Aneya: Exotic Destinations

Would this be considered "exotic" to you?

When Lauren and I went to Mendoza we met more Anglos than Argentineans, at least in our hostel. The city is a tourist haven, what with the proximity to beautiful vineyards and all the cheap outdoor activities they offer (in the Andes, no less!) We met Canadians, Australians, Americans and Brits.

The Brits were quite chatty and we got to know two different couples, both of whom had travelled extensively throughout Asia. Lauren and I were shocked. You two went where? Oh, the usual: Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia. In Vietnam, the man said, I ate something that gave me a red, itchy rash that lasted the entire month we were there! He laughed about it, but Lauren and I were horrified. Never in a million years would I go to Vietnam on vacation. The thought just wouldn't occur to me.

That's when I realized something. "Exotic" means something completely different to different nationalities. For Brits, an exotic vacation would be somewhere in Asia. The other couple we met had gone on a similar route, but after Thailand had gone on to Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and then Chile. (That end of the trip sounds great!) They told us that Brits love visiting Asian countries, because everything is so cheap, the landscape is beautiful, and it's always an adventure (to say the least).

To the average American, I'd say an "exotic" destination would be somewhere in Europe. The Greek Isles, the South of France, Tuscany, maybe Amsterdam, for the young ones who've heard the tantalizing rumors about it. Even England itself is exotic, for middle Americans that have never left Ohio. I can't imagine an American saying they'd rather go to Katmandu than London. It's just a different mentality altogether.

And what about South Americans? What's exotic to them? I'm gonna say anything North. The farther, the better. I've met a number of Chileans who have traveled to Canada, which I found odd (What's there to do in Canada?) Hey, at least it's far! Going anywhere in the U.S. is also exotic, as is Nordic countries in Europe.

It's interesting to realize that not everyone travels the same. Those Brits we met? They had taken a year off from work and were traveling the world, trying to hit up as many countries as possible. Although that sounds cool, it also sounds exhausting, expensive and downright stressful. Lauren and I both agreed we'd rather do it in bits and pieces, split it up and really take our time in each country. Hopefully, one day, we will.

-- Aneya

Aneya & Lauren: Going out of town.

So we are going on our own separate adventures to the above places and will be without internet for a couple weeks. Can you guess where they are? They're all in Southern Chile -- but some don't resemble this too much anymore.

We'll keep you posted!

-- Aneya & Lauren

Lauren: Prices.

So Aneya did a post on what money costs here, but some things never cease to amaze me. Here's what things cost in Chile (all in USD):

Bus ticket to the beach (one hour away): $7

Paperback book in Spanish: $20-$30

Paperback book in English (which there are few of): $30-$40

Medium Starbucks latte: $2.50

Visit to a private hospital: $120

One purple bell pepper: $.20

Ticket to the opera (cheapest): $4

Ticket to the ballet (''): $2

MNG shirt: $80

Typical taxi ride from our apartment: $2-$4

Ride on the bus/subway any amount of time: $.80

Colectivo (which deserves it's own post because it is amazing): $.50

Small bottle of Tresemme shampoo (about 6 oz.): $7

Lotion, Lubriderm, medium size: $8

32-oz. Nalgene: $14

Ticket to the movies, art theater: $4

Regular theater: $2-3

-- Lauren

Aneya & Lauren: Temuco Pictures

Aneya: Street art in Temuco of a Mapuche woman.

Lauren: The detail here is incredible. It's right near the town square in Temuco.
Lauren: This statue was at the center of town. In the south, all the cities started with a square and a nearby church. At the top of the statue is a Machi, a female shaman of the Mapuche.
Aneya: Ah, the market. This place was huge and had everything you could imagine: fruit, nuts, vegetables, blue eggs, spices, just everything! Lauren was in heaven, of course.

Lauren: I bought all this stuff I couldn't eat, at least not right away. Dried lentils, these weird red and white beans called senoritas, white pepper, smoked merken (which I latter used on the lentils and was amazing!), and a wedge of merken mantequeso, an arsenal cheese. We needed some groceries, and this was fresh, it supported small farmers, and was just so cheap.

