What to do when the beautiful girlfriend is out of town and you want to kill some time? Well, if you have worked enough on everything you’re supposed to be doing you take a walk downtown and catch Nicole Holofcener’s Friends with Money (2006) at the Embarcadero Landmark, of course!
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Earthquakes, fires, and a history as one of the more remote and poor colonies have meant that Chile’s capital does not have the lasting colonial grandeur that other Latin American capitals might have. The city is large, but not imposing. The mountains hang over the whole city, a point of reference for everyone when giving directions—to get downtown from where I’m staying I was told to “go away from the mountains through Parque Bustamante, take a left when you get to Providenciaâ€. It’s late fall here, and yellow and red leaves are falling from the trees. Mornings are cold when I go catch the metro to go to work, and it’s dark by 5:30.
Vivimos en un barrio en plena evolución, eso esta claro. Sigue teniendo ese tinte industrial que le dan los negocios de reparación de lunas de coche y las naves de almacén. Pero entre ellas se están erigiendo edificios residenciales. El parque de béisbol (mejor llamarlo Mays Field) ha cambiado las cosas, seguro, pero como no estábamos aquà antes no sabemos decir cómo.
Este es un artÃculo (en Inglés) que habla de las decisiones que entran en la renovación de edificios como los que se encuentran justo al otro lado de la calle: SAN FRANCISCO / A mere veneer of history / There’s an art to converting an old building while keeping its soul. Te hace pensar en lo que consideramos urbanismo, en quién decide lo que se construye, dónde y cómo.
A propósito, el 8 de Julio se inaugura la biblioteca del barrio. Lo dicho, en evolución …
We live in a developing neighborhood, that’s for sure. It still feels industrial, with auto glass repair shops and large warehouses that stand curiously watching residences come up around them. The ballpark (Mays Field, please) has made things different, I am sure, but we weren’t here before to judge what that change amounted to.
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I’m writing this post from the Atlanta Airport, while I wait for my flight to Santiago, Chile. I’ve been travelling a lot lately, for work, mostly visiting schools around the country. In April I went to Idaho, and in May I’ve been to Chicago, Atlanta, Tennessee, and now I’m on my way to Chile. It feels like I’m finishing my full-time status at my job before starting my Ph.D. program with a whirlwind of more work rather than less.
I enjoy and dislike work travel at the same time. Of course, this trip is more fun, because it’s a new country, I get to visit my friend and roomate from Stanford, and the work is actually pretty interesting and enjoyable as well. I enjoy the reflective space of being alone sometimes, of having time to write and read. But it’s hard to be away from home so much-and gets harder, as my home life gets richer and more complete. It’s hard to get home, unpack, and pack another suitcase 4 or 5 days later. It leaves little time for hobbies at home. Makes seeing friends and family, and keeping connected with the people I love, a bit more rushed.
Travelling also makes me appreciate home life and the small things we do together so much more, like our baseball night on Monday. Juanjo got tickets that afternoon, and I caught an early enough train home to catch the game. The seats were great (kind of protected from the cold winds that are always blowing over night baseball games in San Francisco!) and the Giants beat the Cardinals (though number 715 from Bonds didn’t contribute to the win).
Of course, all the travel changes in August. I’ll be in classes, working half-time, and spending a lot more time at home reading, writing, reading, and writing some more as I work on my Ph.D. at Berkeley. I bet I’ll write a post then saying how much I miss getting away!
