Reflections in Chile

(Above: In front of an archaelogical site in the Atacama Desert)

My Chilean adventure ends in less than one month! How surreal is this! As I am sitting next to my Chilean sister and listening to Ed Sheeran, I am trying to remember all the things that I am thankful for and all the lessons I have learned. I finally finished Isabel Allende’s book Mi Pais Inventado, where the author writes biographically about her childhood, her exile from Chile after the Pinochet dictatorship took over in 1973, and her search for identity as she dove into writing, raising a family, and traveling the world. The book presents the Chile of her imagination and her dreams. It was amazing food for thought… I ended up writing seven pages of notes and questions as I compared her impression of Chile to my own experience these past few months.

Here is my list of what I have learned, from the streets to the conversation:

1.      Chileans are really proud of their country’s landscape. I never encountered such passion and love for the physicality of their country as in Chile. Every Chilean I have spoken to has stated that Chile has an amazingly diverse landscape, with the Atacama Desert in the north, fertile land for fruits and wine-making in the middle where I live, and the South with constant rains and many lakes. It also has the island of Chiloe where all the homes are made of wood and Easter Island (called ‘Rapanui’ in the native language). I have visited in the north, live in the center, and will visit the south with my family for our summer vacation after Christmas. One day, I would love to return to visit the Patagonia and Torres del Paine to see the glaciers and penguins, as well as Chiloe (which looks absolutely majestic in photos) and Easter Island.

(Above: Geysers in the Atacama)

2.      Fresh fruit! One of Chile’s most exported products is its fruit. There is fruit of every type. I am constantly amazed by the variety and love that the fruits are available only during their actual season. Another great part of the food culture here is that there are farmer’s markets everywhere where the farmers themselves sell their products from the back of their pickup trucks … right outside of my immediate neighborhood, in the downtown area, etc. My favorite Saturdays when I went to the market at 4am with my Chilean mom and we hauled home crates of spinach, lettuce, blueberries, potatoes, and other products, tired but satisfied at 11 that this morning. The most amazing part of the ferias is that its fresh, organic fruit is even cheaper than the food sold at supermarkets. This is practically unheard of in the US! Another great part is that food products are sold on the streets, sometimes even in front of grocery or empanadas stores. This means that I get to eat cooked beets almost every weekend, something I had considered to be a once-a-year treat. (This is rather embarrassing, but I discovered here what I beet root looks like.)

(Above: The tuna fruit)

(Above: The chirimoya fruit, native to Andes)

3.      Chilean people: They are said to be more reserved, courteous, introverted, sometimes hypocritical, and more formal than other Latin Americans. I address my professors as “Miss” or “Senor.” I also use the formal usted form to speak to elders, professors, and even parents. Chileans also have a great respect for authority and the society is orderly. I have also found them to be nice and welcoming. I mean, I was offered to drive a tour boat in Valparaiso, for example! I have also always been offered food at every house I visit. And, the first street vendor whom I spoke to during my second day in Chile even took time to tell me to warn a friend to remember to count her money every time she made a transaction in Chile. I was blessed to feel comfortable with both my family and classmates from the first day.  

(Above: Family pic in the Atacama!)

4.      Chilean speak: For the first few months, I had much difficulty understanding Chilean conversations. I could communicate, understand academic lectures, and understand almost completely when someone spoke at me, but the rapidity and use of idioms (called ‘modismos’ and even ‘Chilenismos’ for Chilean idioms) prevented me from understanding much of what was going on. My sisters taught me many specific words, like ‘hueon’ (a bad word, meaning idiot), palta (avocado), floja (lazy), al tiro (immediately), and ‘me cachai?’ (‘do you understand me?’; literally ‘do you catch me?’) They also cut the termination of words, so the usual answer to ‘como estai’ (how are you) is ‘mas or menos’ (more or less) but pronounced as ‘ma’ o meno,’’ Thank goodness I had my dictionary of Chilean slang, but I still made the incorrect assumption that they do this even for proper names. Thus, I pronounced ‘Estados Unidos’ (United States) as ‘Estado’ Unido.’’ This remains a family joke at dinners. Another interesting aspect is that many verbs are created from nouns during informal conversations, like ‘googliando’ (to Google something) and ‘whatsappiando’ (to send a Whatsapp message). The last part is that they use another conjugation for informal ‘tu’ conversations. Instead of ‘tu estas’ (you are), they say ‘tu estai.’ Instead ‘que quieres’ (what do you want), they say ‘que queri.’

