This Is CHILE

Hey everyone!


Soo tonight I was looking forward to relaxing in my bed while catching up on some NCIS.  However, cbs.com doesn't work for my "geographic location" and the "hulu" of South America doesn't have NCIS, which is a serious crime.  How dare they!  Anyways, I should be reading a book in Spanish or something and Facebook is boring so I decided to blog.  This blog post is kinda a work in progress, FYI.  But here are x-number of observations I have made about Chile, Chilean life, Chileans etc.  They are in no particular order and may seem a little random, but perhaps you'll find a few interesting... Expand your horizon, people!  :)  


Observations start here:


1. Chileans like to stare. (and honk and whistle and occasionally be obnoxious.)  This is very similar to Spain, which is great for me because I'm kinda used to people staring at the gringa, or white person.  Your average Chilean has brown hair, brown eyes, and often darker skin tone.  Thus, any reddish-brown haired girl with blue/green eyes dressed like a gringa definitely stands out.  However, when I'm on the metro and everyone and their mom is staring at me, often I like to stare back and give a little wink.  Usually it catches them off-guard and they turn away.  Kinda amusing, eh?


2. Chileans walk slow and speak fast.  As a girl from Chicago I walk semi-fast.  But hey, when I got someplace to go, I got someplace to go sooo watch out, Chileans, and get out of my way!  Haha.  However, oftentimes I just have to slow down... there are sooo many slow-walking Chileans, sometimes I just can't win!  Kinda surprising when you think about how darn fast they speak too.  Habla más despacio is one of my most-used phrases, meaning "Speak slower."


3. Chilenismos - I thought I knew Spanish (castellano) coming down to Chile.  However, some of the basics are completely different.  For example, avocado in Spain is aguacate but in Chile it is palta.  The list goes on... literally. 
¿Cachai? = Got it? 
Po = "well" and they say it after everything.  For example Sí po.
Al tiro = right away
Weon/a = dude
Fome = boring
Pololo/a = boyfriend/girlfriend
Bacán = cool!


4. Pololear = Wanna be girlfriend/boyfriend?  Like in Spain, PDA is rampant.  It is everywhere.  Maybe it's just the hormones, but teens are making out all over the place - in the park, on the metro, on the streets... You name it and they'll make out there too.  I must say, it can be entertaining but usually it's just downright annoying.


5. The morning metro commute... Sardines, anyone?  I'm not kidding.  When a metro train pulls up to your metro stop, you may think to yourself "There is no way anymore people are fitting on that train."  Au contraire.  At least a dozen more will fit.  Trust me.  Been there, done that.  The best part is watching the little old Chilean women push their way on that train like nobody's business.  Permiso is the key word.  Needless to say, I am not looking forward to summertime when it is 100+ degrees down there and I am stuck on a packed train with everyone's B.O.  But hey... you gotta do what you gotta do.  Survival of the fittest in the Chilean jungle.

6. Once (own-say) is kinda like tea-time in Chile, but oftentimes it takes the place of dinner.  Usually served between 4 and 7 PM, once consists of tea, coffee, bread and jams - kinda like a breakfast repeat.  Luckily, my host family only partakes in once occasionally on the weekends, thus I get a normal and substantial dinner.  :)


7. Coffee.  HUGE disappointment.  You would think being so close to Brazil and Colombia, Chile would have AMAZING coffee.  No.  Fail.  They don't.  The majority of Chileans drink instant coffee.  I know, I know, I was shocked too.  It is a CRIME, right?  These people are truly loco.  Haha just kidding.  But I do find it extremely weird.  I guess they do more instant coffee due to their tea obsession.  I'm not kidding you; they are obsessed with té.  I can barely compare it to my own coffee addiction.  Luckily, I am becoming more and more fond of tea.


