Santiago

Just got back from a few days in nearby Chile. I have to leave the country every 90 days to renew my tourist visa, and two of the other interns here were planning a trip to Santiago, so I decided to join in.

Chile is the richest country in Latin America, and Santiago did not disappoint. Everything was clean, organized, even hip. A couple of the most visible differences from Peru:

• Santiago was much colder, and the vegetation less exotic or floral
  
• Lots of European influence in the architecture and culture.
  
• Every American business or name-brand you can think of.
  
• Did I mention the city and the people all looked pretty well-off?

Returning to Peru afterward, my home of nearly 3 months, felt like a "homecoming" of sorts, but odd too. It was like after getting used to living in the less-developed world, a sudden reminder of what I am "missing out" on. I am a bit more homesick now. Hopefully I will get re-accustomed to dusty, half-built Trujillo again pretty quickly.







A real public bus! No combis or colectivos here...
















The Santiago Metro was probably the cleanest, newest, best-value subway I've seen yet