Hola amigos y miembros de mi familia,
It’s hard to describe how much I have seen, learned and enjoyed in the past few days. How to begin? First, hostels. Some of the highlights included lots of interesting people, cheap beer, and very cheap living accommodations ($30 for two nights). It was crazy! I met many people like Ricardo, a doctor from Brazil taking a week of his vacation to tour Latin America. There were lots of Brazilians at the hostel, and they were always having a good time, sometimes staying up until 3 in the morning practicing with great gusto their national soccer chants. Some of the downsides included extremely small bathrooms and showers, which did not allow you to flush toilet paper. Yes, you heard me right! In Chile, you are supposed to discard your toilet paper in the trash bin next to the toilet. Maybe not the most hygienic practice, but it avoids clogging. Anyways, when I was at the hostel I did a bit of sightseeing but also took time to rest since it was hot, I was jet-lagged and a little stuffed from the first night (2 heavy meals, a pisco sour and lots of beer). Nevertheless, here are my photos! This afternoon I met my family for the first time, which was a nice change from the transitory nature of the hostel. Claudia and Mark, my host sister and brother (both in their late 30s) are funny and cool. I live in a 2 story house, and have my own room and bathroom! Plus, they have a pool, which I quickly took advantage of since the temperature hovered around 31 today (90 degrees Fahrenheit). They also have 8 cats, 2 dogs and 1 bird. Yes, I am not joking. When sitting outside on the patio, it is impossible to not have a pet nearby. My family adopted them all off of the street because Santiago has problems with animal abandonment. Indeed, when walking around downtown Santiago, it is quite common to see many stray dogs, often lying in the shade to cool off. I am sorry if this entry seems a little bit scrambled, but my mind is still trying to process everything. Now, without further ado, los fotos!
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| The view of the Sierra Nevadas from the plane |
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| This school was offering a lecture analyzing "The Simpsons and Religion." Muy interesante! |
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| Fun little signs |
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| Statue of Salvador Allende, Chile's democratically elected Marxist President |
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| Line of Chilean flags |
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| Me with a carabiñero, one of Chile's many policemen |
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| Eating my first lunch in Chile with Sarah |
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| Pastel de Choclo, one of Chile's national dishes, consisting of a corn cake with ground beef, chicken, olives and hard-boiled egg, with an ensalada chilena on the side (onions and tomatoes). |
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| Chile has tons of beautiful graffiti! |
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| Humitas, another national dish of Chile, consisting of corn tamales. Muy rica! |
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| There was a lot of political graffiti as well... |
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| And cute messages... |
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| This is hilarious! It says that "tobacco reduces your physical and sexual performance." |
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| I found this sign to be very interesting, because it is quite indicative of Chilean sentiment. Chile is a country that is blossoming into modernity, and it is trying to put itself on the map so that when people think of South America, Buenos Aires is not the only big city that comes to mind. |
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| Much of the architecture in Downtown Santiago is beautiful but run-down. |
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| Urban art |
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| Yes! They have schwarma in Chile! I am so excited! |
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| A very telling picture. Chile has a huge dog problem, in that there are hundreds of stray dogs who roam the streets, begging for food and desperately searching for a respite from the hot sun. |
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| I want to play! |
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| The monument to the indigenous groups in Chile. The Mapuche are the biggest, followed by the Aymara. |
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| La Plaza de Armas, a wide-open forum for tourists to stroll around and see the sights |
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| My favorite picture, a symbol of Chile's antiquarian past and modern future. The old building is the Catedral Metropolitana de Santiago, a very old and beautiful church. |
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| A statue of San Pedro de Valdivia, a Spanish conquistador and first governor of Chile. |
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| Santiago's main post office. Pretty ornate, huh? |
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| Beautiful ceiling paintings in the Catedral |
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| The main sanctuary |
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| Huge doors with wonderful stained glass |
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| More amazing stained glass |
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| The archangel Gabriel |
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| A Chilean street musician |
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| Hey! The YMCA! |
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| More political graffiti |
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| This is for you, Dad: HUGE pieces of cheese! |
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| Gotta love Mickey D's Much has happened since I took these pictures, but I'll try to put more up sometime later this week. Thank you, everyone, for reading my blog! I love and miss you all, and can't wait to share stories with you when I get back. Chau! -Matt |
