What industry do you work in? It seems like you travel a lot for work and like finding a job in Chile wasn't really an issue. But clear this last point up if it was, in fact, a struggle.
What is your favorite unique-to-Chile thing? It can be anything food, music, dancing, sport, artwork, thing that everyone is into that doesn't happen in the US or otherwise.
I feel like you've been on MM for a very long time, but maybe I'm wrong? When did you start on The Knot/The Nest?
I started on TK in late 2009 when I was engaged. Moved onto the Etiquette board and just hung out for quite a while, which is where I heard of MM. I started lurking back when we were all on TN and posted maybe like 3 times, but it was after the move to GBCN that I decided to start posting here more.
What industry do you work in? It seems like you travel a lot for work and like finding a job in Chile wasn't really an issue. But clear this last point up if it was, in fact, a struggle.
My industry is relatively small, and I am kind of paranoid about work/internet stuff, so no specifics, sorry. I work in long-term sales though, which means I have to go see my clients usually about once a quarter to check in and remind them of how fabulous my products/services are. My territories are Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay (haven't been there yet but soon) and Colombia. My bosses are based in NY and Moscow, plus there are industry conferences in random places, hence travel outside my region. I've been in this job for a year and love it.
I used to work for a start-up and then worked for a big multi-national professional services company. Both of those jobs I basically got because I speak fluent English as well as almost perfect Spanish. Finding a job wasn't particularly hard, but I definitely have been lucky as well in terms of finding opportunities at the right times for me.
How long have you lived in Chlie? Did you meet your DH there? What is the thing you miss most from the states?
I lived here for 6 months on study abroad in 2005 which is where I met H. We had a class together. I have lived here full-time since Sept. 2007.
I miss different things depending on the day. Lots of food things Sometimes cultural things like customer service being better there, although it's improving here. Family/friends, obviously, but I go back at least once a year and see my dad and his wife usually twice a year (3x this year), so that's not tooooo bad considering the distances involved.
What is your favorite unique-to-Chile thing? It can be anything food, music, dancing, sport, artwork, thing that everyone is into that doesn't happen in the US or otherwise.
This is a really good and really hard question!
Possibly the independence day celebrations, which we just had. Sept. 18 and 19 are holidays, but the whole week surrounding them is always festive. There are these kind of festivals/fairs called "fondas" where you can find typical food and drink (empanadas, lots of meat, this strong white wine/pineapple ice cream/grenadine drink called an earthquake), and everyone is just in a good mood and out and about enjoying Chile. It's like the 4th of July on steroids, plus it's usually the beginning of spring, so life feels great.
ETA: I got distracted by explaining food and drink and forgot to say they also have traditional music/dancing, crafts, circuses, farm animals, traditional games (like horseshoes/cornhole type games) and the bigger ones have rodeo and other shows ranging from parachuting military members to sheepdogs. niq tagging you so you see this
So you moved to Chili permanently to be with your husband, who is Chilean? Did you do long-distance for awhile? Were you engaged when you moved? What does he do? Do you think you'll ever move back to the states?
What kind of dog do you have? Can we see a picture
Yes you definitely can!
Current look with long winter hair:
Summertime shaved look:
Lola is mostly Cocker Spaniel, maybe some poodle. She was on the street - there are a lot of street dogs here - and jumped on H's lap when we were waiting for a bus one night. She is about 6 and is a perfect angel dog.
(1) are you from Chile originally (2) if not, what made you want to move there (3) what do you love most about where you live?
1. No. I am English (dad) and American (mom) and primarily grew up in California after living in England for 4 years. 2. I studied here because I wanted to perfect my Spanish (this is kind of hysterical if you've ever heard the distinct Chilean accent or unique slang, but oh well). Being from CA, Mexico City sounded too close, and being a poli sci major Costa Rica sounded boring, so Chile won out of the programs my college had in Latin America. I moved back because I met H while studying here and wanted to be with him. 3. My neighborhood is very residential - the minimarket down the street spots me if I go out without enough cash, I see the same dog owners, there are trees and people on bicycles and all that jazz - but it's also 10 minutes from bars and restaurants and 20 minutes from the airport. It's the perfect mix.
How many days a year are you on the road for business? For personal travel?
How many miles do you fly each year?
What are your favorite traveling accessories/creature comforts? (I'm beginning to work on my Christmas list, at my sister's insistence)
What is your least favorite thing about MM?
1. I don't know! Since I started my job a year ago, the answer is much higher. So far it's been I think 42 days for personal travel, which includes extra days tacked onto business trips like NY and Moscow where I saw friends. Business looks like 26 days. A lot of my trips are just a day or two.
