Day 29: Santiago Spin Class and an Intriguing Kids’ Experience Called “Kidzania”
Today was our last full day in Santiago, and while we had no set plans, it wound up being a really rich 24 hours. Note: the temperature continues to rise here. It was well into the 90s today. No clouds, no AC, no relief. Just…hot. And the building’s pool is closed on Mondays, so we couldn’t put that on our list.
We spent the morning doing school at Starbucks in Lastarria (I know, but it had a breeze and tons of empty tables).
Rush Hour (thanks, Karolina!)
I peeled off around noon to try out a spin class in the Providencia neighborhood about 10 minutes away. The studio was called Titanium Cyclingbox and I found it on Google.
The 1:15 pm class was taught by Oscar, the studio’s founder — an English-speaking Venezuelan who told me this was the first spin studio in all of Chile. Love trying these classes in other countries. Got in a good workout — and made the @titaniumcyclingbox Instagram! Ha!
When I got back to our neighborhood, I traded with Teddy, who’d taken the kids to lunch and ice cream and then back to the Starbucks to stay cool.
He stayed solo in our neighborhood Lastarria to catch up on emails while I Ubered with the kids to the Los Condes neighborhood to check out (air-conditioned) Kidzania, which we kept hearing about.
We bought passes to enter Kidzania, which is an indoor facility made to look like a miniature city, complete with streets, shops and businesses. Kids get “Kidzo” cash to spend while inside. Each “shop” is a different business that kids can “work” in to try out the vocation.
Unlike an American kid museum where it’s just a free for all to play in a mini grocery store or mini office, the kids wait in lines for their turn to work in each business. Inside, they get welcomed by a host, taught about the job, and given some responsibilities or tasks to do during their 10 or 15 minutes inside.
It costs “Kidzos” to get into each one, so kids can pick how/where to spend their money.
The experiences included: A hospital, a vet, a car repair shop, a clothing boutique, firehouse, restaurant, dentist’s office, travel agency, video game design agency, military training, sushi restaurant, dry cleaners, maid service, science lab, and much much more.
In the grocery store, for instance, Willa waited in line and paid $10 Kidzos to get in (parents are discouraged from waiting in the lines with kids or from handling the “money” for them).
She was given a green apron like the other “workers” on her “shift” and a mini shopping cart filled with fake food. Her job was to stock the proper shelves with the food.
When she was finished, she could play at checking others out and giving them receipts.
We didn’t have a ton of time, but we saw the “firefighters” receive a long training and then hop on a real mini firetruck, driven by an adult, to go to a “burning” building to spray hoses while wearing uniforms — presumably applying what they’d learned in the “firehouse” from the expert.
The dry cleaners donned white lab coats and were wheeling mini garment racks of clothes covered in plastic around town to be dropped off at the correct addresses.
And then there were also “fun things” here and there in town to try out, like a football match (Willa and James did that one) and a nightclub (that too).
From an educational perspective, it was fascinating. From a marketing perspective it was too — many of the little shops were branded with real companies in Chile (eg, the grocery store, the department store).
We left at 6 pm and had dinner near our apartment (we’ve eaten all our groceries). Willa got to video chat with buddy Ava tonight.
Our last night here! Tomorrow we’re off to Valparaiso.
It’s officially been a month on the road!!
