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Travel

Ruminations On Santiago (& Other Things)

written by Brenna Holeman November 7, 2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

Santiago, Chile
It’s been a while since I’ve felt the way I do in Santiago – I’m in a big city now, a big city after salt deserts and cobblestoned towns and rolling green hills filled with horses and coffee farms. Santiago, in a way, reminds me a lot of Toronto: the hustle and bustle, the barrios with their boutique shops and wine bars, the street art, the taxis, the wide streets and tree-lined boulevards. There are, of course, differences (the wine is better, the catcalls louder), but I haven’t felt a sense of familiarity like this in a long time. I’m so used to feeling like a voyeur or an outsider in South America, of feeling like I’m that goofy blonde tourist who fumbles through Spanish and takes a lot of photos of graffiti and dogs. Here I can be one in a million (or one in seven million, to be exact).
When I was a little girl, I often dreamed of visiting Santiago; there was something so alluring about it, that city in that skinny country to the south. I dreamed of visiting so many cities, so many countries. Not much has changed since then, as I’m still enchanted by every new place I visit, I’m still attracted to the mystery and the unknown of a city I’ve never seen, I’m still that goofy blonde looking at a map and deciding on which ice cream to buy simply by which flavour is easier to pronounce in a foreign tongue. In many ways, I’m still naive as ever.
And, in all my years of travel, all my years of new places, what I’ve discovered is that I will always be that person. I will always embrace that side of me, embrace that feeling of being a wide-eyed tourist who will try anything once, any food or tour or nightclub. I will never be ashamed of being different, of not fitting in, of getting lost or making cultural mistakes; it’s who we are as travellers, it’s who we are as people, it’s how we grow and learn. It’s important to me to never be jaded, to never take anything for granted.
Oh, and as for the ice cream? I’ll always just point. That way I get two flavours.
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Brenna Holeman

Brenna Holeman has travelled to over 100 countries in the past 15 years, many of them solo. She's a big fan of whisky and window seats.

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Star-Gazing in Chile
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Stop Making Fun Of My Hometown (Or, Why Small Cities Are Great)

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4 comments

Katie @ Domestiphobia.net November 7, 2012 - 12:01 pm

I sooo want to go there and try some wine, straight from the source. That was one of my favorite things about visiting Spain – the wine was incredible and SO cheap! I love that you’re seeing the big cities as well as the country. It seems like a great way to get a feel of a place!

Reply
Alli Campbell November 7, 2012 - 9:55 pm

I completely agree about embracing being the bumbling, wide eyed, excited traveller! We’re going to look like idiots anyway, so why not embrace it. And when I meet travellers in Melbourne, my home city, I always see the place afresh – maybe we occasionally do the same in the places we travel? If not, at least we’re having fun 😉

Reply
Andi of My Beautiful Adventures November 8, 2012 - 4:11 pm

I hope you get a chance to meet Emily and Kyle! The Andes in Santiago are just so gorgeous!!! Great pics like always!

Reply
This Battered Suitcase November 12, 2012 - 10:21 pm

Katie – Yes, it’s absolutely amazing! I hope you get here soon 🙂

Alli – Totally! I agree with you about tourists in your home city; it’s so fun to show people around, as it all feels new to you, too.

Andi – I don’t know who Emily and Kyle are, ha ha!

Reply

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About Me

About Me

Hi, I'm Brenna

My name is Brenna Holeman and I drink a lot of whisky. No, wait. That’s not how I want to start. After travelling to more than 100 countries over the past 15 years, many of them solo, I tend to write about travel a lot, but I write about other things, too: getting dumped, buying way too much jewellery, and yeah, OK, whisky (none of those things are related, I swear). You’ll find a mix of advice, opinion pieces, and stories on this blog, but either way, I hope to make you want to read more. And up next? I'm about to become a single mom to a beautiful baby boy, the biggest solo adventure I've ever been on. For more about me and what you'll find on This Battered Suitcase, click here .

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Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life." - Jack Kerouac

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This Battered Suitcase is not only about the where and the how of travel, it's about the who and the why.

Originally from Canada, all I've ever wanted to do is travel. After eleven years of solo travel and over 90 countries, I'm currently living in London and fulfilling my other dream of becoming a writer. If I'm not travelling, I'm writing about it, either for my blog, my job, or my book. I firmly believe there is adventure everywhere, so long as you keep your eyes (and your mind, and your heart) open. Join me as I continue to look for these adventures. Hopefully you'll find your own, too.

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