Santiago de nuevo

I seem to have caught a slight cold, probably the result of being cooped up on a boat with 100+ other people for four days. I am letting it run its course, although it is easy to obtain medications over-the-counter here that would otherwise require a prescription in the USA.

The salon cama bus was indeed worth the cost. While the seats did not fold completely flat, it was comfortable enough for me to actually sleep, which is something that does not usually occur in moving vehicles. From the bus station I immediately proceeded to the hotel where the orientation is taking place. It is in a ritzy part of town called Providencia. After two weeks of staying in hostels and boat cabins, it is nice to have a private room with private bath. I am sharing the room with two other guys.

This afternoon consisted of meeting and greeting, followed by a quick talk focused on orienting us with the mass transportation system of Santiago. While I was away from the city for a week, a huge overhaul of the system occurred. Before this overhaul, there were two methods of getting around: the Metro and micros, which were like city buses. The problem lay in two areas: 1) Santiago has the worst air pollution of any city in South America, and 2,000 buses passing down the same street per hour was not helping the situation; and 2) drivers of micros were paid according to how many passengers boarded the bus, so one person flagging down a passing micro was likely to have three or four stopping in attempts to gain his or her ridership. On the 11th, everything changed with the introduction of 'Transantiago,' which is an attempt to integrate bus and Metro into one system, and to eliminate the method of paying the micro drivers by passenger (instead they will now earn a fixed salary.) There have been some major faults in the system, and the topic in general is of much heated debate here in Santiago. Because of a problem with collecting fares on the buses, every trip on a city bus is free until Friday. This should continue to be an interesting development in the near future.

Tonight is a welcome dinner for all of us, and then on Friday we meet the families. I'm getting nervous about that....

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!