It took forever to get through the VISA line ($132 yikes! welcome to Chile amigo) but by the time I was through with that queue the customs line had dwindled. All along I was patient because I knew that I would get my reward when I would be greeted by Sylvain who had to wake up really early and catch a bus to meet my plane. So I get through customs around 9am or so, and instead of Sylvain, I meet a dozen taxi drivers who tell me about my beautiful eyes and promise to take me wherever I want to go. Cono! I am not happy, I know exactly why Sylvain is late, he missed his bus. Sylvain is lovely in many ways, but waking up early is not his specialty... But 10 minutes later he is there, and we are on our way!
Nothing in our bus ride from Santiago to Valparaiso is especially worth noting, the countryside reminds me of Spain but not as deserty. Once we hit Valparaiso we get a taxi to our house and I start to see the similarities to Lima and my time in Peru. The Spanish architecture is there, but it has not been kept up. There are parts that remind me of Istanbul and lots of parts that remind me of Lima. One thing that always strikes me in non-European countries is how badly these cities are in need of good graphic designers. The city's signage and advertising is awful; anyone whose traveled in a foreign tourist area has seen it before, frankly if you've been to a chinese take-away you know what I'm talking about, but instead of it being restricted to tacky chinese food photos, every sign for every shop makes you question why you would shop there.
Arriving at our apartment was a dream. I could not imagine a more suitable place for me. You walk in and there is a long hall up a staircase, one of the walls is lined with adverts from magazines, something I did when I was in high school, pulling out fashion and artsy ads that caught my eyes and taping them to the wall floor to ceiling in a collage. There is also a mannequin and a bench and a large art photo at the stairs summit. The kitchen is perfect with dark red dishes similar to what I have in nyc and I know its going to be just like my apartment in London. Our room is fantastic, Frida Kahlo art posters and calendars a clothes rack bar- something I've looked for in NYC but have never found, some art photographs and sculptures and two big windows with bright blue curtains. The room is huge, we have a huge bed and a couch, dresser and desk. I know I'm going to be happy here, this is exactly what I have been looking for in nyc, exactly what I've wanted since the Whitehorse and Goldsmiths.
The first thing I love to do in any place I visit, is check out the grocery store. I wasted no time, and after I dropped Sylvain off at his class (he has a test tonight) I went back to see what would be for dinner. It was very similar to a Sainsbury's in how it looked, but the food options were strange. Not in strange foods, but they had whole isles of rice, another of pasta, one of olive oil, and one of yoghurt. Since the products all looked the same- not a huge difference in quality so to speak, I was surprised that they used that space for the same items, instead of offering more variety of other foods. I can't say I expected much food wise in Chile, but I was holding out some hope I would be able to find a few more options than were available. However near Sylvain's school there is a massive produce market and I imagine I will rely heavily on this since I don't eat pasta or rice to any great extent. Mostly I was hoping for the availability of higher quality products, and maybe a little corner of international food options, but still this is a great opportunity to be creative.
On my way home from Sylvain's school I ran into a Hatha Yoga studio and grabbed a schedule, if the classes are good I will go often. Jogging in the streets is largely out of the question, they're similar to Cuszco, hilly, bad sidewalks, and have no organization, but next to Sylvain's boxing gym he tells me there is a gym that might be appropriate for me.
Right now I have to run, I'm meeting him at Cafe Poetics or something like that, and then we will head to dinner. Day 1 in Chile and it's already the best decision I've made in a long time. Whatever happens here, or wherever I end up next, I know that this was the right thing to do. This is who I am.
p.s. I went on my first ascensor ride tonight.
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