How they live in Chile now. Environmental problems of Latin American countries in the 21st century. In fairness - a well-preserved building
Stories about Krasnoyarsk residents who decided to radically change their lives - go to another country, find work and housing there. In the summer of 2011, 21% of the country's population was thinking about emigrating. For comparison, 20 years ago there were only 5%. According to VTsIOM, the fifth part of the Russian population who wants to “get out” are mostly highly educated young people.
Many people know them in Krasnoyarsk. They still have family and friends here. But they chose to leave. Online conversation. 10 questions. Alexander Sysoev. Krasnoyarsk - Santiago.
Do you need to prepare for moving? Or an impulsive decision - the only way leave with 100% probability?
To begin with, of course, there must be an idea. You definitely need to prepare, for example, there is not much to do in Chile without knowing Spanish. Therefore, the first thing you need to spend the lion’s share of time preparing for is learning the language. It is also necessary to study the culture, history, characteristics of the country where you are planning to leave, the economic situation and the demand for your profession. Much depends on what funds you have, and, based on their volume and the distance of the country from your home, make a moving plan and go on reconnaissance. In my case, there was very little money, so the question was this: if everything suits me and fate is favorable to me, I stay, if not, I come back. The main thing is not to burn bridges behind you! I have met families in Chile who sold everything in their country and came here with their children in search of better life, but did not bother to learn a single foreign language and break through the situation. The result is that no one needs them here, there is nowhere to return, and even their compatriots themselves are trying to cheat.
What was it like in your case?
I ended up in Chile because of a click in my head, after which it became clear as day that it was time to change something. You know, it’s like suddenly waking up and realizing that there are specific dreams and selfless interests, and that it’s time to emerge from the chomping swamp, just take a big step forward. It was then that my friend Evgeniy and I agreed on ideas and decided to “get out.” At that very moment, visas to Chile were canceled for Russians, and there were mountains, ocean, rocks, a completely different perception and standard of living... We arrived in Santiago at the beginning of summer. The city welcomed us clear skies and warm air, permeated with the smell of vanilla. Thoughts were confused, the feeling of fear of the unknown was mixed with intense euphoria and, of course, in those days there was no talk of any objective assessment. Just think, guys from Siberia on the other side of the earth! As we got used to it, an impression of this country formed. This applies to a greater extent to Santiago, since after a certain period (about 3 months) the money I took for living ran out.
In your case, does moving abroad mean going there? Or leave here?
In my case, moving is going somewhere with the goal of shaking up a stagnant brain, starting to think again, moving to another level and expanding boundaries. I needed a shake-up, a push to awaken. Living outside your comfort level is the most rewarding and fun way to achieve it.
Why this country?
I can’t really explain it here. At first, Argentina was in the plans, the real Andes, Patagonia and nature in general beckoned, then visas were canceled for Chile, which was superior to Argentina in terms of economic indicators (and now its superiority is not discussed at all). Well, South America is still a virgin land, not spoiled by the invasion of Russian tourists.
How long have you been living in Chile? Have you ever thought about returning to Russia?
I've been living in Chile for a year and a half now. Thoughts of returning arose only at the very beginning, when I didn’t really understand anything and was panicking. Now I just want to come to Krasnoyarsk, to visit my family and friends. I miss you, I won’t lie.
What are the five biggest differences between Russia and your new country?
Mentality. Slowness, turning into optionality. Andes, ocean. Career opportunities.
Is it difficult to find work/housing?
The first month in Chile we generally lived in . In our search for permanent housing, we were helped by a friend from Uruguay, with whom we called every evening about apartments for rent. As a result, we still had to rent the first apartment through an agency, since we had the status of tourists. Further, in order to rent a house, you need a good permanent salary, a work contract, a guarantor and good friends who will help you do it all.
The work is actually simple, just like everywhere else. When there was absolutely nothing to live on, I sent out my resume to all the companies in my profile, both Chilean and international, and began to wait, while simultaneously trying to develop my project. I waited for a very long time, more than a month passed between sending my resume and receiving the first response, since my Spanish is poor, I didn’t call or visit companies, although I think in some cases it’s still worth doing. While waiting, I worked part-time in a warehouse. In the end, I waited, passed the interview, and was accepted. But without the help of my girlfriend, who constantly supported and motivated me, I don’t even know how I would have survived all this! I must admit that I ended up with a very good Chilean company developing games for Android and iPhone. The team consists of really cool developers with good knowledge of English, which allows me to communicate at a high level. I used to work as a programmer in Russia, but I had never been involved in game development, now I got involved and think that there would be a base, namely basic knowledge are checked at the interview, then the rest is a matter of profitability. Working in such a team is easy and pleasant, the atmosphere is appropriate - playful and relaxed. You can easily get caught with a foam bullet in the head from an air gun - this is such office humor. But an office is an office, I believe that this is a temporary forced measure.
When leaving Russia, what/who was the hardest to part with?
With family and friends, Pillars and Siberian nature, in general, with “home”.
The economy of your life in a new country: more/less salary, more/less spending. Has it become easier to live in terms of money?
Compared to Krasnoyarsk, I began to earn more and feel calmer. Expenses are a little higher than in Russia, but this is compensated by good earnings.
Do you feel like a stranger in a new country?
Yes! And I don’t think it’s possible to feel completely at home in another country. The people here are completely different from us. They are kind, curious, cheerful, open, musical and hospitable - these are the pluses. Disadvantages of Chileans: insecure, manipulative, cunning, ill-mannered. But it's mine, very subjective assessment. Everything is very slow here, you have to get used to it. There is a huge influence of the United States in Chile: from culture to the military fleet. The economy is growing stronger, the standard of living is rising, people, struggling with their national conservatism, eagerly accept new market products. It’s hard to imagine, but 200 years ago, before the Conquest, Indian tribes lived here. They had and still have the difficult task of accepting and mastering in two centuries what the leading countries took much longer to achieve. But in general, Chile for a Russian Siberian is positive and surreal ( laughs). And, of course, huge opportunities, beautiful colonial architecture, diversity of natural areas, flora and fauna. To sum it up, in Chile I am a guest who, in most cases, is welcome.
