Santiago: Where Can I Find...?

Living in a big city of 6 million or so people has its ups and downs. Living in the third world country with a semi-developed capital city has its benefits and struggles.  I'm sure living where you do also has its happy face and grey days, too. We all day. At the end of the day, I want to be the best I can and leave the world a bit better than I found it each day. :)

I want to make the best of it but, a girl from the good ol' USofA just wants some Reese's, pretzels and friendly strangers. Did you know something that foreigners comment on about us Americans is that we pick up a conversation with just anyone? That apparently isn't normal in the rest of the world. When you are walking around the streets of Santiago, you see the opposite. People have their resting-not-nice-face on all.the.time.  Try smiling at them and they think you're nuts.

happy get lucky pigs from Pomaire!

We need those people that wear the "Free Hugs" t-shirts on the streets of Santiago! Someone bring them here!

That was sort of connected to where I wanted to go. I was thinking about what to do on a Friday night and simultaneously thinking about things I miss/can't remember that I miss from the red, white and blue.

p.s. WE ARE GOING (COMING) TO AMERICA!!! Pablo and are going to the US this September for 3 weeks. Bring out your American friendliness, humor and take us to a football game, invite to your pumpkin patch and fill us with American beer (no Bud, though). Can't WAIT!

at work in a typical Chilean elementary classroom with 38 students

Anyway... my random list of things I wish I could find in Santiago...

• Live music. Small little hole-in-the-wall places with live music
• Great tacos. I need fish tacos with slaw. Or Mexican tacos with sweaty-spicy salsa. 
• Jazz
• Radio stations with a variety of music. How is radioDisney the only station to play throughout the whole city? It's either romantic Latino music or Justin Beiber.
• Veggie sandwiches without mayo or cheese. 
• Efficiency. I miss efficient meetings, quick service, and timely responses
• Greek yogurt. The stuff they sell here is marketed as Greek yogurt but I want US-style authentic Greek yogurt. 
• Policeman at intersections that have malfunctioning traffic lights. It is a fierce battle of the bigger machinery when traffic lights go out. I'm afraid my car and I won't come out alive every time. Where are the policemen protecting the citizens?
• Nice strangers/workers. Where are you?  The negativity that 99% of workers here is unbelievable. I miss nice strangers/workers. 
• Bars to sit at. I love sitting on a stool at a bar and enjoying a cocktail or leaning against the bar to have a advantageous viewing spot. There are a few here, but very few. 
• Great clothes. Man, I'm not even a fashion-forward girl but I miss my Anthropologie, Macy's, Buffalo Exchange and TARGET. Oh, what I'd do for a Target shopping spree... 
• Fresh air. Oh yeah, gotta hike out and into the Andes for that one. The winter smog is setting in...

My friends Leanne and Katy on my rooftop! 

Which leads me to... Why do I live here and like it? 

• super casual work environment yet still meaningful 
• loads of vacation time
• cheap travel throughout the country
• insanely delicious fruit and veggies for DIRT CHEAP
• Peruvian food
• city life + mountains. It's better access than Denver to the foothills of Boulder or Golden
• I feel smart living and working in Spanish. I feel smart in English too but a different smart
• I don't spend lots of money on materialism: fashion, design, home goods, purses so I have more in my bank account at the end of the month
• I can get away with a lot because I'm a foreigner. But I can also get screwed over because I'm a foreigner. 
• AMAZING view from our apartment balcony! I live on the 18th floor. That is super high up and we look straight at the Andes and over a big park. We don't have an Ugly Naked Guy !

Sunday in / outside Santiago: Hiking Alto de Naranjo

Urban Hiking in the Andes: Alto de Naranjo 

Going outside is not an escape. It's the place I feel most at home, where the wind moves me and the sound of trees and birds isn't noise but songs of life. The small dot that contrasts against the blue sky isn't a peak, it's the place I feel most grounded and most alive. Nothing fills my soul like a few hours outside, scrambling up boulders and drinking the fresh air.

Ever hear a bird song that sounds like a person whistling? I thought someone had fallen overboard (can you do that on a mountain?) and was stuck in the centuries-old cactus field from the sound of this bird. Did I whistle back? The bird was probably looking for its sexy bird buddy but I was celebrating the blue sky and breeze. 

And, we saw a really cool bird! It's called a Tinamou and apparently, not seen often. 

not my photo, thanks go to these guys

 He scared the daylights out of me. I think about pumas, mountain lions, and of course think that the scrambling sound will be my last song before the attack. But no, pumas live deep into Patagonia, very far away from me.  

My friend Carissa, also from Michigan (crazy!), and I went on a Sunday hike together. It was super foggy in the morning but turned into a perfect fall hiking day. We drove just 20 minutes from my place in Las Condes to the Catolica soccer/futbol stadium at San Carlos de Apoquindo. Basically, all the way "up" in Santiago. The neighborhood is dreamy: houses with yards, quiet streets lined with trees and clean, fresh no-smog air. 

We parked at the stadium - free-  and walked through the baby soccer fields to the trailhead. We saw some micros, so I'm betting there is public transportation to this trailhead.  

*Note: try not to go the same day as a game! I'm betting it turns into a madhouse!

You need to pay 1.500 pesos ($3.00US) to use the trails and it is worth it! The trails are so clean and very well-marked. They have actual trail posts that point you in the right direction. I think it is my first time seeing those in Chile!  

