¡Feliz año nuevo!

First of all, Happy New Year to all of you. May 2010 bring you all the success you need, and to your loved ones.
Sadly, I have some news I want to share with you. Lately, it has been very hard to keep up with photoblogging. First, I had my final exams which were very hard, yet I managed to pass them very well, then I have my moving which is still taking place, and next year, I'm taking another big step of my life: starting my thesis (actually, in order to graduate I have to write 2 theses). Even though photography is something I am enjoying a lot, and actually being encouraged by my loved ones to keep doing (which I will do no matter what), I have other things that need to be taken care of.
Anyways, this doesn't mean I'll drift away from the CDP family. I will continue to comment regularly on your blogs, and I'll keep my other blog open to update with photos of the upcoming new stage in my life (and there'll be more photos on my Flickr account).
It's been a pleasure to have met you all, and this is not a good bye at all, because we'll keep in touch through comments.
Best wishes for 2010!

The photo above is one of the Hyatt Hotel at night. It reminds me of mosaics.

Headless angel?

A curious "headless" (at least from this perspective) stands from the City Hall. I have a rather demotivating piece of news, but I'll save it for later. For the time, let's enjoy the decorations.

¡Feliz Navidad! Merry Christmas! Feliz Natal! Wesołych Świąt!

I'm not exactly a believer, but it's interesting how a festivity like this one (or other that are similars to this one) has been part of the "collective unconscious" of human beings. May everyone have Happy Holidays! Best of success for all of you in the upcoming year.

Renkli Rüyalar

One of the problems this year has been the lack of Christmas decoration in public spaces. Sure, there is the typical Christmas rush on the street (which is a demotivating factor to go out), but it feels like you have to do a scavenger hunt to look for Christmas decoration... probably because of the Presidential election. This for sure, has made me not feeling like taking photos, and in addition, I'm starting my moving quite soon.

Anyways, the title of today's post means "Colourful dreams" in Turkish (it comes from a song I like) because it reflects the feeling of this photo: artwork made with the help of children from all over Santiago, and they are reflecting their dreams and interests.

Now, as I have promised, the recipe for Cola de Mono (from Comolohago.cl)

Ingredients:

1. 1 liter of milk.
2. 1 cup of sugar.
3. 1 tea spoon of vanilla essence.
4. 1 cup of aguardiente (Chilean aguardiente! It can be replaced with Grappa, or even Tequila, but I haven't tried with the last one).
5. 1 tea spoon of instant coffee (or you can prepare strong coffee).
6. Cloves (optional and depends on your taste).
7. Cinnamon (hopefully full- optional and depends on your taste.
   

Add the milk to a pot where the ingredients will be mixed, then add the cup of sugar, cloves, cinnamon, and the vanilla essence, and begin to stir over a low flame. When everything is mixed, leave it until it boils (be aware of it because it'll have a small layer). After it gets a bit colder, prepare the coffee with boiling water it, and stir it. Then pour it on the mix, and pour the aguardiente. After that, get a bottle, and place a funnel and a strainer, so that lumps are eliminated and pour it on the bottle. Then, place the bottle on the fridge. Serve cold with some ice.

Christmas Concert Fireworks

Last Saturday, there was a Christmas Concert at Escuela Militar. It was during a rather warm Summer night, and different songs were performed (though not many Christmas carols... actually a good thing because I don't like them, hehe). The biggest surprise, though, were fireworks. Buying fireworks for personal use is illegal in Chile due to the many accidents people had in the past, so only certified businesses can buy and put up a fireworks show.
Next post, I'll attach the recipe for Cola de Mono.

Cola de Mono

Again, I'm really sorry for the lack of updates, but it's been a tough week. Anyways, here is a glass of a typical Christmas Drink in Chile. Sure, Egg nog or mulled wine are very popular in some countries, but Chile has its own typical Christmas drink suited for the time of the year. It is called "Cola de Mono" (Monkey Tail) and it has milk, coffee, cloves, whole cinnamon, and an important ingredient... Aguardiente ("Firewater", alcoholic drink which is similar to Grappa. This one is entirely homemade!). It is served cold, and with some ice.

Elections in Chile

Outside the place I had to vote, at Colegio Adventista in Las Condes. It was 10:05 which was rather early, but you already see long queues, and they are expected to be longer and more tedious because of the warm weather. If you are registered to vote, you are expected to vote in every election though the law will be changed and there'll be an automatic registry with a voluntary vote. If you notice closely, you'll see that there are only males. Why? Women can vote in Chile since 1949, and the registry was kept as it was, so our politicians had the idea to make separate places of voting: for men and for women. Even though for our standards it is a sexist idea, it helps politicians because they can know the voting trends for women and men.
I highly doubt that, whoever wins the election (in first or second round), things will change for the majority of people. Public services will still be tedious, there'll be problems with security, most people will continue watching Trash TV the day after, and investment for culture, education, sport, and technology will still be under 5% of the Chilean GPD.