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This is the estufa. I love it, despite its dangers, for the fact that it is the only heat source in apartment. It consists of a metal structure about two feet tall which houses a tank of some sort of flammable liquid gas (looks like a propane tank to me, but I don't really know.) A hose delivers the gas to a place at the bottom of the metal screen, where it is ignited. There is a strange sort of filter-type insert within the estufa that seems to absorb the flame from the pilot and burns extremely slowly, emitting heat. It really doesn't put out that much heat; you have to be standing right next to it to really feel anything. After you leave it on for a few hours, the room temperature becomes bearable, although it's far from being toasty. You can't leave it burning all night, because there is a risk of poisoning from the gas. When the tank is low, you can really smell the gas. For the same reason, you really shouldn't use it in an enclosed space, so it sits most of the time in the hallway of the apartment. The study-abroad program gave us air monitors which sound the alarm if the gas leaks. So far, mine has never beeped, so I suppose our estufa is working properly.
In other news, the rain finally came. It rained for almost 48 hours straight. The downside to this is that Santiago's streets do not have storm drains.
Oh, and I would never attempt to bribe a carabinero. They're very honest and uncorrupted.
A few weeks ago, Chile celebrated "Día del Patrimonio". It is a day where the public can tour all the government buildings. This, to me, is one of the great things about a democracy, and it is a shame that a day like this does not exist in the United States. Transparency is an important element in a democracy, and I sometimes feel that this is ignored in my home country.
First, we visited the presidential offices, known as La Moneda. "Moneda" is Spanish for "coin", and before it housed the executive offices, the building was a mint. It is a fine example of Spanish colonial architecture. We saw lots of elegant meeting rooms and the area where the president receives visitors, but the actual office of President Bachelet was closed. I came to Chile wanting to at least catch a glimpse of the first female president in Chilean history at some point during my year here, and a few weeks later I actually did see her exiting a building. The police would not let me go nearer than half a block, however. I was amused to see that she rides around in a Peugeot instead of a BMW or a Mercedes.
Within La Moneda, I posed for a picture with a member of the guards. The police in Chile are called "carabineros" and their uniforms are the same color green as the guard's. Speaking of cars, I also saw the old presidential vehicle. It's an old Ford Galaxie convertible.
Later we toured the Banco Central de Chile (pictures were not allowed) and the Santiago Stock Exchange (seen in the last picture). With the Chilean economy growing as quickly as it is (6.6% last year), this place is probably pretty busy during the week.
In response to a comment made by Gary, the picture from yesterday's entry was taken from the patio of La Moneda, facing Santiago's main thoroughfare and the buildings housing the Ministry of Defense.
Winter is not Santiago's best season, for a variety of reasons:
- The smog is AWFUL. When you're feeling cold and melancholy, a sight of snow-capped Andes might cheer you up. The Andes, however, are never visible through the pea soup that has blanketed the city. Only rain clears the smog away, and (this is no exaggeration) it has rained exactly THREE times since I arrived here in February! Never before have I wished for a rainy day so much!
- Very few buildings have central heating. This means one must dress in layers at all times. Wearing coats, scarves, and gloves indoors without removing said garments upon entering is definitely en vogue here. Some relief from the cold is provided by the estufa, but the ridiculousness of this device merits a separate entry. Let's just say for now that it does not win the household safety award with its tank of gas hooked to it. A disagreeable side effect of this constant state of chilliness is that the bed is the only truly warm place in the house, which makes it VERY difficult to get up in the morning.
- Basic health knowledge is vastly different here. Everyone worries about having enough clothing on, but no one seems to be aware of what germs are. People cough and sneeze everywhere without covering their mouths. No one washes their hands in the bathroom. Nora is sick, and she blames it on the fact that the house of a relative she visited was "too warm inside". I watched her drink tea this evening, only to wash the cup in COLD water. I rewashed it in scalding hot water when she left the kitchen. No wonder everyone's sick. Cold water for dish-washing? Sneezing all over everyone in public? This goes far beyond layering one's outfits, I'm afraid.
There is nothing worse than being chilled to the bone, only to look out the window and see a palm tree. The weather is anything but tropical right now. I have to keep telling myself that it's not that cold out; rather, because there is no respite from the cold it feels worse than it actually is. Daytime highs have been in the 50s, and at night is has been in the 30s.
I hope you all are enjoying the Northern Hemisphere summer!
You all have been (justifiably) asking me for a picture of Nora. Here it is. As you can see, she is a short lady. She likes flowers a lot, and asked me to take this picture of her while we toured the presidential palace (entry to come on that).
