Circle of Vida

Vida: "vee-duh" n. Life

A low key week on a high note!
I didn't do any international traveling this week nor did I jump off any rocks or trot up a mountain on a horse. I did, however, have many good things happen that I would typically take for granted.

Mural on the exterior of the Parque Violeta Parra

First of all, I received my first Chilean grade (it's about time!). In my Valparaíso History, Literature, and Film course I received a 7 on my first test (which was a literary exam about the book Lanchas en la Bahía by Manuel Rojas)!! For you confuzzled Americans, Chileans grade on a 7 point scale, with 7 translating roughly to an A or A+. To celebrate the end of the unit we had a fun class this week where we went to the beach at Playa Ancha and hiked up the cerro a bit to the Parque de los Artes Violeta Parra, a little field and garage-turned-dance-studio where we learned some mambo and other dance moves accompanied by a live drummer, all with a huge view of the ocean through the open garage door.  I haven't seen a dance studio in months so this was particularly exciting for me to be able to dance with an instructor. They hold free, open sessions for the community every Saturday morning that can draws up to fifty or sixty people and I'm considering going. They even had trapese equipment hanging...a new adventure?
I also was finally able to go to the beach in shorts and flip flops and I even laid out in my swimsuit on the balcony of my house a few times on my own. It's not 80, but it's not 40 anymore at least! Winter is a very short but incredibly painful season with no instant hot water and no indoor heat here which makes you appreciate spring that much more. After living in New Orleans for the past few years, the in-between seasons like Spring and Fall are more or less ignored or completely unnoticeable, so it's great to see blossoms and the slow progression to short sleeves (not shorts quite yet, a definite "stupid gringo" indicator (host moms here widely and quite seriously believe that illness is caused by cold, sockless feet and wet hair).
I'm really enjoying my Juegos Mapuches course (indigenous games). We meet on the beach every Thursday morning for class and learn a variety of Mapuche games. This week we played the Mapuche version of dodgeball which throws in a couple more rules about how to get back into the game once you're out. Next we we return to Linau, the more intense co-ed Mapuche version of rugby...let's just reiterate that the last time we played at least six of us left bleeding or injured.
Lastly, I just returned from seeing "Rey León" aka Lion King in 3D. The Lion King was the movie of my childhood, of my generation, and to see it in such digitally remastered clarity and to be able to understand it in another language (every single song was translated as well) was a defining moment for me. It was a way of showing me that I've grown not only in age but in intellect and the Lion King has grown right alongside me. The thing that struck me most in the translations was that the "Circle of Life" became the "Ciclo Sin Fin," or "Cycle Without End."