The Last Days--Wednesday

The day started off so well, I went running this morning, and my man, Tim, came with me today. Tim ran cross-country in high school and he is BUILT for running, so he was flying through the streets of Santiago while I trailed behind him like a balloon behind a child. But for real though, it was super fun to go running with him, but MAN Santiago is just one giant HILL I swear! It was insane how much elevation we dropped and gained just running for two miles!

Our day was super full, but thankfully we got to start a little later, so around 9:00 we headed to the Cathedral. A not so fun part of the day was that we had two one-hour lectures, one at the beginning and one at the end of the day. The first in my opinion was way better:  it was about the original stone chorus that was in the Cathedral when it was built. Something interesting I may have already mentioned about the Cathedrals in Spain, but the Chrous – where the choir sits and sings and also where the organ is held - is literally in the DEAD CENTER of most cathedrals. It’s a tradition thing, but it means that the congregation can never actually SEE mass, but instead just hear it. But the original stone chorus that was in the middle of the Catedral de Santiago was ripped out, and was replaced, and now the chorus is not located in the middle of the cross structure that makes up the main figure of the Cathedral. So, what did the Spanish do back in the day with the stone chorus? They REUSED it of course! They broke it up, and if stone had flat sides, they used them in stairs and walls, and some of the pretty parts were put in other façades around the Cathedral. But the guy who gave the lecture has been looking for these pieces, and has reconstructed probably 30-40% of the original chorus, and it is now on display, with other parts filled in with what they can guess the chorus looked like based on the pieces they have. I was asking him as we walked from the university where he presented over to the museum with the reconstructed chorus on display if he knows where some of the other pieces are. He points straight to this staircase that was actually renovated recently and where pieces of the chorus have already been found, and says, “I know there are some in there.” Man’s gonna get those pieces if it KILLS him :D 

Then we got to go to the roof of the cathedral which like obviously was super fun, BUT the coolest part is that there are windows up there that open from the OUTSIDE. If something isn’t locked, I’m gonna open it up…so the windows that are at the top of the center of the cross of the cathedral were NOT locked, and openable from the outside, so I undo the latch, and hear this beautiful soprano voice singing as I’m looking down into the cathedral from RIGHT above the mechanism that they use to swing that huge inscence thing! I had to be quick cause obviously you aren’t SUPPOSED to do that but…. we ended up being on the roof for two hours before we went to lunch.

Guess what was for lunch? Seafood…. I’ve decided, I have tried seafood sufficiently to know I just don’t like it that much. I don’t know if it’s because it so often looks like it did when it was living, or if it is the distinct seafood taste, but all those things that come out of shells are NOT appetizing to me…. Fish is alright, but I’d still much rather have a good steak or some pork.

Just to mention this next moment cause it was a big part of the day:

    After lunch we had a weird span of time before out second lecture. We didn’t have enough time to go back to the hotel, but we also couldn’t go to the lecture space early. I was EXHAUSTED, so I ended up spending that 20-30 minutes on some stone steps in the shade next to the cathedral, head in lap trying to get some rest so that I didn’t fall asleep in the second lecture. We went to the university where we were having the lecture but for some reason weren’t being let in. Because there was limited seating, as Jacek said, “We came up with a modern solution to a common problem,” and created a lap chain so more of us could sit down. Soli was the base, then her brother Orion, then Jacek, then Isaac, then me, with each of us balancing on each others laps. Well, the woman at the front desk was not happy with that, and came up, asked if we spoke Spanish and then told us all that was completely inappropriate. Anyway, that was fine, like whatever, but then on top of that, Profe decided he also had to tell us that that was inappropriate, and I was already on edge cause I was tired and just trying to sit somewhere, and he was talking about how the archbishop of the church could walk in at any time, and I said, “Profe, you didn’t tell us that. How were we supposed to know that? I was just trying to find a place to sit and I’m exhausted.” Now imagine about halfway through that sentence that I started crying and you’ve got the whole picture. I also remember as I turned away because I was crying, I added “Dude” to the end of that sentence :D I’m sure that really helped the validity of my cause. I was overdue for a good cry, so I just kind of went outside the university entrance and broke down, it wasn’t pretty. Of course, about two minutes later was when we needed to go to class, so for the next 30 minutes I was just sitting through this guy’s lecture trying not to cry… it was a great time…

The day did end well with ice cream in the park with Fiona, Madeline and Emilee. I don’t know why but it was just really fun and cute and real. For probably an hour and a half, we just sat on a bench in this beautiful park in the center of Santiago and just chatted. And you have to realize, parks in Europe know how to DO it – plenty of places to sit, lots of shade, very active community. People in European cities, especially Spain, like to be out late, so you just feel comfortable and safe with so many people out and about with friends or family or exercising or whatever. The air getting cooler, the sun setting in the distance, the hum of people around you, the greens getting darker and the shadows getting longer as people pass you about their business. And we just talked about life and told stories and had a genuinely lovely evening.