LOVE:
1. The scenery. Can't beat it, especially the mountains. They're everywhere you look. Big ones, little ones, looking all ethereal and misty. What I really, reallly love though is the contrast between Santiago's skyscrapers and the mountains in the background. Beautiful.
2. The historic architecture. It makes Santiago seem very European, but more Paris, than Madrid (probably because many of Santiago's early architects were French or French-inspired, like Emilio Jecquier and Felipe Duhart). Newer architecture is gorgeous too. The street I'm living in -- Avenida Suecia -- is a long row of lovely buildings, all built in the 70s and 80s. An architectural tour all on its own!
3. The food and the wine. I've posted about the food before, but I haven't mentioned that you can get delicious street food just about anywhere -- empanadas, humitas, mote.... And wonderful bottles of the smoothest Carménère you've ever tasted, for about $3 a bottle!
4. The newspapers. Santiago still has 5 or 6 daily newspapers, appealing to all kinds of tastes, and readers. They sell out fast, too, so you'd better be the first in line, at the corner "kiosko"!
5. The fact that no one here knows me. No one knows me in Toronto either, but here, being anonymous feels different somehow. It feels free and transitory; like, yeah, my hair has a funny wave today and I'm not wearing any make-up... and I really could not care less.
HATE:
6. The lack of respect between drivers and pedestrians. Pedestrians NEVER wait for walk/don't walk signs, to cross a street, even really busy ones. They always try to run it, while drivers sometimes barely miss pedestrians. (The kids and I always respect the "walk/don't walk" signs; most times we're the only ones, as Chilean moms with kids certainly don't wait!)
7. The lack of courtesy among people, sometimes. Examples: no one lets you in, when you need to merge in traffic. People behind you in a queue try to jump in front of you, if they get half a chance. If they dig baby-carriage wheels against your heels, they keep right on going, without a word of apology. (At the same time, I've been handed my bank card, just as I was walking away from an ATM; been warned to safeguard my camera against possible theft; and been given a 40-page mapbook, by a complete stranger at a gas station when I mentioned I kept getting lost in Santiago...)
8. That fact that everyone still smokes. Kids as young as 12 or 13 and seniors well in their 80s, light up, anywhere and everywhere, and most restaurants are not smoke-free.
9. The graffiti. It's mostly in the less wealthy parts of Chile, and of Santiago, but, it just makes buildings look run down, even when they aren't.
10. The poverty. Some people are still really, really poor in Chile, as the aftermath of the Feb. 27 continues to highlight. Maybe in another 30 years' time, the gap between Chile's rich and its working class/working poor will have narrowed even more, so that if I don't get to see it, hopefully my kids will.
One can only hope, right? .
Well, I love the $3 wine thing so I would fit in nicely - especially if it's good. I would love to be anonymous for a while - how freeing and so special - you can be who you are and glory in it! I would love the mountains and the misty-ness. But I am rather a romantic. The hates - hmmmn - wouldn't like the difference between rich and poor. Would grate on me, especially in the aftermath of such distruction.And rudeness, well, that seems to speak of entitlement, but hey, I don't walk in their shoes. We in Canada are so polite - might feel kind of nice to think you are able to not notice - but, this too, would grate on me. So, all in all, what an experience. Enjoy each minute ( I know you are!)
ReplyDeleteSusan
ps: love all your observations - is there a book in this somewhere - sounds like it to me.
Susan
Hey SusieQ,
ReplyDeletemaybe I'm having such a hard time with the lack of courtesy down here BECAUSE I come from such a polite country... That must be it, 'cause I just don't get why you would refuse to let another driver merge into your lane. How does that make sense? Anyway, the rest is great...
S.
Those 5 or 6 daily newspapers--do you know if they're had the bloodletting that's happening elsewhere? Or are there factors in Chile, or in Santiago itself, that have kept print journalism healthy?
ReplyDeleteI second Susan's question about a book. The fact that you were there during this year's earthquake would make it very timely, in addition to the other things you could write about. Food for thought . . . speaking of which, what is 'mote'?
Bob
Hi Bob,
ReplyDeleteunfortunately, I don't know why newspapers here are still so popular... Of course, after the quake, everyone's hungry for news. Plus, there was a presidential election just before, so, maybe this accounts for some of it..?
Mote is cooked barley, but it's different than the Canadian kind. This one's more yellow and softer, and it goes into the Mote con Huesillos drink which I described in an earlier post. When I say 'mote' I mean the drink... which is delicious, by the way!
S.
Love and hate-have to agree with a lot, especially driving and common courtesy. Never understood why people are like that in Chile but a basic distrust or disregard especially in anonymous situations I guess. But I am currently back in Denver for a while and the cars seem so...well behaved here! Yes, even here in Denver people let people in "their" lane. Cars generally stay in the same lane when turning too!
ReplyDeleteMote, I did not like :)..the empanadas I miss..