Diana Shatalova,
Photo by Alexander Sysoev
Two years ago, Anastasia Polosina made a decision that radically changed her life. As a result, she now has two summers and autumns a year, and two languages in everyday use. And life takes place in opposite hemispheres, Southern and Northern. We are talking about moving to Chile. Anastasia shared the story of her move, talked about the pros and cons of living in Chile, as well as the difficulties she had to face.
Moving to Chile
It was interesting to try myself in new system coordinates
I’ll be honest, I thought for a long time and weighed all the pros and cons of such a decision, since I’m not one of those who cut from the shoulder. She carefully checked her readiness, asked herself: “Are you ready?”, but for six months the answer turned out to be somehow unconvincing. Why? Because it was scary. Leave at the other end globe family, as well as voluntarily putting on pause the career in the fashion world that I had so diligently built - in my case, became the main stopping factors. But I never had the popular desire to “get away.”
Moving to Chile as a fact and immersion in new world didn't scare me. It seemed more like an exciting adventure, and I was interested in trying myself in a new coordinate system. In addition, I had an idea of where I was going - before moving, I had been to Chile several times, so terra incognita in my case had clear outlines and a map of the area.
You can think and weigh the pros and cons endlessly, but it’s like standing on the shore and peering into the sea below when you need to jump - at some point you still have to hold your breath, close your eyes and take a step forward.
Doubts about moving and unanswered questions
How comfortable will you feel in this country, not as a tourist, but as a resident? Will you be able to get used to a new culture, people’s habits, traditions? All these doubts are completely universal when moving to any country in the world, and the choice of destination does not change anything at all: Cote d'Azur, Cape Town or Hong Kong, you will still have to honestly look for answers to these difficult questions. Only the situation around changes.
On one brisk frosty day, I honestly asked myself what I would regret more in ten years, if He or the usual way of my life disappeared from my life? And everything fell into place. True, you won’t be able to come to terms with moving away from your family (I’m definitely a complete failure in this area), but if you have a fairly distant relationship with your family, then this has its own bitter plus - it will be easier for you. It's worth being honest with yourself here.
Ideal if you are in love not only with the man of your dreams, but also with the country where you are going. But it depends. My relationship with Chile can be characterized by deep sympathy and affection, which appears when, over time, you begin to look at another objectively, with all his shortcomings and advantages. I look at Chile more than soberly; I have never had the romantic dazzle of a newcomer, when everything seems wonderful, velvety and mostly pink. And this happens! And very often.
First time
At first, after moving to Chile, I was faced with trivial problems - where to buy what, and whether such and such a product or service even exists in the country. Maybe adaptation stress manifested itself in this form? It took quite a lot of time to create my basic circle of comfort in the form of addresses and familiar stores. Now, of course, I know where and what to buy, the usual routes have appeared. But that period of time when you are left without your usual things can be a little stressful, and the only way out in such a situation is to show as much curiosity as possible: walk around the city more often and explore its corners, read the local press and look for different sources of information about life in the city .
Circle of friends
It’s the same with my social circle - at first I was getting used to the new sensations of life in Santiago, to the new environment in general and to myself in this environment in particular, so I was in no hurry to make new friends. I wasn’t even a member of thematic groups on social networks! Only after a year and a half did the desire to expand the circle of acquaintances come. To a certain extent, it helps you feel better. It also helps to adapt to the environment if we are talking about local acquaintances. By the way, many young people come because of the Start up Chile program to support start-up projects, which is really attractive and has few analogues in the world due to its accessibility.
Ideas about Chile
As a rule, they don’t know anything about Chile. And all ideas about it are very stereotypical and extremely vague, among which Pinochet, Allenda, Easter Island, and wine pop up. I was like that myself - Chile seemed to me a country of endless prairies and gauchos, like Borges, and vineyards. The idea was vague, but somehow positive. Later I realized that I had imagined the northern Patagonia of Argentina, and everything coincided with the vineyards. I’ll say right away – it has nothing in common with the jungle, coconut palms, anacondas and Caribbean beaches. The north of Chile is a dry pre-desert zone, and the further south you go from the capital, the colder it becomes, but the greener it becomes; in the south, volcanoes, lakes, forests and fjords rule the roost. But nothing to do with the tropics. The country stretches along the coast, but the ocean is almost everywhere icy due to strong undercurrents, and for the same reason the water is quite muddy - it is impossible to swim, but it is good to surf due to strong waves.
One of the huge, universal benefits of living in Santiago, and in Chile in general, is the proximity of the mountains and the ocean.
Moscow-Santiago
Chile is a small country with a rather conservative way of life. Just as I can seriously judge life in Russia only by my life in Moscow, the same is with Chile - I live in Santiago, and I have exclusively capital criteria by which I can evaluate the country.
In Santiago, personally, after Moscow, I miss, like air, the more active rhythm of life of the city and its inhabitants. Of course, this is a much smaller city both in area and in number of inhabitants (7 million), but still. On Sunday, almost all cafes and restaurants are closed, you are driving through the business part of the city, and even Starbucks is closed. There are few cars, almost no passers-by on the streets, and the rare few that come across walk at a leisurely stroll. Can you imagine something like this on Tverskaya?
Weekend and empty city
Sunday is considered a day to spend with family (we will talk about the family nature of Chileans below). There is even a saying “domingo-fomingo”, which plays on the words Sunday and boredom. Very accurate. When you want to go out for brunch on Sunday, you go to the same two or three places, since there is not much to choose from. Do you want a bar on the roof of a skyscraper? There is only one high-rise bar in the whole city, on the 25th floor, and that’s where we go – for good cocktails and a view of the mountains.
