Chilean Independence Day was September 18th and what a week it's been. The week is practically a national week off. Not much work was completed on the house but a smart person resigns themselves to the inevitable and joins asados and festivals and rodeos. Not easy but somebody has to do it.
We attended Valentina's school program celebrating the culture and history of Chile. And of course, it was wonderful and adorable. Really, the kids were great. To the right is children in cuaca dance attire. Even the very youngest performed-the teacher was on stage coaxing the children along.
Chile has really pretty children. They just look so healthy-maybe fresh fruits and vegetables help-and happy. They tend to look European but a couple at an asado(a-sod-o/barbeque) have a blonde blue eyed child that could be from my family. She looks exactly like my niece Katie at that age. Her parents look like they could be from Boulder or Oregon until they speak-the Spanish is not gringo-spanish!The grocery stores filled to the brim as preparation for the holidays continued. Jumbo circulars were passed out at the corners and dropped into the yard. I read that the cars leaving Santiago on Friday stretched for miles. The weekend had a holiday atmosphere with the normal September kite flying greatly increased. People in Chile love kites. They are sold on every available street corner and park. The kites are mostly small and cheap-and since 5 have landed in our back yard-I understand their thinking.
Kite sales are brisk at this local park. A small customer has Dad to help him choose. You won't be surprised when I say the dads buy kites for themselves as much as the kids! Yes, even here, the guys are big kids. With fiberglass line, a clever fellow can cut the line of any competing kite flyers.
The other photo shows the kite salesman's "fleta" parked under the tree. , which have a very large basket in front, are used widely by the feria(street fair) people, delivery people, and other merchants. There are no bike or fleta lanes-people seem to patiently go around them.
People fly kites in the street, in the their small back yards, in the parks or any empty lot they can find.
