An interesting anecdote from the other day: had a great conversation with my cab driver, taking me home from the airport after dropping Avalon off for her flight early Tuesday morning. I had hoped that maybe chatting it up with the guy would save me a few bucks (didn't work) on the ride, or at least provide some interesting insights on the Chilean experience (did work).
While my Spanish was a bit shaky at 4 am, I think he was still happy with my attempts to make the 15-minute ride through the dark, largely abandoned freeways a bit lighter. He turned out to be a funny fellow, hailing from Maipu, one of the poorer sections of town, and quite opinionated about all things Chile (aren't we all).
When I asked him if he liked Santiago, he immedately replied no, because of "drogas." This briefly took me aback, as Chile is largely considered to be clean, modern, and drug free. So far, I hadn't seen that much of a drug
That I found surprising. The same military which produced the proud Pinochet and the strict, authoritarian government that ruled the country from 1973-89? The driver said his brother was in the military, and had problem with drugs, and that corruption was stemming out of control. Surprising stuff.
I then asked about the Caribineros, the civillian police that appear to be the army in everything but name. Apparently the Caribineros are immune, he said. I bet if US citizens were polled on whether they thought the military or police were more corrupt, the police would win (lose?) by a landslide.
Then I went back home and wrote a 10-page econ paper, sleeping from 8 to 9 am. So much for the vacation.
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