getmeoutofhere

I’ve been living (doing time) in Santiago for over a year now. I was looking forward to the opportunity to live in a foreign country, but this one ain’t for me! I’ve traveled quite a bit and I’ve never encountered such a bland city. Culturally, architecturally, and “gastronomically.” (They love that word.) With the exception of the steaks (stick with the filet), the food is nothing short of dreadful. However, if mayonaise is your favorite food, then by all means, enjoy! They seem to think that ham and cheese (and mayo, natch) are the only ingredients necessary for any meal. You cannot get ANYTHING spicy down here. They even sell “ham and cheese” flavored potato chips! You even need to bring your own black pepper to restaurants, as the S&P shakers on the table are BOTH filled with salt. The people are genereally very rude. (Yes, of course there are exceptions.) Chilean children are the most ill-behaved I’ve ever encountered. They constantly make noise—“little banshees” I call them. Their parents rarely discipline them for their excessive noise. I think they actually find it cute.

I could go on and on, but I’m sure I’ve angered more than a few Chileans at this point. I’m just tired of reading about how charming and colorful Chile (and especially) Santiago is. If you travel to Chile, my advice is spend as little time in the capitol city as possible, then head for the far north or south.

Santiago sucks. (Can I say “sucks” here?) For your enjoyment, here’s a recent photo of Santiago’s lovely “Mapocho” river.