Gringa Shock - La Calle/walk about

Gringa Shock - Part 2
LA CALLE - The street

I think the streets of Chile are the biggest shock to Westerners when they first get here because they aren't very pretty.  Anywhere in public domain tends not to be as cared for.  Most people have private gardens within their yards or community living areas.  All things of beauty are hidden behind walls.

This is what you see in the "nice" part of Santiago

• Fences, big ones!
• If you're lucky, sidewalks!
• If you're not lucky, big giant dogs with big giant barks!
• Once in a while there's a security guard sitting in a little box.
• Once in a while there's a gardener or a maid out watering their square of grass...if the sun's down.

What's crazy to realize for me is that Santiago can be exceptionally beautiful, once you cross the fence!

A lot of people choose to live in gated communities.
This is where Rodolfo grew up, with a little private park to sit around to talk to friends and a big giant parking lot/driveway to kick a ball around and learn to ride a bike.

This is a view of the private park you have to pay money to picnic in.

$6 for your car or $1 to walk in.

$10 per picnic site - more for one with a fire pit.

My point is, anywhere that's pretty to be, you generally need to have money to be there

  

Today happened to be trash day!
Hopefully you can see the pole with the basket on it....that's a Chilean garbage can!

You try to leave things of value or anything potentially recyclable on the side so that the bicycling dumpster divers can get at your cardboard and glass a bit easier.

This confused me when Rodolfo explained the "recycling" system.
People scoot around all day sorting thru the trash before the trucks drive in.  It seems to work

If you don't have a basket on a pole by your driveway, the norm is to hang your bags on a fence or tree.

below

Santiago has the perfect climate to grow fruit!  It is everywhere!!!
Which means, you have to watch where you walk!

above!

Plums, berries, lemons, pears, apples, peaches, anything that grows on a tree or bush seems to grow here!  Most of the time, they're behind the fences, but sometimes, you can get berried on!

Something I didn't get a picture of because it felt wrong: maids in actualy maid outfits is quite normal here.  Maids are a regular part of life for most households.....watching kids, walking dogs, watering plants, doing laundry...pretty normal stuff here.

double duty: cactuses and graffiti

Something Rodolfo hates is the normalcy of palm trees here!  The invasive species of palm trees to be precise wiping out the native plants of Santiago...trust me, you don't want to get him started!



Lastly, you can find public schools in Chile, but they are known for being crap.  If you have the money, you send your kids to a private Catholic School.  This is actually one of the major issues we discuss over which country to raise our kids in...religious private institutions with uniforms, or getting into the right suburban school district in the States......decisions, decisions....

Santiagoans can diss their public transit all they want, but I think it rocks!  You can get almost anywhere in the city for around a buck!  I really like that the buses and subway system are connected and I really love my "bip!" card because you can't get scammed as a tourist or outsider, like so many other places I've been to.  You see people from every walk of life using them and they stay extremely clean!  Buses and trains are on time and run fairly regularly.  I love it!