Zero Degrees

Last night I made the foolish mistake of putting my feet (in two pairs of socks) on the floor of my bedroom for all of 30 seconds before I swung my legs into bed. We’d had such a sunny and clear day, the Andes bold and reflecting the sun off her snowy sides. I took this photo as I was on my way to find Mona, my house mate and hula hoop buddy who was busking in the traffic lights nearby.

Getting to sleep was somewhat a chore in two pyjamas, a sleeping bag and a duvet cover. The cold had got into my socks so wriggled to remove them, spitting the smaller cotton pair out of my sleeping bag and holding the llama wool ones tight in my fists. I took it in turns to tuck each foot into the back of my knees until warm and then wrestled the socks back on camping contortionist style. Finally I grabbed luckily nearby an extra fleece, sliding my middle out just enough to zip myself in.

I woke this morning at 7.20 am, this week there are free dance classes at a University in Santiago Centre. The students are protesting government changes so classes have been stopped but the students have created this week of free classes so there are still opportunities for people to train. Yesterday me and Mona and another hula buddy went to a contemporary dance class. It was delicious to stretch my body in new ways, Mona was really inspired by this class but it didn’t quite grab me.

And so this morning I’m taking a free class of handstands and break-dance, much more my style. I wriggled myself out of my swaddling and got started. When my housemate got up shortly after she switched on the morning programmes and it announced that it was at zero degrees! Yikes, after dance class I’m definitely going to Independencia; where all fabric and haberdashery are to invest in more swaddling. Spring is coming, but not quite yet.