4 de Julio
Happy 4th of July.
The yapping dog next door woke me up. Or maybe it was the banging on the wall by the neighbors on the other side. Or maybe it was the car alarm that wouldn't quit on Avenida Suecia. Either way, I was in my freezing cold then scalding hot then freezing cold shower by about 10 am. "Rambo," the yapper who is smaller than my cat, was done by the time I was blowdrying my hair. Or trying to blow dry it, with the dryer shutting off about every 2 minutes. Maybe it would be easier for me to walk down the street with wet hair. It would look darker and people would stop staring at me like an unwelcome alien.
Cappuccino con crema by about 11 am at The Coffee Factory and off I go down the street to look for some offices. My goals this morning are to find the office of Revista Cosas, Amnesty International, and ContactChile while not looking lost, stupid or gringa in the process. They are located somewhere off Av. Providencia on streets named Almirante Pastene and Huelen.
Almirante is past the tourist office where I got the free chocolates, free maps, and a free assortment of self-congratulatory looks from Santiaguinos who had already decided how tourista I looked. I start looking for No. 329 where Revista Cosas has an office. It appears that I must continue walking towards the Rio Mapocho and the park. Almirante curls away from the main avenue into a neighborhood of residential houses occasionally spotted with businesses locked behind high steel fences. I looked particularly goofy meandering through the streets, passing construction workers (my name is Lauren, not "Linda"), taxis and other residents heading the opposite direction to the main thoroughfare.
Finally, I located Revista Cosas at the end of the street. I have to return there at 16:30 hrs.
And onward to find Huelen. I wandered for about 15 minutes al sur on Av. Providencia before I encountered Huelen, which, at its busier end, was replete with students sitting and chatting in their winter attire (down coats when its 63 degrees?). Amnesty International is located at Huelen 164 - Piso 2. I found Huelen 158 and then walked past some windows enjauladas to no. 172. Confused I returned back and found that 164 was nestled in a residential portion. No signs caught the eye and nothing indicated an office. Or people.
I pushed open a metal gate to a open air one-car garage containing an old chevy. To the right were two doors: one had a small window which revealed a brightly painted wall and a staircase (Piso 2?). Parecia more caribbean than Chileno given the drab attire these people are sporting during their winter. I climbed the stairs cautiously and (sigh) found an Amnistia sign at the top. I knocked and was greeted by a doppelganger for the tourist agent in the computerized Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? game, complete with the frizzy yellow hair, bobbling earrings, and only lacking the jersey-accented voice, "where to jetsettah?"
The yapping dog next door woke me up. Or maybe it was the banging on the wall by the neighbors on the other side. Or maybe it was the car alarm that wouldn't quit on Avenida Suecia. Either way, I was in my freezing cold then scalding hot then freezing cold shower by about 10 am. "Rambo," the yapper who is smaller than my cat, was done by the time I was blowdrying my hair. Or trying to blow dry it, with the dryer shutting off about every 2 minutes. Maybe it would be easier for me to walk down the street with wet hair. It would look darker and people would stop staring at me like an unwelcome alien.
Cappuccino con crema by about 11 am at The Coffee Factory and off I go down the street to look for some offices. My goals this morning are to find the office of Revista Cosas, Amnesty International, and ContactChile while not looking lost, stupid or gringa in the process. They are located somewhere off Av. Providencia on streets named Almirante Pastene and Huelen.
Almirante is past the tourist office where I got the free chocolates, free maps, and a free assortment of self-congratulatory looks from Santiaguinos who had already decided how tourista I looked. I start looking for No. 329 where Revista Cosas has an office. It appears that I must continue walking towards the Rio Mapocho and the park. Almirante curls away from the main avenue into a neighborhood of residential houses occasionally spotted with businesses locked behind high steel fences. I looked particularly goofy meandering through the streets, passing construction workers (my name is Lauren, not "Linda"), taxis and other residents heading the opposite direction to the main thoroughfare.
Finally, I located Revista Cosas at the end of the street. I have to return there at 16:30 hrs.
And onward to find Huelen. I wandered for about 15 minutes al sur on Av. Providencia before I encountered Huelen, which, at its busier end, was replete with students sitting and chatting in their winter attire (down coats when its 63 degrees?). Amnesty International is located at Huelen 164 - Piso 2. I found Huelen 158 and then walked past some windows enjauladas to no. 172. Confused I returned back and found that 164 was nestled in a residential portion. No signs caught the eye and nothing indicated an office. Or people.
I pushed open a metal gate to a open air one-car garage containing an old chevy. To the right were two doors: one had a small window which revealed a brightly painted wall and a staircase (Piso 2?). Parecia more caribbean than Chileno given the drab attire these people are sporting during their winter. I climbed the stairs cautiously and (sigh) found an Amnistia sign at the top. I knocked and was greeted by a doppelganger for the tourist agent in the computerized Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? game, complete with the frizzy yellow hair, bobbling earrings, and only lacking the jersey-accented voice, "where to jetsettah?"
posted by Lauren at 1:53 PM
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