Chilean Odds and Ends

Speachless

2008-11-05T12:44:00.004-05:00

The events of last night have left me speachless. What an amazing moment in history. My only regret is that I wasn't in the US to experience and celebrate this historical event. I feel like we finally have hope again. Change is coming... change is here. And I couldn't be more excited.

Racism/ Classism in Chile

2008-10-24T10:52:00.003-04:00

I have never done one of these group posts before, but I thought I would give it a shot since this topic interests me. I do have to say that while I understand how Racism and Classism are related, I also think they are two totally separate issues. Mostly because Chile has practically no diversity. And yes, the indigenous people (and Peruvians/Bolivians) end up at the bottom of the totum pole, but thats not what I want to discuss.

Classism is such an integral part of Chilean society. And its so visual. My friends can see someone walking down the street and without ever talking to them they could tell you if they are flaite, or cuico. I also have some friends, as ignorant as they are, who dont like to go below plaza italia because its "too dangerous". Ridiculous.

But I think this very obvious and structured class structure makes it difficult for Chileans. If you are born middle-upper class. You are going to be labled that forever. And that means there are certain jobs you can have and certain jobs you can´t have. For example, this middle-upper class person can never wait tables or wash dishes to make a living. While to me, a gringa, it seems that if you are working thats the respectible thing, its not the same in Chile. You can only have jobs that correspond to your class level. If you are middle-upper class and you take a job as a waiter or waitress, society and your peers will look down on you.

Its hard for me to undertand all of this, since in the US anyone can have any kind of job, and I feel like class is not really an issue. Education defines our social structures instead of class. But here, I feel that for many chileans class is something that limits them and controls them.

Chile vence a Argentina

2008-10-16T14:36:00.001-04:00

Chile-1 Argentina-0

Chilean Financial Crisis?

2008-10-13T11:29:00.002-04:00

So its hard to avoid the financial crisis right now, almost as hard as it is to avoid the elections in the US ( and in Chile!). So of course the topic of the weekend at all the parties was if this was going to affect Chile or not. So I did some reading over the weekend in the local papers and listened to a radio program on the topic. A few months ago everyone predicted there would be little impact on Chile. However, now with the increasing size and global impact of the credit crisis in the US, it seems that Chile will be impacted.

I am not an economist by any means, but from what I understand these could be the possible impacts here in Chile.

1. A weak economy in the US and global economies will result in less exports for Chile.
- Less exports means people will start losing their jobs.
- Unemployment rate is going to go up

2. Retirement funds are going to lose money (Such as AFP funds)
- Many of these funds invested in the US market, which means losses.

3. Luckily Chile has a huge SWF due to Copper. And while the price of copper is down, Chile has almost no public debt and a huge amount of savings, which means it should be able to bounce back from any affects this crisis does have on the economy.

So... in short I think if I had to choose between being in the US or in Chile right now for economic reasons, I would definitley choose Chile.

Can I vote yet?

2008-10-09T11:01:00.004-04:00

I am ready to vote. I am sick of the Obama /McCain, Biden/ Palin media frenzy. Absolutely sick of it. It makes me nautious. And the gringo-fest at Publicity to watch the last debates? My personal nightmare. A room full of gringos and politics in LAS CONDES? All of the above are completely overwhelming to me right now. Take me to an art gallery opening with a bunch of Chileans instead please. Ugh. Its amazing that so many of the things I wanted to escape from the US (gringos and media/politics) are still here. Some things you just cant run away from I guess...

Anyways, enough complaining. I am getting politics out of my life. I know who I am going to vote for, now I just want to get it over with so that something else will be in the news.

The Outsider... yet again

2008-10-07T14:13:00.003-04:00

While its not very surprising that while living in a foreign country, I have felt like an outsider, I have realized it has even come to the point of me being an outsider of my own country.

A few weeks ago I went to this "trendy" party with all of Santiago's A list. Now to me, an A list Chilean Farandula member who has their own teleserie or does whatever might as well be any other person walking down the street. And I really dont care. When I've come across "stars" in the US I've gotten that whole Star sensation, but with these Chilean "stars" I really could care less. Of course, the boyfriend already knows everyone, and makes me go up and talk to his childhood idol, some lady I dont remember the name of. He was so excited and I was soo.... ready to go home. I felt totally out of the loop.