8. Okay, let's talk about this climate thing.  Obviously the seasons are switched... I hope that much is obvious.  However, when I arrived, the clime was extremely harsh.  Very, very cold mornings and evenings... then it would get absurdly warm in the afternoons, which was kinda annoying because you had to dress in layers and then carry around your layers all afternoon.  But I survived!  Also, seeing as the biggest hole in the ozone is over Antarctica (I think), Chile also is having problems with a thinning ozone.  Translation?  Where your sunscreen and sunglasses everyone and don't go tanning.  Seriously.  Don't.  As for pollution?  Welcome to Santiago, home of pollution and smog.  I really haven't had a problem with it although a few of my gringo friends have had trouble adjusting and have developed coughs.  Furthermore, sometimes you can really see it if you are up high enough.  Cars are also issued a number or a color or letter or something and on certain days when the pollution is really bad, only certain cars can drive.  Carpool, por favor.


9. Bananos - No I did not misspell bananas.  A banano in Chile is none other than a FANNY PACK.  Oh yeahhh!  The 80s are back so bust out your old fanny packs and bring them with you to Chile.  Men and women alike are caught sporting fanny packs all over Chile.  Where they on your hip, in front, or slug across your shoulder/chest if you are really cool.  Sometimes I don't get it... I mean, they stare at me for dressing like a gringa all the time while they are wearing fanny packs.  

Just in case ya'll missed my last post - I bought a banano, of course!
But if you did miss my last post, go back and read it!!

10. Terremotos:  earthquakes and drinks.  As you all may know, Chile, all approximately 2.600 miles of coastline,  is situated on the Ring of Fire, meaning yes, volcanoes but most importantly, earthquakes.  Temblores, or tremors, occur quite frequently:  i.e. all the time.  However, the big ones, the terremotos are more rare and thank goodness.  Their latest big one was in February of 2010 and measured a chill 8.8, killing about 525 people not including the 25 that went missing.  This is serious business.  Needless to say, with earthquakes come tsunamsi so watch out if you´re at the beach.  If the water suddenly and rapidly retreats, that is code for RUN.  However, as scary and serious as earthquakes are for Chileans, there is a subtle pride in their dangerous country so much so they have a drink called terremotos as well, which consists of white wine, pisco, sugar, and pineapple icecream.

11. What is pisco?  Well, it´s essentially a colorless grape brandy that everyone drinks in Chile.  Pisco sours and piscolas, which are like rum and cokes.  Chile and Peru both claim ownership of this drink and it´s a touchy subject.  If you want to get a rise out of a Chilean, just make the comment that pisco isn´t really from Chile and they´ll get all hot and bothered.  Amusing, I´d say.

this is a pisco sour

12.  Alright, let´s talk about food, Chilean food.  I think I´ll start with empanadas, which are infamous.  You can buy an empanada just about anywhere at anytime and usually they are delicious for roughly a few bucks.  My favorite is empanada with seafood.  However, the more original would be empanada pino, which has ground meat, boiled egg, a little pepper and onion among a few other things in the mix, and always with one black olive.  Empanadas, Represent yo.

13.  Completos y Choripan  I put these two together because they are both ¨hotdog-esque.¨ You have probably heard about me talk about completos, which are hotdogs traditionally with avocado, mayo, and tomato.  Choripan on the other hand is chorizo, Spanish sausage, on the grill in a hotdog bun, essentially.  Don´t eat a completo on the street, but en casa they are pretty legit.  However, choripan... eat it anywhere at anytime.  ¡Delicioso!

Completo

Choripan

13.  Now is a great time to address the mayonnaise obsession.  Chileans put mayo on EVERYTHING and I am not exaggerating.  While I have been in Chile this short time, I have put mayo on hotdogs, potatos, salads, french fries, artichokes, meat... you name it and they´ll put mayonnaise on it.  Just be careful not to eat the mayo on the streets as many people have been gotten salmonela and one man actually died.  So ten cuidado, meaning be careful!

This has to signify the epitome of mayo obsession.
"Kids, do you want Snickers or Reeses for Halloween?"
"NOO!  We want MAYONNAISE!"
Now the only question is Hellmann's or Miracle Whip...

