Hi trusty followers
As I'm writing this update, I'm sitting in a hostel in Santiago, here I'm currently employed, for the upcomming week atleast. How did I end up here, well let's start from the beginning.
Pictures at the end of this update
Like I said in my last update, before going to Santiago I would do a stopover in Brussel.
So I took 3 busses and I was at the airport, there I figure that if I'm going to someones birthdayparty I should bring a pressant. My sister was like why don't you bring him some Norwegian chocolat. After thinking about it for a few minuts I realise the guy is from Belgium, famous for it's good cholcolat, so what is he gonna do with Norwegian chocolat. At the airport I first thought of buying him a bottle of alcohol, only to realise that we would just end up drinking all of it the first night and I would get my regular useless drunk. So I thought of a compromise, buying a six pack of Norwegian beer, then I made another startelig realisation about Belgian culture, they are famous for there beer aswell. So I end up not buying anything.
Like I said this would be the first time I would see Max for over 2 years, but it's not the first time I've tryed. The summer after I got back from Mexico I went to Belgium, the plan was for me to stay with him, but the day before my departure I get a mail from him. Tomorrow that won't work. Luckly I have other friends in Belgium so I called him the day before, "Hey man I'm coming to Brussels tomorrow can I stay at your place.?" Luckly he was up for it, so I stayed with him for a few days, then he Ilyas had planes so I had to call the last friend I had in Belgium, Arnaaud and ask the same. It all worked it out, thanks to Belgian hospitallity.
This time however I had double and trippel checked everything, so when I had gotten my bags and got out. There he was, my long lost friend. Maximilliano Powels.
First we went to his school in Brussel and grabed a beer, yeah the school has a bar/cafe on the first floor. The school is next to what he told me was a part of Bussel run by the Russian mob, I was like I don't belive you. So we went there and got a dorum and wouldn't you know it the guy how apparently runs it is a scary looking slavic guy. I'm not saying it's proof, but I belived him.
The first night we stayed a his place an hour or so from Brussel a small town called Lummen in Flander(Dutch part of Belgium.)
We watched a movie at his, almost adopted brother from Romania who did not speak any English. Max's parents has had him over every summer since he was a little boy and now he has moved to Lummen. We watched Requirement for a Dream, kinda freaked me out.
The next day, the day of Max's 21st birthday we went back to his school in Brussels.
I met some of his friends and even though they all live in Brussel a city where everyone speeks French, they all spoke Dutch to each other. The school Max goes to is practically just Flander people. Later that day some friends of Max's from his hometown came to Brussel and we went to his friend apartment where the party would be and start drinking. I drank like crazy and to top it of I losed a dare and had to drink a large glass of beer and brandy, I puked!
Then I drank more and pass out completly before midnight, I made a comeback at 3, but then the party was in the last stages.
Half the people at the party woke up on the floor on mattresses, after sleeping like 10-12 hours I felt pretty good.
Max had to go to some movie festival Brugge and I had promised to hang out with Ilyas, so he droped me of at his school, with clear instuctions on how to get to where I the night before drunk had made planes to meet Ilyas. It's then that I realised that I was on my own. So I drink a beer and surf the web for a few hours, get to the metro station and call Ilyas, he said to call him back in a few minuts. I did but then he was not picking up his phone I freaked out and called like 10 times before I got through. Then he's like sorry had it on silence. He tells me to meet him at another metro station I get there and he's already there, everything is good. The only problem is that he had to babysit his cousins. I was hungover so it wasn't really a problem. The next day he had to go to school, so I sleeped in. Max had promised to drive me to the airport. He tells me to meet him at his school. First he's late, because of traffic, then we have to get something to eat before we drive, he's like don't worry we'll make it. I eat my dorum like my life depended on it. We get in the car and head for the airport, somehow the traffic hasn't gotten any better. He's still like don't wory we'll make it. When we finally get to the airport it's 30min to departure. I had given up, but he's still like you'll make it. Worst car ride in my life!!!
