Group Blog: What Draws Us To (or Drives Us From) Chile

Link to Original Group Post

When I met Seabass I knew nothing about Chile and had to look at a map to remind myself of the location. I had stopped in Caracas, Venezuela once on a cruise and the feeling when I left was “ok, I’ve been to South America and never want to go back” which was very narrow-minded and gringa of me. I’m sure there are great places in Venezuela. I consider myself to be somewhat traveled. I’ve been all over the US, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Granada, Barbados, St. Lucia, Dominica, St. Barts, St. Martin, Aruba, Bahamas, Mexico (Cancun, Cozumel), Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, the UK, Poland, and India. Although I’ve been many places and seen many beautiful things, I’ve never fallen in love with anywhere like I have with Chile.

I was actually hoping when I went to Chile for the first time that I wouldn’t like it and it would make things easier for us and be an added reason to just remain friends. It happened though that there was something about Chile that I couldn’t resist. Places like Mumbai and Santiago I would rather not explain because I feel like no matter what I say I don’t do it justice. It’s just something you have to experience. People usually already have preconceived notions of South America and it’s hard to describe anything different to them. Mumbai I couldn’t even wrap my own mind around it when I was there (Slumdog Millionaire- highly recommend it- gives you some insight as it’s a very true to life representation).

The draw to Chile for me is just a general feeling when I get when I’m there. To try to put it in words it’s the beautiful landscape, the mixed cultures, the food, the simplicity, and the European influence mixed with the Latin vibe. Being clean and relatively safe is an added bonus too. I know that living anywhere will have its negatives too. I agree with other Gringa posters that it’s hard to blend there especially if your blonde hair and blue eyes scream gringa. While it’s funny at first to be piropoed I can imagine it would get old quickly and especially if you were alone. Also the lack of customer service would irritate me to no end too. Asking to alter something on the menu slightly and being looked at as if you were asking them to change Newton’s 1st Law is something I am not used to. Also the perils of big city transportation if living in Santiago would be challenging.

I know it’s hard to tell people in an infatuation state that the feeling will change or go away but I really feel it’s a little more than just infatuation. The things I’ve read about living there would be something I would have to deal with but while it might be tainted a bit I don’t think that it would completely take away the overall feeling that Chile gives me.

At this point in our lives it doesn’t really make sense for us to live in Chile versus Cincinnati. A major factor is my 5 year old son- it’s difficult for us to move because we are in a shared parenting situation. Even if it weren’t for him Seabass and I would still live in the US. There are a lot more opportunities with our company here and our salaries are better which gives us more flexibility to travel and enjoy life. He also blends here more than I would blend there. We are not limiting Chile from our future plans and even would like to have a beach house there in the near future. I guess I’ll really never know unless I live there what my feelings would be but for now I really enjoy keeping this feeling as a visitor to Chile.