Down to the short strokes...

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We are now within about 2 weeks from leaving Chile, and while there are moments of sadness, especially with all the goodbyes we have to say, in my heart I know it’s time to go. It has been an amazing experience here, with some serious ups (the travel, the friends, the culture) and some serious downs (the pandemic, the social unrest)…but I think the biggest testament to all this, is that if we had to make this choice again, I would not change it for the world. There was a time in 2021, probably at this time last year, where we were sooooo close to packing up and leaving early. And thank god we did not. This experience would not have been complete with our last year here, to reconnect with people that we were cut off from in the pandemic, to see the country return to some sort semblance of normal, to come back to work, and to get another chance to discover more of this amazing country.

It is difficult to wrap up 4 years in a post. I sometimes think about it, and go “what the hell were we thinking?” uprooting our lives in Vancouver with a one and three year old to move to a country halfway across the world that I really knew nothing about. And it was intense…I think back to the first six months we moved here…I think about the lead-up to moving and everything we had to do. It almost crushed me to be honest…it was a super difficult transition, and there were days in the first half a year here where all I wanted to do was give up and go home. The language, the culture, work, kids school, driving etc etc etc. Everything was different. It is like the proverbial drinking from a firehouse, taking on an experience like this. Like the anxiety that you feel when even a simple conversation with a grocery clerk is basically impossible, it is overwhelming.

Some moments come to mind that are particularly poignant. Trying to leave a parkade and realizing that you have to pay before you get in your car (the machines on the way out will not take a credit card like in Canada) and sitting there and trying to explain to the attendant in my six words of Spanish as angry Chileans honked at me to move…god damn, that sucked. Or coming to work those first days and sitting in a lunch room full of people, not a single one you can understand. Hoo boy. But look we’ve come a long way. We built a life here. We learned and we got it done. And whatever got thrown at us we managed. I think of the absolute depths of the Pandemic in June 2020 when we had been in quarantine for three months without leaving the house…or the day in 2019 when it felt like the whole city was rioting and we were sitting in a Starbucks waiting for them to declare martial law...I think of sneaking up to our friends house during the 2021 quarantine to spend the day bbq’ing and having our kids play together just so we could have an interaction, any interaction…or all the clueless nodding I did to get through countless conversations I didn’t understand…the countless hours spent at work trying to adjust to a job for which I had not experience, and a language the proved much more difficult to understand than I ever thought.

In the end though, the experience as a whole, outweigh all the challenges that we went through to be here. It gave us an experience that living in Vancouver the last four years never could have, and it challenged us to adapt and learn and grow. As much as the idea of change is anathema to me, I also realize that living new things is brain food. It keeps me going, and creates excitement. And I’ll miss that as we move home. Look, I will be happy to call a restaurant and make a reservation without any language issues, but you know what…it was also fun that interactions as simple as that, when successful here, gave me a source of pride (holy shit, I know Spanish!). And it’s been hard that you make good friends, but they’re expats, and all of a sudden they just get up and leave to some other part of the world just as you get to know them (the venn diagram of people you and your kids like to hang out with, the overlap, is not huge in a small expat community) but you get to know some amazing people and learn about different cultures and different places and different life stories. And people are open and want to get to know you…because you are sharing an intense experience of adjusting to a new place with them and their families, and you know time is limited. It’s like a little club that we got to be apart of.

And I hope we can bring that back. I think, in Canada, we can all get complacent about reaching out and generating new relationships because we all are established…and with the last few years, I realize how much fun it is to get to know new and different people and bring them into your life, even just for a moment.

And I would be remiss if I didn’t say how much pride I take in what we achieved. It really gave our little family a chance to grow, a chance to prove what we could accomplish on our own. I’ve been fortunate to grow up with a ton of support, emotional, financial and otherwise, and I never want to take that for granted because I am a very lucky for that. But the space of this experience, being half a world away from everything I’ve ever known, also gave me a chance to prove that I could survive without it, that we could depend on each other to make it through the ups and downs of this experience, and anything that life throws at us. I’m not young, but in a sense, I became a real adult here. That, for me, meant a lot.