(Above: In front of 'Mercado Central,' the fish market in downtown with friends on our adventure around Santiago as declared 'santiaguinos' - Santiago citizens)

5.      Chile has something for everyone. I love that Santiago has many expansive and green parks and bike paths, but also many great museums like the Museo de Bellas Artes and numerous malls with brands from around the world. I loved that in Olmue, a tiny town where I had my arrival orientation, was so beautifully quaint and I could socialize in the central plaza of the city and discover that the supermarket was a fun place to meet up with friends. I was enchanted by the Atacama Desert, which seemed like another world with its colorful skies and crater-like ground. I adored Valparaiso, a city of hills, elevators, and local artists. I have been able to explore many sides of myself with everything that it has offered me.

(Above: Picture we took of the desert)

(Above: A Grand Press Photo showing in downtown)

6.      Chilean alcohol: Chileans are very proud of their alcohol, especially their wine. Chile’s central region enjoys the same weather as California and France, and it also has stable and predictable weather, so its wine is well-known. There is even a type of Chilean wine that comes from France a few hundred years ago; the ironic fact is that the French eventually stopped producing Carmanere but Chile continues it producing it one of its major wines. I even had a fantastic experience touring a tiny beautiful vineyard outside of Santiago with my family. They also drink two signature cocktails, called the pisco sour and terremoto.

(Above: Pic from the 'Spectator Tribune')

7.      Ice Cream! I was not a huge fan of sweets and ice cream before I arrived in Chile. However, I visited the local ice cream parlor shop Emporio La Rosa, which proclaims to be one of the best 25 in the world, and tried out its rosa-flavored (‘rose water’) ice cream. I was skeptical at first, but now I order the flavor each time we visit.

8.      Empanadas! This is quite possibly one of my favorite foods in Chile. I tried an empanada once in the US at a Peruvian restaurant but just was not a fan of the crunchy white grain with meat in the middle. Since then, I have learned to make my own empanadas of both the ‘pino’ type (of beef with onions) and ‘queso’ (cheese) that can be either fried or put in the oven. I prefer the oven type. It is perfect as the main meal for lunch or dinner and has a wonderful texture. I would definitely recommend Tomas Moro and Ingenio as Chilean bakeries to visit. They are constantly voted the best empanada vendors in Santiago. There are also frozen tiny empanadas for cocktail parties and such sold under the brand Felipe Didier. I have never been a frozen food fan, but these have been fantastic for occasions like my birthday party. It is also a fantastic business idea! One of the first things I will have to do when I return is look for good Peruvian and Chilean food…

(Above: Okay, so maybe when we bake them, they do not come out as well presented, but it is pretty close!)

9.      Weather: I arrived in Chile and was freezing. Being a New Mexican, I was used to wearing a t-shirt and sweater, knowing that the afternoon would be sweltering. So, I was unprepared that most Chilean homes have neither air condition nor a central heating system. I also needed to accustom myself to the metric system (in terms of liters for gas prices, kilograms for weight, kilometers for running distance and car mileage, and especially Celsius temperature). Sadly, I am still not an expert about the system, but I do feel better when I gauge myself running in kilometers, though.

(Above: My mom and I luckily had lovely weather this day during spring when I went to Cerro Santa Lucia)

10.  Sports: Chile’s most popular sport is, without a doubt, football. Americans, I mean soccer. My sisters know the names of players by heart and my dad follows the games religiously. I missed the World Cup games when I arrived a few weeks after its end, but I remember receiving pictures of my sisters in school watching football with their classmates and my family painting their faces to watch the games. The local games, played between the most popular teams of the University of Chile, the Catholic University of Chile, and Colo Colo, are known to get very spirited and many times violent. Random fact: Although the university teams were once a part of the respective universities, now they are private teams that still have the associated names.

