What is a Chilean?

Now that I am sort of used to the idea of being here, I can open my eyes to the culture of the city and the people. Or of the two cities, as they are different. Eventually, I will travel enough to have a sense of Chileans as a whole people, not limited to two tiny dots on a map.

First, what makes South America different? Again, from a very small perspective of only two relatively unfamiliar cities at this point. Today I saw someone hanging laundry on a line outside. At home, we use a dryer. For some reason, I associated this event as being very South American. Why? I don't know exactly, a stereotype surely. Not everyone in Chile does this surely, and lots of US citizens do the same of course. Do I maybe think it is a little more earthy, less wasteful, more simple? Yes. I have been doing some thinking along these lines, where these associations come from, and whether or not they are negative.

I met Ken two nights ago, a Chilean whose father is an ambassador to Japan. Ken speaks fluent Japanese and English in addition to Spanish. Yeah, the rest of us suck at life in comparison. I also enjoy the Aussies, Jono and Thomas. Today, I went with them on a run through Viña, along the beach at sunset, through the festival of Día de los niños and the raging crowds of people. We chased a turtle for like 40 minutes at the ocean only to find that it was a crab, which we then saved from an insensitive child. I had my first taste of Pacific Ocean on my bare feet. Then we saw this weird rodent thing in the river on our walk back. It was a large rat-beaver creature-of-the-deep thing, which we determined after a discussion of whether or not it was a cormorant or duck. It was dark, ok? More discussion. I think that they take their lives less seriously than me, and that that is a good thing. I love structure, but probably need less. Outside of my comfort zone for sure, but that is a good thing, a growing experience. Funny how you are drawn to people so different from you, yet similar in remarkable ways. We must be drawn to people that are different in order to help ourselves grow. At the same time, we are drawn to similarities that we can relate to. It's an interesting balance, and one that I find changes as you mature.

Thomas: "You need to work on your glare. It's too Christian."

Speaking of, I feel like the Prodigal Son whenever I go back to my house. After running around all over the place, they feed me with fresh food and wash my clothes and ask me all about my adventures. Chileans in my experience are extremely welcoming and homey people. They make me feel less touristy and more at home.