2. Again, more this year. So far I'm at about 80,000 between two alliances. I have no idea what the final tally will be.
3. Bose headphones, but I know you have those. Travel-sized lotion. Sweaters that are super soft and not too bulky but will still keep you warm or act as a pillow. My universal adapter. My carry-on - happens to be Briggs & Riley but I just like that the pockets make sense to me, it's light, and it's a nice color.
4. Hmm, I don't know. Some of the more detailed finance posts are not interesting to me just because I don't know anything about adult life in the US - taxes? mortgages? what? - but I realize that is the actual point of the board and so obviously don't mind them!
So you moved to Chili permanently to be with your husband, who is Chilean? Did you do long-distance for awhile? Were you engaged when you moved? What does he do? Do you think you'll ever move back to the states?
1. Yes. 2. Yes. In almost 2 years we saw each other a total of about 3 months. There was a lot of Skype. The old fashioned kind with no video! 3. Nope. I was fresh out of college and knew I loved him and would be fine living in Santiago (and could go home if it all went wrong), so I moved. Getting a work visa here is pretty easy, whereas the same would not have been true for him in the US, plus he was finishing college still. 4. He walks and trains dogs. It is really random, but he loves it, and I'm proud of him for developing a part time job into a serious business. 5. Yes. We were actually planning to move at the beginning of this year, and then I switched jobs. Current plans would lean toward early 2015, but we'll see. We both are very happy in Santiago but curious to see what CA would be like and would rather give it a try than potentially regret not doing so later.
Can you tell us very generally what kind of industry you work in? i.e., Tech, Financial Services, etc.? Feel free to ignore of course, I'm just really curious.
Did you learn Spanish as a second language or did you grow up with it?
1. Full answer in the post above this, short answer is no.
2. Ahh, there is really no way to talk about it generally. I'm sorry!
3. Second language. I took French in high school and switched to Spanish in college. Both of my parents worked in Latin America and spoke French, Spanish and Portuguese though, so I think a lot of my accent and ease with language comes from hearing words as a kid even though I didn't understand them.
mofongo since your comment is short I'm including it here: Lola is 12 kilos, so she would have to be a toy Golden I usually think toy Irish Setter myself, but Golden works!
Post by bunnysmom on Sept 26, 2013 15:09:52 GMT -5
What do you think are the pros/cons of Santiago vs other Latam cities?
Just this morning I had sent you a pm to say hi, so hi again and I hope that you have a great weekend! (those in the US can be jealous of us that we have a beautiful spring weather! )
Do you feel like there is a lot of extra "strain" on your marriage due to the different cultures? Not so much the customs, but the fact that you moved thousands of miles from home and gave up everything you knew to be with him?
Studying abroad and dating locals seems to be the thing to do among my circle of friends. It seems like in most of them, there's some resentment from the person who is currently "giving up" the most.
What do you think are the pros/cons of Santiago vs other Latam cities?
Just this morning I had sent you a pm to say hi, so hi again and I hope that you have a great weekend! (those in the US can be jealous of us that we have a beautiful spring weather! )
Santiago is safe, things more or less work and get done in reasonable timeframes, the economy is good, and we have more and more international products and restaurants.
The main con that affects me is the smog in the winter being awful. The other cons for tourists are that it doesn't have as much for visitors to do, and it doesn't have as much of an outgoing "Latin" feel. We have some really good restaurants now, but Chilean food is still not as exciting as Peruvian anything, Argentine/Uruguayan steak or Brazilian juices.
And hi! I saw your PM but obviously hadn't replied yet. Hoping to make it to BA in the next couple weeks, so I'll keep you posted.
Do you feel like there is a lot of extra "strain" on your marriage due to the different cultures? Not so much the customs, but the fact that you moved thousands of miles from home and gave up everything you knew to be with him?
Studying abroad and dating locals seems to be the thing to do among my circle of friends. It seems like in most of them, there's some resentment from the person who is currently "giving up" the most.
Not really, but I know plenty of people who've been in that situation for different reasons. I moved here under the premise that if I couldn't find a job that sounded interesting, I'd go back to the US. I know so many people who are English teachers just because it's easy employment, but they hate it, and I would have hated it. My H is also willing and able to move to the US at some point - friends who've married men with children here who obviously won't move thousands of miles from those kids in the near future have struggled with that. Plus I like Santiago. My opinion would be different if I hated it or if I lived in some random town in the middle of nowhere. Rural Chile is gorgeous, but I have NO desire to live there.
