Chile

So this post is long, long overdue. Chile's earthquake was almost a month ago.

Then again, they've felt over 300 aftershocks since then, and they're still happening.

When the earthquake in Haiti happened, it was absolutely horrifying. But because I have never been to Haiti, there remained a kind of distance between me and what was happening. I never walked the streets of Port au Prince myself. There was very little chance that I knew any of those people buried under the rubble. It was a nightmare, but it wasn't...personal.

But Chile...I was in Santiago and Valparaiso less than a year ago. I keep looking at my blog posts from spring break...and it's a rough experience. I just keep trying to match up my memories with the idea of hospitals being moved into parking lots because none of the buildings are stable anymore.

I've always planned to go back to Chile someday, for an extended trip. And I know that I still will. But it's strange to think that the country will be different. Oh, I always knew that it would change, countries are always changing. But I figured it would be because of urbanization and politics. Not a natural disaster. It's a disconcerting thought.

One of the places in Santiago that I visited was this beautiful park, Cerro Santa Lucía. Here are some pictures I took last April-May.






And here's a video of Cerro Santa Lucía now. The music is kind of bizarre and the handheld is annoying, but it gives a decent idea.

My mind just keeps going to the night that I hung out with the guys that ran my hostel in Valparaiso. I happened to have been there on one of their birthdays, Pablo's, and we all drank together and went dancing in an underground club.

What happened to that club? What happened to the hostel? What happened to Pablo?

Hopefully everyone is okay. Valparaiso wasn't hit as bad as places like Santiago, Talca and Constitución. But I still wonder. And I'm afraid.