un milagro de Dios

For the past two days, it has rained in Santiago. It has not rained in Chile since I've been here. The skies were gray and smoggy, the contamination was insupportable, and there was a general air of gloominess and frustration in the city. Until Wednesday. Everyone was grateful for the rain, especially me, but the city was a mess. Streets were flooded, and ruined in the case of the unpaved roads, were dirt and debris flowed as freely as the rainwater. Because not all the bus shelters that were promised by Transantiago have been built, hundreds of people had to wait outside in the rain. In some cases, people had to be individually wheeled from curb to bus on triciclos (three-wheeled carts) because the roads were too flooded to walk on. I stayed in my room, under my covers, typing pages and pages of final papers and exams.

But now I am done! And today, the sun came out, and the Cordillera is covered in snow, and the air is fresh, and the city is beautiful. I finished my last paper this morning and turned it in, and once I finish this entry I am going to run around Santiago trying to see some of the sights I missed. I feel terrible, because there is no way I'm going to be able to catch everything, and it's a real shame to come all the way here and not see some of the city's most famous monuments. But I know I'll be coming back sometime soon, so there'll always be another chance to see the Mercado Central, or the Cementario General, or the Museo de Salvador Allende. Today I think I'm going to try to catch La Moneda, the presidential palace; Cerro San Cristobal, a hill that overlooks the entire city (finally, it's the perfect day, the skies are blue and the smog is not obstructing the mountain view); and Villa Grimaldi, the site of tortures and killings under the Pinochet era that has been transformed into a monument for peace. And I still need to try some of Santiago's famous ice cream at the chain store Bravissimo. And buy souvenirs for my family. And have one last Pisco Sour... it's going to be a busy afternoon.