It’s good to be out of Europe. Europeans are often so Euro-centric and tend to think the whole universe rotates around this continent. I am very happy to have a huge distance to Europe here in Santiago de Chile. I am in touch with friends and family but I am starting to unfollow some Austrian news sources, because it’s simply not necessary anymore to know about each and every political pissing contest taking place there. – What a relief! Politics are so soul-crushing.
Santiago is a pulsing city. I like it a lot here. We are living in the heart of the vibrant barrio Lastarria. Our apartment is on buzzing Calle José Victorino Lastarria and stepping out of our building we dive right into the busyness of this city. The street is full of artists selling their crafts on the street and you find street art on what seems like every corner of this town. The city makes an extremely creative impression overall.
It seems to me, that lots of people in Santiago are carefree about their appearance, following their own likes and not fashion.
It is also common here to sell your old clothes on José Victorino Lastarria, just like at a flea market. I guess I should do that too, if I want to reduce some more weight from my luggage before leaving Chile.
I am surprised by the craft beer scene. There are 3 bars within 100 meters of our apartment alone offering craft beers. I sampled some really good beers in town, which are on par with the fine brews of other international microbreweries.
English is not commonly spoken in Santiago. I am on day 10 of my Duolingo Spanish streak, slowly getting into it. I started also listening to some Latino music with catchy tunes, to make learning Spanish a bit fun. My Spanish language knowledge is close to zero, but some things do come back to me. I like Spanish quite a lot and want to get better at it. There is also a good chance we will be doing some more travelling in Spanish speaking countries and knowing how to say basic stuff would come in handy. ¿Sí?
