Santiago Shakes

The last 24 hours have been the most surreal of my life. If things had gone any differently then we very easily could have been in Concepcion or the lakes region where the epicenter of the earthquake hit. But Bree got a job so we canceled our trip and decided instead we would go to the beach for the weekend. However, rather than leave for the coast last night we went to a friend's birthday party. I use the term friend loosely, we literally met this woman once and decided it would be a good time.

So here we are in Santiago (approximately 200 miles from the epicenter), rather than Valparaiso (150 miles), Concepcion (50 miles) or Valdivia (100 miles).

2:00 AM Saturday morning
Bree and I left a salsa club in the Bella Vista district of Santiago. We got home and discussed how much we love it here and what a good time we had. We are starting to meet some people and really enjoy their company. We clean up the apartment and go to bed.

Around 3:45 AM
I couldn't sleep very well and was half awake when the apartment started to shake. It started out gently at first, and then became more violent. What lasted for only a minute seemed to last for an hour. All we could hear was glass shattering and Concrete collapsing. The building was shaking violently back and forth and we were being bounced around in bed. I easily felt I could have fallen out. As the shaking increased in violence we were convinced the building was going to collapse. Then it started to die down. The earthquake continued for another minute or so in small rumbles and was accompanied but the distinct sound of concrete falling to the ground. The building continued to rock for a while.

We had no power so our apartment was dark so we stumbled to find our flashlight. From the sound of all the glass breaking we were convinced the entire apartment would be in shambles. Surprisingly nothing broke. Our fridge was open and all our food was on the ground but that was the extent of our damage. we put clothes on and ran outside with the rest of our apartment.

4:00 AM - 5:30 AM
We spent the next hour and a half outside waiting for news as to what happened. We talked to our security guard who assured us earthquakes happen all the time and we are safe. He also added that they never are so bad. A lot of people in our apartment had packed bags and took off in their cars. Some people brought out mattresses and chairs. Most just looked stunned. Nearly everyone was on the phone with relatives checking if they are okay. I overheard one person saying that Concepcion was leveled. We watched as our generators struggled to stay on and keep the emergency lights going. Eventually we got on our radio on our phone and listened to the news. From what I gathered there was a major earthquake and concepcion and the coastal regions had taken the brunt of it.

We tried to go back to sleep around 6am thinking everything was safe.

8:00 AM
The first major aftershock hits. Bree sleeps through it but I felt it pretty clearly. It was nothing like the first but still was nerve racking.

10:00 AM
The second major aftershock hits and registers a 6.8 on the Richter scale (for a scale of what this feels like, the quake in Haiti was a 7.0. Our first was an 8.8). This one woke Bree up and, for lack of better terms, scared the shit out of everyone. More sounds of glass shattering and concrete falling. At this point we got up and our power was back on. We got in touch with our families through Skype, email, and Facebook. It was now when we learned the severity of the quake. Since our area was hardly damaged we had assumed that it was just another quake in a city that is used to earthquakes.

We learned of the reports that the US was getting and made an effort to assure everyone that Santiago is fine. For the most part CNN has claimed that Santiago had a lot of damage which is false. Cities and towns south of here are destroyed and in shambles.

The next hour or so was spent reading as much news as we could and talking to as many family members as possible. We learned that Concepcion was blocked from communication and the major bridge connecting the north and south of Chile was destroyed. We can only imagine what the quake felt like south of Santiago. We are 200 miles away and terrified. Around 11 we went back to sleep.

3:00 PM
Most of the aftershocks had gotten smaller at this point. We decided it was time to explore the city and examine the damage and take pictures so we could report first hand our experiences. For the most part the city is in tact. A lot of buildings have broken windows and large chunks of concrete fell off the side of the older buildings. A lot of buildings were taped off to prevent people from getting hit by more falling chunks. For the most part though the damage was minimal. There are reports of a parking garage that collapsed in the east of Santiago in Los Condes. There are also reports of museums having significant damage.

By the time we were out in the city most of the rubble had been swept up. The most surprising thing was all of the glass in the streets. So many windows were shattered and many light posts broke apart. We met with a few people in a coffee shop who were trying to get in contact with family members. Everyone seemed okay but like the owner said, "we will rise again."

We ran into a couple of Americans who were supposed to be here for a layover but now are stuck in Santiago. They were supposed to fly to Punta Arenas to backpack around Patagonia. Instead they have to wait until the airport opens. They were talking about people in the top floors of their hotel having their beds thrown back and forth across the room during the quake. We feel lucky to have our apartment on the third floor.

There have been mixed reports from the airport about when it will open. There is significant damage to the terminals but not the runways. We have heard that the airport will open in 24 hours but we also have heard 72 hours. When more of the Santiago news stations come online we will know more.

