20/10/2019 – Volunteering, Pucon, Chile

We had a much needed lie in this morning. It was grey and raining outside so we used it as an excuse to be quite lazy for the day! Our routine has had to adjust to late nights and late mornings and we are feeling quite tired for it. We had a coffee in bed then went and made a nice scrambled egg brunch in the communal kitchen. I have to say it is one of the cleanest communal kitchens we have used, so it is actually welcoming to use. After brunch we met up with Kris who showed us some more tips and tricks for behind the bar, how to trouble shoot the barrels when the beer gets too foamy. Josh and I went to the supermarket to get a few bits, it was so busy in there, which we later learned is because other supermarket chains in Chile have closed all their shops down and barricaded them up to protect themselves from the looting that is happening at the moment. The locals are preparing for all the supermarkets to close, so are wiping the shelves of stock. We came back and chilled in the lounge, and spoke to Finn on Facetime. We chilled upstairs for an hour before Josh started his shift behind the bar. I made us some dinner and we ate it whilst the bar was quiet before I started my cover shift at 19:00. I could hear loud shouting when I was outside doing the laundry – there was a huge protest on the streets of Pucon, which I later got shown videos of by a guest. The protests which were initially regarding the increase in price of the metro in Santiago have triggered a countrywide uprising. The Chileans are unhappy about the country’s prices of health, education and public services. We spoke to a Chilean guest who is a 32 year old doctor, and he warned us that this was going to be a big thing, and told us to make a plan B for if things start getting too messy. He said in all his life in Chile he has never known anything like this. This was quite interesting, as it has all been quite relaxed within the hostel, and we have kind of expected things to calm back down in a few days. We will have to see what happens! I know that even in the streets of Pucon last night there was tear gas and rubber bullets, as some of the staff and guests had been out at a bar and had got caught up in it.

My shift was really pleasant, the atmosphere was a very relaxed Sunday evening, guests and staff alike were having a chilled night playing some games and having a casual drink. I got to spend time with a few of the other volunteers and got to know them a bit better. Josh had a small sociable crowd of guests to keep him company in the bar, and I popped by every so often to give him a hand. At around 23:30 I helped Josh close the bar and we showered and were in bed by about 00:45. We chilled for an hour before sleep.