Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2003 - 8:16 a.m.
Santiago At Last
My bus for Santiago left at 10AM. There were a bunch of young Chilean students on the bus, one of them sat next to me, an Architecture student from La Serena, on the coast north of Santiago. He chatted with me a little. I think he wanted to practice his English. Our bus took the same route that the tour out of Mendoza went. We passed by the vineyards, the muddy red river, and the ski resorts. Then we kept going. I knew we were gaining altitude as we crossed the Andes mountain range also because my ears kept popping.
We soon arrived at immigration, high in the mountains. I was pleased to discover Chile and Argentina immigration offices were at the same place, in the same building! A concept that Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia haven't embraced. When I got to the Chilean immigration they asked me how long I planned to stay in Chile. I replied "I don't know, about a month?" and he stamped my passport (imagine someone from South America saying that at US immigration! Yeah, right). Funny thing is, I know it won't be a month since I'll soon go south to the Lake District that is shared by Chile and Argentina, so I'll be skipping back and forth betweent the two. A month is just easier to say, plus if for some reason my plans change it gives me more flexibility.
After we entered Chile the mountainous roud snaked back and forth so much I soon felt car sick. I couldn't read or even watch the movie. I had to just look out the window while my stomach turned with every sharp curve the bus took as we descended into a valley. Fortunately this serpentine road soon straightened out and about 20 minutes later I was able to return to the movie and writing in my journal.
At about 5pm we arrived in Santiago, it was warm outside and the sun was still shining. Fortunately I had some Chilean pesos from when I was in San Pedro de Atacama, and I got change to make a phone call. Within minutes I heard Kate's voice on the phone, she was excited I was in town. She explained how to get to her apartment, but said she wouldn't be able to meet me, or be there when I arrived as she had to go into the office to get some work done before it closed at 6:30pm, but her babysitter Karina would be there to let me in. Kate would meet me soon after.
I caught a cab who drove me to the Providencia neighborhood which is a little upscale and classy (and touristy). The driver dropped me off at the end of a pedestrian-only street. Lugging around all my stuff, I had the address in hand, but didn't know what the names of the streets were called (I later learned that the cab driver could've dropped me off around the corner or even to the doorstep of Kate's apartment had he been paying attention). I wandered past countless restaurants and shops, almost everything was empty or closed (too early for dinner, people don't eat or go out until late here). I had to ask a few people before I learned I was going in the wrong direction. I turned around and soon after found the apartment building.
When I got off the elevator, Karina, Kate's babysitter had the door open and ushered me inside. As soon as I entered the front room, there was Nia, Kate's 7 month old baby. Her coco-brown skin and huge brown eyes were her most striking features. Nia just stared at me constantly. Karina showed me the guest bedroom, a little room with a big bed. My bags hit the floor with a soft thump. I'd finally arrived!
I chatted with Karina a little, from Peru, she only spoke Spanish. She heated up some food for me that Kate had set out and I had the first home-cooked meal in ages. Fantastic!
Soon Kate returned, looking the same as she had back in Cuenca. It was so nice to see Kate again and of course she wanted to hear all the news, especially about Cuenca and CEDEI. She also really liked the Argentinian wine I brought her from Mendoza.
We spent the evening catching up on old times. She also told me about recent events in her apartment. Her boyfriend, Ever (Nia's father) who'd also lived in the Luis Coredero house was currently in Bahia Blanca, Argentina. He'd been scouted by an Argentinian football (soccer) team. Kate said they weren't that great of a team, but since they'd moved to Chile in March, Ever hadn't found a job as a football player yet, so they'd take whatever he could find. If he got the job, the family could potentially move to Argentina. Kate had a teaching job she started when Nia was one month old. Unfortunately, she doesn't really like her job. It's teaching business people, she has to travel to different places around the city to her classes, she has 7 preps (has 7 different levels or classes to teach--CEDEI never gave us more than 3) and there was no "community" with other English teachers. Each class is in a different place and one of her commutes is 45 minutes one way. It made me appreciate CEDEI even more. Kate said the teachers at CEDEI don't know how good they've got it.
Also Kate told me the story of Ava, Ever's cousin, who up until Sunday had been living with them and working as their babysitter. They'd paid the young 22 year old to fly down to Santiago from Ecuador and given her a comfortable salary to take care of Nia and do light housecleaning. One of the first things she did was rack up an outrageous phone bill calling Ecuador. And she spent all her time on the computer meeting sketchy guys in chat rooms and invited them to meet her in the apartment! Once Kate and Ever discovered strange guys in the apartment, they told her she couldn't bring strangers into their home anymore. So Ava started meeting them in the lobby instead, taking Nia with her. Kate and Ever didn't charge Ava any living expenses, she was making 3 times the amount she could get in Ecuador, but didn't even appreciate it. After 4 months Kate & Ever had had enough and sent Ava back to Ecuador (paying for her return flight even). She left on Sunday, only 2 days before, Karina had just started working for them.
Kate obviously had a lot to vent about. That night Kate cooked me dinner. It was so nice to have a clean, comfortable place to stay, good company, hot shower, free internet use and home cooked meals! I was in heaven!