(Above: Alexis Sanchez, Chile's football star)

11.  Everyone watches telenovelas, which air every weekday; most people know what is happening to each character and eagerly await the next episode. I will admit that I was quite scornful (and still am a bit now) about this type of show; I wondered what could be fun about yelling women who are tearful about some minor familial catastrophe. Three days ago, I finally became a true Chilean when I was introduced to the show ‘Pituca Sin Lucas’ about a rich family that loses its money and moves to a much poorer neighborhood after the father leaves the family because he committed financial fraud. Now I watch it very often. Much more often than I would like to admit.

(Above: The above family from the show are basically ingrained as a part of our family as well with their daily family drama)

12.  School: It remains odd that I am currently in summer vacation during December. But that makes it also fantastic because I am swimming in our pool most days while people on the northern half of the world are in winter coats. The school year begins in March and ends in mid-December. Classes also are different in that students stay in the same class with the same group of people instead of having passing periods. Teachers for each subject area (of which I have 11 subjects) arrive every 1.5 hours or so to teach the subject in the traditional manner of lecture in front of the class with the whiteboard, multiple-choice tests (there are two every week), and projects. There is overall little discussion and practice writing in my class, called a ‘curso.’ I also liked how comfortable and amiable my classmates were because they all knew each other from being in the same curso since the beginnings of their childhood. I was just absorbed into their circles as the ‘gringa,’ a term used to call foreigners who speak English. Another tidbit is that my classmates are entrepreneurial. They sell shoes, snacks, EOS lipbalms, and many other products. One girl even always has a backpack full of goodies and she keeps a chart of people who have made transactions.

(Above: My friend and I during the 'Chilean Nationality' week before our music performance in the spirit of Easter Island traditions)

13.  Educational System: I was amazed that almost Chilean I spoke to understands that there is much wrong with the system here and that they want to change it. There are national and daily conversations occurring about the disparity of educational opportunities for the rich and poor in Chile. There are three types of schools: private, public, and semi-public (partially funded by the government). The private schools comprise 1% of the schools or so in Chile but produce a much higher proportion of students who perform successfully in the PSU national aptitude test and obtain university educations at the best schools. The public schools lack funding, good teachers, and their students perform badly. Technically, all Chilean students must stay in school from age 5 to 18 and have the right to education, but they do not have the same right to education. I found it admirable that, unlike in the US, this is a topic spoken about by a great number of people, including students. I have thought much more about what I want out of an education and the purpose of education, for example, due to my classroom conversations and participation in public forums.

(Above: Weekend with the entire school gathered at the National Stadium)

14.  University System: Universities here are vocational; one enters university having declared one’s career path, which required a certain PSU score. The two most prestigious schools are the Catholic University and University of Chile. During the last month of high school, students take PSU national aptitude tests on their school subjects. The entire senior year is spent on review of material learnt in high school. The scoring between their class rank, PSU results, and class transcript during high school determine the final score. In the fourth year of high school, they must choose career paths, which usually last from four to seven years. Medicine, for example, lasts seven years. Sadly, being a professor requires the lowest possible PSU score. The best possible score is 800 on the PSU; ultimately, the best score-takers have a meal with the Chilean president. On the one hand, it is advantageous to be begin studying for one’s career relatively other. On the other hand, the US system allows students to explore and solidify their interests for four more years in a more ‘impractical’ education.

(Above: Another awesome Chilean school tradition of food for every type of celebration... This time, it was for our religion teacher's birthday. Empanadas on the left and our organized table on the right!)

