pirate buses and self service

3/26/07
Happy Birthday Grandma!

I just want to add a couple things about Santiago:
Micros Piratas and self service

1. self-service. Santiaguinos don't believe in it. I don't know why,
maybe they're trying to create more jobs, maybe they don't trust
people not to steal things, I don't know, but I don't like it. I
think my dislike for it (and the usted/tu dichotomy) is part of my
blossoming culture shock which is supposed to hit soon. Supposedly
during culture shock, when I'm trying to integrate myself into this
culture, I'll start hating things chilean out of frustration. And I
hate that they don't let us do things for ourselves. What am I
talking about? In the libraries here, you can't browse the books.
The books are all registered in the computer, you look up what you
want, write down a call number on a special piece of paper with a
bunch of other info, then give it to a librarian behind a counter, who
goes to the shelves (which are behind the counter, or sometimes even
in a locked room) and brings you back the book. In maybe half the
clothing stores (except for some ENORMOUS department stores in the
wealthier neighborhoods) the clothes are displayed on mannequins, so
you look and see what you want, and then tell the salesperson who gets
your size off the shelf, and gives it to you to try on. Also in drug
store/pharmacies, which litter every streetcorner like Starbucks, some
of them have shelves and aisles, but most of them you have to go up
and ask for what you want, even if it's just band-aids.


2. Micros Piratas- Pirate Buses! I've told you all about
Transantiago, it's controversy, and how it put many drivers and other
folks out of business. As it turns out the people selling random
items and playing music are still allowed on Transantiago buses, but
people are still pissed because buses are frequently late and over
crowded. Well, not late because they don't have a schedule, but they
are frequently few and far between. SO the night that we got back
from Valparaiso and Horcón, we were waiting a very long time in a very
big crowd for a bus, when an unmarked, old bus pulls up with a man
hollering street names out the door, and everyone piled on- PIRATE
BUSES! 4 more passed in the 45 minutes that Christina and I had to
wait for the 505. Apparently, these are the old drivers, with the old
buses, driving around and picking up the slack of Transantiago, using
the old system of paying by change. But they only run at night. How
exciting!

Ok, I should be reading hundreds upon hundreds of pages for my
classes, so I'll go. Take care and I hope you're all doing well.