Chile

That´s Carlos on the left. He´s got skills...English skills, Spanish teaching skills, Futbol skills, Dancing skills. The chicas like Carlos because of his skills. So do we.

Carlos is one of the 25-30 kids of the aforementioned ¨Black Sheep¨ posse that we hung out with in Pichilemu...a group that I feel compelled to write something about. After the beach party, they invited us the next day to play futbol in the afternoon and then to a house party at night. So we rocked up to their place at 11:30pm expecting the place to be full of drunk kids and puke all over the ground. Instead, we were treated to a massive BBQ feast that they were just finishing preparing. Who dines like this at midnight?! I would have been less surprised if they were huddled in the corner shooting up on heroin.

The events that unfolded that night are pretty much trivial. We dined, chatted, Andrew gave a nice toast to show our appreciation, and then we danced the whole night. Well, they danced...I don´t think in comparison what we were doing classifies as dancing. And although I usually despise dancing, I can freely admit that it was an incredible night.

These kids are actually classmates who just finished high school and were taking a few days vacation to celebrate. They live 4 hours northeast in Rancagua and practically everyone one of them invited us to stay with them when we loop back to the area in early January. I think this whole encounter sticks out to me because I have a generally bad impression of high school kids back in Canada. I love this age bracket but I cringe at the plethora of punkass kids I´m accustomed to at home. And although there´s a good chance they´re just as abundant here in Chile, this group at least reset my stereotypes and refreshed my senses for a while. It´s nearly a week later and I still feel humbled by them. They weren´t goodie two-shoes by any stretch of the imagination. There was just something about their character that was inspiring. Something about their graciousness. Something about their energy. Something about them virtually including us into their private vacation and selflessly putting us to the forefront. Something I wouldn´t expect from 17-18 year olds back home.

One of them wants to be lawyer. One a nurse. Most have no idea where they´re going next year, not even sure if it will be university or something else. Carlos wants to study history and politics. We´re already starting his campaign for presidency. Vote for Carlos.

Andrew´s burnt. Pete´s run out of clean underwear. I´ve stopped shaving already. The fridge in the cabin we´re renting contains 2 cans of beer and 1 leftover sausage. And last night we were the guests of honour at a beach party hosted by a large group of 17-18 year old local kids who call their posse "Black Sheep". Yea, it feels pretty good to be on the road again.

Some random stuff:

We were standing on a bus a couple of days ago and a clown got on. For those who don´t know, I am terrified of clowns. Anyways, the clown and this other lady started performing some skit and afterwards were asking around for tips. I couldn´t even look at the clown and he kept tapping me on my shoulder, freaking the hell out of me (Pete and Andrew meanwhile were pissing themselves laughing). I ended up just getting off the bus. Damn clowns.

In Valparaiso (and I´m guessing in many parts down here), there are gangs of wild dogs. It´s pretty crazy watching them at night. They all congregate and move around in a pack, barking voraciously and practically summoning more dogs from out of the shadows to join them. I haven´t been attacked yet but I have stepped in doggy doo...twice. Damn dogs.

We stayed with a family in Valparaiso. Their 6 year old daughter Sofia is incredibly extraverted and social. Anyways, we were just lounging in their yard taking photos and she became fascinated with my camera. I let her play with it and 20 minutes and 150 photos later, she had quite the collection to show. It´s really neat seeing photographs from a child´s perspective. Their height and inability to hold a camera straight makes for some really fascinating shots. As soon as I get a chance, I´m gonna post some of her photos. I reckon they are more interesting than mine so far.

Currently in Pichilemu, Chile.