The Igelsia de Divinia, in Santiago, after the quake.Aneya: So we've talked about how we're doing....but what about the people of Santiago? We can't vouch for those hit in the most devastated of areas, but we can give you a general idea of what the energy's like in the city.
Lauren: Going out in the streets each day after the earthquake, we've really felt an unbelievable change in the energy of Santiago.
Aneya: On Saturday, there was hardly anyone out on the streets (for good reason, things were still falling from the buildings!) those who were out were tense, stressed, sad, anxious, or just plain creepy. The energy in the city was at once calm and extremely tense. We just wanted to get back in our apartment, as fast as we could.
Lauren: Saturday was strange. Very few people were out, but those who were had just really sad expressions. It seemed a lot of Santiaguinos were doing exactly what we were doing. They wanted to see what had happened to their city. And, like we mentioned, there were some really strange people out so we made a beeline home, to what we now felt was our safe place.
Aneya: On Sunday, the city was still pretty much dead. Although weekends do tend to be less crowded, the place was a ghost town. Of those who were out, they're eyes looked empty, lost, sad, everyone just seemed totally out of it. It was still kind of scary to walk around, what with the piles of debris and glass lying around everywhere. And those constant after shocks.
Lauren: That deadness, how still everything was, is pretty common for a Sunday in Santiago, though. It felt a little less tense and we saw some more normal-looking folks out and about. The debris was really unsettling. Large chunks of cement, glass, all over some streets and others completely unaffected. You would think that the earthquake didn't reach some parts of Santiago by how intact they were.
Aneya: Yesterday, Monday, was a different story entirely. The streets were bustling once more with people, shops, restaurants and businesses were open again, and the city seemed to be cleaned up overnight! All the debris, broken glass, chunks of buildings on the ground? All gone. I am so impressed with the city and how fast and efficient they've been in getting things back to normal. Metros and buses are working again, and the city seems to be back on it's feet.
Lauren: Yesterday you would have never known an earthquake had hit. The debris, gone. The people, out. Businesses, open. It was almost business as usual. I did recognize the same vacant, sad expressions we had seen the past few days, but already the mood of the city was improving. People seemed ready to rebuild and move on. I was astonished. You would see people laughing at lunch, walking the streets in their business clothes, clearly back at work. I knew Chile was earthquake prone, and that Chileans were probably used to quakes, but this resilience was astonishing. It was really inspiring.
Aneya: At least in our area, you wouldn't even know anything had happened. The outskirts of the city, I've been told, have more damage, and we're going to investigate that further today. All in all, I'm in awe of the Chilean people and how brave and composed they've been through this whole ordeal. They are some of the most compassionate, kind people I've ever met, and they don't deserve any of this.
Lauren: People here have been so amazing through this. There was one building close to us that firefighters were slowly dismantling with a cherry picker yesterday. It was an old red church that was coming apart at the seams, but that was the worst building I've seen and it was still in tact. Still, the streets were open, any structure that even looked the slightest bit unsafe was appropriately cordoned off. Santiaguinos are ready to get back to normal life, and it's really inspiring and helping me do the same.
-- Aneya & Lauren
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