Advertisement
Published: November 16th 2010
Edit Blog Post
Chichalandia house
(I made a little theme park for the hamsters.... A little too much free time on my hands perhaps...) - I had a little scare a couple weeks ago when I was walking back to Yaya's house after going out for a beer with a friend. It was about 1 in the morning (in Chile considered an early hour to be coming back on Friday or Saturday nights) and the colectivo dropped me on the other side of the supermarket from Yaya's house, which was a little further than usual but just a few minutes walk. In front of the supermarket (closed at that hour) there was a car parked with three men inside. I was the only person around, except for an open fast food place about half a block behind me. One of the men got out of the car and started walking towards me. I turned and walked as fast as I could back in the other direction and when I looked over my shoulder to see him chasing me, I ran the rest of the distance to the fast food place. When I ducked inside he turned and went back to the car. I called Gary (my chilean brother who lives with Yaya) who walked out to walk me back.
Thinking back I probably should
Chichalandia house 2
(I made a little theme park for the hamsters.... A little too much free time on my hands perhaps...) have called Gary as soon as the colectivo driver said he wouldn't make the loop to drop me in front of the house. Although I don't usually go through any really bad neighborhoods, it isn't a good idea for a woman to walk alone at after midnight in a lot of places really. I'm used to the safety of a small town and also driving most places and not using public transportation, so I really have to be extra careful that I'm taking my safety into consideration!
- There is often a kind of every-man-for-himself attitude here, and even Chileans will say that Chileans are "muy aprovechadores", meaning that they'll often will try to take advantage of others... especially foreigners. I have to be careful that I'm not being given a special price for rich gringos, or not getting the whole truth because I don't know the right questions to ask. I'm naturally a very trusting person, which can cause me problems.
- On the other hand, in general Chileans are very friendly. I thoroughly enjoy this warm affectionate culture, and have a good time chatting with the people I meet. Most people are very interested to know
Chichalandia elephant tunnel
(I made a little theme park for the hamsters.... A little too much free time on my hands perhaps...) where I come from and what I'm doing in Chile, and as you all know I love to chat! And It's nice greeting with a hug and a kiss on the cheek rather than a cold handshake or wave...
- Telenovelas (soap operas) are a part of life here. Almost everyone I know watches at least one! My apartment only gets the 4 national channels, so I get my fill of news, telenovelas and a few reality shows! It can also be kind of confusing because each channel uses most of the same actors in each series... so someone's brother in one novela is their husband in another!!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.162s; Tpl: 0.02s; cc: 10; qc: 49; dbt: 0.0594s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Christine Catanach
non-member comment
Hello from Miami!
PLEASE BE CAREFUL TAMMY! Sorry to hear about the scare you had. Thanks for all your news. We look forward to seeing you soon! Love always, Aunt Christine, and all the Miami Catanachs xxx