I've been taking lots of colectivos lately because I've been working in the morning in Valparaiso instead of Viña, and because I decided that I liked my students enough not to subject them to 3 hours of a teacher who had just spent 45 minutes ripping around on a bike in a non-bike friendly city that is composed primarily of steep hills. Instead of riding my bike (which I do occasionally when I want to go into Valpo and not pay a micro or colectivo), I've been taking colectivos, which I know I've mentioned are basically shared taxis. They have a set route and you get in at semi-set stops and get off pretty much wherever you want. Depending on how far you travel in the colectivo, the prices vary. For me to get to Valpo from where I live in Viña, it costs 430 pesos in micro and 450 pesos in a colectivo. Were I to have a student pass, taking a micro would be much cheaper, but because 20 pesos is equivalent to approximately 4 cents, I mostly take the colectivos because they're much faster.
Taking a colectivo is actually a pretty weird concept if I think about it from a gringo perspective. Basically, you get into what is essentially the driver's car, and you end up sitting by total strangers, still in someone else's car. Obviously, it's best if you're the first person in the colectivo (or if the front seat is recently vacated) because it means that you don't have to face the risk that the backseat fills and that you're squished between two fat guys. You can get out when you want, and you don't have to worry about getting out when the guy on the far left wants to get out (passengers almost always exit on the right). Unfortunately, because I work at a popular work time and because I get in the colectivos as they're at the end of their Viña route, the colectivos are mostly full in the morning and I'm stuck being the third person in the back. And recently I've noticed that some people are not following what I consider to be standard colectivo protocol.
When there are three people in the back, it tends to get pretty tight (really tight if anyone is overweight or wearing a thick coat). Standard protocol means that the second person to enter the backseat scoots over to the middle seat so that the new passenger can get in and sit in the far right seat. This is a careful process- you want to scoot over far enough so that the new passenger has room, but you don't want to squeeze the person on the left. If you have a purse or bag, it certainly can't be on the seat or even over your shoulder because it takes up a lot of room. The major road from Viña to Valpo is pretty curvy, so especially in the middle position, it's standard to grab onto one of the front seats so as not to be stuck playing the "smash the person next to you during all turns" game. If the person on the left needs to get out before the middle or the right passengers get out, when the other 2 empty out to allow the final one to get out, it's also pretty standard to quickly check which of the two passengers will get out first, and the passengers will re-enter the colectivo making sure that the person on the right will get out first so that the other doesn't have to move again.
Recently, I was in a colectivo with puro weones who seemed not to know any of this protocol that I thought to be totally obvious. It started when I got in (3rd passenger in the back), and the large businessman on the right scooted about 2 centimeters towards the middle, leaving a huge open space between him and the guy on the left. Unfortunately, that meant that I had approximately half of my rear end on the seat, and the other half doubled up against the door. Worse: aforementioned large businessman fell asleep and proceeded to pound both of us on the sides during every small curve on the way to Valpo. To add to the terrible-ness of this journey, when the guy on the left got out (in a rare instance where he got out on the left because we arrived in a popular plaza and all colectivos pull up to the left), the big guy in the middle didn't scoot over to allow us both to "share" the middle space and enjoy our personal bubbles on the side- he stayed there, squishing me up against the side! Although I've noticed that it's fairly standard not to talk to other passengers, I decided to end my period of passiveness and tapped on his shoulder (remember, he's still sleeping!) and politely asked him to move his large trasero because I was dying. Well, not so much, but I did politely ask him if he could move a bit, and he did.
Basically, all of this got me thinking about how weird the whole colectivo thing is- getting into a total stranger's car and sitting crammed in next to more strangers. If it weren't for the fact that colectivos are much faster (micros wait around at several stops, always trying to more of the bus before continuing), I would definitely save my four cents and enjoy the luxury of only sitting next to one stranger.
In gastronomical news, I made a lasagna last night (turning into my signature dish), and it was bomb. Not going to lie- despite the high garlic content, I still ate some before class as my breakfast this morning.
Hope you're all enjoying the luxuries of car ownership. love love
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When we lived in Oakland and I worked in S.F., I would wait at a bus stop. What would happen is that cars would pull up and you would get into a total stranger's car to go across the bridge (in the carpool lane). I checked it out and it was thought to be safe and all. Protocol was that only two people got in the back seat (and one in the front). One time, though, two large guys got in the back where I was and squished me. They smelled of cigarettes and I don't know what else. Besides it being uncomfortable (as in Valpo, no one talks) these two carried on a long, inappropriate conversation. I decided I would just wait for the bus from then on. Besides, I could sit up high enough to see out when I rode the bus and could never really see where we were when I was in a car. (Was just in S.F. recently and it still is hard to see when crossing the Bay Bridge!) When you are in some place that lovely, you need to be able to see out!
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