I've dug something up from my diary, check it!

The following was writing upon my arrival to Santiago, in September. some parts are editited out due to prophanity and what not, but here it is.

note: any [bracketed] text are small additional comments that have been added at the time of writing this blog for clarification.





2nd September, 2010

The flight was long and uncomfortable. i think i was nervous unconsciously. the thought of a whole new reality was probably scarey to my subconsious. fair enough

we arrived, i felt dazed. the combination of a smoke up the night prior, sleeping pills and an out of wack internal clock just may have been the cause. when i arrived i realised how little spanish i was actually fluent with. Sure, if i read an email in spanish i could decipher it after a few minutes but landing in Santiago, Chile, where spanish is, frankly, not spanish at all, more like 'chilean'? They drop about half of every word they say. take an eight letter word. they will say half of it and think you (a foreigner) will know what the fuck they are talking about. yeah. beautiful introduction to a new language, thank you chilean slang. Ah well, i can only improve from here.

I like how i'm put on the spot when interacting with the locals. I think i can make more of an effort though. I have all these words in my head. when put on the spot though with someone waiting on your quick, fluent reply, well, i freeze up and it just seems so much harder than writing in spanish. i guess the trick is to relax and realise you're not that good at it, people aren't going to judge you if you make mistakes and ultimately don't be hesitant to improvise.

'Just add an 'O', bro'

.. or an 'A'.
haha

Patricio and Myriam are great. Patricio is a funny one. We've had some interesting half english half spanish conversations. i'm learning from him, which is a bonus..           [these are the lovely people i stayed with]

Santiago is, as mum said, a big dirty, poverty ridden city. It definitely has its beautiful elements. Cerro Santa Lucia is this beautiful mountain right on the border of the city [i think it may be called something different, looking back]. We took the funicular up it's own special made rail system. the view of the city from up there is spectacular; it's fucking huge. you could probably see a lot more of it if there wasn't as much smog. This morning we awoke and glimpsed the snow capped mountains looming over the city, amazing. like something from The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers except this is santiago, not NZ.

There are rediculous amounts of mangy dogs. I say amounts and i know this is incorrect grammar, but really, you can't count how many stray dogs you will see in a day roaming around the city. Oh, and you have to watch your fuckn step for steaming turds. So many times Zac would tell me to watch out. that kid is sharp on stuff like this.

I had a run this morning and thought i was going to get rabies when this feral dog started chasing me. Looking back it was a hilarious moment. Picture this clueless westerner in a dirty, dangerous neighbourhood going on an innocent run and suddenly being attacked by a fucking huge rabies looking dog, only to turn back in the direction he came from at full pace begging to jesus, allah, buddah and all them other dudes to make sure he didn't contract a deadly virus and have a fuckn hole in his leg. All good though, i'm iron man no one can out run me, not even raby delux dog.

Another thing you notice is the height of everyone. Damn short. Finally i fit in, life's great! Sadly, the other main thing you'd say about the people of Santiago is that the women [that we encountered, Zac and i didn't really frequent any nightlife hotspots due to jet lag] are average or a bit below. occasionally you'll get the odd green eyed cutey but no one really stunning. I always thought of South America as having the most beautiful people on earth. I think up north the women get better.

[to all female readers, this is just me being bluntly honest. don't get all 'YOU FUCKING MISOGYNIST' on my arse. I tell it like i see it.]

The city architecture is interesting. There are a lot of great old beautiful colonial buildings and if one walked through a certain area of the city, you'd think the entire place is one big classical, architectural dream. Walk one block down and reality will come crashing down. The dirty, half built, cracked walls of most buildings in Santiago are what the majority of locals call home.

In the taxi on the way back from Barrio Bellavista we passed through some fucked up area. Hectic poverty. In this one section houses were built up on the side of the hill. Shanty homes, shit you see on World Vision ads. Take note this is within 1km of the booming city centre, not an outer lying place.
[looking back, Barrio Bellavista is definitely the best place in the city, a lot of graffiti'd walls, in fact i think it would be odd to not see a nicely pieced wall. The bars there are great too, you ask for 1 beer and they bring out this fucking huge 2 litre monstrocity. comparatively cheap aswell]

Still, people seem happy. Just shows that money doesn't equal happiness. Friends, family and community outweight cheddar... and maybe a bit of coke, hah.

Two days in Santiago is enough i think. The city bustle and grime is only fathomable for a short period of time.


This was my first entry. the next edition of my amazing blog will be from sept. 15th. 
i may start charging for viewings so just hook me up bsb: 12455235 acc: 125234523 and i'll permit you access. Cheers.