what stops me dead in my tracks when traveling, is when a cathedral comes into view. it's not only the history of these cathedrals that intrigues me but the sheer size and intricate design of these magnificant structures.

La Serena is located about 6.5 hours north of santiago, and is said to have the best climate than in all of Chile - not too hot, not too cold all year around. it's a beautiful city that overlooks the ocean. i fell in love with this city and as you can see below, it's various cathedrals. :o)

so i had a fairly enteirtaining weekend. :o) i, along with 4 other University and high school students, were asked to play in a string quintet who played along with a praise band and choir for a youth conference called Youth Extreme. this conference was hosted by the Evangelic church located in Curico, which is about 3 hours North of Chillan where i live. it was fun chillin' and getting to know the members of our lil group, praise band, and choir.

String Quintet left to right:

Elias(viola), Eliana(2nd violin), Marcelo(cello), me(1st violin/soloist), & Kevin(1st violin)

here we are doin' our thang. :o)

Kevin is one of my violin students
he played first violin with me for the concert.

On Sunday morning, instead of heading directly back to the University, we decided to roam around Curico a bit and enjoy the great weather.

this cathdral is gorgeous inside and out

Plaza de Armas

:o)

right about now, i´m assuming all of you are chillin´with your families eating a stuffed bird - or some sort of concoction of veggie meat - and eating to your heart´s content. *sigh* oh i miss those days. :o)

well, my day was spent in a studio recording background vocals and a few string melodies for a local christian music composer. we spent hours in the studio recording, re-recording, etc. good times. :o) however, as busy as i have been today, i did think of my family and of my many good friends that i have out there and am very thankful to each of you for the impact you´ve had in my life thus far. lots of love to ya. :o)

happy turkey day everyone. :o)

ahh... how nice it is to be at the final week of classes. next week begins the 2 long weeks of final exams. i´m only required to give 2 exams which luckily, both land on the same day - December 6. this is a good thing cause that means i have over a week of free time to meander around the country abit before returning for a day of exams. i´m heading first to santiago, then la serena, and then wherever the sun takes me. :o)

Que bello es la cordillera Andina, no creí?
estas fotos la tomè en el Cajon Del Maipo.

aren´t the Andes Mountains beautiful?

i took these photos in el Cajon Del Maipo, just outside of Santiago.

i have no idea what this building is, but i thought it looked pretty. :o)

mom and i posing for a quick photo

standing in front of "La Moneda" (equivalent to the White House)

home of Chile´s President, Michelle Bachelet

El Día de Los Muertos

Today is "El Día de Los Muertos"(Day of the Dead) that is celebrated by the Catholic Church all over the world - mostly nowadays in Latin American countries. This is a day when families visit the graves of their ancestors and loved ones. The cemetaries were so packed with mourners, and floral vendors that the city buses weren´t able to come within a mile´s distance of the entrance to the cemetary because of all the people and cars.

Lead by my grandma, aunt and mother, we visited the graves of the Michaud tribe(my mother´s side of the family). We then headed off towards the crematorium to visit the small piece of land where my grandfather´s ashes are burried. Grandpa died the very day my mother found out she was pregnant with me, so he never new that i was on the way.

Because my mom´s family wasn´t well off at the time, grandpa´s gravestone is a simple rock they´d found, then had engraved and was painted over with black paint in order to read what the headstone says. Every year at this time, some family member re-paints the gravestone because through the course of the year, the letters fade. I decided to do the task this time, and so I proudly took the headstone and painted it for my grandfather.

this is a typical looking cemetary

rows of cement graves piled on top of each other.

many times, there are 2 or 3 people in each square hole burried together.

painting the letters on my grandfather´s gravestone

it reads: O. Sergio Michad C. died 1-6-81. His wife, children and grandchildren.