I promise a short post today. I usually think this whenever I open a blank template to fill in with words and color for whomever you are out there reading this and relating to it in some way, as is ever the hope with what I write (be it fiction or nonfiction). As with most everything I write, I usually end up with a lot more of those words. This go around, I’m true to, well, my word.

The poet. On the mural-ed wall on the street leading up to La Chascona,  Pablo Neruda’s Santiago Casa.

Speaking of audience and relationship, I have a feeling the majority of you are literally related to me or at least related via friendship, and that’s just fine by me. After all, it’s you, dear friends and fam, I have in mind when I draft these letters from afar, letting you know how we’re doing, how the Spanish is (or isn’t) coming along, and the amazing things we’ve seen because we got this awesome opportunity to check out life in the Southern Hemisphere.

Across the street from the above. The musical one in the house took this one.

For instance, I’m peppering this post with colorful shots of recent murals I’ve fallen in love with around the city. Most are from Santiago’s Bellavista and Bellas Artes barrios. Because I’ve also posted these to facebook, one of my Chilean friends educated me about what many of these images represent. I’m grateful. It’s a wonderful reminder of how technology, at its most basic, allows us simply to share. Thanks to her, I now know:

The Selknam, who lived in Patagonia. They are among the last people indigenous to the region to live untouched by Western expansion.

Araucarias, the national tree of Chile! These evergreens are also known as Monkey Tail Trees.

The Huemul, the national animal of Chile! In English, they are known as South Andean Deer and they are currently an endangered species. The way this temporary wall is peeling is an apt reminder of how fragile our wildlife is and how short-lived street art is meant to be.

I think this one speaks for itself… across languages.

I suppose any one of these murals is a post unto itself, albeit a lot bolder than my version. But they are messages all the same: to stop and daydream for a minute, to respect, to preserve, to remember, to get fired up, and maybe to walk on and do something, to create something. Who knows for sure? That is the elusive, taunting, inspiring question one gets to wonder about any piece of art. For instance, could this next one represent me and Ryan taking on Chile?!

Almost… 🙂

These days, that looks a little more like this:

Happy ten months of marriage, love! And thank you for taking me on this fan-flippin’-tastic ride.