NYC, USA

Well, I'm back in my belovéd patria, and though I'm experiencing some reverse culture shock/unpleasant reminders of my past lifestyle, it is wonderful to be home in the city. My first two days in the New York were spent showing Katrina around my corners of the city. We did some Brooklyn touring, some downtown Manhattan touring, and even saw a Broadway show. It was such a treat to walk around my favorite places with one of my favorite people.

Though I'm a little more settled in, I'm still having trouble adjusting to New York City in December. When I left Santiago, it was about 30 degrees centigrade, and I was feeling quite comfortable in my Chilean life. Now, it's about 2 degrees centigrade, and everything feels extremely expensive and some things even feel excessive. I'm very reluctant to buy food that I don't need; to take the train ($2.25!); and to talk on the phone because I'm used to having a crappy pay-as-you-go phone that no one ever called or texted. I was particularly shocked by the amount of amount of fruit that is available: In Santiago, my host mom, Alejandra, never bought fruit that wasn't in season, and the fruit that was available was not the best quality because Chile exports all their good fruit to the United States. Such are our privileges in the world super power. And though I always knew this, the reality becomes more painful as I happily travel back and forth between the dominant and the dominated, connecting with people in both places, and wishing that exploitation didn't permeate the definition of our differences.

Since I am back in New York City, I will probably be blogging less, though I will post any updates that some might find interesting. Now that I have computer access, I'll also post some pictures from my Chilean adventures.