Diversity
What's also disappointing is the small selection of products. In Moscow, you get used to the fact that literally everything can be bought on the Internet with next-day delivery. You can also choose from a wide variety of stores, including virtual stores, but in Santiago you don’t always have to choose – this is due to lower demand due to the capital’s population of 7 million and the high cost of all imported goods, especially European ones, due to the enormous distance. I tried to order from foreign stores, but many products, such as cosmetics and medicines, require a certificate from a special department. It's nerves and time.
Once we were looking for yarn made from alpaca wool, the original inhabitant of the Andes. It seemed completely natural that there should be an abundance of such yarn in Chile, if not locally produced, then at least produced in Peru. But no. The choice is limited to five colors of poorly processed, harsh material. Although there are quite a few stores with yarn, since Chileans love everything knitted, the base mass is acrylic. I had to buy it in Moscow, in an online store with a huge selection and amazing quality, made in Peru, by the way.
Climatic features of Chile
I am pleased with the number of sunny days a year; there are most of them on the calendar. Even in winter and autumn. But there is also a fly in the ointment - strong temperature changes (up to 20 degrees) during the day, extremely dry air in the northern and central parts of the country, including Santigo.
Heating
The lack of central heating is a pain for any Russian, as is the ridicule of the Chileans about how cold it can be for you, aren’t you Russian? Central heating in Santiago is only theoretically available, but it is too expensive, so no one turns it on, it is not even considered by people as a possible option in winter. They are saved by a variety of heaters: gas, paraffin, electric. It is difficult to understand the essence of the problem until you experience it yourself.
Climate Features
It would seem that it is colder in Moscow. But imagine winter temperatures of plus 10 in a city-basin, surrounded on all sides by mountains, on which precipitation from the ocean also settles. I compare by clothes: what I wore in Moscow at a slight minus, here I wear at +10. And late in the evening I'm still cold. I have a theory about this - the same temperature in different climatic conditions feels different. In addition, you always know that even in cold weather you can run to your home, office, car or subway. In Santiago, in all rooms, just like on the street, you don’t take off your coat in a restaurant.
Smog
in winter geographical location Santiago, a city surrounded by mountains, leads to smog, which can become a real problem in the absence of rain. Last year, which turned out to be particularly dry, there was no rain, and for several weeks the city was suffocated in a shroud of smog. Restrictions are often imposed on the circulation of cars around the city based on license plates (cars with license plates 2 are not allowed on Monday, cars with license plates 5 on Wednesday, etc.). When mentioning moving to Chile and a long summer, they rarely talk about such a “bonus”.
The Great and Terrible Chilean Earthquakes
When I talk about life in Chile, almost always the first thing people ask about earthquakes is how is it shaking? Shaking. And quite often. Just last week there was a shock with a magnitude of 6.5, to be honest, I slept through it, and, as usual, I learned about it only in the morning from the news (for comparison, a shock of the same magnitude a couple of days ago in Japan caused a disaster, and 7.5 and completely destroyed Nepal last year). If you want to live in an earthquake-resistant country with peace of mind, then Chile is for you. Earthquakes of even large magnitude are felt here as a second vibration, as if a subway car passed underground. No objects falling from shelves or giant cracks in the roads like in disaster movies.
All buildings in Chile are built to strict earthquake resistance standards, perhaps this is one of the secrets of such prosperity. Any Chilean will tell you that walls must be flexible and move in time with the vibrations of the earth.
But the most interesting thing is the reaction of the Chileans themselves to the earthquakes - they love to flaunt the fact that they did not even notice the shock, or, if they did notice, then “they continued to drink as they drank.”
Wine
By the way, about the last one. Chileans drink quite a lot. Of course, red Chilean wine. Most often, the choice falls on Cabernet Sauvignon, less often Merlot (from white - Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc). At any holiday, you barely have time to notice how bottles of dry red replace each other. Chile has a real cult of nationally produced wine, and this has to be taken into account. I can now even drink two glasses of wine in an evening, which was completely impossible before, and I have become much better at understanding wines. The benefits are obvious!
The most stable country in Latin America
Chile has the reputation of being the “Switzerland of South America,” which is, of course, funny, but partly true. Although the economy has slowed down, in comparison with most of its neighbors on the continent, Chile does differ in a number of indicators:
– low crime rate (no kidnappings or other passions, more and more annoying little things, like theft of bags and phones);
Low corruption (if you try to bribe an inspector, you will be imprisoned and deprived of your rights, no options);
More stability (this is why there are many emigrants in Chile from neighboring South American countries like Argentina, Peru and Colombia).
Moving to Chile also means encountering high prices, sometimes higher than European prices. I'm not kidding: prices in supermarkets and stores for many goods differ little from Russian prices, and many are even more expensive. It's good that in Chile most food products are nationally produced, from vegetables to cheeses. By the way, a Chilean will always patriotically prefer his own, native. Except for meat. Beef of national origin is noticeably more expensive than equally high-quality counterparts from Paraguay, Argentina or Brazil.
Food in Chile
Food in Chile is a little specific. A great love for soda, which often replaces water, is combined with the habit of consuming huge amounts of white bread, meat, and local flour dishes, such as empanadas or sopapillas. The passion for bread and cola is rivaled only by a tender affection for mayonnaise. Among sweets, the favorite is boiled condensed milk dulce de leche; this product is added to most sweets - from cakes to hastily concocted magdalenkas.
About meat
Barbecue, called asado in Chile, can be called a local religion. At any holiday, meeting of friends at someone’s home, there will always be asado. Chileans consume the most meat per capita, but they never bother – they don’t marinate the meat or prepare sauces for it. So they say: “Good meat has no use for this.” But there is an opportunity to buy all year round vegetables and fruits (except exotic ones) of local production. I always bring amazing local avocados home to Moscow, because you can’t find them there. Plus, Chile is home to a lot of superfoods like chia seeds, so it's easy to stick to balanced nutrition. There would be a desire!
