Mi Primera Dia

Here I am!!!!! I made it. I am in Santiago, Chile in Hotel BonaParte.
However, I feel like my trip has yet to begin. I know no one here. I move in to my University apartment tomorrow. I meet my professor, Carolina (my mentor), and Shannon (my roommate) tomorrow as well.

Right now... I am alone. It's such a weird feeling. This sense of freedom is scary and exciting. I have never been absolutely alone in a foreign country before. In a completely unfamiliar place.
Somewhere where I do not know anybody. It's curious for me, but I know this can get old quickly. In fact, I am glad I am only spending 1 night alone here.

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I flew in at 7:40 in the morning. I got worried because I could not find my backpack anywhere in the baggage claim. Finally after what felt like half an hour of searching I finally found it! I rushed outside to meet with my cab driver. By that time it was near 10 in the morning! Holy cow. He had been waiting for 2 hours with a sign holding my name along with all the other personal drivers. I dodged all of the cab drivers bombarding me with offers to drive me and tapped Rodrigo on the shoulder. He saw me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. Then he carried my bags.

I stepped outside and breathed in the crisp cool air. In just hours I was transported from the beginning of summer to the beginning of winter. It was slightly foggy and I could see my breath. Everyone was wearing big bulky snow outfits. I was shocked and awed to see how close we were to the Andes mountains. Snowcapped peaks were really nearby! Rodrigo drove me through town and showed me the sights with a brief explanation of each. He was funny and friendly despite limited English. He escorted me to the hotel and waited till everything was settled. Then he kissed me goodbye.

Afterwards I had planned on taking a nap. Instead I felt like I wanted to explore the city. Somehow, without knowing any Spanish, I managed to do quite a few things. I managed to figure out how to buy a card and take a metro to get to one of the main tourist areas (the biggest metropolitan park in the world). There I saw 3 llamas! I also walked up this hill where there was a great view of the city.



Santiago reminds me a lot of Athens. It's got the same looking buildings and streets. Graffiti in lots of areas, somewhat dirty, high rise condos, and a huge population (6 million).

However some things were different:

1) I saw trees. They were fall trees. Deciduous trees. I don't see that in Greece, not even California. All along the streets and parks were lined with autumn leaves, looking like they were about to fall off and die.

2) It may be because it was a Sunday, but the streets were quieter. Drivers are not as crazy. Although they are like Greeks in that they almost have no regard for the lines dividing 2 lanes.. but they are more laid back about it. There was less honking, drivers seemed more patient. The streets also seemed less cramped and much easier to navigate than in Athens.

3) People are more beautiful (and nicer, which I will explain in detail later). Rumors are true. I say the people here are more beautiful than in any other country I've been to. Women are tall, thin but not too thin, light skin, dark hair, pretty eyes, fashionable, made up. Most of them were wearing black leather pointed boots, tight jeans, and expensive but warm looking jackets. Men, also good looking and fashionable, but not too arrogant either. Just genuinely nice.


After a while, I got tired. Tired in general from lack of proper sleep, and also tired of constantly worried about being a 20 year old female tourist who is alone in a new city. I kept looking behind me to make sure I wasn't being followed. But so far, everyone I have met has had honest intentions.

--An old lady on the bench tried to talk to me. She knew no English, but still tried vehemently to communicate with me. She even asked a random passerby if he knew English so she could translate. Finally she pointed up and said "arriba" (I guess that means up?) and "ciao."
--The man who tried to sell me a hairdryer did not know any English whatsoever. Instead he demonstrated to me the hairdryers use by plugging it in an outlet and letting me feel the heat. I bought the cheapest one.. which was still expensive ($26 USD). It was funny because he kept talking to me in Spanish. And I kept talking to him in English. We were having what felt like the silliest conversation ever, pretty much like one of us was speaking gibberish. Yet much of communication is nonverbal. Tone of voice, hand gestures, eye contact. It was pretty funny.
--The woman who worked at the clothing store did not know any English. So she asked another customer to translate for me. wow! so nice!
--And my favorite example of Chilean hospitality.. was when I walked in the Starbucks to use their restroom. I didn't even buy a drink, I just really needed to go. A young pretty lady communicated to me that the bathrooms were not in order. They wouldn't flush. I said I really needed to go and asked her where I could find a bathroom. So she personally escorted me across the street to another restaurant where she asked the worker if I could use their bathroom. He said of course. And then she left back to her work. I don't think I've ever seen that kind of niceness anywhere.

So I had a good day. But I really look forward to tomorrow when I will be with company.