Hey Internet!
If I may be so bold I would like to start this post with a small anecdote about how being tall in a country of tiny people can be very odd (see picture below for a clear depiction of my stature...). As I've mentioned before on my blog I sometimes have to go to some not-very-nice places for work. Now I'm relatively accustomed to this in the States. I worked in Compton, East L.A., and Juvenile holding cells. I'm not, however, used to being the only person on the train who can see over everyone's heads. At home I feel pretty average (although I suppose at 5'10" I'm not exactly average height, but still, I have plenty of family members who are taller). Now mix the abnormal height (amongst Chileans) with the not-so-nice neighborhood and you get an odd situation. I often find myself riding the bus in this sketchy neighborhood as an old man pulls up alongside us with his horse and buggy... in Santiago! But that's not what bothers me. What makes me uncomfortable is the unwanted attention from gross older men who see a gringa and view an opportunity to make some horrifying noise (along the lines of the little suction thingy at the dentist). What man on earth has ever been successful in wooing a woman by crudely making a creepy noise from their truck and then driving on? Answer: no man. Thus I must conclude that these men do this as a bizarre (and pathetic) way to demonstrate some sort of nonexistent power over me? I'm getting philosophical and far away from my point. Anyways in response to all of this gross weird older man nonsense, my student offered to have his sweet little old security guard stand with me at the bus stop. Result: a huge woman standing at the bus with a man who must not be more than 5'3" as her protector. Sometimes the bus takes it's sweet time and I have to make awkward small talk with this sweet old guy who has no interest in talking to some 20-something gringa. I also struggle with his impossible accent (worsened by his missing teeth), and bizarre Chilenismos. But I guess that's what I signed up for when I moved to the country where the average height for men is 5'7" and 5'1" for women. Oops. Ha!
Anyways now that I've rambled on and on about something totally unrelated I'll get back to the point of this post which is to show my pictures of Barrio Brasil!
M, K and I decided to hang around in Barrio Brasil yesterday. It's a fun neighborhood with lots of cool graffiti. We wandered around the streets for a while and had a very disappointing meal at a restaurant across from an awesome park. Overall it was a nice day, but next time I will definitely do some research before choosing a restaurant. Hopefully my odd assortment of pictures will entertain you :)
M and I taking a selfie in a small market.
Random Graffiti.
This was my favorite one.
I loved how colorful this wall is.
I'm definitely not a cat person but this cat is kind of cool... more importantly, however, is the cute little old man carrying all sorts of flowers. Aw.
Another cool piece. The building was shnazzy in a dilapidated way.
Overall Barrio Brasil is pretty fun and super accessible (Linea 5 and Linea 3!). I'll have to go back next time with a little more research under my belt (in other words where to eat). I'm not sure what I'll get up to today, but I'll keep you guys posted. Happy Sunday :)
XX
A
P.S. Happy September!
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