to the virgin on the San Cristobal hill overlooking Santiago. It was pretty tough going as the temperatures were already soaring by mid-morning. After we finished the hour and a half run, we congregated at the bottom and had beer and Christmas cake and took photos....really good fun. Christmas Day was quiet. Jon and I cooked turkey and although we couldn't find all the trimmings, it was a nice meal and a real pleasure to have it outside. I've attached a photo and one of the amazing sunset we had on Christmas Eve. I'll continue with my Christmas-New Year adventures soon, but am beginning to feel guilty about not having finished some work, so I'll love you and leave you for now....

Happy New Year

Loads to write and mention, but am very busy doing some work, so for now I just wanted to wish everyone a happy 2006 and I'll be back blogging very soon and update you with all that I've been doing. Lots of love,
Me
xxx