So far, yet so close to home.

The amazing thing about this city is how much it feels like home. Granted, I’ve only been here a few days and have been hanging out with people who primarily speak English, but still. I’m not quite sure how I imagined this place to be, but I suppose I was expecting it to be drastically different from being in the States. Santiago is really just like any other city. It has its tall buildings and mass transportation systems, floods of pedestrians and little neighborhoods defined by the collection of people who congregate there. Don’t get me wrong, there are definitely things that are different here, but it is amazingly influenced by western culture and a very modern city in its own right. I’m sure as I continue to get out more my sentiments might change, but I have to say, it’s eased my transition from American life to Chilean life thus far.

Yesterday, I took it upon myself to venture out a bit on my own, not with any real direction in mind, but just a walk around the neighborhood to familiarize myself with the area and get my bearings. For as much as I studied the Chilean past in school, there’s really so little I know about the Chilean present. (The photo to the left is a view of my street.)

There’s a little park just a few blocks west of where I’m staying. It was a gorgeous day so I slowly meandered over there…strolled through the park where children were climbing jungle gyms while adults rested on park benches. As I walked around I tried to listen to the tidbits of conversation around me to see if I could understand what they were saying. I walked up to La Plaza Italia (see the photo to the right) and down streets that housed Universidad Católica buildings and Chile’s Olympic Committee building. Then I crossed a little river and made my way to a neighborhood called Bellavista. The sign denoting this area described it as the Bohemian part of Santiago. There was an open market and a lot of little sidewalk vendors selling all sorts of things. And then I saw I sign up above that said “Dublin.” Being so Irish, of course I had to see what it was! As my mom said, it was like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow! It was this little Irish restaurant in this nice plaza called Patio Bellavista. It has all sorts of little shops and restaurants of all varieties. I found the little Irish pub, a sushi place and an Italian restaurant! Lots of foreigners were hanging out there so I imagine it’s a bit of a tourist place to go. Nonetheless, it seems like a neat little place and I’m sure I will be making my way back there at some point or another.

Last night, my roommate and I decided to get a late bite to eat. So we hopped a bus that took us a little bit further into the heart of Providencia. When we stepped off the bus, the first restaurants I saw were McDonald’s and Pizza Hut. No, thank you. We decided on a Spanish tapas place and had croquetas de pollo, tortillas, patatas con salsa brava, some shrimp thing (the name slips my mind) and for dessert, pastis xocolata…or as I would like to compare it to, exploding chocolate lava cake! Not quite the traditional Chilean cuisine, but even so, muy delicioso! The restaurant seemed to be a big date night spot…lots of couples and lots of PDA. From what I hear, Chileans are not shy about their PDA. From making out to restaurants to embracing each other as they cross the street, they are not afraid to show their love for one another.

Like other cities, they have taxicabs, so we hailed one and got a ride home to the tunes of Frank Sinatra. They sure do seem to love their American music down here, but how can you blame them, Frank is great! When we got home, teenagers were hanging out on the sidewalk. Two boys were sitting in the bushes by the door to the apartment building trying to hide the fact that they were drinking! Ah, to be in high school again!

Tomorrow I start my job and make my debut as an official English teacher here. I’m excited, but have those initial nerves you get when you start any new job. I can’t wait to get settled into a routine and meet more people! So, I’m relaxing today and getting ready for tomorrow…and trying to keep up with the score of the Packers game in hopes that they do not disappoint like the Badgers did yesterday. So far, it’s looking good.

¡Hasta luego!