Santiago

Last weekend we went to Santiago for about 4 days. Most of the Gringos (North Americans) were just arriving then. However, since I did the intensive month early with about 10 others, we went to Santiago, which is the capital of Chile, to meet up with about 50 more Gringos in the airport. This weekend consisted of a lot of English, which is one reason why I hardly spend time with Gringos. However, this weekend was interesting and relaxing too. Let me tell you a little about it.
First of all, Santiago is the capital of Chile, and its population holds about 40% of the entire country's population. I think it is a city of about 6 million. It was nice to visit, but I would not want to live there.
Anyway, I was assigned a roommate, who had just arrived to Chile that day. It was interesting talking with these new arrivals, as I was reminded of the emotions, excitements, questions, etc., that I had on that day about a month ago. Anyway, the hotel was great! My roommate and I got along very well and we had an apartment to ourselves (kitchen, bathroom, living room, and bedroom). For a side note, my roommate shared my views on sunscreen.~yippee!
Okay, one of the first things we went to was called Cerro San Cristóbal. We rode up in large elevator type things but rode down in teleféricos. They are hard to explain but are like little carts to ride in and are transported by cables. They are used to get to and from the top of the hill. The distance from the ground can get up to 38 meters and the length of ride is about 5,000 meters. This picture might illustrate them better than written explanations.
Another interesting place was called the Palacio de la Moneda, which is kind of like the White House in the United States. The Chilean president works there, but does not live there. It was fascinating to me that we could enter so easily. We went on a tour around the facilities. Ever since Chile became a democracy, they find it important that citizens have access to this governmental building, since a democracy is supposed to be a government of the people, for the people, and by the people. I understand why the White House in the United States is less accessible, but I just found it very interesting. The president is much more accessible here. My hostmom explained that if someone wants to talk to the president, they are welcome to. She likes to be close to the people.
Oh, and I took a picture with one of the guards. Do we look alike?
We also went to other tourist places around Santiago, including an artisan fair. I would like to briefly explain two more places we visited, that especially stick out in my mind.
First, is la Vina Cousino Macul, which is one of the oldest vineyards in Chile. I think it was founded in the 1800's. Some of the wine in storage rooms that we saw on the tour dates back to 1927. Anyway, before the tour we all got a wine glass for taste-testing wines. The quality of wine from this vineyard has helped to make Chilean wine well-known on an international level.
The other place that we toured that I wanted to tell you about is called La Chascona, which was one of Pablo Neruda's houses. Neruda was a famous poet and politician and was fascinated with boats/ships. Therefore, his house is "shiplike". Let me explain. The hallways are narrow and the steps are circular, just like on a ship, where there isn't much room for luxury. The ceilings were lower. He even had a water stream outside his house to give it an additional effect. Also, in one of the rooms, the floor is purposely crooked, to make it seem like one is walking on a boat with waves underneath. Surprisingly, the resemblance is great.
Well, in a nutshell that was our trip to Santiago. During the days, we had mandatory tours, and we mostly had the nights free. It was nice to be able to relax two of those nights. The third night I was invited with a friend over to a couple's house. This couple are both Luther alumni that have lived in Chile for about 30 years or so. They were so hospitable. It was fun to converse with them. They said that we brought them a little bit of their home/past back to them, with our accents, culture, etc.
When I returned from Santiago, I walked into our apartment, and my hostmom greeted me at the door. With disappointment, she said that she was alone, that nobody else was there to welcome me home. However, as I walked around the corner, there were some of my Chilean friends there, waiting to go eat ice cream with me. It was a nice surprise!
That's all for now. I hope you enjoyed it.