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Pucôn

Pucôn is a small town in southern Chile (about 10 hours from Santiago) that sits upon the eastern end of one of the many lakes in this region. It is in my opinion Chile´s repsonse to Lake Tahoe. It is smaller and there is only one casino, but the log cabins that line the water look like they belong on a postcard. The downtown consists of the main road filled with boutiques, cafes, and most importantly the tourist agencies. There are over twenty tourist agencies here and it seems impossibel to know which one to go with. The volcano that looms in the distance is actually active and is climbed everyday by many tourists who want to see the boiling lava quietly spurting from the whole. I, who am not as adventurous as I would like to think, will not be climbing up the 5 hour hike in the snow to the volcano peak. I am going to take a horsebackriding tour to a waterfall instead. But for those who read this adn want some adventure, there is plenty in this town to be had. Today, I chose to hike up to the monastary that overlooks the town. It was beautiful and empty. I basically had this wonderful courtyard to myself with not another person in sight. So I put a worship cd in my walkman and worshiped at the top of my lungs. A beautiful city.


Now on a wierd but personal note. Some recent incidences here (all in Chile and not having to do with anyone in California) has brought some bitterness in my heart toward men. I know I am not supposed to be bitter, and the I should not hold anger in my heart, but it is becoming more and more clear that I will not be able to trust most men here. maybe this is te culture shock that I didn´t think I was experiencing, but in anycase, I am trying to not judge all men. I think part of the problem is that most of the men I have met here are not Christians, and I am used to a certain level of decent behavior, and a certain way of showing intentions. It doesn´t exist here. the few Christians I have met, have been a bit better than the others, so I need to reember that before I judge. Okay, the venting time is done. Just whoever reads this, if you can keep my heart in prayer.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I think you may be over-reacting to the latino culture and its emphasis on machismo. But since I don't the details, I can't tell for sure. There are some cultures where its expected that men will comment on women's bodies as they walk down the street (the men may think the women want this kind of behavior, and some women may also like it). I experienced this kind of behavior a lot as a young girl in NYC (now you know who the writer is!) and hated it.

perhaps you could ask some local women what's considered normal, and how to respond to it? or perhaps i'm totally off-base, and what you're referring to is entirely different...

in any case, don't forget that there will be good people mixed in with the obnoxious in every culture. but you may also be responding from a particular cultural bias that has you interpreting people's actions as indicating much worse characters than the individuals deserve.

feel free to tell me more details over email if you don't want to post them online

love, mom
9:42 PM
beckalippy said…
Yeah, and as one of my dear friends pointed out my "culture" for the last four years has benn SLO, Cal Poly, which is just filled with extremely decent people who are very... I don{t know. i am just sick of guys. just sick of them and I think i need to just make one of two good guy friends who are not interested in my body or the fact that I am blonde. But yeah, not all the guys are bad, there just happens to be a good number of those here.
I love you mom
7:58 PM
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