When I talk to my friends in the US music and TV will come up, and of course I have NO idea what they are talking about. I am going to be stuck in 2004 for ever when it comes to US pop culture. To me Greys Anatomy and that Damian Marley CD will be the trendiest things around. But, did you know that there is a new 90210 show? And that the Pussy Cat Dolls make songs that are on the radio? Ya, well I had no idea. And I dont especially care. But, of course, it makes me feel like the outsider back in the US as well.

I will just have to enjoy my own little land somewhere between US 2004 and Chile 2008....

Roberto Matta

2008-09-15T12:15:00.000-04:00

Before this weekend, I was only aware of one Chilean Artist, Alfredo Jaar, who I was exposed to almost two years ago at his Telefonica exhibition. That exhibition was one of the most interactive and powerful exhibits I have ever been to (mind you I am not expert on these matters, and I do not go to that many exhibitions). Below is an example of one of the works:

This week I had the opportunity to go to both the MAVI and Museo de Bellas Artes and I saw Roberto Matta, who is another impressive artist. I am almost embarressed that I have lived in Chile for over two years and had no idea who Matta was. He was born in Chile and in his twenties moved to Paris where he mingled with the likes of Salvador Dalí.

I was very impressed by his art, as well as his sculptures. All of his work seems to emit energy and power. Here are some of his works:

Any of you that are in Santiago should stop by the MAVI and check out the current Matta exhibit!

Surprise, surprise- Unrest in Bolivia

2008-09-12T12:16:00.000-04:00

Not surprisingly, Evo Morales is having problems in Bolivia. Has Bolivia ever not had economic and political problems? This time its with the United States. Most recently, he has told the US Ambassador to Bolivia to leave the country. While I understand very little about this, I do know that the US provides Bolivia with millions of dollars to fight the drugs in the country, mostly cocaine. I do not agree with the production of cocaine, however, I have been to Peru and the north of Chile, and I personally like cocoa tea. Chewing on cocoa leaves got me through the Inka trail up to Macchu Picchu. So part of me understands why the locals are upset. Cocoa leaves are not always used to make cocaine, and the plant is an integral part of their culture. However, I also do not like cocaine and think it needs to be controlled. I am not sure what the right answer is, but hopefully some kind of balance between controlling a dangerous drug and preserving a local tradition can be found.

Most "Powerful" woman list

2008-09-10T16:04:00.000-04:00

I am usually not this focused on women, or politics, or women in politics, but it just seems to be everywhere right now and I can´t help but to comment. Recently, Forbes Magazine published its 100 most powerful women list. Here are my initial reactions.

1. Cristina Fernadez Kirchner is #13 while Bachelet ranks #25? Are people not taking into consideration the economy of these countries? Chile is much more powerful than slowly dying Argentina any day. (Not to mention that Kircher is a much worse president than Bachelet, who is pretty bad herself).

2. Sarah Palin did not make the list (Hilary is #28 though). This explains the shock factor of her VP candidate selection

3. Oprah and Melinda Gates are #36 and #40, respectively. I honestly think that if there was a throw down between Oprah/Melinda Gates vs. Kirchner/Bachelet, Oprah and Melinda would win.

Fashion in Politics

2008-09-09T12:01:00.000-04:00

For women, both in politics and in business, it is difficult to decide what is appropriate for the office, or for the White House in some cases. No offense to Hilary Clinton, but her fashion sense was horrifying. To be powerful in politics does not mean you have to dress like a man, or even keep with a short, man-like haircut. We are women and should show off what we got, in a respectful manner.

In Chile, there is Bachelet. Who is a bit better than Hilary, since she at least puts on skirts. But she will not bare much skin and could definitely be done up a bit more and add some variety to her closet of jacket-skirt suit combinations.

Next door we have good 'ol Crisitina Kirchner. While I don't think her political style is anything anyone wants to copy, at least she has the guts to put on a dress. She looks great and she shows it off. Being the President of Argentina doesn´t mean you have put on old and boring clothes.

Finally, we have America's new beauty queen gone PTA gone VP, Sarah Palin, who I have to say, dresses extremely well, as noted in this LA Times article. She is beautiful, but also doesn´t put too much effort into her look. She´s not afraid to show off a little cleavage or leg either.