We did have some cultural differences at the beginning, but 8 years in we've got it more or less figured out
What do you think are the pros/cons of Santiago vs other Latam cities?
Just this morning I had sent you a pm to say hi, so hi again and I hope that you have a great weekend! (those in the US can be jealous of us that we have a beautiful spring weather! )
Santiago is safe, things more or less work and get done in reasonable timeframes, the economy is good, and we have more and more international products and restaurants.
The main con that affects me is the smog in the winter being awful. The other cons for tourists are that it doesn't have as much for visitors to do, and it doesn't have as much of an outgoing "Latin" feel. We have some really good restaurants now, but Chilean food is still not as exciting as Peruvian anything, Argentine/Uruguayan steak or Brazilian juices.
And hi! I saw your PM but obviously hadn't replied yet. Hoping to make it to BA in the next couple weeks, so I'll keep you posted.
The positive aspects you're mentioning are the reasons why my H wants us to move there in the future. I'm not so sold yet, so he says he'll take me on vacation to Santiago and once I'm there, I won't want to come back
Post by msmerymac on Sept 26, 2013 16:23:52 GMT -5
You mentioned your parents were multi-lingual and I know your dad is from England originally. What did they do for work? Was your mom from CA?
What is Chile like compared to the US in terms of social and economic stuff? Like, maternity leave, health care, social issues (same-sex relationships, racism, etc)?
Post by emilyinchile on Sept 26, 2013 17:35:26 GMT -5
bunnysmom hello, come visit! Although I think your H is a little crazy acting like it's SO amazing that you won't want to go back to BA, it is certainly a nice place to live. No Christina taking all your money for a start...
msmerymac they worked in different fields, pharmaceutical and investment banking. Just a coincidence that they met during business trips in Latin America. My mom was from CA and the Bay Area specifically.
So, get ready, you asked big questions that need long answers Maternity leave got increased a couple years ago - it's now 6 months off, part of which can be given to the father, and there's an option of doing 3 months off and then some months part-time instead. But it's still such a machista country that I know relatively few men who would consider taking time off.
If you work, 7% of your salary goes to health care. You can choose to pay into the public system or pick a private plan (if it costs more than your 7% you pay the extra). There are public hospitals and doctor's offices that offer services to the poor, and I would rather be poor in Chile than in the US when it comes to getting sick or injured, but it's still a system where you get what you pay for. I would never choose to go to a public hospital. I don't have detailed info anymore, but I did a project in college about how under Pinochet the poorest people actually got some improved social services, many of which had at that time been continued, but anyone above the absolute bottom and below the absolute top got screwed. The middle class has only recovered really since 2000ish.
Mean-spirited and intentional racism is primarily directed toward Peruvian and increasingly Ecuadorian immigrants - the stereotypical "Mexicans taking our jobs" kind of thing we have n the US as these immigrants do lower-paying jobs. There is only now more diversity, so there's a lot of staring at black people, pulling at the corners of eyes to describe an Asian person, etc. Chile is basically an island thanks to the desert in the north, mountains to the east and being at the end of the world, so differences are new.
Socially the country is still VERY conservative. Abortion is 100% illegal. Super publicized case recently about an 11-y-o girl who was raped by her step-father having to keep the baby. Presidential candidate who will probably win for next year is in favor of legalizing in the case of rape, risk to the mother's life and I think fetal inviability though. Not surprisingly, given the Catholic background (meaning poor sex education), there are a lot of teen pregnancies. Divorce was legalized in 2004. There is getting to be more tolerance toward gays, but gay marriage/unions are not on the horizon, and there is still a lot of casual language that would NOT fly among my friends in CA, guys talk about living with their "cousins," and you don't see much homosexual PDA (whereas hetero PDA is on every park bench). Last year a gay man was tortured to death, which is obviously horrible, but the one positive is that it was a catalyst for more conversations about the issue.
I kind of beat my head against the wall sometimes with PC stuff, and I am way less PC now. Overall, and making massive generalizations, I feel like the US is more polarized socially between two extremes whereas Chile is kind of in the middle, so I find fewer people who think as much change is as necessary and urgent as I do but also fewer people who have real deep-rooted hatred toward particular groups.
I did a project on one aspect of those who became the missing during the Pinochet junta. I know Chile has changed a lot since he was in power, although I was interested in the social aspects of daily life under his regime, and didn't really get into his social policies.
I have another one. Do you understand how on earth Chilean rodeo is scored? We watched some on our trip, and the same thing by two different rider pairs would get totally different scores.