Transantiago

Chile endures daily earthquakes, active volcanoes and extreme poverty, but nothing has affected the country quite like Transantiago. Santiago’s recently-implemented new transit system was meant to bridge the gap between its once chaotic bus system and the ever-expanding Metro. However, the mere word Transantiago evokes feelings of anger, hostility and bitterness in the hearts of Santiguinos, most of whom I just passed waiting at the bus stop.

Transantiago was poorly thought out and implemented which provided fuel for El Dia de los Combantantes, a day set aside annually (last Thursday) to remember two brothers who were brutally murdered under Pinochet’s regime. Demonstrations, riots and arrests marked this day for some. We had to endure the malls closing early.

Which led to our own Dia de los Combantantes: We fought over which pasta dish to share at Pasta Basta, who was to pay the bill, and the last spoonful of pebre (Chilean salsa). Other than that, our week with my suegros (in-laws) y prima (cousin) was pleasantly combat-free.

In fast, we had an outright fantastic time. They were transparently thrilled with seeing the girls, completed many transactions, and ate a months worth of transfats, Not much was lost in translation between Bob and Miguel (a Chilean version of my father-in-law), although the language-gap made for some chaotic conversations.

I’ll be transmitting this shortly. But first, I have to go break up the Noche de las Combantantes that is currently occurring in the girls’ bedroom. With grandma gone, we've had a typical Dia de las Complain-tantes followed by a Tarde de las Crab-antes. Hope your dias are more chaos-free.

Sisma