Light breathing or carefree
On birthdays or Christmas, the host of the celebration will never bother with ready meals, the Chilean solves the problem of preparations simply - he goes and buys carrot sticks, semi-finished pies, liters of cola, a mountain of chips and the like. For a Sunday lunch with the family, a Chilean housewife might try a dish like fried fish with rice. Chileans (may they forgive me) rarely cook well, even the mothers and grandmothers of older generations, and even less often set themselves such a task. It is already significant that in the evening families do not have a full dinner; as a rule, it is replaced with an onse afternoon snack, which consists of sandwiches with ham, cheese, or optionally with mayonnaise and avocado. By the way, small Chilean Hass avocados, the color of ripe eggplant, are already a good reason to think about moving to Chile.
Pedestrians cross roads without even looking from side to side, cyclists calmly occupy a lane of an already narrow roadway when there is a bicycle path nearby - because in the country the first and second are given absolute priority at the legislative and social level over poor motorists, it sits in the back of their minds.
Chileans are generally about slow life. They are not in a hurry, talk about the same thing for a long time, chronically forget what they promised, do not leave the house on weekends, since it is a family day, and if they come to visit, they stay until dawn until they chat to their hearts’ content.
In speech and even advertising slogans, the verb disfrutar (Spanish: enjoy) is often used. All you hear is - enjoy the trip, the tea, the time spent, or whatever. A small nuance, but it seems very eloquent to me.
Social hierarchy
Chile also has a very strong hierarchical structure of society. There is even an official division of people into social classes by letter. Here it is customary to close yourself off in your own circles, and cases of “I made myself” are quite rare, since almost everything is determined from childhood - what area did you grow up in, what kind of school, and then you go to college, this will be your circle of friends and career. And the whole system in Chile is built so that a person is born and lives in the same social class. For example, the second question a Chilean asks when meeting is traditionally about “what area do you live in and what university did you go to,” although for obvious reasons this is not always asked of foreigners.
Moving to Chile was a shock for me in this regard, that in society there is a conditional division according to external signs(color of skin, hair, etc.) among the citizens of the country themselves. No one talks about this out loud, but it is very clearly visible. They say that in other Latin American countries everything is much worse in this matter - yet in Chile there is a huge percentage of the population with European roots, second only to Argentina.
Communal
Moving to Chile also has its financial pitfalls. If you live in a modern high-rise building, then an avalanche of utility bills goes to pay general bills aimed at maintaining the house - from cleaning the pool to the salaries of the concierge. This also includes the obligatory gym, swimming pool and parking in the houses. But the house is always clean, and it is difficult for outsiders to get into the house due to the fence and strict concierges, who perform not a decorative function at all, which was a novelty at first.
Medical insurance
I used to always wonder why Americans are so fussy about their health insurance? In Chile the situation has become clearer. If you don't have health insurance, your access to medicine is zero. The employee chooses where contributions are made to public insurance Fonasa or private insurance Isapre. I will not dwell on this in detail; the topic of medicine deserves a separate article.
Examples
The reason for its presence is that if you are hospitalized in a private clinic without health insurance, the bill will be huge. According to our tariff, medical insurance fully covers only hospitalization (except for medicines and instruments) and 70% of the cost of consultations. Therefore, in addition to the average 200-300 dollars a month for insurance, each time you have to pay most of the cost of any consultation (for me it comes out to about 7,000 pesos), images, tests. Some procedures are not covered by insurance at all. In general, everything needs to be clarified individually and carefully read the text of the agreement, where there are always many pitfalls. The few public clinics have unrealistic queues and appointments for six months and even a year in advance (!), and besides, they are mostly visited by the poorest segments of the population, who simply have no other choice.
About the advantages of moving in general
The main change that can happen after emigrating to another country is the expansion of the boundaries of one’s worldview. It sounds terribly pretentious, but that’s exactly what it is. Every day tests you for adherence to the usual foundations. There is an opportunity to look from the outside at all the usual stereotypes, habits and prejudices with which you grew up; weed out the unnecessary and leave the useful. At the same time, you stop judging the habits and foundations of another country. Largely because you begin to understand that much is explained not by the harmfulness of the locals, but by a different environment and culture.
Ceremony
Moving to Chile made me more tolerant of otherness, but my rejection of some details remained. I still don't like the complete inability of the Chileans to say no, especially in business matters. They will evade and ignore, but will never say a polite and reasoned “no, it doesn’t suit us.” They won’t think about the fact that you are wasting your time and nerves. Over time, it became clear that Chileans are very afraid of appearing impolite and rude - refusing something is directly equated with bad manners. According to the logic of the locals, it is better to ignore you in the hope that they will understand everything anyway.
Life in the area
A pleasant plus of living in Santiago for me was the very concept of barrio life. This is when you leave the house and wander between neat houses with cozy gardens. In some areas, high-rise buildings are replacing houses, but never completely. New small cafes, tiny yoga studios, shops are constantly opening in Santiago, all this pleases the eye and breathes life into the city. Around one corner, Germans bake bread, around another corner, Brazilians sell acai. I made a huge number of foreign acquaintances – both Latin Americans and Europeans. This is a world-sized plus that I appreciate about moving to Chile. In Moscow, I didn’t even notice how few foreigners live here (if you don’t take into account the CIS countries).
Geography of the country
One of the huge, universal benefits of living in Santiago, and in Chile in general, is the proximity of the mountains and the ocean. But if the ocean only teases, since it is very cold, then with the mountains everything is different. You can wake up on Saturday and within half an hour you’ll be climbing another hill, the local passion for trekking is exciting. Or go to one of the many national parks in the south for a weekend camping trip. By the way, to see fabulous nature, you don’t have to go to Patagonia or the Atacama Desert. At a distance, the choice is already huge.
I have a great desire to travel around Chile as much as possible. Partly because the love for national tourism in this country is also contagious. I started going to the mountains and practicing. The Andes are the opposite, so moving to Chile literally obliges you to engage in outdoor activities. Every weekend I try to go to a new place for myself - it has become a kind of gambling hobby.
