Exploring Santiago and the Coast

Even though I have lived in Santiago, Chile for 2 months, I still haven't explored much of the city (let alone the enormous country). Santiago is broken down into "comunas" or different communities. When I lived in the hostel for the first month, I lived in Providencia, which is a nicer, more upscale part of town. Now, I live in Santiago Centro which is still a nice area but is more crowded. I work in La Florida which is south of the central part of the city. Basically, I have gotten to know these 3 "comunas" of the city and there are at least 20 other "comunas" that I would like to get to know. So my goal has been to continue to get to know the city. One of the ways I have been doing this is by creating a goal of taking a picture every single day I have and will be here. I have been here for more than 60 days and I have only missed one day in taking a picture (I was very mad at myself for forgetting to take a picture, but I will be here for another 8 months so I think I will be able to make it up). Anyway, I get done with class on Fridays in La Florida at noon so I pretty much have the whole day off. A few Fridays ago I decided to explore the city with another English professor and a local Chilean friend. First, we went to "Mercado Central" which is in between Santiago and la comuna "Recoleta". Mercado Central is notorious for its cheap and delicious seafood. (On a side note: lunch is the biggest meal of the day in Chile and almost every restaurant has "una promoción" or a deal for a lunch meal). We ordered Pisco Sours for our starter drink which only cost 900 CLP (about $1.75). Then, we ate Machas a La Parmesana (clams baked in parmesan=SOOO GOOD) for our appetizer. For my main meal, I ordered Pastel del Jaiba ("Crab Pie") which consists of crab, cheese, more cheese, onions, pepper, and deliciousness. Finally, we ordered an after dinner drink "manzanilla" which is a "bajativo" to help digest the food. For all 3 of us, our entire bill cost 23,000 CLP (approximately $46...not bad for a meal filled with great food, drinks, and company). After Mercado Central, we walked around Recoleta and went to Patronato (the clothing market). Then we went to Bellavista to enjoy the beautiful sun and some happy hour drinks. That night, I went to a Chilean rock concert to see a band called "Los Tetas." The concert was in Vitacura which is another comuna that is very "cuica" (ritzy, snotty, upper-class). The concert was really fun and it was cool to go to a local concert, even though I didn't know any of the songs. The band was really popular and they had separated and finally reunited after a while. Overall, this was a very fun Friday that consisted of lots of exploring and trying new things. These pictures pretty much sum up the day:

Santiago is about an hour from the mountains and an hour and a half from the coast. I went to Cajón del Maipo in the Andes a few weeks ago so it was time for me to go to the Coast. This past weekend a group of us from Santiago went to visit some friends we had met at orientation who moved out to the coast to teach. First, we went to Viña del Mar. We met up with our friends Mary Kate and Pete who have a nice apartment in Viña. We ate a quick "churrasco" (steak, cheese, avocado, and tomato) sandwich and then walked to the beach. I saw the "flower clock" which is literally a clock of flowers that tells time. From here, I was able to look at the Pacific Ocean and the Andes at the same time. Pretty sweet. We walked to a local market, then went back to Mary Kate's place to have an asado. Pete grilled some chicken, chorizo, and delicious squid while we snacked on chips and guac. That night, we reunited with some friends and played some fun games. The next day, we went to Valparaíso which is about 20 minutes away from Viña. Valparaíso is notorious for its hills, colorfully painted houses, and graffiti. We explored the city and saw some amazing views. Eventually we met up with some more people who moved to the coast who were able to take us to Pablo Neruda's house. Pablo Neruda was a Chilean poet, diplomat and politician. I didn't explore his museum but I was able to look at some spectacular views from his house. Later, we went to a local bar to watch the "Clásico" fútbol game between Colo-Colo and La Universidad de Chile (La-U). These are the two most famous soccer teams in Chile. Chileans are either die-hard fans of Colo-Colo or La-U but never both.  A few weeks ago a bunch of us went to a Colo-Colo game but we were told several times not to bring our cameras due to safety reasons so I didn't take any pictures. It was a fun experience but definitely pretty crazy. You don't want to get in the way of Latinos and their soccer. Anyway, the bar was pretty full and La-U eventually won 5-0. After the game, we drove back to Viña for some dinner and arrived back in Santiago. I am so glad I have been able to explore more of Chile and can't wait to get to know Santiago and the country even more. I am also excited to go to another country such as Argentina or Bolivia. Tomorrow is "el día de los trabajadores" aka Labor Day so I have the whole day off :) I hope you all are enjoying my blog posts as I keep you up to date on Mi Vida Chilena :)