Bureaucracy: It's Everywhere

This morning Chile proved to me that it has mastered the art of making people take the longest route possible and wait in lines for hours. Worst bureaucratic experience of my life. 

It all began at the Santiago Airport, February 5^th. I thought I had taken care of everything (visa wise), and was annoyed to discover that I still needed to “register my visa” at the address of Morandé 672. Skip a few to Day 1 of orientation. I had already been in Santiago for 16 days and the clock was ticking as far as my visa was concerned. Paola (program director) said we would go as a group within the following two weeks. I was nervous because she didn’t give us an actual date, but she reassured me personally that we would go before March 7, my deadline.

Naturally, it was announced yesterday that we would be going March 8. Oh, the communication skills of those in charge of this program. So although I had an abundance of time last week and I could have gone then, I was forced to skip a guided tour of the city today to get this visa nonsense taken care of. Let me take you through the three government offices I went to, and the eight lines I waited in.

Fila 1 (Line 1): San Antonio 580, Jefatura de Extranjería y Policia Internacional

            This is the address Paola gave me. After 15 minutes in line here I was informed I was in the wrong place.

Fila 2: Morandé 672, the real Jefatura de Extranjería y Policia Internacional

            I waited in line to pay 800 pesos. I still don’t know why.

Fila 3: The same

            I waited in a much longer line to receive a piece of paper with a crappy picture of myself.

Fila 4: A place to make photocopies

            Made a copy of my new official document. 100 pesos. Jumbo charges 40. Rip off.

Fila 5: Huérfanos 1570, Servicio Registro Civil y Identificación

            Waited 10 minutes to find out I needed another photocopy.

Fila 6: Same photocopy store

            Got laughed at while I got ripped off again for another piece of paper.

Fila 7: Huérfanos 1570

            By far the worst line. Waited an hour. Got to pay more money.

Fila 8: The same

            The last and the most infuriating. It should have never been a line; I was first! The woman working stared me down while she made a 20 minute personal phone call. If she knew how much Spanish I actually understand, she’d be embarrassed.

El fin—almost.

Tired and defeated, I sought out something familiar. Dunkin Donuts on Paseo Huérfanos had no line, and the cajero offered me 2 donuts for the price of 1. He didn’t have to ask twice.

Life in Chile is good once again.

Oh, but did I mention I have to return in two weeks to wait in another line to receive my ID card?

 Disclaimer: I don’t think today has shown me that Chile’s government offices are any worse than the United States. In fact, I fully believe most of today’s frustrations stemmed from the fact that I am foreign. Ah, us gringas, we have it so hard.

Tourist to Resident? The Real Beginning

So, after a week, I think I owe this blog an update. Where to even begin?

Friday afternoon I moved in with my host mom, Cecilia. She is super sweet and understanding of how difficult it is for me to communicate in Spanish. Since I’ve been here, I ask myself everyday why I am majoring in Spanish. Then I learn a new phrase or word and think, “Oh yeah, I love Spanish.”

On Saturday I returned to Lastarria to spend the day with my dad. We had lunch together and sat in Parque Forestral talking and enjoying his last moments in Santiago. He left Santiago that night and is now safely back in the United States where I am sure he is experiencing a new appreciation for the English language.

When I returned to Cecilia’s house, I went next door where another AU student, Allison, lives. She was there with Emily and Elin and it was so nice to sit around speaking English. Allison’s host mom gave us cookies and soda—Chilean host moms are super-simpáticas. Later we went to Budapest, a nearby bar, where we also met up with Eleni. Together we shared “un grifo.” If you want to know what that is, please ask, I would love to tell you but I’m not going into detail here because of the younger generation following this blog. Chilean nights are too late, but we were home by 2.

Yesterday was a bit crazier. Cecilia’s family came over for almuerzo—3 sons, 2 of them married, 6 grandchildren and another one is on the way. It was very overwhelming but also so much fun to meet everyone. Two of the sons live nearby and I will see them from time to time, but one of them lives in Peru with his family. I know that makes Cecilia sad so it was great to see her having such a great time with the grandchildren she rarely gets to see. Just when my brain was going to explode from the constant Spanish, Cecilia saved the day and demanded that I napped. I had a glorious 20 minutes of rest before Ignacia (one of the grandchildren, age 6) jumped in my bed to talk. It was, however, a wonderful way to wake up because she was adorable, and extremely patient for a 6 year old when it came to my inability to understand what she was trying to say.

This weekend was a wonderful introduction to the next 5 months. Vacationing here was one thing, but everything is different now that I am living with my madre chilena. I love it. The house is nice, Cecilia is muy simpática (and a good cook!), and the other AU students that I have gotten to know so far are so much fun. I feel comfortable here—wow.

completos with my dad

Ignacia, Lupe, and Magdalena!

Cascada de las Animas, San Alfonso, Cajón del Maipo

Yesterday we had yet another adventure outside of Santiago, perhaps my favorite thus far! After a spur of the moment decision, we headed out in the morning all the way to the Las Mercedes metro station, and from there we took a colectivo (1400 pesos each) to Cascada de las Animas! Cascada de las Animas (Waterfall of the Spirits) is owned by this family that I believe used to own the entire town of San Alfonso. They may not own the town now, but they sure do own a TON of land! This place has camping grounds, a hostel, and cabins. They offer hiking (well, they call it “trekking”), zip lining, rafting, horseback rides, and even more. Kind of a cool getaway, and turned out to be so nice for a day trip.