After 10min of freaking out I find where I was suppose to check in 2 hours before. I know I'm late, but is there anyway you could help me. They say the plane has already left. I mange to get to London, where I in theory still could make my flight to Sao Paolo. Guess what I didn't!!
I find my airline TAM's desk, but it's 22.30 and they closed at 22. and don't open until 9 o'clock the next morning. I admitt during these troubled time called my mum a few times to ear some comforting words.
I spendt the night at Heathrow terminal 4, I figured that if you managed to mis your plane, then you have to take the consecvenses.
I get to the TAM desk and at like 9.30 a women appears. She fixes everything at the price of 192 Sterling, the only problem is that TAM only has one flight a day to Sao Paolo and that's at 22.00.
So I have 12 more hours at terminal 4, to be honest I couldn't give a fuck, finally I was on my way again. So I called my mum again and text Max.
Santiago
After atleast 48 hours of traveling I get there. Tired and smelling like shit.
I get in the prearrange taxi, luckely because if you take a taxi with one of the pushy taxidrivers you will get ripped off. I get to the hostel, mailed my mum as my cellphone does not work in Chile. I met some cool British guys, they were going out in a few hours and said that I should come along. I tell them my story and that the only thing I want now is a shower, food and sleep. It takes forever for me to get a towel, I drink some beer with them. Feeling it right away.
I finaly got a towel and took a shower. Felt incredible. I ended up going out with them, it was Chile's qualifier to the world cup if I remember correctly. I tryed my best, but as I was sitting there freezing and drinking cold beer I trowed in the towel and head back to the hostal. Passed out at like 21 and woke up at 11. The next couple of days I spendt getting over the fact that I had just gone to South-America all by myself and what the fuck would I do now.
A few days later a couple of guys from Leeds show up at the hostal Marcus and James, they had just taken the buss from the north of Peru, 40 hours or something. They where like "wanna grab lunch?".
So I go out with them, we make it to the nearest bar where we order 2 large bottles of Heineken, then 2 more and 2 more to finish it of. We pay, buy some more beer at a shop and head back to the hostal. There we meet the Bermudian girl staying in my room, we all go out. I get completly wasted as does James and Marcus. The detales are a little blury. The next day I wake up early still drunk and sure everyone hates me. After a heated discussion about Barack Obama the Bermudian girl, does atleast, but the Leeds guys just thought it was funny.
As the alcohol leaves my body, I get really hungover and spend the rest of the day in bed.
A few days later some more cool people come to the hostal so I hang out with them.
We went up to the secong highest point in Santiago where there is a curch and a large statue of the Virgen Mary.
After almost a week at the hostal without doing much, I decided that it was time to get out of Santiago. Then I get a message from a guy through www.couchsurfing.com, asking me if I wanted any help. So I asked if I could stay with him for a few days, and he said that was okay.
The guys name was Christian and he's 44 years old and works for Delta airlines, he's promised me cheap first-class back home.
Cool guy, but pretty strange. I stayed at his place over the weeked, even though he had to work Saturday and Sunday he still got drunk every night, as did I. Met some of his friends, he lives in a rich part of Santiago. And after spending the first week at a hostel in the bohemian part of town to me it was a different world. Nobody stared at me in the street, because this is the place where most off the white people in Santiago live.
After the weekend I was getting tired of Christian, so I asked a guy who runs a hostel in Santiago if he needed som help, he told me to drop by I did and got the job. A Peruvian guy working here is going on a trip so I can take his shift. This means I can stay at the hostal for free, breakfast included.
So here I'm sitting , Runar the nightwatchman. All the people staying here have gone to sleep, so I only have to answere the door and tell people looking for a place to take their girlfriend that this is not a motel. That happens alot I've been told.
Max and 2 of his friends from school
On the roof of his friends apartment
Max puking at 10 o'clock
Me passed out before midnight
James and Marcus
A view of Santiago from halfway to the top of San Cristobal
The Virgen
On the top of San Cristobal with Charlie(U.S.), Ryan(U.S.) and Robin(Germany)
The river that runs through Santiago, the water comes from the andes.
That's it for now.
