Santiago!

So this weekend Evan, Dipika, and I went to Santiago with my host sister, Karen, and two of her friends. As they say here, "Santiago es otro mundo"-- Santiago is another world. It is completely different than the rest of Chile in terms of its level of development. It is very much like Chicago or New York, and now I know why people describe Chile as so modern-- in fact, Santiago is so modern, and Americans rarely venture outside of Santiago (except maybe to go to Torres del Paine). There was even a Starbucks near the apartment where we stayed, and, more important to us, the diversity there (both in terms of the ethnicity of people and the opportunities, restaurants, etc.) was so much more like California than we see here in Concepcion. In some ways it made me wish I could extend to Santiago for the rest of the year, but it also made me miss the things I love about California.

So, the apartment in which we stayed is the Santiago apartment of Karen's friend's rich grandmother. It was in the Las Condes area of Santiago, which is one of the richest areas and home to many embassies and diplomats (including the US Embassy). Friday we went to La Moneda, the Presidential Palace (sort of like the White House although she does not live there). Unfortunately we could not go in, but we took pictures outside. We also went to the Cathedral in the center, which was absolutely gorgeous-- very similar to European Cathedrals. Right next to the Cathedral is the Plaza de Armas, which was full of people, music, and art, and then we checked out the shops in the center and had lunch nearby.

Next, we went to go up the most famous hill in the city using a teleferico. I honestly don't know what this is called in English, but I think the term is maybe sky bucket or tram or something (I know they have them at the San Diego Zoo and Sea World and call them sky buckets, but I don't know if this term is universal). From there we could see the whole city, and at the top there was a pretty garden and a statue of the Virgin Mary. In the evening, Karen and her friends went out to a disco, but we didn't think we could make it till 6 am (they come back when the metro starts running again), so we just walked around the neighborhood, checked out some restaurants and pubs, and came back earlier.

Saturday we got up earlier than they did (for obvious reasons) and we walking around the neighborhood. Somewhat by accident we ran into the US Embassy. Unfortunately we couldn't go in because it was Saturday. The embassy was extremely large, with huge fences and lots of security (a stark contrast to the quaint cottage that is the French Embassy). In my opinion it sort of screamed "The Communists are coming!" but I'm sure it was less off-putting inside (Evan joked that we should be able to hop the fence because, well, they can't arrest you for going home!). We also walked to the Escuela Militar (the Military Academy), which was again very ostentatious.

In the afternoon, Karen's sister, who is a student in the Air Force, came to meet us, and we went to Starbucks! The only Starbucks in Chile are in Santiago, and it was somewhat of a welcome sight from home. It was rather funny because people here are still rather unaccustomed to Starbucks. Many did not know what a Frappuccino was (also, this was both of Karen's friends' first time at Starbucks). There was a turkey and cranberry sandwich, and no one seemed to be able to explain what a cranberry was (I still don't know whether there is a Spanish word, but no one here knew what they were even after seeing them). First, the "barista" told the woman it was English for turkey. We had to correct her and say that it wasn't. But then we couldn't really explain what it was-- we pointed and said it was like a raisin but red and sour, and then we tried dried cherry, but it's not really that either. Finally she just asked if they were yummy, and we assured that they were. She bought the sandwich, and we hope she liked it.

Afterwards, we went ice skating at the mall. I am not a good ice skater-- I am from California-- but the three of us were definitely better than almost everyone there, so I think I've discovered that Chileans don't ice skate very much. Afterwards we walked all around the mall and had some ice cream. In the evening we cooked ravioli and then went to bed early since our bus was early this morning.

I am overall very glad I went to Santiago, since it has shown me a completely different side of Chile. Finally, with two days left, Obama-Biden '08!!!