This week will mark the median of my life in Chile. Few things of note have happened since the holidays here besides our pottery attempt last week in Pomaire. Also, the weather is finally nicer here than it is back home. That only took two months. So, I'll need to squeeze this post in before I scoot off to the beach!
As I'm on the downhill in terms of my time here, I thought I'd take a minute to think about all the random things I miss that I can't get here in Chile. Obviously, I miss my family, girlfriend, dog, friends, and Collegeville in general really. But these are things I miss besides the obvious:
Job/income- I'm not dying for forty hours a week here. I just miss working a couple hours a day so that I'm not going into more of a financial hole than I already am. The occasional drink(s) at a bar or the compliance with "hey, let's check out that restaurant!" really add up. That doesn't even include the trips we make and the activities we do. All of my expenses have been absolutely worth it, I just wish there were more pesos making their way into my wallet instead of into others'.
Minnesota Nice- This isn't to say that Chileans are mean. In fact, I have heard of no assaults, gunshots or any violence aside from the occasional drunken disagreement, and you will often see teens giving up their seat on the bus for the elderly, for example. But I'm from an area where you smile, nod or greet someone (or some combination of the three) when you pass them on the street, whether you know them or not. Instead of these, you get averted glances, women tightening their grip on their purses, and parents toting their children closer. I thought I was just an innocent gringo, I didn't know I gave off the "I'm going to rob you or worse" vibe.
Milk- It's very different here. Apparently, because many might not have a refrigerator, the milk here is pasteurized at much higher temperatures than in the US and, without needing to be refrigerated, has a strangely long shelf life inside an insulated box. The extreme pasteurization makes most kinds thinner and gives them an almost condensed-milk taste that they cover with flavoring like strawberry, banana, and vanilla.
Free public bathrooms- Not that they break the bank or anything. But ranging from anywhere between 200-500 pesos (so .40-$1) means you have a lot of guys that simply drop trou and find a bush or, more commonly, a wall. All aesthetics aside, what this does is just make it really inconvenient for women, as the wait in their lines can easily exceed half an hour on busy days at the beach or at gas stations in traffic on the highway.
Green- my favorite color, and there's not nearly enough of it here. Sometimes, one just needs to take a nap in a meadow or go for a walk in the woods. And while this might have been possible two weeks ago in Chiloé, the only green areas in Viña are either private or covered in dog crap, but usually both.
Gary's Pizza. Enough said.
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