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I spent the morning preparing classes and then headed out as the maestros (as they call them here) were fitting a new kitchen and were making a racket to put it midly.
I went to the area and the park called Quinta Normal which had a nice atmosphere and was really quirky although I didn't feel very safe. I went to the Museo Nacional de Historia Natural (Natural History Museum) which was a bit dilapidated to be honest and out of date but it had its charm and some interesting information about Chile and its regions.
I went to buy a cheese empanada at a kiosk by the boating lake which was playing regaton and was owned by a very fat man who I think ate all the pies as some new ones were just arriving in a van. He was very funny although I didn't really understand what he was saying, his laugh alone made me laugh. I walked around the park and as is usual with my luck some wierd guy started following me so I trotted back to the main entrance and got the tube to Patronato.
At the bottom of the escalators in the metro station there were a few poems displayed with funny pictures including one about a someone who gets fed up with a know-it-all at the zoo and feeds him to the lions.
As I had an hour to kill, I went to Patronato (which is a really cheap shopping street like Camden Town but even cheaper where lots of Koreans and Arabs live) to walk around the shops and see if I couldn't find some leggings to do sport in. There were a few shops as I walked past which were full of women rifling through heaps of clothes and there was a man or a woman on a microphone saying something and all the women were saying 'Siiiiii!' or 'Nooooo!' I wish I knew what was going on but I felt a bit scared to go in in case there was a fight for a pair of shoes or something.
They are willing to barter there so I managed to get two pairs of leggings on a deal at some stall (£5 although probably still conned.).
There were lots of funny names like 'Mina' which means babe which I thought was funny and lots of interesting graffiti. I was a bit scared to take my camera out and take photos though in case it got stolen. I plan to return with a thief spotter another time so I can take some pictures.
After a while the fun was over and I went for my lesson with Francisca in Las Condes and back to the less Latin American part of Santiago.