And I would be happy to write letters to you,
Our reader Asya Zemlyanskaya writes: @parabailarlabam: I lived in Chile for a year and wrote 50 facts about this Latin American country for Faktrum.
1. Chileans are very loving and always kiss each other on the cheek when meeting and goodbye, sometimes several times. Even if the conversation lasted 2 minutes. They will kiss you regardless of your gender, age or social status.
2. There are many possibilities as to where the name of the country of Chile comes from. Even the Chileans themselves cannot choose one generally accepted version. According to one theory, the name comes from the language of the Aymara tribe that inhabited the country and means “the place where the earth ends” (which is quite logical). In another way - in the Quechua language - “cold” or “cold”. But certainly not because of its shape - chili pepper - as many people think.
3. In Chile there is nothing wrong with sitting on the ground/floor anywhere.
4. It is also quite normal to enter the house without taking off your shoes, even if there is a storm, thunderstorm and hurricane outside, and your shoes are wet and dirty.
5. Chileans are great patriots. Their main holiday is Homeland Day (Fiestas Patrias), which is celebrated on September 18 and usually lasts for a week. On this day, it is customary to drink young grape wine (chicha) from a bull's horn, eat traditional pies - empanadas, go to stadiums to “admire” the rodeo and dance the national dance - cueca.
6. September 18 is the only day of the year when the authorities officially allow drinking in public places, which is why it is better not to appear there.
7. Another day is associated with this day interesting fact. According to the official law, on September 18, all buildings must have state flag. No flag - pay a fine. Enterprising Chileans hang flags from windows, hang them on cars, and sometimes even decorate their pets with state colors (we’ve seen this happen).
8. The population is very religious, 70% are Catholics. Therefore, there are even more religious holidays than secular ones. And everyone rests on them.
9. On weekends, Chilean cities die out: many shops are closed, even stalls with newspapers and cigarettes.
10. Chile's territory is 24 times smaller than Russia. And the population of this country is approximately equal to the population of Moscow and the region.
11. The favorite food of young and not so young Chileans is “Completos” - unique hot dogs of incredible sizes, which, in addition to traditional bread and sausage, include diced tomatoes, avocado sauce and mayonnaise. If desired, you can add mustard. The locals are very proud of their dish, and God forbid I tell you that this is an ordinary hotdog - oh no, this is Completo.
12. In general, avocado (which in the Chilean dialect is not called aguacate, as in other Latin American countries, but palta) is a special guest in their daily diet. There is almost always a small clay glass on the table with grated avocado of a suspiciously green color, and they spread it on everything. To prevent the avocado from losing its color and darkening, a drop of milk is added to it (but this is the secret of Chilean housewives).
13. In Chile, as throughout Latin America, there is an unimaginable cult of meat and football.
14. It must be said that the majority of the population is overweight. This is especially noticeable among people with low incomes. Completos, French fries, and meat in huge quantities healthy eating you certainly can’t name it. And they usually wash it all down with Coca-Cola or Sprite.
15. Chileans consider themselves the “Country of Poets” and are very offended if their beloved Pablo Neruda, Gabriela Mistral, Nicanor Parra, etc. are not well known abroad. But this is mainly the older generation.
16. By the way, the Chilean poetess and laureate Nobel Prize according to literature, Gabriela Mistral is even depicted on the 5,000-peso bill. This is how they honor their poets.
17. The younger generation hardly reads. And no wonder: books in Chile are very, very expensive (they can charge more than 500 wooden ones for a paperback brochure).
18. In the “Land of Poets” literature is not taught at school. Instead - the subject “Language and Communication”. Also required in high school are subjects such as religion, philosophy, and art (music or drawing by choice). They draw and sing, I must say, right up to graduation.
19. Chilean schools have 12 grades, and you can repeat a year as many times as you like. Therefore, sometimes they finish school at 19–20 years old.
20. The maximum score is 7, and in their analogue of our Unified State Exam in mathematics there are the most banal problems on adding and subtracting fractions (this despite the fact that our graduates have to puff over trigonometry, etc.)
21. Education in Chile is frankly weak and at the same time the most expensive in Latin America. There is no budgetary admission to universities, which constantly provokes student riots. For example, this summer students demonstrated their right to study for free with banners on the streets, which made the government quite worried.
22. Various rallies and protests are commonplace. Today students are on strike, tomorrow workers are on strike, and the day after tomorrow Mapuche Indians will block the city center demanding independence (they have been demanding it for 200 years, and everything is useless).
23. The Mapuche (or Araucan) Indians are the only people of Latin America that were not conquered by either the Incas or the Spaniards.
24. Their language, Mapudungun, has no written language. True, now in souvenir markets you can find improvised “dictionaries” and phrase books from the Indian language into Spanish or English, but hardly anyone buys them.
25. Araucaria is the main tree and symbol of the south of Chile. Araucaria seeds - piñones - are fried and eaten; they taste similar to chestnuts. They also make all sorts of decorations.
26. Chileans are generally quite poor at foreign languages. A translator from English is a rare and highly paid profession. “Why learn languages,” they say, “if all the countries around you speak Spanish, and the USA is far away?”
2 7. Their families are traditionally large. Having 5–6 children in a family is the norm, but an only child is a huge rarity. The advantage of this for the Chileans themselves is that you can travel around the country without spending money on hotels - there are relatives everywhere with whom you can stay.
28. Most Chileans live in houses rather than apartments. The houses do not have central heating, and the main thing in winter around which the family gathers is the fireplace.
29. Having a housekeeper and/or nanny in Chile is the lot of not only the rich, but also people of the middle class, and sometimes even lower than middle class. Big houses need to be cleaned and five children need to be looked after. Most often, Indian or Peruvian/Bolivian women - local guest workers - go to work as housekeepers.
30. Chile is the only country in Latin America without venomous snakes. .
31. But penguins live there. Yes, yes, in the south of Chile you can see penguins and fur seals.
32. Chile claims most of Antarctica and even considers it its region. The population of the province of Chilean Antarctica in winter is 80 people.
