santiago airport - day three

i'm here in the airport again. this time in SANTIAGO at 5:29am waiting to board onto my plane to LA PAZ.

as i write, in front of me, is a line of people waiting to get onto the plane. i always wait till in the end, cause really, what's the point?

all the seats are assigned.

having been in chile for such a short period of time, it wasn't difficult to notice the attention to branding and appearance that the general public gives to their daily lives. there hasn't been a resurgence of wealth like this in chile since the occupation of the spanish. but it's clear that there has been a huge shift within the psyche of this country post-pinochet. having said that, this classiest approach to life isn't as new as the early seventies but was only magnified after the coupe in 1973.

there has always been a firm snobbish presence within the country's middle to upper class like any other country but it always feels more potent and transparent here. the new money that made its way during the early 90's has penetrated the way people live and treat each other. after the economic boom, i always found very little differences between chile and the united states. that's not excusing canada but there isn't that same level of passivity here in chile as there is in canada. like the states, people in chile tell you what's on their mind. when they spend a dollar some where, they immediately let you know when the service was poor or at the very least not leave a tip. having that combination of new money with the a very classiest approach to life has given chile and it's people a more shallow purpose compared to the sincerity and humbleness that was lost after the militaries occupation in 1973. if you go deep into the country's small towns and villages, that isn't a tourist trap, you'll find that warm and gentle spirit that once occupied the country. there are those who are of an older age, like my grandmother, who still idolize and hold pinochet with the highest respect… and if you spoke against him, she will let you know how wrong you were. last night as we were drinking tea, in loud voices because of a lack of hearing, her voice took an even higher and louder pitch when speaking of this subject; "there is no poverty today in chile today, only lazy people!”

now my grandmother is a very sweet woman, with a loving heart and good intentions. today, the state of things in chile economically ARE a lot better compared to when I lived here in the early 80's but i'm sure you can see my point. there was a lot pain behind her statement and you could tell she worked very hard as a wife and mother during those difficult times. on my way to airport i spoke to my father about this pain and how it manifested. working at a factory during the day and then selling canned food, store to store, in the evening so that she could keep her 10 children in a private school* was a rare and rebellious feat for a woman in those days. after awhile, my grandfather insisted in letters (that's how they communicated about important matters) to take the children out of private and put them into public schools. having seven out of their ten children in private schools was something they simply couldn't afford. but my grandmother never let her guard down. her pain was profound enough that she would work from sun up to sun down and sometimes into the late night for her children's schooling.

(we are traveling north in the air, just above the ANDES)

my grandfather treasured his leisure time and wasn't going to start working 14 hours a day just so that his kids could go to a private school. there was a slight but important difference between how they were raised. my grandfather was poor and didn't go to school but insisted on teaching himself how to read and write because of his love for words while my grandmother went to school but didn't have enough money to buy any books. being confronted with that lack of money, comparing herself to her classmates, i think scarred her. a lot of people would look at what my grandmother did as noble, and I believe it was, but i can't imagine living with all that pain. carrying it around and ignoring till this day.


* The public school system in those days were a mess. Even today, partially because of that trauma, very few people put their kids in public schools.