A POST FROM BRIAN'S DAD

Brian has given me the opportunity to post to his blog. I have been requested to notify anyone who reads this post that these are in no way Brian's comments, thoughts, unconcious or concious

My trip began with AAA losing the order for Chilean pesos. So I basically left Hartford on Saturday afternoon with no money, no real command of the language, and the assurance from Brian that he was pretty sure that I had a place to stay. As a side note to AAA they did return our money and adjust for the rise in the exchange rate. They were helpful.
The flight to Atlanta and then Santiago Chile was relatively uneventful. The plane left an hour late from Atlanta so we arrived in Chile around 8:30 Chilean time. I was able to sleep on the plane for about 4-5 hours so I felt ok. I cleared customs with only a couple of hitches but I spent no time in jail. I was in the wrong line so I cut out of the line and went back to where I was supposed to be. I only got a stare from the security people. I cleared customs with the lemon poppy seed bread. For some reason the Chileans are very big on people not bringing seeds, nuts, and fruits into the country.
To the surprise of many who will read this post Brian was waiting for me. Chile according to Brian is a very laid back country when it comes to time. This says a lot for Brian to be saying this. He negotiated a cab into the city and talked with the cab driver who spoke no english. We went to the hostel where Brian had spent the night at the Plaza de Armas. This was evidently one of the original plazas in Chile. It was a great spot for people watching. There are tourists, local families, homeless, police and stray dogs.
We walked around the city for a couple of hours. The Santiago marathon was going on. Some things never change a Kenyan won. The city is very interesting. the buildings range from high rise apartments, large stone government buildings to basically what look to be shacks on the outside. You can never be quite sure what the inside of the building looks like. Brians host family house is not impressive on the outside but is very nice on the inside (more on that later). I don't think there are many attorneys in Chile. Some parts of the side walks were in disrepair this would be an income opportunity in the states. Somebody would need to pay if someone got hurt.
Later that afternoon we went to the original fortress of Santiago. It is built on a hill which would seem to have made it impossible to take in battle. We took the train to another part of the city and walked the length of Parque Balmaceda. It is a beautiful park that runs the length of the river. It was probably 80 degrees out and you noticed all the windows open in the high rise apartments. There is very little air conditioning here. Some people say that Santiago in particular is humid. I didn't really notice any humidity and certainly Sunday there was little humidity.
I got to meet some of the students that Brian is studying with. In Chile the custom when you meet someone new of the opposite sex is a quick hug and kiss on the cheek. So I've been hugging and kissing a lot of college girls. The kids I've met have been great.
Santiago, or Chile for that matter is a city of contrasts. Security is a big deal here. EVERY house has a fence with with sharp, nasty looking points. The police are very visible and they look like they are army. They don't carry rifles but they are armed and wear some type of flak jacket or bullet proof vest. That being said I have not felt unsafe nor have I seen any crime whatsoever. There are many families visible and generally children live with their family until they finish college or have a good job. Dogs are everywhere. Strays are roaming the city with no apparent problem. I have yet to see a dog attack anyone or another dog for that matter. They kind of roam around, scavenge for food and sleep. If anything the dogs who are living in houses with their owners are always barking and going crazy. The other thing that stands out is the graffiti. It is everywhere. At the fortress people had even carved their names into some of the plants, never mind the trees and walls.
There are cars but most people probably only have one. The metro train and bus system is very good. Buses and trains come every 10 minutes. There are many older cars here. I have seen several Datsun's in excellent condition. I assume that Datsun changed their name worldwide and not just in the US. The buses and trains are very clean generally. Their two levels of busses. The first is the metro bus which looks like any other Greyhound type bus. The second level is the autobus. These are old Mercedes Benz buses. They have to be 40-50 years old. They make the local runs for people especially in the outlying areas. I think they bus is owned by the inidividual who drives the bus, sells the tickets, makes change and keeps to a tight schedule. Many people use these buses to get around. They come every 10 minutes or so and seem to cover a large area.
