FIESTAS PATRIAS

My Fiestas Patrias were pretty much… uneventful.

My family and I have never been a big fan of Fondas. We used to go sometimes when I was a kid, but it was merely for me to learn more about my own culture. The time passed, and it didn’t matter how many different places we’d go, every single one would look the same for me. The Chilean music con the background, tons and tons of food, and traditional games impossible to win. So eventually it became something we were just doing because we’d been doing it for the last years. But there wasn’t enjoyment to it anymore.

On Fiestas Patrias of 2014 we were getting prepared to go to a Fonda, when our car died right outside of our house. Apparently my mom forgot the lights on, and the battery suffered the consequences of it. Our fist though was “Well, nothing to do about it”. That day we spent it eating a barbeque my dad prepared with fries and ensalada chilena. There wasn’t Chilean music, or cuecas, but still was a lot of fun. It was nice to have some family time inside doors.

This year was different though. My mom was out of the house because she is studying right now and she had classes, and my dad had to go to the doctor because he was feeling a really bad pain in his back. So, it was a day for myself, which at the same time wasn’t all bad. I watched a lot of Netflix, slept a lot, read. The 19^th both of my parents were at home, and we had lunch in the terrace, listen to some music, and other things.

In the end, it was a common day.

SOMETHING YOU DID LAST WEEKEND.

Because we didn’t have classes this past week, I took it as a really long weekend (which honestly, I think we all needed). With so much time in my hands, I had to spend it in the best way possible before college started. I needed to get organized and prioritize, so I made a list.

Of course, number one was to get some sleeping done. Between theoretical classes and making models, most of my previous nights had been directed to me being awake with a lot of coffee in my organism. Not healthy at all, but it’s the only thing that works for me. So, based on that, the extra hours came right on time. I know the majority of people (if not all) agrees with me that waking up when you want to wake up and not because an alarm is ringing in your ears is one of the big pleasures of life.

Number two was for reading. I consider myself to be a bookworm, and because of that I’m supposed to read a lot (not because I’m trying to prove anything, but because it puts me in a good place, and it just feels right). But, again, college has no mercy when it comes to give you time for yourself. Yes, I try to read in the mornings either on the train or bus and also when I go back home, but I always end up needing more. So this “long weekend” I decided to lock myself in my room, torn off the Wi-Fi, and just read. I managed to finish two books, which I’m really happy with.

Lastly, in the previous two days before classes started, I resolved to catch up with all the series I had abandoned. I watched so much Naruto Shippuden… and terrible things happened along with wonderful things, and tears were dropped and… it was amazing. I also watched some movies with my parents. Just then I realized how little time we had spent together as a family doing something else than commenting our routines of the day at dinner. We needed it.

So basically, my weekend was a time for myself, to recharged batteries and start in the best way possible on Monday… Except that in all the days I was doing the things I wanted to do, I was also ignoring the things I had to do. So Sunday was me working, working, working, and being awake until early morning and… Sunday took pretty much all my energy away… but the coffee is still good.

AN EXHIBITION OR CONCERT YOU ENJOYED

When I think of the concert I’m going to talk to you about, there are three things that come to my mind.

1. Girls screaming all around me.

2. Someone spilling their drink on my T-shirt.

3. A lot of crying happening.

Now, you might think, based on what I just told you, “What a terrible night”. Well, it wasn’t. Yes, by the end of the night I ended up being half deaf, smelling like Pepsi, and with red eyes and wet cheeks. But all of that was part of the fun. 

To put some context to this story, you need to know what a big fan I was of Justin Bieber. I knew every song there was to know, and half of his life (although my sources were teen magazines and what I could find on the internet, so I don’t know how true was all the information a read back in the day). 

He’d come to Chile once before —2011 I think— and presented at the National Stadium, but since I was only twelve years old in that moment and the money my parents gave me could only buy me one candy per week at the local supermarket, my options of paying a ticket for the concert were none.

I remember crying in front of the TV every time the news mentioned anything from the concert. The tears were half from heart and half to manipulate my parents so they would buy me a ticket. They never gave in, and I didn’t go.

Two years passed, and a lot of things changed in that period of time. I was more aware of how to spend my money, and I had discovered the best way to talk my mom into something I wanted and not being rejected on the first try.

The news was, once more, this big concert that would have Justin Bieber as the protagonist. It took some time and a lot of home chores, I’ll admit, but I finally convinced my mom who convinced my dad to buy me a ticket.

The plan was getting a good seat. Maybe not in the first row, but something reasonable. Sadly, by the time my parents decided to give me the money, all the best seats had sold out. I ended up getting the cheaper seat, with the worst view to the stage, but I didn’t let that embitter my mood. I was going to meet Justin Bieber after all (with a distance of countless meters in between), so it was all worth it.

Sharing that moment with so many people that were as passionate as I was for his songs was the best part of the night. Hearing thousands of voices coming together, singing their lungs out. It felt right. 

Even though I don’t like him anymore, I still recognize the value of that concert. It made me feel excited and happy, and nervous and shocked all at the same time. It also showed me I could be part of something, that I could connect with people and people could connect with me, and that it shouldn’t be complicated.

That night will stick with me for years.