weird weird day

scott and i have spoken a couple of times about some key differences between US and Chilean culture. there are so many similarities stemming from capitalistic origins but this day really emphasized a kind of situation that would never happen in the US... and it all started with scott telling me "there's a dead body under that blanket over there."

we met at a pedestrian walkway type thingy and there seemed to be quite a disturbance ahead of us, police officers walking around what appeared to be an accident. there was a smashed truck on a flatbed, an utterly destroyed bicycle and a tarp thrown over a motorcycle. puzzled, because this wasn't any kind of official road (it was right in front of a fountain) i thought little of it and headed into a coffee shop for a cortado (a real coffee- except they serve it with a regular drinking straw). as i was coming out, scott rode up to where i was standing on the bicycle, looking ashen.

me: what's up? are you ok?
scott: yea... there's a dead body over there.
me: what are you sure?
scott: there are feet sticking out from underneath that blanket...

what! now usually i am pretty critical when people in the States gawk at accident scenes, like they can't get enough gore in their lives. i may have changed my mind after this experience... the first thing i wanted to do was run over there and check it out. i have to say the next thought was, what? but we're in chile. this isn't like peru or ecuador, we're in santiago freaking chile.

so... extremely curious at a distance, i started asking other chileans who were walking by solemnly, stopping briefly (in US standards) to look at the scene. a chilean next to me was explaining that yeah, must have been a fatal accident. but how i ask? he explained the road informally opens at night to traffic and maybe the truck and bikes collided early this morning or late last night. now this part did make sense because motorcycles ride on sidewalks all the time here, stupidly. then i ask, why are all of the carabineros (police officers) just hanging around talking to people, taking notes, measurements, pictures, talking to the media? he responds, they're waiting for the judge to get here to declare the accident. this kind of thing happens enough that a person doesn't have to get within 20 feet to know what's going on.

wow, i was definitely amazed. an advanced, progressive city like santiago letting a body hang around unrefrigerated for hours, that's crazy. there were people gathering to an extent but no crowds, nothing show-stopping. i guess in a city where you might pass diseased and dying dogs while leaving the subway, not many people need to run up to a dead body. also, the police did little to deter people from coming within mere feet of the accident. it seemed like they encouraged people to come closer.

i told an unwilling scott that i did want to get a little bit closer just to confirm i wasn't dreaming. as we circled around the side, things looked stranger. i thought i heard a carabinero asking a woman if she liked it, "te gusta?" and then i saw a sign neatly set up by the carabineros "siempre tu amigo" (always your friend). what the? at that moment i saw the fake hand underneath the tarp. it was all set up!! why? promoting safety awareness? i don't know. all i know is that that would never happen in the US. if there was a dead body, you would have had to fight to get to the front of the line. and if the police staged a fatal accident, they would have a lawsuit on their hands.

Easter Weekend Adventure

Back from our weekend in Pucón. It's a great adventure tourism town in the south of Chile. We spent two days partying with a wonderful group of new friends, whitewater rafting, and climbing the volcano 'Volcán Villarica' (vohl-can*vee-ya-rreecah). Our internet has been very spotty, so for now, please enjoy this wonderfully done video by our friend Shelly Guerin!



Please notice the part where Alejandro is asking Caitlin "you don't have the AIDS though, right?" and she answers, "¿que?"

Enjoy, more updates to follow :)

Rrrrrica!

Remember when I told you all about the delicious dangers of Peruvian-hijacking-food? Well here it is (green rice with spinach, pepper and cheese stuffed chicken):
But first we had ceviche with octopus, squid, fish, shrimp and razor clams (machas)... mmmm delicious. That's Scott right there trying to pretend he isn't eating raw animals... Although he is not a practiced seafood eater, I am pretty sure he enjoyed it as much as I did.
Hats off to "El Aji Seco" which was recommended to us by a fellow teacher of mine. I was even impressed with their mobile dessert tray (tiramisu, tres leches, strawberry cheesecake, flan, chocolate cake, apple tart, chocolate mousse)... :) :) :)