Enojugh of opinion for now and back to events. On Sunday night we took a bus to Vina Del Mar. Thank God it was only about a minute into the trip when we got thrown off the bus because we didn't have the proper tickets. They stopped the bus, they opened up the storage and gave us our bags back and we walked back to the bus station. This story will become much bigger as time goes on but it was kind of funny. In fairness to Brian, he had a roundtrip ticket that he didn't know he had to get validated. My ticket was to be bought on the bus. We got the next bus which left 10 minutes later.
I'm staying in a nice bed and breakfast in Vina. The owner is Ninfa Rojas. She speaks english and is very helpful. Marta is her assistant and is also very helpful and friendly. If anyone ever makes it Vina Del Mar I recommend staying here.
On Moday Brian had class so while I was waiting I went for a walk down to the beach. One of the unique sites in Vina is the flower clock. It is a working clock with the numbers in live flowers. While down there I met a guy from Bridgeport Ct.
Between Brian's classes we walked around town by the Casino, the river along the beach, and in the parks. While in one of the parks Brian met a friend of his Chilean sister, so I got a kiss and hug. We went to his house for lunch which is generally the biggest meal of the day. I met his Chilean brother and sister. We had gnocchi, not exactly Chilean I suppose but very good. The brother and sister speak some english and Brian interpreted. I am very impressed with Brian's spanish. He can generally communicate and understand things (except the bus thing).
That night we went to his family for a dinner which is unusual for Chileans. Usaully the night meal is very light. The meal was salmon, rice, vegetables, wine, and dessert. We were able to work through the communication thing with some interpretation, I know a little spanish, they know a little english, and we in a sense in some situations played pictionary when no one was around to interpret. Brian's Chilean family is very nice. Miguel and Viviana are about Nancy and my age. They both work and are very friendly. Miguel speaks a little english. I don't think Viviana does. Mattea is the oldest son who is studying to be an architect. He already has a degree in design. He is probably about Matts age. Monserat is studying industrial engineering or design. While I was there she was drilling holes in a piece of aluminum in the living room. The house they live in is very small by our standards. They have one bathroom. They have 4 bedrooms and a combination living room, dining room, and kitchen which takes up the downstairs floor. They are in the middle of a big remodeling project. They have a small yard. They were surprised by the pictures of our house. We have no security fence, a big yard by their standards and many trees compared to here. One of the pictures had the neighbors dog and a deer in it which they thought was interesting. We also had pictures of Brians different hair permutations over time which they found to be entertaining.
Yesterday we went hiking. Brian showed that he is his mothers son with the planning of this hike. We knew this was not going to be a walk in the woods but this was challenging. We climbed La Campana which is east of here. We took the train to Limache and then the autobus to the mountain. Actually the bus dropped us off at a dirt road in the middle of nowhere. You could see a mountain in the distance but I didn't think this could possibly be the mountain...but it was. The park ranger gave us specific instructions that we had to start back down at 2:30 whether we made the peak or not. They anticipate 4:30 ascent time. In the past year I've dropped some weight and gotten myself in better shape. Its a good thing because I would not have been able to make this climb a year ago. The view was worth the hike. In the distance you could see a snow covered Mt. Aconcogua which is the highest peak in South America. It is also in Argentina. Evidently you can also see the ocean from La Campana but it was cloudy on the coast all day. At the top of the mountain there was a stray dog. I couldn't believe it. Whoever thought we would climb a mountain in the Andes. I met another guy from Bridgeport on the mountain. There is evidently a Bridgeport to Chile pipeline. We met some Chileans and a couple from Sweden. The Swedes were nice enought to offer us a ride back to the bus stop. They felt sorry for me, which was ok with me. The bus ride back was interesting. We were initially the only two on the autobus. After about 5 stops the bus filled up. Brian and I were taking 3 seats so I slid over. You can only imagine what I looked like...dirty and sweaty. When I slid over I tried to dry the seat a little, I don't know how successfully. The lady sat down seemingly with no second thought. Last night Brian and I had dinner at the B&B. A couple of well deserved beers, chicken and empanadas. There were three different empanadas; cheese, pino, and what brian thought was some type of bird which certainly tasted like anchovies. We had pastry for dessert. Enough for now. The next post to follow will be observations and opinions