The Different Places I have lived in

I’m 21 years old now and I have only lived in two places. Most of my life I lived in Viña del Mar but when it was time to go to college I moved to San Felipe.  Viña del Mar and San Felipe are two completely different places in terms of weather, people, and the environment in general. 

Viña is a city where the weather is generally mild whereas in San Felipe it tends to be extreme, meaning that in summer the weather is really hot and dry and during the winter is really cold and at times even snowy. In Viña del Mar the summers are not that hot or dry and the winters are cold but not as severe as in San Felipe and they are really wet, unlike in San Felipe. Though I lived two years in San Felipe, I could never get used to the harshness of its weather.

People are different wherever you go. Some are nice, affectionate, and kind while others are moody, cold, and angry. Living in these two cities I realized how different people can be. Generally speaking I could say that people in Viña are egocentric, individualist, and a bit shallow. On the other hand, people in San Felipe are welcoming, kind, and warm, though there must also be some really nice people in Viña and really disagreeable ones in San Felipe. I think that people from either city are equally bad drivers since they both run red lights and show no respect for pedestrians.

In general the environment is very good in both cities. Viña and San Felipe are both very green cities; they have trees everywhere and they both have water near the streets. In Viña we have a beautiful beach and in San Felipe there are the water canals which make the city look fresh and clean. Something that is really different is the commerce. In Viña there are thousands of stores and you can find everything that you need and the stores are regularly open from 9am to 9pm, whereas in San Felipe there are fewer stores and they are open only from 11am to 2pm and then from 6pm to 8 or 9pm.

If I had to choose a place to live, it would be really difficult because both cities have their advantages and disadvantages. For example, I love the weather in Viña but I don’t like the individualism of the people, and I love the people in San Felipe but cannot stand the weather. If we could mix together the best parts of both cities, we would have a perfect city, with the ideal weather, nice people, beautiful sites, and everyone would be happy and relaxed.

ABOUT: ME, MY FRIENDS AND MY TWO UNIVERSITIES

I’m Natalia Zapata and I study English at Universidad de Playa Ancha, the first 2 years I studied at Upla Campus San Felipe, but I had to transfer because of money problems. In San Felipe I met such amazing people who became my best friends. I met Mayte and her husband Ricardo and she introduced me to all her family, they are all really kind to me, I’m also friends with Vanesa with one “S” (as she said) who at the beginning I  thought it was a bit weird with all of her germens phobia but then I started to like her and it was somewhat funny, Magda was the first person to talk to me and we also became friends, Carlita she is the nicest person you could ever meet, she would always try to make you  feel that you are better than the rest and she is always smiling and laughing. I almost forgot Yanara, but she was transferred to Upla Valparaiso too, so I don’t miss her.

People from Valparaíso and San Felipe are really different, an example would be that when someone new arrives to classes in San Felipe the students are really welcoming, they would start asking questions like your name and stuff like that. People at Valparaíso are not interested in getting to know; it would take them time to notice you are there. Eventually they would speak to you but it will take them some time.

Another difference between San Felipe and Valparaíso is the amount of people. In San Felipe everything is small, if you have to go and do some errands you can just do it during the break, but in Valparaíso you would just have to wait to all of your classes finish and go to what seems to be another university. And then you would have to queue for hours. But as in San Felipe there are not a lot of people so you may wait, but not as much as in Valparaíso.

Studying at San Felipe is better than studying at Valparaíso, according to my experiences, because everything and everyone is friendly there and that can make you give the best of you and get good grades, whereas in Valparaíso you would have to become strong and independent.