Shirtless in Santiago

I really need to get out of Santiago, Chile. Why? There are just too many pretty things to buy. Today was an intense day of shopping mostly motivated by the fact that between Chile and here, most of the shirts I packed have disappeared. Maybe someone in the hostel in Cusco grabbed my bag of shirts by accident, or maybe I drank a little too much pisco on Thursday night, which affected my packing ability on Friday morning in the dark (we had to leave really early); either one is plausible.

Anyways, I really like Santiago! Before arriving, all I had heard about the city was that it's insanely expensive, the people are unfriendly, and there's nothing to do. My experience has been the opposite of all of that. Well, yeah, the food is expensive compared to everywhere else I've been in Latin America, but it's delicious and I've taken to eating off the street, which is cheap. Things aren't very expensive, which was especially good for me with my shirt crisis. I am stocked up on shirts and souvenirs for the fam and have spent less than I did on food these past few days. The people have been overwhelmingly friendly and hospitable. They are very expressive when they speak and have been more than willing to help us when we're lost, need a bit of advice, or just want to hang out.

We spent the afternoon sight seeing. Susan didn't feel great, so I went to a Moroccan Bazaar solo and we met up later. At the bazaar, I talked to some people about Chilean politics, got an idea of what it's like to be Arab in Chile, see lots of pretty things, and get a henna tattoo a long with some other Chilean ladies. It'll be around for a month and that's all, mom and dad! When I met back up with Susan, we went to the handicraft market, Plaza de Armas, the Museum of National History, a modern dance concert, and then to a discoteque. The modern dance show depicted a day in the life of a very bored Chilean woman. It was interesting and the theater was awesome! It was called Teatro del Puente (Theater of the Bridge) and was literally situated on a bridge with the river and traffic of Santiago as the backdrop. After the show, we went out and had a ball. First we went to a bar with a singer who was hysterical and then to a discoteque. At the discoteque two Chilean girls and a group of guys who may or may not be a soccer team befriended us, and following suite, they were super friendly and fun. Also, Chilean beer, Kuntsman, has been my favorite in Latin America so far. It's a pale ale and delicious.

I really like Santiago. We're staying in Chile for a few more days, but will spend them in Valparaiso, a beach town just outside of Santiago. We aren't expecting very warm weather, but either way it should be pretty and hopefully the people will be as awesome as they are in Santiago.