7:00 PM
After exploring the city we decided we needed to stock up in case supplies take a while to get here. We went to the supermarket on our block and realized we should have came earlier. The grocery store was PACKED. There was no meat, no bread, very little water, and hordes of people. We filled our cart with water, frozen foods, non-perishables, snacks, and anything else we thought we would need in case for some reason things get worse. We had to wait in line for over 2 hours to check out. Since the phones are unstable only cash transactions were being accepted. That means people waited in line for 2 hours just to find out when they got there that they were out of luck.




CNN and the other major American news stations have been pretty obnoxious with their BS reporting. They recently reported that Santiago has no power, no running water, and no phones. All of which are false. They have been generalizing all of the reports that they get and stating that everything is happening in Santiago. If anyone is considering coming to Chile for relief work, please, don't come to Santiago. Go to Concepcion, San Antonio, and other coastal towns near the epicenter. They are in dire need of help. NOT Santiago. It seems to me that since there are 6 million people in Santiago, the major news networks almost want there to be a bigger disaster here.

For now we are okay. We have electricity, running water, and the best invention ever: Skype. The gas lines are shut off so we don't have hot water yet but we will soon. We still hear a lot of ambulances heading towards the south and west. If anyone wants to get in contact with us Bree's Skype is bree.simmers. We want to thank everyone for all of the emails and messages we got, we are glad that so many people care about us!

The Day The Sun Disappeared!

This post will cover many topics.

Preface
Today was the first day since we've been here that I woke up and their were enough clouds in the sky that the sun wasn't visible. Everyone was walking around outside dressed like it was a cold fall morning. It was still very warm out. People tended to glance up at the sky with a mix of disdain and fear as if to say, "Hey clouds! How dare you come out before June! You're not going to rain on me are you?" Do not fear Chileans! For the sun was back out by noon.

Part 1: Dogs

There are stray dogs everywhere in Santiago. They are usually smaller-medium sized dogs and tend to roam in small numbers. People here walk right by these cute little animals like they are a tree: just part of the decoration. Most often you will find the pooches sleeping in the shade or looking in buildings for food. Santiagans believe the dogs to be filthy and disease ridden. The truth is that, yes, they are filthy but many of the dogs are actually quite healthy. There are several vets who also try to rescue dogs. They clean the dogs and check them for disease and try to find a nice home for ol' Spot.

One day when walking home, a young dog began following us. We were through with interviews and activities so we were taking a rather long walk home. This dog proceeded to follow us for nearly 20 minutes. He would run up ahead then stop and wait for us, and when we'd cross the street he would follow us to wherever we were going. Occasionally he would take off and explore a water fountain (There are TONS of fountains in Santiago) or sniff out some food but eventually he would come bounding up behind us. It seemed that we had found a new friend! We hoped he would follow us home so we could take him to a vet and find him a nice family. When we were relatively close to our apartment our little buddy ran across the street when we were going to turn right instead. He slowed a bit and looked back as he was running as if to say, "are you coming?" But then a car honked at him and he got scared and took off. We saw him watch us go the other way but I think he was too scared to cross the street again.

Now the dogs are usually very astute when crossing the streets. It is actually very cute. They look both ways several times, wait for there to be no cars and they cross. Just like humans. Usually they only cross at crosswalks as well. Sometimes there will be 15 people and 4 dogs waiting for a signal to cross the street. The dogs will also help each other. This video is actually in Santiago. A women who saw this video came to Santiago to do a documentary about the stray dogs here and to help set up adoption centers. We see the dogs acting like this all the time. They don't have humans to look after them so they look after each other.

Part 2: Phones

For the first time in my life technology baffles me. I can not, for the some reason, figure out how to make a call in Chile. Depending on where you are and if you are calling from a cell phone or a land line to a cell phone or a land line, you have to put in different codes. This is the most frustrating thing ever. I have tried 8000000000 different combinations of codes and nothing seems to work! It appears that in order to call I need to insert a + before any number. However, my phone doesn't have a + option that I am aware of. So, I can not call anyone! This proves to be very difficult when, say, you have a number of a prospective employer and can't call them! I will be forced to only talk to people through email.

Part 3: Guitars

Finding a suitable guitar in Santiago has been laborious. First off, finding a store that sold guitars was far too difficult. The first store I found was a tiny little hole in the wall that sold about 10 guitars, 5 electric and 5 acoustic. The problem being that the acoustics were all classical guitars. I don't mind a classical guitar it's just not my playing style and I'd prefer a folk guitar. This little hole in the wall had 1 folk, which is actually the same model Ibanez I have back home. That said the price of this particular Ibanez is a bit hefty for a guitar I'll only have for a year.

The second guitar store I found was a Yamaha store. They had a bunch of acoustics and only 3 folk guitars. The first I tried the frets stuck out so far off the neck it hurt to slide up and change chords. The second I tried buzzed constantly. The third I didn't even bother playing. It was a blue Squire. Not something I need.