We decided to take the “La Meseta” trek, and they insisted we get a guide. So that’s when we met Martín. He looked like many of the adventurous rock climbers and hardcore hikers that I’ve met in my own hometown, and he acted so American (as in the US). In the end, I decided he must be a Californian with a Chilean accent. Actually though, he’s from Santiago, and moved to Cajón del Maipo because he hates cities.

Anyway, Martín proceeded to take us on the most difficult 3 hour hike of my life! He told us the first 45 minutes would be “a little uphill.” Really though, that was probably the steepest trail I have climbed in my life! Worn out and defeated, nearly wanting to turn back, I discovered that my struggles were completely worth it after an hour. We reached this beautiful little pool, where snow melt off from the mountains made a tiny waterfall run in to the perfect swimming spot. The water was FREEZING! I felt the shock of having gone from almost having a heat stroke to suddenly fearing that I would get hypothermia. I couldn’t breathe.

Luckily, my body quickly got used to the water, and I enjoyed the most refreshing experience that I have ever had. I thought I was going to die on that trail, and suddenly I was alive and well again! After our break, the trail was much more enjoyable, though I got a little scared on a steep downhill section I nearly slid down the entire way. On the plateau (there was a plateau, that is what la meseta means!), there was a farm and we walked around to see the goats, horses, sheep, and wild hogs. Why were there wild hogs? I really don’t know. Cascada de las Animas is also a wildlife rehabilitation center so they have lots of wild animals, including a puma, that I unfortunately did not see because it was too hot for him to be in the sunny part of his cage.

So after all the adventuring, we sat down in their restaurant and had a delicious meal. Or maybe it just tasted delicious because I was so tired. I figured 3 hour hike, no biggie, I do that all the time. 3 hours with the heat, dust, and steep trail was a bit different than I expected. Totally worth it and totally fun. Plus, I can officially say that I have trekked in the Andes Mountains!

P.S. Did I mention the part where we got lost for days and had to eat Martín to survive?

 The beginning-a rickety bridge over the river

 Rehabilitated(ing?) eagle

 Me in Martin's stylish hat

 That bridge I mentioned

 after the pool--meaning this does not nearly represent the steep parts of the trail

 horsie!

 beautiful views

 fresh, cold water!

Pomaire

After using several forms of transportation (metro, bus, and colectivo), I arrived in Pomaire yesterday, about 45 minutes out of Santiago. Pomaire is a small village where almost everyone makes their living off of pottery. It’s a little tourist trap that only covers one street, but it still had an air of authenticity around it that probably came from the fact that every restaurant served the traditional dishes of cazuela, empanadas, and pastel de choclo, and no one spoke English.

It was the perfect little place to do some souvenir shopping, and we bought some pottery for my mom. They also had some really cute earrings that I didn’t go for, but probably won’t be able to resist again if I return to Pomaire.

I felt like I was seeing a different side of Chile. There was absolutely no hint of urban here—just a dusty, cobbled road surrounded by the country side. It was absolutely beautiful. On the other hand, the street dogs seemed a bit skinnier here. In my experiences thus far, the state of the street dogs reflects how wealthy the area is.

I had so much fun getting out of Santiago for the day that I hope to do it again this week. Chile has some awesome scenery, and I love the city but can’t resist the beautiful countryside.

 

 Picture I took on the bus

 HUGE EMPANADA.

 Dad in front of a couple of the pottery shops

Valparaíso

Yesterday my dad and I decided to get out of Santiago for the day and head to the coast. It was easy and cheap to get a bus to Valparaíso from the Pajaritos bus terminal, and the exchanges I had at the boleterías in the metro stations and bus terminal made me feel for the first time that I might be able to communicate in Spanish! Yes, Spanish, that language I don’t really get but somehow it’s my major!

When we got off the bus in Valparaíso, however, I felt like I had made a terrible mistake. This looked nothing like the picturesque port my guidebook had described! And, I must admit, I’m very dependent on that guidebook. It was cloudy and I felt disoriented, but my dad and I eventually figured out which direction to walk in. We could have taken one of the buses to our destination, the Ascensor Peral (a lift that would take us to the best view in the town), but Valparaíso’s public transportation outright terrified me. The tiny, colorful buses sped around town like they owned the streets, and they made being a pedestrian crossing the street scary enough.

Instead, we ended up getting lost and wandering around for hours. Up some hills, down some hills, and suddenly everything was beautiful. The sun finally made an appearance, too. We were still lost (turns out the map in my guidebook wasn’t so great), but I realized that getting lost was the best part of the day. Up more hills, down more hills. Lots of cobbled steps beside the pink, orange, blue, and yellow houses. I think I got the real experience, though by the time we sat down for lunch at 14:00 I was so exhausted that it took everything I had to conjure up the words “agua—sin gas—por favor—gracias.”

We ended up making it to Cerro Alegre without the lift, as well as Cerro Concepción and some other beyond gorgeous sights. We were supposed to visit Viña del Mar as well, but we never quite made it there. We finally got on a bus to take us back to Santiago, and I slept for the hour and a half journey back.

I must say, the experience was different than expected, and it definitely did not feel like a relaxing day at the ocean. Totally fun, though, and I can’t wait to go back!

The few pictures I took don’t do it justice:

 wall art on the side of buildings--much prettier than your average graffiti, no?

 A glimpse of the sea

 Up and down, up and down