15.  Classism, Immigration, and Politics: There is an obvious distinction between the socioeconomic classes. It is not common to see people from another class in your daily life because they live in different ‘barrios’ (neighborhoods). In fact, each barrio is known for something different. Las Condes, for example, is known for having many businesses and skyscrapers. Even the accents are very distinct between the classes. For example, to say that you are full from eating, it is not an upper class educated thing to say ‘Estoy llena.’ Instead, it is correct to say ‘Estoy satisfecha.’ Overall, there is little social mobility. The rich expand in their income, while the poor remain the same, disadvantaged politically, socially, and even educationally. Immigration is also becoming a huge issue as there is an increasing number of other latin americans entering the country illegal who are seeking job opportunities. Locals say that there is a noticeable increase of illegal immigrants from countries like Peru; there are even many immigrants from Spain escaping from the intense economic repression there. On the whole, racism is not a national issue because the country has not seen as much immigration in its history as other countries. In fact, I have noticed that Chileans do not care as much about political correctness as Americans do. For example, they call people of African descent 'africano' (african), instead of the American tendency to call them 'African-Americans.'

(Above; The Socialist female president Michelle Bachelet)

16.  Country of Artists: The three most notable Chilean writers are Isabel Allende, Pablo Neruda, and Gabriela Mistral. Isabel Allende is the niece of Salvador Allende who is the most read Latin American writer. Pablo Neruda was a Nobel Prize winning poet, diplomat, and friend of Salvador Allende who died the day the military coup occurred. Gabriela Mistral, the first Latin American woman to win Nobel Prize of Literature, was a poet who came from a very poor household. Many attribute Chile’s ability to produce so many artists to its isolated and beautiful landscape. Locked in by the Andes in the east separating it from Argentina, the Atacama Desert in the north, the Antartica in the south, and the Pacific Ocean in the west, perhaps many Chileans had nothing to do but write their feelings on paper. Historically, Chile was isolated for much time. It was difficult for the conquistadores to pass the desert and mountain range until the mid-1500s. Later, the character of the country did not change that much when it gained its independence in 1810 because the power changed to the conservative Chilean land-owning elite that descended from the Spanish aristocracy. Only until 1920 did a middle-class president rise to power.

(Above: In front of Neruda's house La Sebastiana in Valparaiso)

17.  Acknowledging the Past and Accepting the Past: Chile is most known for its recent history of dictatorship. In the Cold War during the year 1973, the US helped Chile’s military take over the first democratically elected Communist president Allende, which produced a dictatorship under army general Pinochet who committed terrible human rights violations but also transformed Chile to become one of the most physically and financially secure and incorruptible Latin American countries. I was timid about asking questions about the dictatorship when I arrived, but people understood I would be interested because most foreigners know Chile only because of its recent history. So, I was pleasantly surprised hearing friends and family talk about this during dinner conversations. The topic does not seem as sore a topic as it was before when the dictator was voted out of power in 1988, but it remains controversial. (First ironic thing that can only happen in Chile: Pinochet was locked into the same Constitution that he helped re-write, saying that a plebiscite from the people needed to happen after eight years in power to determine if he could maintain his position. He never imagined that he could be voted out of it.) Yesterday, a congressman asked the Congress (based not in the capital, but in Valparaiso) to allow a moment of silence to acknowledge the dictator’s death. There was immense outrage for this ‘lack of respect’ to Pinochet’s victims and people who remain against Pinochet. It was even more horrifying that yesterday also marked Human Rights Day.

(Above: Chilean mothers holding up signs of the 'desaparecidos,' the disappeared, many of whom were their sons who were left-leaning or poor revolutionaries. There was a female group made up of mothers during the Pinochet dictatorship called 'Mujeres por la Vida' who banged pots and pans in the streets or showed pictures of their disappeared or killed children in the streets.)

18.  Family: This is immensely important to all Chileans, and I love how community-oriented the culture is. My family eats dinner together every night, like many typical families, and I enjoy these warm moments where we talk about our days and debate topics like feminism and football. I loved having sisters for the first time because we could share clothes, sing together, and, yes, argue as well about the pettiest topics. They taught me about how Chileans have two first names and two last names and how to use the public transportation with my BIP! Card. I can proudly say that I am comfortable riding a subway by myself in any foreign country because I have done so in Chile. They have also introduced to much American culture (ironic, right?) when we watch Modern Family together every Wednesday and listen to music like Queen, Aerosmith, and Ed Sheeran. 

Overall, my experience here would not have been as wonderful without their love and support and I look forward to spending my first Christmas with my second family!

(Above: My friends and sister with me on the bus in my first months in Chile)