Rain!!

How lovely the sound! We are so incredibly happy it is raining! Now, that may sound silly, but it isn't. We haven't had rain in Santiago since March (when our friend the Malaviyas were here). That is a VERY long time to go without rain in a smog pit. When it stops raining and the sky finally clears (baruch hashem), we are going to be able to breathe and see and do all those normal things that other mortals do everyday. On top of that, we hear that we will be able to see the lovely (now) snow covered Andes that loom over us invisibly most of the rest of the time.

Do I sound a little dark? Well, let's just say that it was hard to come back here after being in Argentina. We were thrilled to get back to the kids -- three days was almost a day too long for us! But, ugly, dark, smokey Santiago itself wasn't all that inviting. If you are planning to visit us, I do not recommend May until August. The other reason that I found myself unwilling to return has more to do with culture. Chile is weird, is the shortest way to put it. While we were in Argentina, we felt like we were in a Latin America that was happy to be Latin American. Check out the Chileno blog, as he explains is very clearly -- Chile seems to have more of an identity complex. It doesn't really want to be part of South America. Like any identity repressed, it comes out in all sorts of twisted and not fun ways. The thing that bothers me the most is that the rich folks are even nastier/snobbier/ruder than they are in other places. Of course, after eight months, I can't speak definitively on the Chilean people nor after three days can I speak definitively on the Argentine people -- but I can't help but have my impressions. Rich Chileans make you feel like the scum they just wiped off their boots; or, I should say, they act like you should feel like the scum they just wiped off their boots, whether you feel that way or not (I do not -- I have a healthy middle American sense of self and sense of guilt at the same time). Entitlement does not even begin to cover it. What I saw and felt and met among the Argentines was self-contentedness, joy and enjoyment in their own ways, but not any sneering superiority - the kind that we bump into regularly from Chileans. (Not our friends of course, just most people on the street, in the stores, in cars, and in airports!)

Okay, now I am sounding very discontented. In general, Chile is a fabulous first post for us -- we speak Spanish, we can drink the water and find most of our favorite foods and the kids have been relatively satisfied and comfortable here (forgetting the bullying for a second). I guess I am really ready (emotionally) for a visit back to the states. Preparation-wise, I am not ready AT ALL. I haven't even started to feel overwhelmed (saving that for the weekend)! In nine days we get on the plane for a five and a half week trip. I better start to think about it.

In the meantime, Aidan is now down with some nasty bug, possibly the flu (fever, sore throat, cough) and home from school. He seems to be coping with classical music, tea and good books. You gotta admire good taste!