I actually love Santiago. When I tell Chileans that I am visiting their capital during my vacation, they give me a confused look and ask "Por qué?" Explaining to them that Santiago is the land of pisco and overflowing empanadas just doesn't cut it. Even with the option of traveling to Rio de Janeiro or Buenos Aires, Santiago really isn't a bad place to visit. Since arriving two days ago, I have visited several friends who I met while working here two years ago. I also visited my old workplace, a microfinance institution called Fondo Esperanza, and was happy to find that my former coworkers have quadrupled the size of the organization (they told me this expansion was made possible by my work...They like to make jokes here).
T.S. Eliot once wrote, "We shall not cease from exploration / and the end of all our exploring / will be to arrive where we started / and know the place for the first time." Although I won't go so far as to say I "know" Santiago, I must say that I see the city in a different light than I did while working here two years ago. For starters, my Spanish is much better, so I can easily communicate with the locals. When they ask me where I learned Spanish, I am pleased to tell them I learned here in Santiago. I notice things that have changed throughout the city--a monument erected in front of the bus station, a new sushi restaurant and Starbucks--and am able to share in the excitement the Chileans feel as they describe the changes taking place. I know what to expect here--I am accustomed to the Chilean accent and the fast pace of the city, so I actually feel at home here. Since I am still adjusting to Uruguay, this is a welcome feeling.
An observation that I will have to keep in mind as I live in Uruguay (briefly alluded to in an earlier post):
Today, while reflecting a bit, I recalled my perception of Santiago when I first arrived in June of 2005. Having returned from Mongolia only six months prior, I tended to involuntarily compare Chile to Mongolia, and to overlook those things that make Chile a uniquely beautiful country. Mentally, I was constantly in another place and time: dreaming of horseback riding along the steppe or walking with my host family through Ulaanbaatar. It wasn't until I had lived in Santiago for over a month that I began to recognize and appreciate Chile's uniqueness. Now it is all I see. In a way, I wish I had learned to "live in the moment" earlier that summer, and appreciated Chile and Santiago a bit more while I lived here.
Here are some photos of a couple of my favorite sites around Santiago. The first is a view of the avenue I walked along today:
This is a view of the Plaza de las Armas, which is very close to where I am staying:
To backtrack a bit, I actually haven't spent my entire Semana de Turismo in Santiago. I spent one day in Buenos Aires, visiting some prominent sites such as Recoleta Cemetary and Café Tortoni. Then I spent the weekend in the beautiful Chilean coastal city of Viña del Mar. The highlight of my time in Viña--a city I visited several times while in Chile in 2005, and which became one of my favorite sites in the country--was when I discovered a gorgeous beach just to the north of the city...a beach I never knew existed. I spent my last day in Viña there (the beach is called Reñaca), reading and writing in my journal. It was just the relaxing escape I needed, even if it did leave me with a mean sunburn. Here are some images of Reñaca:
I will be spending the next few days here in Santiago, then I will fly to Buenos Aires, where I will have another free day. From there, I will take a bus up to Salto. Once in Salto, I will post some of my own photos of my time here in Chile.
It's getting late here, and I should probably be leaving this hot and smoky internet cafe. I'll leave you with one more image of Santiago--the one I will see when I leave the café:
Good night.
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