Runar
As I'm writing this update, I'm sitting in a hostel in Santiago, here I'm currently employed, for the upcomming week atleast. How did I end up here, well let's start from the beginning.
Pictures at the end of this update
Like I said in my last update, before going to Santiago I would do a stopover in Brussel.
So I took 3 busses and I was at the airport, there I figure that if I'm going to someones birthdayparty I should bring a pressant. My sister was like why don't you bring him some Norwegian chocolat. After thinking about it for a few minuts I realise the guy is from Belgium, famous for it's good cholcolat, so what is he gonna do with Norwegian chocolat. At the airport I first thought of buying him a bottle of alcohol, only to realise that we would just end up drinking all of it the first night and I would get my regular useless drunk. So I thought of a compromise, buying a six pack of Norwegian beer, then I made another startelig realisation about Belgian culture, they are famous for there beer aswell. So I end up not buying anything.
Like I said this would be the first time I would see Max for over 2 years, but it's not the first time I've tryed. The summer after I got back from Mexico I went to Belgium, the plan was for me to stay with him, but the day before my departure I get a mail from him. Tomorrow that won't work. Luckly I have other friends in Belgium so I called him the day before, "Hey man I'm coming to Brussels tomorrow can I stay at your place.?" Luckly he was up for it, so I stayed with him for a few days, then he Ilyas had planes so I had to call the last friend I had in Belgium, Arnaaud and ask the same. It all worked it out, thanks to Belgian hospitallity.
This time however I had double and trippel checked everything, so when I had gotten my bags and got out. There he was, my long lost friend. Maximilliano Powels.
First we went to his school in Brussel and grabed a beer, yeah the school has a bar/cafe on the first floor. The school is next to what he told me was a part of Bussel run by the Russian mob, I was like I don't belive you. So we went there and got a dorum and wouldn't you know it the guy how apparently runs it is a scary looking slavic guy. I'm not saying it's proof, but I belived him.
The first night we stayed a his place an hour or so from Brussel a small town called Lummen in Flander(Dutch part of Belgium.)
We watched a movie at his, almost adopted brother from Romania who did not speak any English. Max's parents has had him over every summer since he was a little boy and now he has moved to Lummen. We watched Requirement for a Dream, kinda freaked me out.
The next day, the day of Max's 21st birthday we went back to his school in Brussels.
I met some of his friends and even though they all live in Brussel a city where everyone speeks French, they all spoke Dutch to each other. The school Max goes to is practically just Flander people. Later that day some friends of Max's from his hometown came to Brussel and we went to his friend apartment where the party would be and start drinking. I drank like crazy and to top it of I losed a dare and had to drink a large glass of beer and brandy, I puked!
Then I drank more and pass out completly before midnight, I made a comeback at 3, but then the party was in the last stages.
Half the people at the party woke up on the floor on mattresses, after sleeping like 10-12 hours I felt pretty good.
Max had to go to some movie festival Brugge and I had promised to hang out with Ilyas, so he droped me of at his school, with clear instuctions on how to get to where I the night before drunk had made planes to meet Ilyas. It's then that I realised that I was on my own. So I drink a beer and surf the web for a few hours, get to the metro station and call Ilyas, he said to call him back in a few minuts. I did but then he was not picking up his phone I freaked out and called like 10 times before I got through. Then he's like sorry had it on silence. He tells me to meet him at another metro station I get there and he's already there, everything is good. The only problem is that he had to babysit his cousins. I was hungover so it wasn't really a problem. The next day he had to go to school, so I sleeped in. Max had promised to drive me to the airport. He tells me to meet him at his school. First he's late, because of traffic, then we have to get something to eat before we drive, he's like don't worry we'll make it. I eat my dorum like my life depended on it. We get in the car and head for the airport, somehow the traffic hasn't gotten any better. He's still like don't wory we'll make it. When we finally get to the airport it's 30min to departure. I had given up, but he's still like you'll make it. Worst car ride in my life!!!
