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Published: October 13th 2007
Hola to all.
There has been a slight delay regarding updating our last 2 weeks and movements onto Santiago. Tis all me fault, I admit it, just been too lazy as well as grappling with small things like trying to find a job and a place to live. But I digress....
We arrived after a 2 hour flight from Buenos Aires, onto which we were unsure we would even make after being at an airport which wasn´t the best in terms of signs for where to get onto the plane, nor announcements for when to get on. This resulted in a very nervous Mrs indeed as we were stuck in the que to check-in for almost an hour, had to negotiate paying departure tax, and look for "gate B" when all other gates has numbers rather than letters. As we found where we had to get to (kinda like that Harry Potter station 13 and a 1/2 or whatever it was) the ground staff didn´t even check our ticket stubbs. One of the flight attendants stood at the front of the plane once we were on and said "Everyone here is going to Santiago, Chile, right?" as if he needed confirmation for mix-ups that were quite easy to imagine regularly occured.
For at least an hour we were flying over regular scenery you´d see out of any plane window over any country. At one stage we both fell asleep and as they announced we were descending to land I looked out the window and was astounded. The landscape had changed - we were in fact flying over the Andes. All we could see for miles in either direction was grey interspersed with white peaks. It was incredible - but also kinda scary. I had been thinking for months about that film "Alive" where the plane crashes in the Andes with the football team on board - Ethan Hawke if I´m not mistaken eats a few of his teammates. Of course John had to bring this up as the plane dipped with turbulance and we entered thick fog. How the hell do they know there ain´t some massive mountain in front of us??
Anyway, needless to say we survived.....We weren´t told how long the flight would be or the fact that Buenos Aires is an hour ahead of Santiago, so I got to use my beginners Spanish when we arrived and asked the lady next to me what time it was - I was worried as I had told Raul, my ex-student from Sydney days who was to meet us at the airport, that we would be arriving at 4pm. It was all ok.
As an Aussie I had to pay $US56 to enter the country whilst John got in for free. After we got thru customs we had great delight in changing Euros to Pesos with no concept at all of the currency. (1 Euro is around 700 Pesos....it´s not the best number to try and work with for conversions) Raul was there to meet us with his daughter Emilia, and we were lucky to manage to fit all our stuff into his car. It was really cold and quite overcast but we could still make out the mountains in the distance.
Raul took us on a semi tour of the city on the way back to his house (and proceeded to get lost on the way). We were greeted by Paula (Raul´s wife) and their 1.5 year old son, Diego. They live in a lovely, quiet residential area. We had a lesson in the public transport system over dinner and beers.
In the morning we met the family´s "Nanna" - something which most families here have, regardless of whether they have kids or not. The Nanna for Raul´s family is responsible for looking after the kids during the day as well as during housework and preparing the family meal for the evening. We were told we could give our washing to her to do as well. I felt really bad as I wanted to communicate with her, and she me, but we were both met by blank looks.
Our first week was then a mixture of things - getting to grips with the public transport system which has only very recently been overhauled. Fortunately it´s easy enough for us to travel by bus into the city and by metro from there to where ever else we need to get to. We met up with my friend Judy who introduced us to the Irish pub "Flannery´s" in Tobalaba, and to schop beer (the measure of beer here) We had a few meetings with the Director of Judy´s school, observed a lesson and were observed as part of the process of employment, but it seems we have come at a bad time of year so they´re still not promising us too much. In the meantime we were promised a room in a lovely apartment only to be mysteriously turned down at the last minute, and had to start the whole house-hunting process again. I spent our 2nd week with a cold which also served to challenge my Spanish as I went into pharmacies proclaiming "Tengo tos con mucous" (I have a cough with mucous). One thing about the pharmacies here is that most of the "good stuff" is behind the counter, so you have to proclaim your symptoms to all and sundry to hear (after taking a number and waiting in a que of course).
Other things we have noticed: People come onto the buses selling anything from incense to ice-cream and we assume getting a free ride in the process. Others come on with guitars and sing a few numbers, walk around the bus and ask for money, then hop off and get on another bus, we presume to repeat the repetoire. People are extremely polite and friendly though there is certainly a culture of fear amongst the locals regarding pick-pocketing and watching your things at all times. In the area we are staying all the houses are surrounded by high security gates with buzzers. Most shops, even bakeries, will have some kind of security dude out the front. There is a very apparent difference between the rich and poor but so far we haven´t seen or had any problems (touch wood!!)
The city itself is very widespread and diverse. We were in an area today which felt hugely different to where we are staying - more people around, cheap clothes and big markets filled with chinese clothes and shoes. Food has been mainly meat, I am a complete anti-thesis of a vegetarian now! Last weekend Raul had a BBQ and I couldn´t believe the amount of meat I managed to consume - and it was good! Not to mention "Pisco" the national drink (spirit).
We have been spoiled by the most generous hospitality with Raul and his family, and really value having been given the chance to experience life with a family here. Last week we had a routine of spending the mornings in the house, which meant lunch made by the nanna everyday for us, before we would go out in the afternoons! Last Sunday we also went to Paula´s parents´house for lunch - pisco, empanadas, beef, vegies and cheesecake (and vino as well of course!) One thing we are planning to do when we do move out is to dry for a while and go on a diet!!
The work situation has thrown our plans a little. The plan next week is to go to a few more schools and see what the story is with them. The problem is that by January things will really slow down and February everything grinds to a halt as it´s the holiday month. We are thinking of trying to get work til then, then using Feb as our month to travel, which may be timed well to co-incide with carnivale in Brazil. So we shall see....John had an interview on Friday with a new-ish school but they couldn´t really tell him too much so we just have to see how that turns out as well.
This weekend is a long weekend here in Chile. John has to do some study tomorrow whilst I´m thinking of attempting to climb Cerro San Christobel (a closeby hill with the virgin at the top). Monday we´ll catch up with my mates Jude n Mel (both Aussies) and probably hit our new favourite spot - the Tango bar in Providencia for some lessons, all in the name of John´s study!
I haven´t been able to put any pic´s on here, but I have some on facebook. If you´re not on facebook just click on this link:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=16922&l=32047&id=585422680
¡¡Hasta Luego!!
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clair madden
non-member comment
trials and tribulations of adapting!!
the comment title says it all, it sounds wonderful and i especially loved the airplane story, minimum security i see. continue to enjoy yourselves, ye will find jobs, i have faith.