After feeling quite dejected at my inability to find a proper instrument I returned to the Yamaha store to try out guitar number 2 again. I was dreading the inevitable disappointment this guitar would bring. Until I realized that the Yamaha store was actually in front of a shopping plaza that only sold instruments! set back in this building I found a very awesome guitar store (full of Taylors which I had to pry myself away from). The guy working there was very helpful and actually spoke English. I ended up settling on a Memphis, or El Cheapo as I called it. I am very excited to have finally found a guitar and maybe I will teach these Chileans a thing or two about music.


Part 4: Cars

Santiago, for all of its great public transportation, has a ton of cars. Too many people drive. I guess that would be because the grid pattern of the streets is incredibly easy to navigate and the roads are wide. This leads to smog. smog smog smog. Santiago would be a beautiful place, if you could see through the smog. Sometimes we can see the Andes from our apartment, most of the time we can't. People also drive relatively safely here. Other than when you cross the street. They accelerate and honk annnnd then slow down. Or if there is a pretty girl walking down the street, then traffic slows and there are lots of honks. At both the car slowing down and at the girl.

The biggest problem with cars comes with the car alarms. For some reason people in Santiago don't understand how to get in their car without setting off the car alarm. For example, yesterday, a women got in a car to our left, set off her alarm, and then went in reverse and tried to run me over. I would say that at a 95% confidence interval every fourth car started in Santiago sets off the alarm. I repeatedly hear Dane Cook's car alarm song.

Conclusion
Things are going pretty great down here. I've been keeping busy trying to find a million part time jobs. So far I'm at 2. Maybe if I get 2 more i'll be able to work 40 hours a week! We extended the apartment we are in now until the end of March while we get ourselves settled into jobs. We will begin looking for a new apartment next week or so. Most likely we will be taking a trip to the beach this weekend. Originally we were planning on going to Patagonia for a week but it is expensive and difficult to get to. Bree also now has to work on Tuesday morning so it has put a hamper into the distance we can travel. A friend here is having a birthday party at a salsa club on Friday so we will be learning how to salsa dance. I'm sure there were a lot more things I was planning on talking about in this post but oh well. I'll have to have another ramble again soon.

Give the Bassman some!

Tonight we wandered the streets of the trendy Bella Vista area of Santiago. While meandering down a busy street we heard the sound of sweet flamenco music and gravitated towards the bar. Inside this tiny pub was the most incredible live flamenco band with 4 dancers, a fantastic drummer, a very impressive flamenco guitarist, and an absolutely amazing singer. It was, however, the bassist who provided the most fascination.

At first I was very confused as to why the bassist was playing so loudly and with such a distinct Jazz Fusion sound that almost competed with the classical flamenco sound. For several songs I merely found it intriguing and passed it off as a bassist wanting some attention.

Then they decided to give the bassman some. In which he went on a 5 minute solo which blew my mind. Having sat directly in front of Victor Wooten and shaken his and after an incredible set, I had believed there could be no bass player who would ever impress me. This man in this tiny bar in Santiago came out with a funky slap jam at flamenco speed which was out of this world. I have never heard the bass played in such a fashion and I don't think I ever will again.

On a completely unrelated note, I met a bartender who looked exactly like Chris Genualdi from Richmond if he were from Chile and a bartender. Very scary.

Bienvenido a Santiago

Well after a little over a week of trying to figure out Santiago I have finally decided that I should share my adventures with everyone. I told myself once I have a job then I will start a blog. Now I have two jobs and can no longer delay the inevitable. So here we go!

Some notes on Santiago:
-Everyone wears fanny-packs.
-Teenagers have mullets. Greasy, nasty, mullets. On occasion they have what may be deemed the "Miami Vice Rasta."
-The metro (subway) is the cleanest and easiest to navigate subways I have ever been on. (So it is better than Boston and NYC)
-Chileans love ice cream. People sell ice cream on every corner.
-Chileans also love Mote Con Huesillos. Which at first looks like eggs floating in rice and alcohol but is really peaches floating in sugar and wheat. Apparently delicious but the word is still out on that one.
-Everyone we have met has been incredibly friendly and helpful. It is a strange concept to see people walking down a busy city street and smiling let alone helping each other.
-Finally, Chileans have reputably the worst Spanish in the world. They slur every sentence into one big word and cut out any hard consonants and 's'. Therefore it is very hard to understand anything they say.

So far Santiago has been a blast. It is a lot of fun to walk around the city, there are beautiful parks pretty much every 7 blocks. Bree and I both just got a job working at a small English tutoring center which starts in mid-March. We also are going to be working for a corporation called I Love Chile. They have an all English radio station which I am trying to get a show on (stay tuned for updates on that), an all English newspaper and they are working on a TV station. We are going to be selling advertising slots part time for them. This may or may not prove to be a successful endeavor but we are willing to try something new!

As for the radio show when I know more about it I will let you all know when it is because you can listen and watch online!