While all four of these women are great in their own right, I have to applaud Palin and Kirchner for proving that you don´t have to dress like a man to be in a mans world. Everyone has the right to choose their own style, however, I can´t think of a single woman I know who willingly wears around suits. We have the right to be sexy and amazing, and I am glad there are politicians who feel the same way.

US Political Circus... coming to a town near you!

2008-09-08T10:23:00.000-04:00

The 2008 presidential elections in the United States have become quite the soap opera. Between Obama's acceptance speech before 80,000 people in Mile High Stadium and now McCain's Vice Presidential candidate, its hard to guess whats going to happen in the next episode. Most interesting is a Chilean's view on this whole political process. I have been asked too many times, why are they still campaigning? Why has this been going on for so long? Many people thought that when Obama beat out Hilary, that Obama was then going to be the president, little did they realize that that was just one small part of our election process. Now with all the media spin around Sarah Palin, which even makes nightly news here in Chile, people are just laughing. It seems that its ridiculous to a Chilean that in the US we would have a woman as a VP candidate who has a 17 year old pregnant daughter (and... out of wedlock!... gasp) and a woman who supposedly had a DUI back in the day, and she was a beauty queen on top of it.

Since I am from the US, but have not lived there for more than two years, its hard for me to determine if the whole thing is ridiculous, or if the Chileans are being ridiculous. But what I do know, is that this year the whole political process in the US has turned into a circus show.

Chilean salmon regulation

2008-09-04T10:08:00.000-04:00

This article from the New York Times follows up on their quite controversial report on Salmon farms in Chile from a few months ago. As a result of their initial report, major supermarket chains in the US, such as Safeway, stopped carrying Chilean salmon. This of course infuriated most Chileans and have made them hate the New York Times.

However, in a positive light, it seems that the government is doing something about regulating these salmon farms and the amount of antibiotics they can push into these over-fished farms. Not surprisingly, there is little regulation on the matter in Chile, and of course the Chilean regulations are not up to par with those in the United States. I don't know if this is Chile's problem, or the US'. How many years have they been importing Chilean salmon? And only now, after the New York Times investigates, does anyone realize that these salmon are not up to regulations? I say this is a problem of the FDA and the United States and Chile has taken a hit for this.

On the other hand, this has made me reconsider buying salmon in the super market. It has almost made me question exactly what I am eating down here? The regulations on food are definitely more relaxed here, and for that exact reason I don´t buy Paraguayan meat. ( What is that anyways?). But I love the cheap, delicious, fresh salmon here so I guess I will keep on eating it, with or without regulations, and if I die, at least I will die happy with a fully belly.

Chilean Humor?

2008-08-07T11:11:00.001-04:00

Growing up it never occured to me there could be different types of humor. Only since I have moved to Chile have I realized that in different cultures, different types of humor are appropriate. Sarcasm isnt the same in Chile as it is in the United States.

For example, last night I went to go see the new Batman movie. There were a few lines that made me chuckle to myself, althoug the movie was far from a comedy. However, there was a scene where batman was banging someones head against a kitchen table. The Chileans thought this was hilarious. I was of course, horrified by the grotesque violence. However, Chileans love their physical humor. So even though the scene was terribly violent, the one bit of physical humor invovled made them all laugh hysterically.

In short, I miss US humor. And I miss US TV and comedies. I miss laughing in a theatre when everyone else does, instead of being the sole laughing voice.

Miss K Falls, Farmers prevail

2008-07-22T15:08:00.000-04:00

Argentine farmers have finally had their victory after months and months of protesting and road blocks. While democracy seemed to disappear during the Kirchner reign, the farmers and the Argentine people have managed to bring democracy back to the country. While Argentina is struggling economically, at least the people are being reassured that their voices and opinions can be heard, and that for once in the history of the Argentina, the people have a choice, and can freely express, how they want to be governed. Hopefully this is a sign of changes to come for latin american "democracy".

Procrastination

2008-07-21T14:28:00.000-04:00

Probably not the way to start a week... procrastinating in the office. But así es la vida. and probably not the way to start a blog. Oh well...

Question of the day

How much tea is too much tea? At what point does addiction become the correct adjective to describe my love?

2 cups a day? 3 cups a day?

Today I have had two cups of tea and people are still laughing at how tired my face looks ( A not-so-polite way of saying I look terrible).

Welcome to my blog and hope you all enjoy...