A Tad More Tourism…
As promised, here comes the crash course in Chilean culture. The general format of this “Chile Contemporaneo” class seems to be lecture in the morning, and field trip in the afternoon. Personally, I prefer the field trips.
This week we visited the Mercado Central and la Vega, the two major outdoor markets for the Northern quadrant of the city. As previously mentioned, I absolutely adore the food here, and now that I know where it comes from I truly understand how these Chilean mothers manage to consistently put together such scrumptious meals. The markets here not only have the freshest produce, seafood, and meat in the region, but also have the lowest prices! California farmers markets could really learn something here. Oh also, these markets were each about the size of 20 average sized California farmers markets combined. While we did come across the occasional Dole banana or Sunkist orange, most of the produce was grown locally by independent farmers from the region. Que bacán.*
*Your first lesson in Chilean Spanish: bacán means cool, awesome, great, etc.
Today we had an official tour of La Moneda. This building was originally a colonial mint, but in 1845 President Manuel Bulnes transformed the palace into the seat of government and the presidential residence. While Chilean presidents no longer live there, it is basically the White House of Chile. This building has been through a lot. During the military coup by former dictator Pinochet on September 11, 1973, the palace was partially destroyed by aerial bombing by the Chilean Air Force (still a very touchy subject here). Though that damage was repaired in the late 70’s, there was also a good deal of damage done to the building during the earthquake in February of this year. Even if there are a few cracked moldings and missing tiles, La Moneda has certainly managed to retain its regal appearance and is definitely worth a visit for anyone spending time in Santiago. Be sure to check out the gorgeous interior plaza dedicated to the Mapuche people of Chile. Also, be sure to check out the equally gorgeous Carabineros (the armed guards and one of the branches of the Chilean police). I know it’s a cliché, “women love a man in uniform,” etc. Still…
This afternoon, Allison and I ventured into the shopping mall at Manquehue to do our first round of serious shopping. Those of you who know me will be shocked to know that this was my first venture into Chilean shopping since my arrival. The mall had a pretty typical mall ambiance, with a combination of smaller shops and other larger ones that I assumed to be mainstream Chilean department stores. I have yet to quite wrap my head around Chilean style, and I’m not sure how fully I will be embracing it. Before, when I thought of Chilean clothing, alpaca sweaters and gorgeous woven textiles came to mind. Alas, las Santiaguinas seem to prefer garishly bright sweaters, sequins on everything, and some of the most strange boots I have ever seen. But to each her own, these girls somehow seem to pull it off.
I did manage to find myself a bag appropriate for my daily commute on Chilean public transportation. Turns out the designer purses that I brought with me are bulls-eyes for the various pickpockets and thieves that roam the Santiago streets, and backpacks aren’t really a good idea either since it’s pretty hard to keep an eye on them on the packed buses and trains. I thought I might be able to get away with carrying my black nylon Longchamp bag, which I didn’t consider too flashy. Last week however, a girl carrying the exact same bag was robbed; a thief used a knife to cut thought the thin nylon and took her wallet without her even noticing! So today I bought myself a new purse. It was relatively inexpensive, and hopefully will serve me well for the rest of my stay here!
Tonight, I am headed to meet some friends at Flannery’s Irish Pub in the Providencia district of Chile. Seems funny to be going to an Irish Pub in Chile, but hey, why not? And as of tomorrow afternoon, I will be taking a break from the city. One of my friends here has generously invited me to her house in the beach town of Los Vilos for the weekend! Yes, it is winter here and it will be chilly at the beach; but I am excited to see some more of this country and breath some fresh air. The smog in Santiago, though alleviated by the recent rains, can be stifling at times. I am definitely looking forward to a relaxing getaway full of reading, long walks, and plenty of sleep.
Well, I’m off to eat dinner with my host mom, her niece, and her nieces daughter (who is the cutest thing EVER, and of course is obsessed with the Jonas Brothers).
Chao!
Chile ala Gringa 
