Beyond English

Some of my best friends in Santiago aren’t actually Chilean, but gringos. Americans who came to Chile to work for Beyond English, a social enterprise that teaches English in schools, but at the same time runs a number of community projects. Beyond English saw the need to democratize access to learn English in Chile and launched a pilot program in […] Read More

Santiago spending (part II)

In general, as expected, Santiago was on the cheaper side. The apartment was slightly cheaper than my first. I spent more money on eating out and drinking this time. Even though I had a kitchen, I did not cook that much. Cultural activities seem low, but a lot of museums are free or cost less […] Read More

La Vega

Market time! I took a stroll through Santiago’s famous fish market, the Mercado Central, with its fish stands and fish restaurants. The restaurants are a bit touristy, and you can’t walk through without a camarero trying to get you to sit down, but it’s a fun place to visit. After the stint at the Estación Mapocho, I […] Read More

Estación Mapocho

Time to revisit another place that was a favorite of mine last time around, Estación Mapocho, an old train station, now decommissioned, that once linked Santiago to Northern Chile. Built between 1905 and 1912, the station was constructed in time for the centennial celebrations in Chile, which also saw the construction of the Museo de […] Read More

Ultimos días

I am melancholic. I just feel like I am saying good-bye all the time now. Earlier throughout this trip, every good-bye to a friend or a city also implied a new beginning in the next place, new friends to be made, new places to be explored. But with just over two weeks left, there is […] Read More

Santa Lucia

Lazy day. I spent it in Parque Forestal, in a café and then on the Santa Lucia hill, reading under a palm tree. Santa Lucia is a small hill in the heart of Santiago, a steep climb with a nice view, and a couple of fountains. It is the heart of the city of Santiago. […] Read More

Descent into Brussels

I needed some time to recover from the Thursday night drinking binge. I slept in on Friday, till early afternoon, and then just hung around the house, cleaning a few things, bringing the laundry to the washing service…. then having a tea on a terrace. It was a beautiful, warm day, but I really needed […] Read More

Borracho

In my life, I’ve only been drunk to the point of being sick twice. Once in college, in Bruges, where I decided Vodka mixed with Gin would be a good idea, and once a few years later where I could’t stomach a mixture of wine, beer and weed. Yesterday was #3. Not too bad, considering I’m […] Read More

Cerro San Cristóbal

I always pushed it back to ‘tomorrow’, and in the end, I didn’t see it at all: Cerro San Cristóbal, the hill that dominates the city of Santiago. On a good day, you can see much of Santiago lying to its feet, and the Andes Mountain range in the back of the city. On a […] Read More

Into autumn

I woke up to a grey, covered sky, and it had cooled down notably over night. I wanted to go to the Museum of Modern Art, but it is closed till 2nd of March – just in time for me to see it on the last days. I went to what seems to become my […] Read More