Once upon a time....

Well, I made it. I had a long 20 hour day of crowded planes and airports, but my 150 pounds of stuff and I arrived in good shape. I had arranged for a friend of a friend of my sister to pick me up at the airport in Santiago and deposit me at my hostel. The hostel is in a historic district, and very beautiful.

Oh by the way, I must insert that it is very hot here. This initially compounded by the two jackets and hiking boots I was wearing to conserve space in my bag. It was a little shocking, pleasently I might add, to come from several feet of snow to several inches of mercury. But I digress.

After getting settled in at the hostel and making arrangements to meet up with a friend who studied at U of M last semester, I was off to explore mi nuevo pais. I walked up and down and around Avenida Brasil and played tourist a bit, while trying not to appear to be doing so. I must say that Santiago is a very beutiful city sprinkled with parks, trees and colorful old buildings.

I was quite famished, and after looking at several restaraunts I finally chose one. I picked one that was moderatly busy (so I knew it was ok) and had seeting outside. I inspected the menu and quickley realized that the only thing I understood, aside from the drinks, was hamurguesa. So, of sourse I did not get a hamburger. Instead I chose one of the special dishes. I picked Chorillana and a famed pisco sour to drink. When the Chorillana arrived, it was like nothing I had ever seen before, yet exactly what I wanted at the same time. It was a big pile of french fries topped with beef and onions and on top of that was an egg sunny side up. The plate was rimmed with hotdog slices.

Later in the afternoon, my friend Paulo and I met up and walked around other parts of the city. We also rode the subway a couple of times, which was apparantly a popular form of transport. Paulo went home early due to headache, so I set out again solo. I left the hostel about 11 pm headed for the Barrio brasil. I popped into a bar restaurant, ate a pizza and drank more pisco sour while the bartender gave me a crash course in Chilean pop music.

I have about 24 more hours in Santiago until I jump on a bus and head to concepcion, my home base for the next year.