Blue eggs! And milk straight from the cow. Both intriguing and questionable after my stomach problems. There is also an abundance of quail eggs around here. You can go to the store (even in Santiago) and buy 24 quail eggs! It's crazy.

Aneya: Merken is like our new pepper here, we put it on everything.

Lauren: It's served instead of pepper at restaurants. It's really spicy and flavorful, so we've been all over it.
Lauren: The senorita.
Lauren: Daniela took us hiking on a hill right near the monastery. Pumas live in another nearby hill!
Aneya: Look at all that moss! So many huge, beautiful trees.

Lauren: Because it's so wet here, it was lichen, fungi heaven! There was some really cool fungi action going on here.
Aneya: Photographic evidence of me hiking. It's never been seen before.

Lauren: It happened! There are two witnesses.
Aneya: Daniela, our tour guide.
Aneya: Lauren, glowing in the sun.

Lauren: I was so happy to be able to comfortably walk again.
Aneya: Look how small Daniela is compared to the huge tree that's fallen down next to her!
Aneya: The view of Temuco, from the top of the hill.


-- Aneya & Lauren

Aneya & Lauren: Kissing.

Lauren: Among the new cultural differences that we are adjusting to here in Chile is the kiss on one cheek as a greeting. After coming to Chile we noticed when we meet friends or even when we meet friends of friends, a kiss on the cheek for both men and women is customary.

Aneya: I like the kiss on the cheek. It's less awkward than a hug, and more intimate than a handshake. It reminds me of living in Europe.

Lauren: In some countries it's different. In Russia, I am told, they do the exhausting three kisses, and in France it's one on each side right, Aneya?

Aneya: Yes, in France it's customary to give the double bisous, one on each cheek, although some people prefer the air kiss, which has an aura of haughtiness to it that's tres Francais.

Lauren: Here it's just the one on the right side. With friends it's definitely a yes. When you see you're friends, un beso per friend. In larger groups this greeting can kind of take a while, but it's kind of a nicer way of saying hello. I think it's sweet.

Aneya: In France it used to be exhausting, kissing every one of my friends in the morning. In the end I would just get too lazy and blow a kiss to the rest of them.

Lauren: As of late, though, there has been a bit of confusion as to who to kiss and who not to kiss. The doorman? The cable guy? Do you kiss on the check in an interview? The clerk at the pharmacy? The guy who lets you use his outhouse? As we interact with more and more people, I am constantly thinking, "Should I kiss this person on the cheek? Do I seem like a strange, distant, reserved American who doesn't like physical contact with other people? Or if I kiss this person on the cheek will it seem eager, or worse, creepy?"

I just really never know who to kiss and who not to. It's actually a tiny source of social anxiety. There's not only a slight(ish) language barrier, and I certainly don't look very much like anyone else, but now my amplified awkwardness stands out. Fantastic.

Aneya: Ya, I wasn't so sure either. In France I remember we had to kiss our principle at the end of the school year, which was embarrassing, but we wouldn't kiss our teachers every morning, that'd just be weird. You wouldn't kiss any type of worker, only friends, family, and new acquaintances. It's true that not kissing here may just perpetuate the "cold American stereotype" but then again, you don't want to make a fool of yourself!

Lauren: Daniela confirmed that no, a kiss for the cable guy would be inappropriate unless you're making some kind of explicit adult video. However, a kiss is appropriate for an interview and the guy who lets you use his outhouse, as we recently discovered in the south! What a surprise. And I'm starting to think that if there's a counter between us, I don't have to lean over it to kiss on the cheek.

But what about Americans? Do you kiss a fellow American when meeting them in Chile? Or do you follow U.S. customs and just extend your hand for a hearty handshake? What about interviewing with people from the states? It's all just too much really.

Aneya: I feel like with fellow Americans you wouldn't kiss them, unless they've lived here for awhile and it had become accustom for them. Although, we did kiss our landlord, but she initiated, so it seemed like the right thing to do. No se!

-- Aneya & Lauren

Photo courtesy of Getty Images ... sort of.