new phone number

In Pocuro, a telephone land line is not as common as one might think. In the past, Associates had to walk down the dirt road to a corner in order to use a pay phone to call home. Just a few years ago, Associates invested in a cell phone, providing for a bit more convenient and safe method of maintain communication with friends and family. This option was expensive. Minutes on the phone were always precious and longer than a minute on the phone caused us to panic. Even worse, the reception was not great and it was expensive for those who called from the United States (30 cents a minute compared to the usual 15 cents!). Nevertheless, it was the only reasonable option available in the small campo town.

When we moved to Santiago (the "big city" as I like to call it, haha), we kept the cell phone. Minutes were still precious, reception not great, and phone calls received from the U.S. were still expensive to those calling. A few months ago, we were told that a phone line could be installed in our apartment. We jumped for joy, knowing that a land line would be best for everyone.

Finally, more than a month later, our new phone line is installed! It is now really cheap to call us and the reception is great. With it, came our new telephone number. To call me from the United States is the following:

011-56-2-271-1609

A future blog will account Chile's version of doing something "on time" or "within the next week." Needless to say, Chileans say "nacimos atrasados" or "we were born late." What should have only been a few days wait for the phone line was a month. I guess in Chile there are just some things worth waiting for...and this phone line is definitely one of those things.