After 10min of freaking out I find where I was suppose to check in 2 hours before. I know I'm late, but is there anyway you could help me. They say the plane has already left. I mange to get to London, where I in theory still could make my flight to Sao Paolo. Guess what I didn't!!
I find my airline TAM's desk, but it's 22.30 and they closed at 22. and don't open until 9 o'clock the next morning. I admitt during these troubled time called my mum a few times to ear some comforting words.
I spendt the night at Heathrow terminal 4, I figured that if you managed to mis your plane, then you have to take the consecvenses.
I get to the TAM desk and at like 9.30 a women appears. She fixes everything at the price of 192 Sterling, the only problem is that TAM only has one flight a day to Sao Paolo and that's at 22.00.
So I have 12 more hours at terminal 4, to be honest I couldn't give a fuck, finally I was on my way again. So I called my mum again and text Max.
Santiago
After atleast 48 hours of traveling I get there. Tired and smelling like shit.
I get in the prearrange taxi, luckely because if you take a taxi with one of the pushy taxidrivers you will get ripped off. I get to the hostel, mailed my mum as my cellphone does not work in Chile. I met some cool British guys, they were going out in a few hours and said that I should come along. I tell them my story and that the only thing I want now is a shower, food and sleep. It takes forever for me to get a towel, I drink some beer with them. Feeling it right away.
I finaly got a towel and took a shower. Felt incredible. I ended up going out with them, it was Chile's qualifier to the world cup if I remember correctly. I tryed my best, but as I was sitting there freezing and drinking cold beer I trowed in the towel and head back to the hostal. Passed out at like 21 and woke up at 11. The next couple of days I spendt getting over the fact that I had just gone to South-America all by myself and what the fuck would I do now.
A few days later a couple of guys from Leeds show up at the hostal Marcus and James, they had just taken the buss from the north of Peru, 40 hours or something. They where like "wanna grab lunch?".
So I go out with them, we make it to the nearest bar where we order 2 large bottles of Heineken, then 2 more and 2 more to finish it of. We pay, buy some more beer at a shop and head back to the hostal. There we meet the Bermudian girl staying in my room, we all go out. I get completly wasted as does James and Marcus. The detales are a little blury. The next day I wake up early still drunk and sure everyone hates me. After a heated discussion about Barack Obama the Bermudian girl, does atleast, but the Leeds guys just thought it was funny.
As the alcohol leaves my body, I get really hungover and spend the rest of the day in bed.
A few days later some more cool people come to the hostal so I hang out with them.
We went up to the secong highest point in Santiago where there is a curch and a large statue of the Virgen Mary.
After almost a week at the hostal without doing much, I decided that it was time to get out of Santiago. Then I get a message from a guy through www.couchsurfing.com, asking me if I wanted any help. So I asked if I could stay with him for a few days, and he said that was okay.
The guys name was Christian and he's 44 years old and works for Delta airlines, he's promised me cheap first-class back home.
Cool guy, but pretty strange. I stayed at his place over the weeked, even though he had to work Saturday and Sunday he still got drunk every night, as did I. Met some of his friends, he lives in a rich part of Santiago. And after spending the first week at a hostel in the bohemian part of town to me it was a different world. Nobody stared at me in the street, because this is the place where most off the white people in Santiago live.
After the weekend I was getting tired of Christian, so I asked a guy who runs a hostel in Santiago if he needed som help, he told me to drop by I did and got the job. A Peruvian guy working here is going on a trip so I can take his shift. This means I can stay at the hostal for free, breakfast included.
So here I'm sitting , Runar the nightwatchman. All the people staying here have gone to sleep, so I only have to answere the door and tell people looking for a place to take their girlfriend that this is not a motel. That happens alot I've been told.
Max and 2 of his friends from school
On the roof of his friends apartment
Max puking at 10 o'clock
Me passed out before midnight
James and Marcus
A view of Santiago from halfway to the top of San Cristobal
The Virgen
On the top of San Cristobal with Charlie(U.S.), Ryan(U.S.) and Robin(Germany)
The river that runs through Santiago, the water comes from the andes.
That's it for now.
Runar
posted by Runar at 4:12 PM
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