happy birthday, momma!!!

A brief update:
-i had my first day back at school yesterday in almost 20 days. But it didn't last long. Today class was cancelled because there was a paro nacional (a strike) but for once i was not a total bum and instead I downloaded hundreds of articles from reserveweb from the classes I wish I was taking at Bard and read a bunch of them on my own. It's great to read and learn just for myself and without it having to be assigned.
-I went to a club down the street from my house this weekend and it was great and funny and there was no reggeaton and boys could kiss boys and they just played pulp and blur and the strokes and no doubt and jay-z and i pretended that i was back in high school and sang along to every word with these three amazing chilean boys I met who danced just like me or dare i say it better and with no shame. and they promised they would take me out this friday and soon i'm pretty sure we'll all be best friends.
-the 18th was fun. It's their 4th of July / Veterans Day / Biggest Holiday of the Year and lasts for 4 or 5 days straight. The main focus is consuming insane amounts of meat on sticks called anticuchos and meat-packed empanadas while drinking a sweet homemade wine called chicha that you can buy in the street in recycled bottles for 1000 pesos or less and dancing the traditional dance of chile, La Cueca, a pretty silly dance where you kind of pretend you're a rooster and shake a handkercheif in the air at your partner. Jorge and Marisol threw a party for the house on Friday night before the 18th and the rest of the weekend we went to various fondas (the name for any party that includes chicha, queca, or 18th related activities) some of which were gigantic, i guess equivalent of state fairs in the states. I even found a vegetarian fonda but couldn't persuade anyone to check it out with me and didn't end up going. In general it was really fun and I was really glad I stayed in Chile for the weekend but for the 18th itself, the big day we'd all been waiting for since the moment our planes landed in the country, absolutely nothing happened. After a beautiful weekend, it rained all day and was really gloomy. Everything was closed obviously but that included most bars too and the streets were kind of dead and we all ended up just calling it quits at midnight and going to bed. Not exactly what I was expecting for the biggest holiday in Chile but I guess everyone just talks about the whole weekend in general as the 18th and not just the day itself.
-Snapfish doesn't work so I'm still having trouble getting any pictures up. maybe someday
-It is almost three, why am i awake writing this?