14. Speaking of obsessions, this is an appropriate time to add ice cream, or helado, to the Chilean obsessions of tea and mayo.  Chile is the largest ice cream consumer of Latin America, which says a lot seeing as it is only the 7th most populated Latin America country.  Just to give you some perspective, Brazil has about 190 million people, Mexico has about 112 million, Colombia 45 million and Chile... about 17 million... But they like their ice cream that is for sure.

15. I would also like to add pebre to the list of Chilean foods.  This one I particularly adore.  Similar to pico di gallo, pebre consists of tomatos, cilantro, garlic, onion among a few other things depending on the recipe.  Spicy as ever and delicious!!!  In most restuarants, pebre and bread is placed before you to munch on while ordering and waiting.  Many also put pebre on choripan, in soups, on potatos etc.  I don´t think a meal would be truly Chilean if it didn´t consist of pebre and mayo as condiments.  I think most Chileans would agree.

16. Nanas... and no, I´m not talking about another name for Grandma.  Nanas are quite popular and common in Chile.  Many children are raised by nanas... maybe their parents work or maybe that is just how it is.  I´m not sure, but it certainly isn´t uncommon to be raised by a nana in Chile.

Chilean movie about a Nana,
 who is trying to hold the position she has held for 20+ years.

17. Oh, interesting observation about the lawnmowers in Chile.  They are plug-in lawnmowers, I kid you not.  Twice, I have seen people mowing their lawns with lawnmowers, which had cords attached to them!  How odd, I thought, just make sure you don´t run over the cord with the lawnmower... that could be problematic.

18. Alright, let´s talk about the political scene briefly.  As many of you may know, Chile was under a dictatorship from 1973 to about 1990.  His name?  Augusto Pinochet.  Very complicated history that has left deep wounds and scares throughout Chile and her people.  On September 11, 1973 the first democratically elected Marxist president in Latin America, Salvador Allende, was overthrown; thus unleashing a whirlwind of events that would haunt Chile forever.  If you didn´t already guess, the US (CIA) was involved in the coup d´état as it was right in the middle of the Cold War... not that that is an excuse, but just to give ya´ll an idea of why we would do that.  So even before, September 11th became infamous in 2001, that date was already well-known in the minds of all Chileans.

19.  More recently, however, has been the protests for education reform, often which have gotten media attention when they have turned a bit violent (you´ve heard me talk about tear gas, rubber bullets, etc.).  Anyways, this is a huge time in Chilean history and will be a turning point in educational reform.  I think I´ve already devoted a whole blog post about this but I just wanted to mention that Education is dominating the political rhetoric right now and the students aren´t going anywhere without a fight.  They want results and who can blame them?  Education is frighteningly expensive compared to the average Chilean wage and the interest on loans is scandalous.  Education is treated more like a business than anything else... all for profit... but at whose expense?  Education affects the young people who are in turn the future of the country... so who is really hurting whom?  Anyways... it´s problematic and complicated as most political debates are.

Universidad de Chile en paro - meaning "unemployed" or kinda like being on strike.
There haven't been classes in months and the students have been living inside the school.

20. Another more random observation is about the public buses in smaller towns like Valparaíso and Viña del Mar.  It is not uncommon to see street vendors hop on buses with drinks, snacks etc. and try to sell them to customers on the buses.  This would never happen in the US, I´d dare to say, but in Chile, it´s común.  Furthermore, street vendors etc. are quite common selling anything from roasted nuts to sopapillas to scarves and sunglasses.  You may even get approached by a gypsy wanting to read your palm.  Don´t fall for it, she can´t.  (And no, I do not know that from experience... Just my street smarts! haha)

