the abundancy of english words

i've said before i'm surprised about how much english on signs and in general there is here, and with that, how little English people know. this is perhaps a meager example but this is a sign that hangs in our gym on the roof. the machines are of course, manufactured elsewhere (perhaps Europe) and have English signage. this sign serves to translate for those spanish speakers using the treadmills and whatnot.

but hey! at least they have translation for anything they need. at home, immigrants have little access to translate services, especially on an emergency basis.

i can only imagine how life would be different for me in the united states if i had to translate in order to use daily equipment, access public transportation, etc. now, most things are certainly written in spanish but the type of language barrier that exists here is something i take for granted when i am in my home country.

car accidents do happen

i said a while ago that we often would hear awful screeching noises but never an accident. well, we had gotten so accustomed to this that we never expected an actual accident. this was a sad reminder that they do indeed occur.



the response time was pretty decent, i would say that it took about 3 minutes for a medical professional to happen upon the scene. there were about 10 carabineros, 4 ambulances, 3 fire trucks. i hope everyone is ok.