Valparaíso and Viña

¡Hola amigos!

I realized recently that I have lots of pictures of places I've been, and very few of the place I live. Here are a few pics of Valparaíso and Viña, of things I see every day. ¡Disfrutense!

Welcome to the Market. This building sits right next to the Casa Central, and just across the street from the ISA office. It has been around for more than a century, and many of the employees are 2nd and 3rd generation. For a class project we had to interview someone that worked at the market. My partner and I ended up talking to the president, a very nice gentleman about 65 years old. I now know more about the market than I ever wanted to.

If Gord Sloan came to Valparaíso, this is where you would find him. You can buy meat, fruit, vegetables, bulk olives, and a whole lot more. Everything comes directly from the farms the morning of, and is all very fresh.

Lemons.

Artichokes, six for a buck. I don´t know what that yellow thing is.

The Casa Central of the Catolica. The market sits one block to the right of this photo. In the back left corner of the picture, you can sort of see a large department store called "Jumbo." It is the Chilean equivalent of Target (there's also a Wal-Mart equivalent called "Lider") and it is rediculously big, opulent, and American.

The "front yard" of my house. On the left is a 10 foot concrete wall (painted yellow with a large green double door big enough to accomodate a car). I took this picture standing on the driveway.

The dining room. I took this photo from the door that leads to the kitchen. To the right of the photo this room turns into a living room with couches and chairs. Out the window is the front yard.

My room. It's actually quite spacious and get's lovely light in the morning. To the right of the photo is my closet and to the left is a desk with lots of clutter.

The view out my window. I can actually see the ocean in the other direction, but this picture is more representative.

The Chilean flag. I put this up after the soccer game, and not only is it cool to have a Chilean flag in my room, I also don't have to look at the painting behind it. (See next photo.)

Ain't it a beauty? I don't even want to know what it's supposed to represent.

I borrowed this pic of the Inti-Illimani concert from a friend.

The beach in Viña.

Francisco.

La gata, Pascualina. I don't usually like cats, and this one is no exception. She meows outside my door at all hours of the night, and sometimes climbs in through the window of my room when I'm sleeping and then meows to get OUT again.

And finally, in stark contrast to the dear old US of A, politically correct simply does not exist in Chile.

ya me voy, Andrius