Preunic

These pictures definitely do not capture the craziness that lies within this place.

So I'm told this is the cheapest place to buy beauty products in Santiago, and the first time I visited this place it was absolutely madness. 

There are two counters behind which are the majority of  products that are sold in the store -- or at least the small, easy to steal products. In order to get something here, you have to go to a counter, get the attention of a very busy salesperson, who then gives you a receipt. Not the receipt showing you paid for the product, but a preliminary receipt before you actually go pay. 

Then you wait in line and pay, choosing to either pay in full for your products or in cuotas, incrementally. I never understood what this meant, so when someone asked how many cuotas I wanted to pay in I was confused. This term was new. I just wanted to pay, take my things and leave. After paying you take your final receipt back to the counter where another very busy bagging person hands you your purchase. 

If you want things from both counters, sunscreen and shampoo say, you have to get two preliminary receipts, pay (thankfully at the same time) then give your receipts to two bagging people. 

This whole process can be exhausting. Forget examining or thinking about price vs. quantity vs. quality. This is not the time for such indulgences. You better know what product you have in mind before you set foot in this store.

During this process there are all kinds of people trying to grab the attention of an over worked saleswoman, and it's very noisy and over stimulating. The only thing I can liken this to is the first time I visited the stock market when I was little. The shouting and pointing for things you want to buy; it feels like you need to make a bid on something before someone else snags the product. It's actually kind of exhausting to visit this place.

Because when I first moved back to Chile I was just visiting, I only had a 10-day supply of all my beauty products. Shampoo, face wash, conditioner, soap -- all the essentials -- so I found myself in this place all.  the. time. replenishing my minimal supply of beauty products. 

Now that I'm well stocked after the holidays (with shampoos and lotions that will probably outlive me), I probably won't be visiting a Preunic anytime soon.

Lauren 

Initial thoughts part II.

This time last year I was writing a very similar blog post. I was setting off to live in Santiago, Chile with a friend. This year, however, I'm embarking on my own adventure and moving back alone after already spending a year there.


I moved back to Santiago in September of last year. Initially I left only to only to visit friends on a 10-day trip and ended up scoring an amazing job as editor in chief of an English-language magazine. In the three months between when I moved back to Chile and now, when I'm leaving Los Angeles after visiting my family, I realized I missed blogging. I missed having a platform to share my daily experiences, thoughts, and photos with friends and family. I missed sharing Santiago.


This blog, however, will be different from Chillin' in Chile. Like Chillin' I aim to use this space to share my thoughts, experiences, observations, reflections, photos, everything with my family, friends, and anyone who's interested. But, unlike last time, it's just me writing these posts. No dialog or discussion posts, like I had when I was writing with Aneya (unless I can get some of my expat friends to share their thoughts on here, too).


This time I'm not moving to a city I've never been to. I know Santiago quite a bit better than I did, and I've discovered there are things I love and hate about living there.


Among the things I love about Santiago:
--Speaking Spanish every day
--The warm people
--The Andes
--Walking through two beautiful parks to get to work every(ish) morning.
--The busy downtown


The things I don't love, I'll have to write about another time.


Thanks for reading and I'm eager to hear feedback on what you all think.




Lauren