Hello readers,
Today is Friday, August, the 19th and it has been one week since arrival in Chile. It seems odd to me that I've only been here for one week, it seems like it's been much longer. I think the reason for that is because in the past week everything I have seen, all the people I've met, and all the stuff I've done has been new.
I am starting to get the hang of things. I can get around to where I need to go, for the most part, by myself now. My home is located slightly farther away from the main action of the city, and because of that I need to take public transportation quite often. I am not too happy about that because it is already costing a lot of money.
There are multiple forms of public transportation.
COLECTIVOS:
This is very much like a taxi except for a few reasons. There can be up to four different people in the car at the same time... it's not a private ride. There are certain colectivos for each area of the city, and they stay within their area. The location of where the Colectivo goes is posted with a small sign on top of the car. A colectivo usually costs 350 pesos (about 75 cents), but it will cost more if it is later at night or if you are riding alone. At nights, meaning anywhere from 12 to five in the morning, it will cost at the maximum 1200 (that's what my mamá told me), or about $2.30 USD. Colectivos are probably the fastest and cheapest form of transportation since there are a lot of them, and they can take you pretty much exactly where you need to go.
METRO:
The metro is a favorite form of transportation for some of my friends from the States. It is very clean, simple, and stress free. It costs slightly more than a colectivo - somewhere around 400 pesos. That figure I am currently unsure about, and it also varies with how far you can go. With the metro you are not limited to a certain spot of the city like a colectivo. You can take the metro all the way through Viña del Mar all the way into Valparaíso. Of course, however, the longer you ride the more it will cost. To ride the metro you need a card with money on it, which is easily filled.
MICRO:
This is basically a bus...although there is something else that would be called a "bus" I'm not sure of the differences quite yet. There are micros all over the place, and they, like the colectivos, have their own designated transportation spots. For example, if I want to go to Valparíso in a micro, I will have to get on one that says "Valparaíso" on the side. If I want to go to "Alvarez" street (where I live) i need to find one that says such. Each mirco has more than one spot - a wider range than colectivos - but they still are limited as so. Costs vary, but are usually between 350-400 pesos.
Taxi:
I have never taken a taxi because they are the most expensive form of transportation. They operate exactly like the ones in the States. You can go where ever you want, but you will pay per kilometro, or something like that.
BUS:
As I said before, I'm not exactly sure the differences between a micro and a bus... so right now I'm going to say they are the same.
UAI BUS:
I get to school on a free, college sponsored, bus. It goes only from the Plaza Viña (about a 20 minute walk from my apartment), and one other spot, to Universidad Adólfo Ibáñez - the college I am attending. It also gives rides back to those two locations.
That pretty much covers the forms of public transportation. My favorite is colectivos because when I take one, I don't have to walk all the way down from the huge hill my apartment is located on, and likewise I don't have to walk up it - which is a work out. In addition to that, they are pretty cheap if it's not too late at night and there's other people with you, which there always is.
My overall opinion right now of Viña is that I'm going to have a great time here. I have never had this much free time in my entire life, something I'm getting used to probably a little too easily. During the week my daily schedule includes a couple classes, working out for about an hour, and practicing violin for about the same amount of time. Besides that, I eat lunch with my family most days, and hang out with friends most nights.
The weight room here is the best I have ever seen, by far. The equipment for lifting weights is very advanced and easy to use. I am very thankful for this as I will be spending about four hours per week lifting.
As for violin, I have only practiced once so far, but I am still getting in the schedule of things. I am currently working on classical music for school in the States, but also on youtube music. I am currently working on "love the way you lie - by eminem" as a violin cover. I will start recording soon. It is my hope that I don't find video editing very difficult! If my hopes come true, I should have the video up in less than a week.
I hope you are all enjoying my blog!
Daniel Knapper
Note - many more pics and videos available for viewing on my facebook page.
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