The public transportation here is very good, and they have three types: They have a subway system for long commutes, they have "micros" which are small buses for shorter commutes within the city or between Vina and Valparaiso, and they have "colectivos" which are taxis which function just like buses with established routes. So far I've only taken micros, and they're a lot of fun. It only costs about 90 cents to go from my house in Vina del Mar to Valparaiso. Also, there are usually people that will jump on the bus for a stop or two and they'll try to sell something, usually candy, ice cream, or something like that. But yesterday a guy jumped on the bus and gave this long sales pitch about the PedEgg, AND it normally costs 3500 pesos in the store, but just for us, he would sell it for 1,990 pesos. I'm glad my host brother was there to restrain me from buying it. Also, the micro drivers are crazy, and it feels like a Formula 1 race. Today we were waiting in a long line at a light, and our driver cut into the left lane against traffic, and then forced his way back into the line at the light and turned right.
I saw three new birds today: Chilean Swallow, Silvery Grebe, and, I'm not making this name up, Blackish Oystercatcher.
My host mother said that one of the other students she hosted thought before he came here that Chileans ate food like rats and rabbits and strange meat. So on his study abroad form he put that he was a vegetarian. She thought that she was going to have to cook a lot of vegetables and pasta, but as soon as he got here, he saw that they were just eating chicken, and he quickly blew his cover. Then I told her about the muskrats and guinea pigs I've eaten. Now my six year old host brother thinks I'm going to eat his pet guinea pig.
Here's a little bit of Valparaiso.
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