Chile has, on average, one of the longest working
weeks in the world, with 12-hour working days being
quite common. It also has, on average, one of the
lowest productivity rates in the world, or so Steph
told me while flicking through a magazine while the
boss had gone for a meeting. So I guess i´m just
trying to fit in in this country, as I type this email
when I should really be ´working´ and doing research
for the weekend ahead of me.
Tomorrow, i´m leaving to go down south, acting as a
tour guide for 3 middle-aged Frenchmen who are
stopping over in the Chilean lakes district for 4 days
- quite exciting! I don´t know the area we´ll be
visiting that well, which is too bad for the Frenchies
(and also why I´m doing research - so I can reel off
interesting trivia for them as we go on our daytrips),
but really good for me – free transport,
accommodation, food while I get to tour an unknown
area.. in essence, a paid holiday - woohoo!
Until I get back, however, all I can really tell you
about is Santiago, where yesterday, I celebrated my
4-week anniversary staying here. It´s come to my
attention that some of you don´t know that much about
this place, so here´re some tidbits about Santiago:
- Capital of chile, population of approx 5million, ie
about 1/3 of the whole country lives here
- it´s located in a ´basin´ between mountains and
hills, which means that more smog collects over the
city than others of comparable size. As a way around
this, there´re restrictions on which cars are legally
allowed to be on the roads: So for example, if your
car´s numberplate starts with 1 or 2, you´re not
allowed to drive on Wednesdays. The smog also means
that the sunsets here are beautiful, reminding me of
Malaysia at times.
- Everywhere you go, you see uniformed nannies playing
with kids, taking dogs for walks, watering lawns and
generally maintaining the upkeep of households where
the parents work a lot. (I don´t want to say anything
here. But the fact that i´ve just said that means that
i´m saying something.)
- Instead of construction sites like in Australia,
they have bus stops, where your average girl will get
appreciative glances, bold whistles, and murmured
comments, - but all minus the tradie bumcracks.
- It´s quite common for people to do a big shop-up at
the supermarket and get a taxi home with their
groceries. This may not sound particularly
interesting, but it was a bit of a surprise to see the
taxi ranks set up specifically for this – makes the
shops look like an airport
And now, a bit about my life:
I live in a teeny tiny apartment with steph and her
cousin, Coty. I share a room with steph – and yes,
we´ve already agreed on a ´please don´t disturb´
policy, and how to implement it if and when the need
should arise. We´re on the 3rd floor of an old
building on one of the main thoroughfares in Santiago;
all the rooms´ windows look out on to the road. So
it´s not just traffic I hear, but also road rage, wolf
whistles, and anything else that blares through open
car windows. The freeway has quite a wide median
strip, with trees, benches, play equipment.. it´s
perfect to stroll along or go for a run if you can
stand the noise. I´ve gotten into the habit of idly
watching this strip of ´park´ whenever i´m in the
bathroom or kitchen, and I get a certain Rear
Window-esque kick out of imagining conversations
between people who walk by while i´m having a shower.
(the angles between the shower and window are such
that it would be near impossible for such a voyeur to
get caught…)
Sharing this place is great – I feel right at home,
with Steph dutifully doing things that remind me of my
childhood with my brother so many years ago. Things
like calling me names (shorty, ugly, germ), making fun
of me when I can´t reach the top shelf in the kitchen,
punching or pushing me over whenever she gets the
chance, or waiting for me to enter the room before
releasing a silent-but-deadly... yeah, it´s definitely
sibling love.
On the other hand, i´ve been in the bad books with
Coty for stupid things, like waxing the floor with the
wrong cloths, and innocently telling the mailman that
she doesn´t live here. (how the hell am I meant to
know that *she´s* ´Maria Lopez´ when she introduces
herself as Coty, which is short for Constanza, from
her full name Maria Constanza Lopez Marcoleta?!?!)
But all in all, it´s a good household.
My kung fu classes are really amusing for me on many
levels:
- half the time I don´t know if the teacher´s talking
in Spanish with a Cantonese accent, or in Cantonese
with a Spanish accent
- whenever I walk in, people look at me expectantly as
if by nature of being asian, I must know my stuff
- even though it´s a Chinese art form, there are a
surprising number of students who answer the teacher
with a very Japanese ´hai´.
This is of no relevance, but I find it funny: my right
headphone started playing up recently, and now gives
me mini electric shocks to my ear.
And to end on an equally irrelevant, but etymological
note: Spanish for ´to watch´ is ´mirar´. Spanish for
´to admire´ is ´admirar´. So admiring is an intense
form of watching. go figure! (or go intensely watch my
deductions).
