Leon and I went out to meet a midwife today. We decided to make it our first date in Chile and go out for lunch also. We left at 11am and walked up to Consistorial and Grecia to get on the bus to the Metro (subway) station. Once at the Metro, we re-charged our Bip cards, waited about 2 minutes and got on the train. Like usual, it was standing room only. Leon grabbed the bar as the train pulled out and I was doing the same when a man got up and offered me his seat. The men almost always give up their seats to women or older people. I had not at this point ever had to stand on the bus or Metro even though my boys and Leon have hardly ever been able to sit.
We realized that the train was not going to stop at Viticura, so we had no idea where to get off in order to get onto the next bus. We exited the train and went up to ask someone directions to the right bus. I found someone that looked like he worked there and said, "Disculpe, donde esta 405 autobus?" Leon had to help me to say the numbers in Spanish. The man understood and told us Tobalaba estacion. We said, "Muchas gracious, buenas dias". We got back on the Metro and rode to the right station.
When we got off of the subway we didn't have any idea where to board the 405 to Viticura. A Chilean came over to help us and gestured back the other way, saying, "un pocita" so we walked that way just a pocita and found a bus station. The workers there went into a long dialogue in Spanish indicating izquierda and something about mecanica. We thanked him and walked the way he pointed. I had no idea what he had told us to do. After going a couple blocks we saw an escalator. Leon said, "I wonder if that could be a mecanica". We went over it, walked a little ways and waited 20 minutes for a 405. It came, we got on and paid. Then we started asking the other passengers if this bus went to Viticura. They said, "no" and gestured the opposite way. So, we got off the bus and after walking back and forth for a while we finally found a 405 going in the right direction.
I tried to ask the bus driver to tell us when we got to Luis Carerr. He didn't understand me but a man next to me told me in English that he was also getting off the bus at Luis Carerr so we can get off when he does.
This was the most crowded bus that I'd ever been on. I could not squeeze in as far as the bus driver. I stood by the door and grabbed the bar. A mile or so down the road, the bus stopped. Everyone pushed in further and 15 more people crowded in where I had been standing. It was an articulated bus and it was this full all the way down. I was so squished into the two people in front of me that if my baby had been kicking they both would have felt it. The bus kept stopping and a couple more people would squeeze in every time. I couldn't believe it. The bus driver would call out each time that he wanted to shut the doors. Finally, the doors would not shut. The bus started going with the middle doors still open. Passengers were reaching up and trying to pull them closed. They got them mostly closed but one man was holding his back pack and it was still out of the bus.
We finally followed our helpful Chilean off of the bus. He took my paper with the address on it and walked us around until he had found our midwife's office. We talked to him all the way.
When the meeting ended, the midwife drove us all the way home. She said that she had a music job for us. Her mother helps poor Chileans and we could come play music for them to give them love and a smile. Then we all kissed each other and parted company.
We had not been able to get a drink of water or a bite of food since breakfast that day. By the time I got home I was getting contractions so I laid down on the couch. I had been resting for an hour and a half and they still kept coming so Leon wanted me to stay down. The children brought me water and bites to eat while they prepared fresh tuna, tabouli and tortillas for supper.
This is a typical trip for us except Leon usually knows better where to get off of the Metro. I was in charge of figuring this one out and I didn't do as well. We had a similar trip going to church yesterday only that was with all 11 of us. We'll have to do it again on Wednesday to get to the orphanage. It'll be the first time trying to get there by bus. I'll try to get some photo's.
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