South America for beginners

Ted. Two years ago we met a woman in Johannesburg who had travelled there from Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo. When we explained that we planned to spend most of our visit in South Africa she snipped, “this is Africa for beginners.”

My first impression of Santiago, Chile is that it is “South America for beginners.” By that I mean that, of the three South American countries that we have visited, Santiago might be the most familiar for visitors from North America. Admittedly, we have been here less than two weeks and haven’t seen much of the city, let alone the rest of this 2,600 mile long country. Plus, we are staying in Las Condes, which is the ritziest neighborhood. I mean that quite literally, as the Ritz Carlton Hotel is just three blocks away!

Scupture Park with 64 floor Santiago Tower in background

Avenida Apoquindo

Folks from Atlanta who arrive here will think they are in Buckhead with high rise offices, condos and Starbucks everywhere. There are lots of high tech businesses here and millennials zoom past us on their electric scooters, parking them wherever they like.

Lime scooters blocking sidewalk

You can take Uber anywhere but Santiago also has a world class subway system which is clean, safe and air conditioned (nice, since the highs are in 90’s). 

Our street

Our pocket park around the corner

Mountain view behind our building

Cafes and restaurants abound and they have lots of US chains like Papa Johns (if you crave pizza “like mama used to buy"). Oh – everyone here accepts American Express, which we haven’t even seen in Europe.

Really?!

Now, there are a scattering of colonial buildings and some grand palaces in the historic district so you do get occasional reminders that you are in another country.  One place we very much enjoyed is the Chilean Museum of Precolumbian Art. My favorite piece was a 5,000 year old carving, just 3” square that seems to summarize all of humanity. 

5,000 year old embrace

As usual, we are seeking out locals to guide us. We have already met with a Servas host named Joel. We plan to see him again since he is so interesting and will remember to get a photo of him next time.

We are attending the Santiago Community Church, which is an English speaking, non-denominational congregation of expats and locals. It is a warm and inviting group. Judy has joined a women’s Bible study and I attend a men’s group. I also volunteered for a workday, painting rooms at a home for girls out in a poorer district.  Nice folks! 

Santiago Community Church

Sign at entrance to girls home (yep - razor wire)

Santiago is not perfect. The air pollution is very visible right now. Hopefully that will clear off if we ever get some rain. Once again, we see some electric fences and signs that people are desperate for money.

Electric fence + bars on windows!

One lady street vendor in a subway station was selling bandaids - one at a time. We really enjoy all of the street performers - mostly musicians and jugglers, but worry that these young people may be struggling to get by. 

Street juggler

Unemployment is only 6.7%, better than any other country in South America (or even France for that matter) but there must be a lot of underemployed young people.

We will spend the next few weeks exploring the city, getting to know more people and taking a couple of excursions to other parts of the country. Meanwhile, this is proving to be a very nice place to “just live.”