When I Can See the Andes, They're Perfect

The smog here in Santiago is bad. No, really, it's bad. Here are some photos I found on the internet of how bad it can get.

It obscures the Andes.

Gross.

Yuck.

Here's a photo that I took in July. You can see a layer of smog settling over the city.

What is smog?

I taught the word "smog" (which happens to be el smog in Spanish) in an environmental unit in a Spanish IV class last year, and some kids didn't know what it meant in English, so let me explain before we continue.

Smog is a type of air pollution (a combination of the words smoke and fog). Unlike fog, smog is manmade. It is caused by the burning of coal within a city. The contamination hangs like a blanket over the city. Los Angeles is notorious for its smog because of all the vehicular pollution.

Why does Santiago have so much smog?

Santiago is the smoggiest city in South America precisely because of its unique geography. Santiago is a large city (with lots of air contamination from cars, buses, and other machines) located in a valley. Santiago is bordered by the Andes Mountains on one side and the Chilean Coast Range on the other. The two mountain ranges prevent the air pollution from escaping, trapping the city in a haze of yuckiness.

Besides the obvious environmental hazards of smog, some personal issues arise. My friend here said that sometimes, when she blows her nose, she find black residue in her mucus. Other friends have reported generally feeling icky due to lack of fresh air in their lungs. Luckily, it doesn't seem to affect me as much as it does some of my friends, though sometimes my eyes feel irritated (so I switch from contacts to glasses until I feel like no smog-related grime is trapped in my eye).

HOWEVER!

However, when it rains, the smog clears. Some people find rain spiritually cleansing, and in Santiago, it is physically cleansing. The rain washes away the smog, bringing it down from the sky and falling into the sewer drains with the rainwater. And this weekend, it poured. It poured rain all day on Saturday. I was actually excited for my Monday walk to work, because I knew the air would be clear and the city would look beautiful.

And rain in the city doesn't just mean a dissipation of the smog, it also means glistening, white snow on the Andes. I couldn't wait to snap some pictures this morning. 

I was not disappointed.

My view from the bus stop. This view is 100% obscured when the smog is bad. 

The city looks vibrant and bright with the haze gone.

We're even starting to get some green outside our house. Breathe, little leaves! Keep growing!

And one photo of me for good measure! 

I am really enjoying the views. It is cold today, so I don't think I'll be spending too much time outside, but it sure does make walking to work or the grocery store more enjoyable. I never get tired of the Andes.

Heavy rain wasn't the only natural phenomenon we experienced this weekend... I'll post about that next!