Kyle Hepp

May 21, 2007

Today walking down the street to go get Chinese food, I had a thought. Yes, I know. That in and of itself is amazing. It just awes me that a human being can adapt so well to any circumstance. I looked at the sidewalks that were, not just cracked, but filled with holes so deep I could step into one and die. Seriously. My neighborhood is populated with mechanics’ workshops and bus garages. The houses don’t look like what I think a house should look like. Each house shares a wall with its neighbor, there’s no space between and there’s no yard, back or front. There’s not a free spot here that’s not completely covered in grafiti. The streets are dusty and dirty. There are piles of trash all over the place with stray dogs ripping the bags apart looking for something to eat. Each person we pass is short and dark skinned. Small foreign made cars whiz by, models and makes that I had never seen until I moved to Chile. Everything is different.

Even Chinese food doesn’t taste like Chinese food.

For a year’s time I wandered around this place with my eyes wide. I was constantly surprised and amazed at everything I saw. Even though I had lived in the country for more than 12 months everything still seemed exciting and interesting. The newness seemed to never wear off.

Now nothing can faze me. I don’t know what’s better or worse. Now I see things as they are. Instead of some exotic location, this is just another dirty city. I don’t think the dogs I see are cute anymore, I don’t feel bad that they eat trash. Instead I just wish that Chilean people would wise up and get them all neutered and spayed. But, no, they don’t believe in that. So they have a dog and cat infestation problem and its disgusting. Instead of thinking the graffiti is colorful and gives the city personality, I just wonder why people don’t respect their country more and stop destroying public property. I see things for what they are.

I can no longer ignore the problems. I am no longer a visitor passing through, so these are now my problems too. This is home.