Observations of Santiago

So I thought it was about time that I actually wrote something about what I have learned about this country since I got here, apart from the fact that they speak "machine-gun" rapid slang-filled spanish and have a tendency to protest and party.

One of the first things that a foreigner has to notice about the streets of Santiago is that they are nothing like what you might expect. They are generally fairly clean and on a nice day the city has a European feel to it (if it is somewhat rundown in places). It is busy and noisy, but certainly no worse than Rome. The metro runs efficiently (most days) and the bus system is fairly well organised and extensive. The streets have many vendors selling their wares (mostly illegally on blankets on the sidewalks), but they don't hassle you like in Vietnam. There are tons of kiosks all the way along the streets, probably at least two per block and sometimes as many as 8, selling drinks, lollies, newspapers and other bits and pieces. This brings me to my second observation - there are an awful lot of people doing jobs that seem almost useless to someone like me.

By this I mean there are a lot of "parking attendants", official people who help you park your car and then supervise it while you are gone. They are basically human parking meters, though sometimes if you are lucky they will wash your car, and in summer some provide cardboard shades to keep the sun out. You are obliged to give them some change as you leave, even when they are obnoxious as the one in Pichilemu was the other week, insisting on kissing me and questioning the guy I was with as to whether this "guapa gringa" was his "pelola" (whether the cute gringa was his girlfriend). We saw this phenomen in Vietnam too, the "very busy" security guards. I guess it is all about people in jobs. Other such jobs include the people who sweep the pavements, by hand, when probably a machine would put 40 people out of a job. There are also tons of street entertainers, juggling, doing theatre, or acrobatics at the traffic lights. You are pretty much obliged to give them some change too, whether you liked the show or not. There are people who pack your groceries at the supermarket, whether you want it or not, and again you are obliged. There is the conductor on the long haul bus, who is actually quite helpful, but he needs some change, and the guy who puts your bag in the bottom, more change, even if you offer to do it yourself. I don't know much about the welfare system here (or lack of), but it looks to me that people will willingly do just about anything for a bit of change. People in jobs, people in jobs.

The third thing that is very obvious on arriving in Santiago is the number of street dogs. There are tons of them. And people don't seem to mind, in fact they are generally well cared for looking. As it is winter many of them now have coats on (often made of polarfleece and with a neck warmer like a mini scarf), and they have cardboard boxes to sleep in which often has some food next to it. Seriously, the dogs are better cared for than the homeless people! And these dogs know it. They sleep anywhere. It is very common for there to be a bottle neck at the metro exit in rush hour because there are a couple of dogs blocking the way and everyone is going around them. They sleep on the sides of the street and the cars and buses simply avoid them. They also sleep in shop doorways, often on the welcom mat, and people just step over them. They are experts at crossing the road. I thought dogs were colourblind but these ones know all about the little green man, and wait patiently to cross when it is their turn. Quite often there seems to be a sort of dog convention in Plaza Italia, the main roundabout on the main st, and you can see up to 20 cavorting around having a lovely time. Even the scary looking policemen stop and talk to them. I think in my next life I would like to be a Santiago street dog.


While I said earlier that the bus system was very good (which it is), it can also be a bit feral. A couple of times I have gotten on and there has been a full on latin band playing (5 people), with people dancing in the aisles. Yesterday I got on a bus full of football fans. They were singing and dancing and jumping and the entire vehicle was bouncing. There was also half a dozen people riding on the roof.... The buses are an education....

Another thing I was not expecting, was BAD BAD coffee. I thought with the proximity to Columbia that coffee here would be fabuous. How wrong I was. The drink of choice is nasty Nescafe. To be fair, there are grades of Nescafe here, and the gold standard I can actually drink. However, most Chileans drink the cheap cheap nasty burnt tasting stuff. They drink it strong, super hot, and often with 5 teaspoons of sugar. Its truely awful but as a nation they are totally addicted to the stuff. About the only place I can get a coffee that tastes like a decent coffee and doesn't make my tastebuds recoil in horror is Starbucks, and this makes both my wallet and morals recoil in horror!

And moving onto food... it is all about the meat here. When we were at the beach the other week we had asado (BBQ). Unfortunately we didn't know that one of the girls coming was a vege, and the only thing that we could find for her to eat was potato chips. I am not kidding. She had a choice of beef, chicken, pork, or potato chips. We didn't even have any salad or bread. We had a few onions.... Also, the food is generally not spicy, at all. The only spicy thing they eat is pebre, a combination of tomato, onion, garlic and chilli, which I find totally delicious. Nothing else has anything like chilli in it though. Generally, it is just basic meat and veg, or pasta. Dad would love it (well the meat and veg part anyway).

I am sure there are lots more things that I want to put in here, but right now I can't remember them. Another day. Just thought I would share my observations so far.
K