Santiago, Smog, and Spanish (No, portuguese)

 Where is Rachael now: VALPARAISO/Vina del Mar, CHILE

July 21-25

On the 21st, Ashley and I headed to the bus station in Concepcion where we hit our first travel snag. Our bus to Santiago didn't exist. I had bought the tickets a month before while in Valdivia and our bus was due at 11:30. Well there was an 11:15, 11:45, and 12:30 bus. The ladies at the desk weren't very helpful.  The first telling me I was too early to be asking where it was, the next saying the 11:45 wasn't ours, and then back to the first at 12:15 when no bus had come for us, who then told us we had missed it. Well after some complaining by way of explaining this was in no way our fault and would you please just look at our tickets and see that we were down for an 11:30 bus, they finally realized there was something wrong. After some more haggling, they got us on the next bus at 12:30 to Santiago without us having to pay anymore. After that, things went more smoothly. My friends from the program, Max and Desmond, met us at the station to help us in the metro and to the hostel they had booked for all of us. We had also been accompanied by an old friend of Max's who had just gotten to Santiago to begin a study abroad program. He and I had an awkward moment when he left us at the hostel door: I went in for a kiss on the cheek which is custom in Chile, and he, not expecting it being new to Chile, thought I was going in for a hug. I suppose I've become accustomed to much of chilean culture. The hostel was nice. It was free wine night so we indulged in that and met some of the other travelers staying in the hostel. This is when we realized we would be making a lot of friends from Brazil. Almost all of the travelers were from Brazil and this trend is continuing in other cities we are visiting. I can now saw about six words in Portuguese. After the wine, we went to Bellavista, the club district nearby and met up with one of our good friends from Valdivia, Natalia. We went to a place called Bar Constitucion, which was a lounge/bar/disco all in one. Ashley exerienced the Chilean night scene for the first time with a noticeable entrance (mostly due to her blonde hair). We met gringos and Chileans alike, including a guy from Dallas who had just moved to Santiago that week! The next day, after an enjoyable breakfast of pancito, we split with the boys to do errands. Ashley and I headed to get an International Student Identity Card (ISIC), which gives discounts in hostels, restaurants, and activities. We also picked up some Propolea, which is this great natural spray to help with a sore throat.  That night we went to a little bar with Jose, a guy from our hostel who also lived in Valdivia. Ashley ordered her drinks on her very own: pisco sour, por favor.  I reunited with Escudo, my cheap beer of choice. Surprisingly, Heineken and Budweiser are very popular in Chile and are always the most expensive non-artisanal beers on the menu. We woke up the 23^rd to hike Cerro San Cristobal, located in the Municipal Park, which also housed the Santiago Zoo. The hike ended at the top with the Virgin of Immaculate Conception statue and a great view of Santiago…and it’s blanket of smog. Afterwards we went to the Plaza de Armas. A Plaza de Armas is the central square of most cities in South America. Its four sides contain the main church, the municipal building, the mint, and the governor’s palace. That night there was an asado, or bbq, for the cumpleanos, or birthday, of one of the long-term residents of the hostel. Ashley and I tried to get out of it, due to being tired, a bit, sick, and my being a vegetarian. However, the birthday boy, Carlos, wasn’t having it. He finally convinced us to abandon our movie and come down for a bit. We snuck away after one drink. Carlos’ favorite english phrase, which he used with us a lot, was: I don’t believe it. (complete with an exasperated voice). On the 24^th, I had nearly lost all of my voice. Thank goodness we had Max to communicate, other wise with my inability to speak at all and Ashley’s inability to speak Spanish, we would have been in a tough spot. We first went to the Museo de Bellas Artes (Museum of Fine Arts) and then the Museo Pre-Colombiano (Museum Pre-Colonial). I preferred the second, for it’s pieces and the fact that you could take pictures, unlike the fine arts museum. We got a bit confused looking for the Museo Pre-Colombiano when we followed the signs and were led into a building that contained an XXX-rated movie theatre. It turned out the museum’s curator office was located there and the actual museum was down the street. For lunch we wandered into a fish market. The waiters/promoters swarm the people, especially the gringos, to be led into their businesses. We had meals a la pobre, meaning it came with french fries with a fried egg on top. I had fish and Max had jugo de bife which literally translates as beef juice, but at the convincing of the waitress that it wasn’t so, he gave in and fortunately it turned out to be a regular piece of meat.

On our way back to the hostel I wanted to pick up some Tapsin which is a tea for colds. We happened to see it in the entrance of a store doorway and upon entering, realized it was a combination sex shop/pharmacy. I’m sure you can imagine the variety of goods on the walls. But I got what I needed and we headed home. On the day we were supposed to head to Mendoza, Argentina we found out the pass over the Andes was closed due to snow. Ashley and I decided to rebook our tickets going to the coast of Chile, the city of Valparaiso, instead of waiting it out in Santiago. We didn’t want to waste time and money staying in Santiago and then possibly get stuck trying to come back. We wandered around that day (since we were leaving the morning of the next) and for dinner, Ashley made her first ever ravioli! We were skipping through the TV channels eating pasta and drinking wine when we found Legally Blonde! Ashley and I were ecstatic as it is one of our favorite movies to watch together: lounging on my couch in Eugene. It was a great reminder of the comfort of home.

Finally, on the 26^th, we headed to the bus station to go to Valparaiso. As you saw in my last post, I didn’t make it all the way safely. My bruises are currently blooming in color all over my shins.