33. Paradoxically, in this small country, in addition to the ice of the Antarctic, there is also the driest desert in the world - the Atacama.
34. Sometimes the Atacama blooms in the literal sense of the word - after the rarest rains, the desert is covered with flowers and attracts many tourists.
Atacama 35. However, in normal dry times, the Atacama landscape resembles that of the moon - it is home to the world's largest observatory (Las Campanas), and also tests lunar and Mars rovers.
36. Chile is generally considered a zone of paranormal activity and is one of the ten “most visited countries by aliens” and other unidentified objects.
37. Robinson Crusoe Island really exists - it is part of the Juan Fernandez archipelago and belongs to Chile. It was the story of the Scottish navigator Alexander Selkirk, who lived alone on an island for 4 years and 4 months, that Daniel Defoe took as the basis for his novel Robinson Crusoe.
38. Another famous Chilean island, Easter Island, is considered the most isolated inhabited place on Earth. There is only one airport and one marina for ships.
39. The main income of the Rapa Nui people - the inhabitants of Easter Island - is tourism. True, prices for air tickets, hotels and excursions are, frankly speaking, somewhat exorbitant. But if you have the opportunity, go, you won’t regret it.
40. A unique Chilean delicacy is palm honey. The taste is nothing special, but the locals are very proud of it. It is made from the sap of the Chilean palm tree.
41. Chile also has amazingly delicious ice cream (I don’t know what this is connected with). Its advantage is a huge number of different tastes and gigantic portions. A common sight in the summer is Chileans sitting in flocks on their lawns eating ice cream.
42. Films in cinemas are shown in their original language with Spanish subtitles. The exception is children's cartoons.
43. They have no stray cats at all, but a lot of stray dogs.
44. Many Chileans still believe that Russia is under communism. They don’t know at all about the stereotype about the “bear walking the streets,” but permafrost and vodka - recognizable features our Motherland in their eyes.
45. Chileans are also very fond of the so-called “Russian Circus”. A couple of years ago, a Mexican troupe arrived with a couple of gymnasts from former countries Soviet Union The locals were so amazed that people who have absolutely nothing in common with Russians and the circus are touring under the “Russian Circus” trend. It's sad, but everything is underway.
46. Chile has its own “gopniks” - Flaite. But, in my opinion, they are more dangerous and antisocial than ours - so it’s better not to walk alone in the evening (despite the fact that Chile is one of the safest countries in South America).
47. National alcoholic drink Chileans - Pisco grape vodka. Although its origin is rather dubious and is attributed to Peru, the Chileans revere it as their national one. And this is another stumbling block between the two countries.
48. Chileans love Chinese cuisine, but Japanese cuisine, on the contrary, is not particularly popular among them.
49. The country is periodically shaken. The Great Chilean earthquake of 1960 was the strongest in the entire history of observations, and what happened in February 2010 shortened the time of the earth's day by microseconds and shifted the earth's axis, which is also not weak.
50. Not all Chileans are typical dark-skinned Latinos. In the south, again, you can meet the descendants of the Germans, British, etc. - blue-eyed, blond-haired Chileans. True, the further north you go, towards the border with Peru and Bolivia, the less chance you have of seeing them.
Maxim Bocharov once set out to travel around the world. But when he reached Chile, he decided to settle there. We learned from him how free the broad Slavic soul is in the Latin American desert.
Our guest today once set out to travel around the world. But having reached Chile, he decided to settle there. We learned from him how free the broad Slavic soul is in the Latin American desert.
Tell us briefly about yourself: what is your name, how old are you, how long have you been in Chile?
I'm Maxim, I'm 30 years old. For the last 3 years I have been living and working in Chile, namely in the driest and most beautiful desert in the world - Atacama.
How did it even occur to you to come to live in Chile? Why this country?
In fact, I didn’t expect to live in Chile, I didn’t even think about it while I was at home. I lived in Ukraine, in the small but famous and quiet city of Poltava. I always dreamed of traveling, dreamed of visiting all the countries of the world, but, like many, I put it all off until later, when the money became available. But then, after working (as part of a university internship) in Denmark and traveling a little around Europe, I realized: you don’t have to have a lot of money to get to know new countries.
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After returning to my homeland, I began to feel sad: I wanted new adventures, to discover new countries. And then my project was born trip around the world. There was little money (1000 USD), but I was determined to go. Traveled through part of Europe, Central America and ended up in South America. All this took 2.5 years. All the time I had to look for ways to earn money. I sold pancakes on the street in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic), worked as a freelance copywriter on the Internet, and even volunteered at a hostel in Cusco (Peru), where I spent 6 months. During this time I earned some money, which gave me the opportunity to take a short trip around Bolivia, from where I ended up in Chile. My first stop was the village of San Pedro de Atacama, where I managed to find a job very quickly: first I was a tour salesman in the office of one of the agencies, and then I learned some training and became a guide. So I still live in San Pedro.
Difficulties in adaptation
What difficulties did you encounter as soon as you arrived in Chile? What seemed strange/unusual?
The first difficulty I encountered was the Chilean dialect, which is full of words that only locals use. Even people from neighboring Spanish-speaking countries do not understand them. In addition, Chileans speak very quickly. The lifestyle preferred by the residents of San Pedro also seemed unusual. Example: a house is built of chipboard or, at best, Adobe (brick made from ordinary mud and straw) and looks like a barn, and near this house there is a huge latest model jeep with a 5.6 liter engine.
What struck you about Chile compared to Europe?
Chile and Europe have very little in common, especially if you look at the northern part of the country, where I live. For example, there are a lot of stray dogs here, fortunately the vast majority of them are kind and usually well-fed, as they eat near restaurants.
What are you doing in Chile? How did you get a work permit?
