No te preocupes.....

Dear Mom and Dad,
     You will be happy to know that I spent my first few weeks here getting to know the area in the safest and most appropriate way possible. I behaved myself the entire time, and never, ever did anything that you yourselves wouldn't do. Nonetheless, for those of you who plan on traveling anytime soon, here are so helpful hints, should you have a lapse in judgement or a need a quick reminder of the importance of the adage, "When in Rome."

1) Don't talk to strangers on a bus, especially late at night.

So, apparently, this rule is universal. You especially think this would apply when the stranger advises you to disembark the bus in a dark alley in a country unfamiliar to you, in a language that is not your mother tongue. But, you might be tempted to listen to him, because in general people have been pretty nice, and everyone has a good heart, right? And there is probably a 5 percent chance that he really is pointing you in the right direction, but take it from me, you still shouldn't do it. If he makes an ugly hand gesture when you follow him off the bus, you really really shouldn't do it. As tempting as it is to experience the adrenaline rush from watching your life flash before your eyes, and as fun as it is to ponder about the fact that you might seriously be endangering the lives of 5 friends you just made 1 week before, don't be fooled. The first couple of days I'd recommend sticking to the metros even if it does mean having the breath squeezed out of you and becoming all too familiar with the grandpa standing next to you due to the congestion at hora punta (rush hour)

1a) If you break rule number one, be sure to have a guardian angel in the form of a mother of two sitting at the back of the bus screaming at you and the bus driver in something that sounds like laksjdlasjdlksajdlkj CACHAI CACHAI alsdjlaskdjlaksjdlkjsalkdj SI-POOOO NO-POOOO

This rule is pretty self explanatory, but is key (clave) if you plan on breaking rule #1

2) If you need a little extra dough for traveling, there is always tutoring kids in english, drug traffic, or better yet cafe con piernas

It was one of those days where not having central heating made you press snooze at least 3 times just so you could snuggle up under you down comforter for 15 more minutes. It was one of those days where I had already downed 4 cups of tea but I was still freezing, and so even though one more might lead to extreme over hydration (and then extreme dehyration...cause tea is a dehydrant, right?) it seemed like it was worth it (vale la pena.) It was one of those days that when my friend Tess called to see if I wanted to grab a cup of a coffee at a cute little hole in the wall kind of place, I immediately jumped on the offer.

Before we knew it, we were sitting outside, failing to communicate with the waitress, and waiting for another cup of tea. We chatted briefly, but as we looked around, Tess noted the over dominance of Y chromosomes, the smoke filled restaurant, and scantily dressed "waitresses."After one leaned over to the men sitting next to us showing just a bit too much skin, Tess asked the man sitting next to us "what the hell was going on" as I sat back in my chair with rosy red cheeks. Of course, she was much more diplomatic about it, but nonetheless we could tell something just wasn't quite right.

Apparently, we had stumbled upon Santiago's,"cafe con piernas," a coffee bar/strip club which they are proud to call their own. While, we were lucky to stumble upon a watered down version of these classy little joints, as you can imagine it was quite the experience. After 6 weeks under my belt I am proud to say I will always look around before sitting down to grab an "innocent" cup of coffee.

3) Visit the virgin your first shabbat in town

So, I am sure when Mom and Dad asked what I was doing my first saturday in Chile, they were thrilled to hear that I was going to visit the Virgin. But, I just couldn't resist. Climbing the second tallest hill in Santiago was way too tempting, especially when the view from the top would be so incredible. The climb was a bit more than I had anticipated, but celebrating with a view of a blue blue sky and Mary opening her arms watching over the sprawling city below her made the bit of the hike even more enjoyable. Being able to see the city from the top of Cerro San Cristobal, a hill creating a 300 meter high panoramic viewing deck,  forced me to gain my bearings, understand the layout of Santiago and helped me to ubicarme the first month and a half when getting lost in the city.
 Well, that is all for now, given that in less than 4 hours I will be departing for the desert (not to be confused with dessert-which I have also been enjoying way too much of here). But not to worry, there is more to come, including what Starbucks and chilean universities have in common, the importance of understanding false cognates, and that day Haley saved me from the metro.

Besos y Abrazos,

Sarita la Gringita

The Virgin Herself

Up, up and Away

A practically smog-free day