Some Yvytu Ytati Technology
Written on February 8, 2009
Context – Where I am Right Now
Villarica, Chile. Sitting in the patio – which is what they call their yard – of Hector and Irma’s guest home. “Tourist homes,” they called them when we were kids, before there were freeways and but few motels. People took in tourists to supplement their income and we’d look for “Tourist Rooms” signs on the road to my mother’s relatives’ home in Minnesota. We’ve spend this day coming down from our overnight bus ride from Santiago, which left us exhausted.
Where We’ve Been the Last Few Days
Sometimes magic happens. We’ve just spent almost a week in Santiago, our growing friendship with the Guzman’s a greater focus of our attention than Santiago tourism. This friendship is a rare experience, and to hear the Guzman’s, it’s as rare for them as for us. It began when we were having dinner in Mendoza Argentina at the other foot of the Andes. Luis and Vivian were at the next table in the restaurant with their daughters Carolina, age almost 18 and Maria Ignacia age 15. They struck up a conversation with us, and we’ve become increasingly closer friends since. We left a set of true and fast friends in santiago. We also met Carlos and Maruja, Vivian’s parents – he’s a retired Chilean army colonel – and her sisters Carolina – an art historian and author – and I forget the name of her other sister. It’s been very intense, and Rebecca will no doubt describe it in a forthcoming post. I’ll talk about it too – probably for years to come.
Some Gaucho Technology
Meanwhile my mind is back a few weeks ago in Yvytu Ytati, in la patria gaucha, the Gaucho homeland, near Tacuarembó Uruguay. Rebecca has written about our great experience with Nahir and Pedro and their son Juan and their hired man, Carlos. While there I also feasted my curiosity on certain facts about how Pedro and Nahir managed their ranch. These included fencing, water, electricity, and waste water. (more…)
