Visiting the Santiago home of Pablo Neruda

Today was a beautiful sunny day in Santiago, Chile. It was the perfect day to visit the Santiago home of the famous Chilean poet and Nobel prize winner, Pablo Neruda. I specify "Santiago home" because Pablo Neruda actually had three homes in Chile, each of which is a museum today.

Some of our UA students knew quite a bit about Pablo Neruda, his famous Odes and his passionate life. Others discovered him today and were quickly captivated by his intriguing home, exotic objects and extensive art collection.

The home, aka "La Chascona", was the home that Neruda shared with his third and last wife, Matilde. In this home, Neruda welcomed many famous friends including Diego Rivera, the famous Mexican muralist of the same time. The home is in a lovely, bohemian area of Santiago known as "Bella Vista." The students loved the neighborhood because there are colorful murals painted on many of the buildings and there are also lots of cafes and shops.

Today's excursion was made even more special because of the presence of a special guest, Carolina Sanchez, who was our very first Chilean exchange student at Ursuline Dallas in 2000. Carolina made the special trip up to Santiago to visit us - we had not seen her in 10 years! It was so fantastic to see her and to recall our happy times together when she lived in Dallas for a year!!

As a side note, I'd like for the parents in Dallas to know how comfortable and happy the students are here in Chile and that we are hearing more and more Spanish every day. They are truly making the most of this experience and every day we are impressed with their graciousness and curiosity. As we move toward the end of our first week here, all is going beautifully!!!