There is a big world (un mundo grande) out there, and a big part of it seems to live (vivir) in and around Santiago. As I travel around the city, I am taken aback by the incredible amount of construction that is going on, as an old building (un edificio antiguo) is torn down and a new high-rise structure put in its place. This is surely happening all this area, as you can see the construction of new homes (casas nuevas), new shopping centers and new apartment buildings. Out with the old and in with the new, but the new is not only modern; it is also tall and high (alto y elevado). A dominant fixture in the new Santiago is this commitment to growing up and up, but one interesting aside to this all is the views (las vistas) from the top.
One of the things (unas de las cosas) I really enjoy doing when I am home is sitting on the porch and relaxing. At my home in El Paso, I can site in my chair (mi silla) on my back porch and look out over an area with relatively few people (poca gente), a view of the mountains and nearby open fields in reality dominating the scenery. In fact, there are more birds (los aves) to watch than people, and the tranquility (la tranquilidad) of the setting is one of peace and quiet, a serene location to reflect, to unwind and above all, to get away from the hustle and bustle of daily life (la vida diaria).
My life in Santiago, as I have reported, is very different (muy diferente) from my life back home, especially in the view I have outside (adentro) of my apartment. While I don’t have a porch, I do have a balcony (una terraza), with sits high above on the tenth floor of this building, and faces the west (el oeste), with a nice view of the Andes in the distance. It also puts me in a position to see out over the city (sobre la ciudad), but what I am most readily confronted with is the other high rise apartment buildings that are all around me, and additionally, all the other people on all the other balconies, enjoying their own time (sus propios tiempos) of reflection and relaxation, and in some ways, looking right back at me.
This does not mean the spirit is invading or the glances (las miradas) in any way sinister, on the contrary, it is more of a view into the collective mass that is all around, and in some ways, you are privy to natural glimpses into the lives of your neighbors (los vecinos). You can see a family having dinner together, a woman cleaning her apartment, a man lighting the furnace to get the hot water (el agua caliente) ready, a dad coming home from work and greeting his family, as well as a friends showing up to visit (visitar) and enjoy company with others. You can take this on as a casual observer and wonder what the stories (las historias) are behind these multiple glances, that are going on not only in the building directly in front of my balcony, but in the buildings to the left (la izquierda), to the right (la derecha), and on down the street.
The view form my balcony also comes with the sounds (los sonidos) of the city, with the people moving in the street, with the cars screeching by, the trash truck picking up the garbage (la basura), the late night revelers singing their way back home, and of course, the constant high pitched shrills of the car alarms (las alarmas) that go off with regular occurrences. This is not something to confuse (confundir) with home, but it is something that has become familiar as well, and when I am back on my porch in El Paso, I am sure I will close my eyes (mis ojos) and will still be able to see the view from a tenth story balcony in Santiago.
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