Last wednesday, this small town boy headed out to the big city. As I told my classmates and friends I was heading out to Santiago, they all gave me some big city advice. Translated to english it read a little like this:
*Dont drink the water there, its terrible and will make you sick.
*If you walk the streets past dark somebody will most likely jump you and steal all your money
*its really dirty there
*people aren't nice
That was most of the advice I received for my 3 day journey north. Now lets take some time to analyze it. The water, while not quite as good as patagonian water, did not kill me, make me throw up, or spend days pooping. So that was cool. I could even order a tap water in a restaurant, which when I do in Porvenir, they just look at me funny. Secondly, I was out till approximately 3 in the morning two of the nights with friends walking around and to my demise, am still here and nobody robbed me. Shucks.
Now to address the dirt. Yes, Santiago is super smoggy but it wasn't terrible when I was there and they streets were cleaner than in Porvenir! Them southerners really like to litter. And finally, I asked a variety of people for advice and where to eat or go out and they were super friendly and willing to answer.
Now, I am sure there are exceptions to my experience and dangerous, dirty, silly places, but all in all, had a very pleasant experience in Santiago. I must say however, its wreaked of America. I stepped off the plane to a starbuck and cinnabon and there was english at every turn. Viva Patagonia!
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