On this moment I work as a tour guide for Spanish- and English-speaking tourists. I also organize private tours for speakers of Russian and Ukrainian. I believe that you can learn all the subtleties of Atacama only by listening in your native language, understanding every word, every expression and intonation. Therefore, I am constantly looking for new interesting little things to tell our tourists about and make their vacation unforgettable.
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In your opinion, is it more expensive or cheaper to live in Chile than at home?
In Chile, and especially in San Pedro, living is much more expensive than at home: if you compare prices here and in my native Poltava, then in Atacama they are two, three, and sometimes four times higher.
More revelations:
- Russian woman's story about life in Istanbul;
- To whom in Barcelona;
- Candid story about life in Thailand;
- “Prague is not for party people”: .
“Chileans have innate kleptomania”
Are there many Russian speakers in Chile? What kind of people move there and what do they do?
There are quite a lot of Russian speakers in Chile. In every large or relatively big city you will find several people from post-Soviet countries. The vast majority of Russian speakers in Chile are female: the girls found their love here, overseas. But there are also those who moved for other reasons: for example, because of the unsatisfactory situation in their home countries.
Do only rich Russian-speaking tourists come to Chile? Are there many of them?
Not only that, there are hitchhikers, people who bought group tours. But the cost of air tickets from Europe here is high, so most tourists visiting Chile have average or above average income.
Is Chile a dangerous country? What troubles can a tourist encounter?
IN different parts Chile has different levels of danger. For example, in San Pedro, robbery on the street is very rare, but in Valparaiso (100 km from Santiago) it is common. But the main advice I give to all our tourists is to never leave things unattended: Chileans seem to have an innate kleptomania, they grab everything that is “wrong”.
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Chile is a very elongated country. Is it possible to quickly move between locations here?
Yes, Chile is the widest country in the world. And, as I said earlier, you can quickly move here by plane. There are three domestic airlines here: LATAM (lots of flights, but prices are not the lowest), JetSmart (low prices and the newest planes), Sky Airline (usually the lowest prices).
“Chilean women are not as demanding as Slavic women”
What should you definitely try when you come to Chile?
Chile does not have such a rich cuisine as ours, but there are many dishes that will be interesting to appreciate. I would advise every tourist to try Pastel de choclo (meat, corn, onions baked in the oven) - the most Chilean dish you can imagine. Empanada de Pino (baked pies in the shape of our cheburek stuffed with meat, onions, eggs and olives. Be careful: usually the pits are not removed from olives). Pebre (tomatoes, onions, peppers and cilantro. Placed on bread before eating. Served while you are waiting for your order at the restaurant).
Homesickness is familiar to every person living abroad. There is a lot missing here: for example, salted herring, buckwheat, etc. I, of course, miss home, but I fly there every year. I think it is quite possible that I will return home someday, but not in the near future, because I have projects that I want to implement here in Chile.
Our reader Asya Zemlyanskaya writes: @parabailarlabam: I lived in Chile for a year and wrote 50 facts about this Latin American country for Faktrum.
1. Chileans are very loving and always kiss each other on the cheek when meeting and goodbye, sometimes several times. Even if the conversation lasted 2 minutes. They will kiss you regardless of your gender, age or social status.
2. There are many possibilities as to where the name of the country of Chile comes from. Even the Chileans themselves cannot choose one generally accepted version. According to one theory, the name comes from the language of the Aymara tribe that inhabited the country and means “the place where the earth ends” (which is quite logical). In another way - in the Quechua language - “cold” or “cold”. But certainly not because of its shape - chili pepper - as many people think.
3. In Chile there is nothing wrong with sitting on the ground/floor anywhere.
4. It is also quite normal to enter the house without taking off your shoes, even if there is a storm, thunderstorm and hurricane outside, and your shoes are wet and dirty.
5. Chileans are great patriots. Their main holiday is Homeland Day (Fiestas Patrias), which is celebrated on September 18 and usually lasts for a week. On this day, it is customary to drink young grape wine (chicha) from a bull's horn, eat traditional pies - empanadas, go to stadiums to “admire” the rodeo and dance the national dance - cueca.
6. September 18 is the only day of the year when the authorities officially allow drinking in public places, which is why it is better not to appear there.
7. Another interesting fact is connected with this day. According to the official law, on September 18, all buildings must display the national flag. No flag - pay a fine. Enterprising Chileans hang flags from windows, hang them on cars, and sometimes even decorate their pets with state colors (we’ve seen this happen).
8. The population is very religious, 70% are Catholics. Therefore, there are even more religious holidays than secular ones. And everyone rests on them.
9. On weekends, Chilean cities die out: many shops are closed, even stalls with newspapers and cigarettes.
10. Chile's territory is 24 times smaller than Russia. And the population of this country is approximately equal to the population of Moscow and the region.
11. The favorite food of young and not so young Chileans is “Completos” - unique hot dogs of incredible sizes, which, in addition to traditional bread and sausage, include diced tomatoes, avocado sauce and mayonnaise. If desired, you can add mustard. The locals are very proud of their dish, and God forbid I tell you that this is an ordinary hotdog - oh no, this is Completo.
12. In general, avocado (which in the Chilean dialect is not called aguacate, as in other Latin American countries, but palta) is a special guest in their daily diet. There is almost always a small clay glass on the table with grated avocado of a suspiciously green color, and they spread it on everything. To prevent the avocado from losing its color and darkening, a drop of milk is added to it (but this is the secret of Chilean housewives).
13. In Chile, as throughout Latin America, there is an unimaginable cult of meat and football.
14. It must be said that the majority of the population is overweight. This is especially noticeable among people with low incomes. Completos, French fries, and meat in huge quantities certainly cannot be called healthy food. And they usually wash it all down with Coca-Cola or Sprite.
15. Chileans consider themselves the “Country of Poets” and are very offended if their beloved Pablo Neruda, Gabriela Mistral, Nicanor Parra, etc. are not well known abroad. But this is mainly the older generation.
16. By the way, the Chilean poet and Nobel Prize winner in literature Gabriela Mistral is even depicted on the 5,000-peso bill. This is how they honor their poets.
