Cuidad del Amor

Sorry to hear that Massachusetts is swimming in snow-- I'd happily send up some of this heat if I could. I'll bring some when I come back!

Have I mentioned recently how much I love travel? Last night, one of the hostel workers grabbed a bunch of alcohol and and told anyone who wandered by to come drink. I met a dozen new friends, talking late into the night, two of whom told me to stay at their houses when I next visit London and Germany.

I spent some time getting Santiago under my feet over the past two days. The city is peppered with parks, tripping over its trees, peddling in pedestrian bridges. And there are couples everywhere: smooching in the Metrored, or humping in the parques, or holding each other on the sidewalk-- I can only guess what they do behind closed doors! Don't these Chileans have any decency??? Not even in Verona have I seen such public affection. And I saw them everywhere drinking in the (ample) nightlife or just enjoying each others company.

A bar near my hostel in the student-heavy Barrio Brazil was blasting a Spanish version of the Pixies "Where is My Mind?". Dogs share the streets, in couples as often as the humans. There are minimarts and convenience stands on every corner, and food (stands, holes in the wall, tables outside) everywhere. And the whole place is also rather... pungent.

Yesterday I hit up the Precolumbian Archeology Museum, which was having a temporary exhibit on Sexo y Poder y Muerte (sex, power, and death) in Moche society. So I got to look at little stone figurines engaging in all manner of positions.

Santiago's other great love appears to be shopping. The city center is a maze of stores spilling into the sidewalks, . I went to my two favorite treasure troves of culture: the grocery store (very little readymade food; I had to try checking out three times as two of my three purchases needed little custom cost stickers) and the sex store (The biggest of the three I found had more dildos than I've ever seen in my life! Also in vogue appear to be underwear shaped into animal faces-- I must get myself a pair.)

Today I'm headed to the culture-hyped port town Valparaíso. Pictures uploading...

Travels in Life

One of the powers of travel-- or maybe it's of truered's book-- is that it makes you think about the direction of your life. I told a friend recently that what I wanted in life more than anything-- more than enlightenment or good friends or incredible experiences-- was to leave it a better place than I found it. But instead over the past two years, I've spent my time chasing after women, spending gobs of money and time to start a travel blog business, and spending more to see the world. And for what? To better be a person, to make something cool, to understand the world? It's all dry-runs; practicing instead of doing. I'm the only one to benefit. And for all the fun I get out of my contract work, it's just fun; I can't take pride in it, because it's isn't helping anyone.

There are a million ways my skills could go towards making this world a better place. I have a project already made to help college students find host homes in swing states so they can change the political sphere. My aunt is bringing infrastructure and computers to the wilds of Costa Rica. One Laptop Per Child needs skilled programmers. And if all else fails, there's always Pakistani schools.

I've been thinking of where to go when I leave Cambridge. Prague has a huge appeal. It's a place for artists, and people who live life as art. We are all artists, desperately trying to manifest our deepest selves, and let our art shine so that someone else will want to share its glow. That (translated, distilled, reduced) was the understanding that came from my recent acid trip.

Now I disagree. Life is love, and a love of art is to mistake the finger pointing for the object it's pointing at. Loving is easy; I don't want to love my art-- I'd rather love children in third-world countries.

Of course, I won't totally give up life as art. It's too much a part of me. Or for that matter give up chasing women (especially not in this lovely country) or my travel blog (it will be great and useful) or travel (it continues to serve me well). But Prague? I'm more likely to move to Africa.

Pictures from Santiago

Here are pictures from my last two days in Santiago.

Happy House Hostel	Political Mosaic	Santiago Cathedral	Church in Barrio Brazil
Santa Lucia "Castle"	Santiago from Santa Lucia	Santa Lucia Park	Penis Drinking Cup

My hostel has really cool atmosphere-- crazy wood work everywhere, bamboo and candles; the public computer is sitting in a rock garden.

The Penis Drinking Cup is a neat invention (I couldn't take pictures in the museum, so it's from their book). The holes in the crown make it so you have to drink from the tip.