Last Monday, Gina and Lindsey and I went through the Santiago section of our guide books and made a list of things that we had not yet done in Santiago and felt we needed to before we left. The events of this weekend were largely a materialization of that list.
Friday was the original day we set to begin our adventuring, however we quickly realized that since it was a holiday (commemorating the naval battle of Iquique) the streets were empty and everything was closed. (Quick side note and quirk: unlike in the US where everyone is out and about picnicking and traveling and stores have sales and special, longer hours, in Chile everyone seems to stay inside and everything is deserted for the day). So, we decided to postpone our adventuring to Saturday and instead took a frozen pizza that had been neglected in our freezer for the past 2 months due to our lack of ability to use our oven and went over to Lindsey's to cook it for dinner. Lindsey has a Brazilian roommate who is literally ALWAYS cooking every time we go over there, so we got to eat some delicious Brazilian cheese balls (no wonder I'm fatter these days) as appetizers! This roommate, Ylana, is also really fun to talk to as she is from Brazil but speak PERFECT English as she studied abroad in Canada and lived in DC, and is now on her 4th language as she is going to Grad school here in Chile. After dinner, we decided we were going to try and go see Grease the Musical. However, when we arrived it was sold out for the evening so we purchased tickets for the following night, grabbed some quick dessert, and headed home for the night.
Saturday began the day of adventuring. We DEFINITELY did not reach everything on our list, but we certainly saw some really neat parts of Santiago that I didn't even know existed! Unfortunately, Gina was unable to join us since she has strep throat (eek! I'm realllllly hoping not to catch it!). Ariel, Kathryn, Linsey, Ylana and I first went to the Mercado Central and wandered through it, looking at all the restaurants and fish and seafood. I wish I had known about it before so I could have taken my Dad! After that we headed towards Plaza de Armas where Lindsey ate some Pastel de Choclo, a very traditional and delicious Chilean dish of ground beef, chicken, and a corn bread like thing on top. From there, we walked several blocks along the Alameda, or the main street, towards Barrio Brasil. On the way, Ylana took us to a tiiiiiny barrio I didn;t even know existed called Barrio Concha y Toro.
It was only a block from the Alameda but it was literally like stepping into another, very european, very quiet, very quaint world. I absolutely loved it! From there we walked to Plaza Brasil in the center of Barrio Brasil, which if full of very cool, colorful, arquitecturally unique building. We spent some time playing on the swings and climbing trees before heading several blocks up a street through the Barrio to Parque Quinta Normal.
I should mention that at this point it was definitely raining, and had been for quite some time. Although we were sans umbrellas or rain coats, or even hood for that matter, the rain for some reason or another wasn't bothersome at all. In fact, it was really fun to just be walking in the rain enjoying the day and sights. The gloomy weather also added to the very strange part of town we encountered on our walk from the plaza to the park, full of very old and beautiful building scatter between many abandoned or fire-strucken buildings, some of which were huge. It was really strange and eery, but also really cool for reason I can't really explain!
After wandering the park in the rain a bit and literally dripping water from our faces, we headed back to the other side of town to eat at a Mexican restaurant my language partner had told me about before we headed to Grease. The tacos and corona I had was the best Mexican food I've had in 4 months! Definitely no CA Mexican food still, but it certainly hit the spot! Then we headed to Grease, which was impressively good and funny, whatwith the plot liberties they certainly took wherein Bill Gates and Al Pachino apparently attended Rydell High. The dialogue was in Spanish but the songs were all in English, essentially subtitled in Spanish by two television screens on either side of the stage. The singers and dancers were really good and the live musicians were especially enjoyable for me! Especially the saxophone! I miss playing so much, I would almost imagine the sensation of playing my saxophone as I watch the tenor player jam out to Grease on stage. All in all, a very great and successful day in Santiago!
As for today, I have essentially been a lazy bum and enjoyed it very much. I also legitimately cooked dinner tonight and skyped with both my parents and Malia for a very long time which was very nice! Everyone at home is getting ready to watch the last episode of LOST ever, but I will have to wait until tomorrow! Regardless of whether everything is answered or not, it will be over in just a few hours. CRAZY! Can't wait to see what happens!
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