17. The younger generation hardly reads. And no wonder: books in Chile are very, very expensive (they can charge more than 500 wooden ones for a paperback brochure).
18. In the “Land of Poets” literature is not taught at school. Instead - the subject “Language and Communication”. Also required in high school are subjects such as religion, philosophy, and art (music or drawing by choice). They draw and sing, I must say, right up to graduation.
19. Chilean schools have 12 grades, and you can repeat a year as many times as you like. Therefore, sometimes they finish school at 19–20 years old.
20. The maximum score is 7, and in their analogue of our Unified State Exam in mathematics there are the most banal problems on adding and subtracting fractions (this despite the fact that our graduates have to puff over trigonometry, etc.)
21. Education in Chile is frankly weak and at the same time the most expensive in Latin America. There is no budgetary admission to universities, which constantly provokes student riots. For example, this summer students demonstrated their right to study for free with banners on the streets, which made the government quite worried.
22. Various rallies and protests are commonplace. Today students are on strike, tomorrow workers are on strike, and the day after tomorrow Mapuche Indians will block the city center demanding independence (they have been demanding it for 200 years, and everything is useless).
23. The Mapuche (or Araucan) Indians are the only people of Latin America that were not conquered by either the Incas or the Spaniards.
24. Their language, Mapudungun, has no written language. True, now in souvenir markets you can find improvised “dictionaries” and phrase books from the Indian language into Spanish or English, but hardly anyone buys them.
25. Araucaria is the main tree and symbol of the south of Chile. Araucaria seeds - piñones - are fried and eaten; they taste similar to chestnuts. They also make all sorts of decorations.
26. Chileans generally have a fairly poor command of foreign languages. A translator from English is a rare and highly paid profession. “Why learn languages,” they say, “if all the countries around you speak Spanish, and the USA is far away?”
2 7. Their families are traditionally large. Having 5–6 children in a family is the norm, but an only child is a huge rarity. The advantage of this for the Chileans themselves is that you can travel around the country without spending money on hotels - there are relatives everywhere with whom you can stay.
28. Most Chileans live in houses rather than apartments. The houses do not have central heating, and the main thing in winter around which the family gathers is the fireplace.
29. Having a housekeeper and/or nanny in Chile is the lot of not only the rich, but also people of the middle class, and sometimes even lower than middle class. Big houses need to be cleaned and five children need to be looked after. Most often, Indian or Peruvian/Bolivian women - local guest workers - go to work as housekeepers.
30. Chile is the only country in Latin America without venomous snakes. .
31. But penguins live there. Yes, yes, in the south of Chile you can see penguins and fur seals.
32. Chile claims most of Antarctica and even considers it its region. The population of the province of Chilean Antarctica in winter is 80 people.
33. Paradoxically, in this small country, in addition to the ice of the Antarctic, there is also the driest desert in the world - the Atacama.
34. Sometimes the Atacama blooms in the literal sense of the word - after the rarest rains, the desert is covered with flowers and attracts many tourists.
Atacama 35. However, in normal dry times, the Atacama landscape resembles that of the moon - it is home to the world's largest observatory (Las Campanas), and also tests lunar and Mars rovers.
36. Chile is generally considered a zone of paranormal activity and is one of the ten “most visited countries by aliens” and other unidentified objects.
37. Robinson Crusoe Island really exists - it is part of the Juan Fernandez archipelago and belongs to Chile. It was the story of the Scottish navigator Alexander Selkirk, who lived alone on an island for 4 years and 4 months, that Daniel Defoe took as the basis for his novel Robinson Crusoe.
38. Another famous Chilean island, Easter Island, is considered the most isolated inhabited place on Earth. There is only one airport and one marina for ships.
39. The main income of the Rapa Nui people - the inhabitants of Easter Island - is tourism. True, prices for air tickets, hotels and excursions are, frankly speaking, somewhat exorbitant. But if you have the opportunity, go, you won’t regret it.
40. A unique Chilean delicacy is palm honey. The taste is nothing special, but the locals are very proud of it. It is made from the sap of the Chilean palm tree.
41. Chile also has amazingly delicious ice cream (I don’t know what this is connected with). Its advantage is a huge number of different tastes and gigantic portions. A common sight in the summer is Chileans sitting in flocks on their lawns eating ice cream.
42. Films in cinemas are shown in their original language with Spanish subtitles. The exception is children's cartoons.
43. They have no stray cats at all, but a lot of stray dogs.
44. Many Chileans still believe that Russia is under communism. They are not at all aware of the stereotype about the “bear walking the streets,” but permafrost and vodka are recognizable features of our Motherland in their eyes.
45. Chileans are also very fond of the so-called “Russian Circus”. A couple of years ago, a visiting Mexican troupe with a couple of gymnasts from the countries of the former Soviet Union amazed the locals so much that people who have absolutely nothing in common with Russians and the circus are touring under the “Russian Circus” trend. It's sad, but everything is underway.
46. Chile has its own “gopniks” - Flaite. But, in my opinion, they are more dangerous and antisocial than ours - so it’s better not to walk alone in the evening (despite the fact that Chile is one of the safest countries in South America).
47. The national alcoholic drink of Chileans is Pisco grape vodka. Although its origin is rather dubious and is attributed to Peru, the Chileans revere it as their national one. And this is another stumbling block between the two countries.
48. Chileans love Chinese cuisine, but Japanese cuisine, on the contrary, is not particularly popular among them.
49. The country is periodically shaken. The Great Chilean earthquake of 1960 was the strongest in the entire history of observations, and what happened in February 2010 shortened the time of the earth's day by microseconds and shifted the earth's axis, which is also not weak.
50. Not all Chileans are typical dark-skinned Latinos. In the south, again, you can meet the descendants of the Germans, British, etc. - blue-eyed, blond-haired Chileans. True, the further north you go, towards the border with Peru and Bolivia, the less chance you have of seeing them.