Hidden Gems in Plain Sight

12:15PM Luz:
Let's meet at 6:30PM at Plaza Baquedano, outside the the University of Chile Theater (It's a very very common meeting spot here in Santiago).

12:16PM You:
Sounds great! See you then!

I left around 6:00PM from my hostel so I could make sure to get to the Plaza early and not keep Luz, my Chilean acquaintance, waiting. I took a seat near an old man on the steps in front of the theater at 6:25PM. Perfect timing, I thought to myself.

I quickly realized that she had not been exaggerating, this was a very popular meeting spot. I had walked through this same plaza the day before on my way to dinner and hadn't thought much of the people sitting around on the steps facing the theater. As I looked around now, it was obvious that the majority of the people around me were doing exactly what I was doing: Waiting to meet someone.

It is 6:37PM and Luz seemed to be running a bit late. With nothing else to do, I observed the people around me. To my immediate left sat a group of young teenagers. They spoke excitedly to each other in the fast, slurred Chilean Spanish that escaped my comprehension. The old man sitting to my right was unaffected by their presence and sat in patient tranquillity. Beyond the old man was a younger man, nervously switching between looking around the plaza and looking at his phone.

I check my watch: 6:45PM. Where was Luz?

A new group of teenagers sauntered up to the group to my left. The greeted each other with warm embraces. Their group was complete, and they headed off towards Bellavista, perhaps for a night of dancing.

I continued to gaze around and spotted an attractive woman with long brown hair in the distance. She approached the nervous man. They smiled at each other as he stood to greet her with a lingering kiss on the cheek. Hand in hand, they set off in the direction of Parque Forestal, probably for a romantic stroll before dinner.

New people emerged from the crowd to take the places of the group of teenagers and the man. The pattern repeated in what seemed to be a never-ending cycle of waiting and reuniting. I reveled in my new discovery, admiring how the warm exchanges unfolding before me complimented the warmth of this December summer evening.

By the time my Chilean friend arrived, I had lost track of time. She apologized for her lateness, but I insisted that I had actually enjoyed waiting. As we began to walk towards our next destination, I turned back to look at the old man, still sitting and waiting.