There is a big map at the start and a really friendly park ranger that helped us get oriented; we took off for Alto de Naranjo. We shared the trail with a few groups of intense mountain bikers for the first 2 hours and then ran into less than 10 people on the rest of the hike up. There were some narrow parts of the trail and that of course, is where we stepped out of the way of the descending bikers. 

*There is another trailhead from a puente which is bike-free and about the same distance and time as our hike. 

It was beautiful! The desert colors and bright blue sky make for the perfect painting. The hike is not difficult, there are very few semi-steep sections and if you're in hiking shoes, you're fine. Carissa had on tennis shoes, the footing was a bit tricky in a few spots but she made it!  Along the way there are great views of Santiago (on a low-smog day) and towards the Andes. At one point, we could see the ski resorts, they looked like dollhouses!

This hike takes you to a big tree, out of place on a mountain covered in cactus and desert shrub. You have the option of crossing to another peak and staying the night in a refugio. But that was 4 km and 3 hours away. Not in our day hike plan. 

what shade of blue is that? blue heaven! 

We had packed a tipico Chilean lunch: bread, avocado, tomato and ham with some fresh fruit and a bag of nuts. Side story, I think I'm averaging half an avocado per day. When I grow up, I want an avocado tree outside my kitchen window. Daily guacamole. Avocado/tequila soap. Avocado face masks and avocado/orange juice. YUM. You're all invited! 

After a relaxing lunch with the coolest international family ever (two young boys were perfectly bilingual and the parents were rad) we headed back down.  Carissa, you are a great hiking friend! We had so much fun chatting and listening to nature. Thanks Carissa, for the company, goodies and covering my entrance fee! 

Needless to say, we were DUSTY. My white socks were Dustbowl brown when I got home. My hair felt like straw and I had a fine layer of Andes dirt on my face. 

And the next day my body felt strong, healthy and ready for the week. 

Should you do this hike? Yes! And look for me, I'll be out there again!

#LollaCL: Music Festival in Santiago

2 days of music in a big park? Yes, please! My ears and feet are desperate for some live music after months of DJs and sad Santiago radio stations. Lollapalooza Chile started a few years ago and this year it brought us Elle Goulding, Phoenix, Imagine Dragons, Portugal. the Man, Cage the Elephant, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Capital Cities and a few Chilean artists, too. p.s. Francisca Valenzuela is the only Chilean heading to Chicago so if you're going, check her out! 

Tickets are pricier than Chicago, obviously. You are bringing bands to South America! Plus, Santiago is expensive and exclusive. Who goes to Lollapalooza? People with money;  the upper middle-class buy tickets for their teenage kids to run around, the socialists go to try to be seen and be photographed and then there are the Americans. Something mind boggling? The Early Bird tickets sold out in 1 day; they go for $90 US and are before the bands are published. So, you buy a ticket before knowing who is coming? Crazy! 

My theory is that the ticket is priced to bring a certain social crowd in and keep certain socioeconomic groups out. How sad !!  Is that how music festivals are in the States, too? I don't know. I just can sense the politics of the social caste system here as sharp as Cheddar. 

Enough about politics. Let's talk about how FUN it is to dance to live music! I loved dancing to Vampire Weekend on Sunday afternoon and before them, Portugal. the Man. Both said it was their first time to South America and they were loving the vibes!

What did I love best about Lolla? Pablo took me to listen to bands that he knows and likes but were new to me, and I did the same. He introduced me to Anita Tijoux, a Chilean hip hop performer. She put on an awesome show but even better, she is a class-act. Some of those rich Chileans I mentioned earlier were yelling mean things to her during her concert. First, show some class. Second, why go to her show if you're bringing negative vibes? Find somewhere else to try to be cool. Lolla was started to share the love of music and support live music.  @anita I danced, smiled and am a new fan! 

Pablo is a new fan of Imagine Dragons and Phoenix. Hooray! 

My favorite concert? Vampire Weekend!  I danced like a crazy girl, jumping up and down and around the whole hour. I have been listening to them for a while and they were the band I have wanted to see live for some time. And they delivered great music. 

Unexpectedly great? Elle Goulding is an artistic character and she's got a great voice!

Criticism? Chileans smoke a lot. And with 70,000 people in a very crowded park I was breathing secondhand smoke from at least 5,000 people almost all day. It was awful. There were too many people there; constant pushing to move through the crowds and very little grass space to sit. You couldn't sit and listen to the bands because with so many people, you had to stand and defend your spot.  The overcrowded park and smoking were hard to ignore. I don't think I'd go to Lolla2015.  

Also, trash. How can you consciously keep your trash on the grass and not feel bad? There is a general lack of responsibility and pride in their public spaces. There were enough trash bins but way too much garbage on the ground. I'm talking about bags of chips, wine bottles, and thousands of cigarette butts. To help someone not in Chile understand, these concert-goers have had full-time nannies in their house their whole life so they've never had to clean one bathroom or sweep a floor. 

organic apples for sale by biker!

Were the shows great? No. The bands play for about an hour each so they play a mix of old and new tunes. There weren't lights or even a WOW factor. Just music. 

What else was there? There was a big kids area with their own kids stage, games and arts activities. At the main entrance to the park you first walk by a Playstation tent where people were lined up every day to play videogames.  There was a corner with lots of potential but noticeably a lack of action: the Sustainability Corner. Lots of organic/natural booths with cool products but lame vendors. You walk by and they don't engage with casual or interested potential clients. 

Would I go again? Probably not. I'd rather go backpacking in the south for a long weekend or surfing at the coast. Am I glad I went? Heck yes! 

What's playing on my youtube right now? the full Imagine Dragons album!