Aneya: Love Letter to Chile?

Is this the t-shirt I'll be wearing home? (It's kinda cute, so maybe....)

Lauren and I were going through some of our old blog entries the other day (we're almost to 150, can you believe it? Go us!) and we realized that sometimes our blog sounds like one big love letter to Chile. And to be fair, we do love lots of things about this amazing country, and its people. We've talked extensively about their incredibly efficient public transportation system (the regional buses, the metropolitan buses, the metros) about the great free public services the city has to offer (free dance class in the park! piano stairs at the metro!) We've talked about how much we love the kind, caring people of this land. We've talked about how much we love our neighborhood (especially the bars around us). But that's not to say that Chile is perfect. Far from it.

There are some things I can't stand about Santiago: the noise, the smog, the pollution, the endless traffic, the fact that every bus and metro is packed to the limit with sweaty Chileans. The very distinct class barriers (the rich, white Chileans live up near the Andes, the poor ones and the Peruvians live downtown). The jotes (those guys that like to holler), while sometimes amusing, can be downright frightening for a girl walking by herself at night. The strip clubs, although also amusing, can be an eyesore (and right next a church? Really?)

The men here can't seem to take a joke, and they really don't like being called gay. That is the worst possible thing to say to a man here. And of course the gay and lesbian community have absolutely no rights here, even women are treated unequally at times. Like Lauren said, sometimes this place reminds us of America in the 1950s, and although some things are nice (the chivalry) others are not (the constant smoking, the oppression of women).

Another thing I really can't stand is the homogeny here. Not only does everyone look the same, but everyone shares the same religion (Christianity, of course). The conservative nature of Christianity really permeates the culture in a way I've never experienced before. I've never been told how much to drink by a man, or how I'm supposed to behave. I've never been segregated because of my spirituality, never been told I'm not good enough because I don't share the same religious beliefs as someone else. It's a strange thing to experience, and although I've met lots of really nice, easygoing Christians, I've also met a fair share of indignant, self righteous ones that I'd rather not be around.

Every country has their good and bad qualities, not just Chile. I would never say that the U.S. is perfect, it's far from it, in fact. But I still love it, I still call it my home. I have to say though, the good does outweigh the bad here in Chile. This has been such an eye opening experience, I knew it would be different from living in France, but I didn't know just how much Chile would change me. But it has. And I'm happy it did.

-- Aneya