25 September, 2007

Que linda!!!


After a few weeks here in Talca, Chile I feel like I now know how it feels to be famous - or rather, I know how it feels to be the personal driver of a famous person!

The thing is that it is impossible to leave the house with Helga, my one year old daughter, without being met by crowds of people who all yell in amazement: "Que rica!" or "Que linda!" (sometimes, "que rico!" and "que lindo!" as Helga is sometimes mistaken for a boy, as she lacks hair - like her father - and does not wear ear-rings, unlike every little girl in Chile). Those that don't yell, they stare.

A blonde and a blue-eyed child appearently is a rare sight in Talca (except in commersials, of course!).

There are people who are good in coping with their fame. Thet stay calm and down to earth. Helga is not one of those people. She is totally enjoying the attention and behaves like a corrupt dictator that holds the believe that he is adored as the true son of God by his nation. She smiles and laughs, waves pompously like a victorious queen and shouts out "Hola!" and "Ciao!", only to receive additional applause by the cheering crowd.

After those four months in Talca she will most likely feel like an Elizabeth Taylor, a "has-been" looking back at her days of glory, back in her Danish kindergarten where no-one receives special attention, not to speak of applause, for the meer fact of being blue eyed and blonde.