21. Many of my next observations have to do with Chile in comparison to the United States.  Although Chile is very different from the US, oftentimes I catch myself wondering if perhaps I am in the US afterall.  Why?  Well, let me make a list:  Lider (i.e. Walmart with Great Value brands), The North Face, Merrell shoes, Hush Puppies, Aldo, Columbia, TGI Fridays, Applebees, Dunkin Donuts, Chucky Cheese (weird, right?), Papa Johns, Subway, McDonalds (but that shouldn´t surprise you), Blockbuster, Starbucks (thank goodness! real coffee. although they don´t have pumpkin spice because it isn´t fall... FAIL!)... The list goes on with Herbal Essence, St. Ives, Colgate, Lays potato chips etc.  I don´t know if I should be comforted by the fact that I can by my same shampoo in Chile as well as grab dinner at Applebees or if I should be frightened at how powerful globalization (and the US influence on the world) is... In a lot of ways, they, Chileans, like what we have.  However, that´s not to say that makes the US superior and thus justified in its arrogant (at times) ways, but the truth is the US and US businesses have done a slam-dunk job at producing some amazing consumer items.  I mean, who can honestly live without McDonalds ever once in awhile?

If you didn't know any better, you'd think I was at the Walmart in Burlington, right?

22. Oh, and to the above list I can add media:  i.e. television and movies.  The Simpsons, Grey´s Anatomy, House, and other US shows are extremely popular in Chile.  There is even a Chilean version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? which my family and I watch ever night while eating dinner.  Similarly, the Chilean movie theaters are dominated by US movies like Friends with Benefits, Bad Teachers, and the latest Taylor Lautner movie called Sin Escape here in Chile... I mean, let´s just talk about that real quick.  How lame.  The kid looks 16 (okay, to be fair I think he is 19) and is holding a gun trying to look all BA on the movie poster... epic fail, Taylor, stick with Twilight, my friend.  But anyways... my host family is even familiar with The Jersey Shore and 16 & Pregnant, which I constantly tell them are not from the US to save myself the embarassment of being associated with those trashy shows.  Whoa, I was coming on a little strong there.  My apologies.  Terrible TV shows about nothing that I think are more detrimental to our society kinda gets me worked up.  Needless to say, movies and TV are another thing that has transcended the borders of the US.



23.  Let´s just talk briefly about the bathrooms.  I almost forgot to mention this because the toilet-situation is very similar to Spain.  Public restrooms are a little more common here than in Spain, however, you still have to pay (50 cents to a dollar depending on where you´re at).  Regardless, most restrooms have a separate basket for your TP... pipage problems :)  Another fun note, always have some TP with you wherever you go just in case your bathroom doesn´t provide you with any.  And NEVER go into a stall without first grabbing some TP from the dispensors located OUTSIDE of the bathrooms in the common-area.  This may sound kinda harsh to you all from the US, but at least most Chilean toilets have toilet seats unlike many restrooms in Italy.  There is always a silver lining, right?


24. Dreadlocks and Rattails:  Yes, I said it.  I know you thought fanny packs were bad news but another popular Chilean style is dreads, specifically rattail dreads.  Usually they come in just one or two, maybe three, from the back of a younger gentlemen's head near the nape of his neck.  Sometimes however they come from the side of his hairline right behind his ear.  Weird.  End of story.  Disgusting too, I should add.  You would think that their girlfriends, or wives even, would cut them off in his sleep and blame it on the cat or something.  But now that I think of it, would they really even have girlfriends, let alone wives???  The scary thing is, they do.  The Chilean girls dig it.  How can I tell?  Well, this leads me back to Chilean Observation #4 - PDA.  


25. Lapis Lazuli:  a relatively rare semi-precious stone that is prized for its intense blue color.  AND lapis lazuli is only found in two areas:  Afghanistan and, you guessed it, CHILE!  whoop whoop!

So I thought it would be best to end on #25 for now, although I am sure I will come up with dozens more observations about this great country in which I am residing for the next 4+ months!  I hope you all enjoy some of the quirks of Chile and her people as well as recognize the beauty in her ways, culture, and history.  Chile is pretty extraordinary and unlike any other place I have been (which really isn't many but still!).  Anyways, this is just a little something to tide you all over until I get back from my vacations to the desert, Montevideo, y Buenos Aires.  


¡Ciao!


PS I started working on this post over three weeks ago... soo if it doesn't flow or something sounds awkward, my apologies but enjoy nonetheless.