And despite all the challenges of moving and goodbyes, our last few months here have not been complete without ticking a few boxes. Getting our trip to Macchu Picchu done (it was our first one to be canceled during the early days of the pandemic) and a final ski trip to Portillo on the Argentinian border, where Zoe continued to fall in love with the mountains and a sport that is probably my favourite thing to do in the world.

And while it’s all over, taking all of this back to Canada with me, I am so grateful for the last four years in Chile. To think of the first moment we stepped off that plane on that chilly morning in August 2018, little kids in tow…and standing with our bags in the airport as our arranged transport hadn’t shown up (face palm). It was the first little challenge of many sure, but also the first memory, the first step on an amazing journey that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

And so, I wanted to put this together – a list of things about the experience here. Be it good, or bad, or confusing, or ridiculous, or just little things I am grateful for having spent my four years here.

Instant Coffee - why y'all like instant coffee so much?

Tramites – forms forms forms…so many forms. and processes. There is a process and form you do for everything. And I’m not even sure that the authorities responsible for this know what form is for what.

The weather – six straight months of pool weather. Sun every day. Sure, I’m down!

Tacos – no not the Mexican kind, “Taco” is Chilean slang for traffic jams. I won’t miss rush hour traffic here in Santiago, it is brutal. And rush hour traffic in a roundabout will bring you to tears.

Chilean drivers – and related to the above. Signals? No way. Lane discipline? Forget about it. Tail-gaiting? Heck yes! Pulling your nose out past your front wheels when trying to turn onto a street? Why not eh!

Chilean food – How many Chilean restaurants are in your town? Not many right…probably a reason for that. In fairness though, they do simple cooking very very well.

Pichilemu/Punta de Lobos – the first road trip we took in 2018. Last family road trip we took in 2022. An amazing beach town that’s like a Chilean Tofino.

La Sal – our favourite restaurant in Pichilemu, and maybe one of the best patios I’ve ever been to.

The wine and wineries – Within an hour and a half drive of Santiago are some great wineries. Bringing kids? No problem, they can run around like a bunch of idiots. The wine here is cheap, plentiful and really good.

Use of por/para in Spanish – I still can’t figure this out. It’s like one is direct, and one is “all around”. I don’t get it. I just recklessly use either one.

The smog – AQI of 170 and basically 4 winter months of smog advisories. No thanks.

Notaries - every document gotta be notarized...what a racket!

Customer Service – do you like being blamed and yelled at by your waiter when they make a mistake and you point it out? Don’t come to Chile then.

Ay que lata, po – The use of slang in Chilean Spanish. The word weon for example can mean anything from buddy/dude to asshole/jackass. And this is just one of many colloquialisms (Como estai, po, Baccan, Que seco) that make Chilean Spanish super hard to understand. Also, the talking really fast doesn’t help either…and yet it’s somewhat endearing

The Parking guys - At most surface lots you usually have some dude hanging out directing the parking. He probably doesn't even formally work at the lots, but he's there grinding it out looking for a few pesos by helping you out. I used to get real annoyed at these guys...they stand behind your car waving their arms to back up, and you watch them in your backup camera going "dude...why don't you move I'm going to run into you". But eventually I got to appreciate them as just some dudes trying to help out...and make a few pesos...

The work hours – It was a shock to learn that workweeks are 45 hours down here standard…looking forward to going back to 37.5.

Stat holidays that don’t float – In Canada, if a holiday lands on a weekend, it just carries to the Monday. Here, if it lands on the weekend, too bad. Saturday was the holiday. So there are years here with like 14 stat holidays, and then other years with like 8. And five of them will be on Wednesdays.

Viejito Pascuero – Santa Claus in Chile…he comes at midnight on Christmas Eve with your kids awake, so you have to distract your children while someone else puts out presents. Seems complicated.

The road to Farrellones - Probably one of the sketchiest roads I have had the pleasure of driving. 51 switchback curves to the skihills just outside of Santiago. Slightly to completely terrifying each time you do the drive it.

The South – damn, it’s beautiful. From Temuco on down, it’s just amazing place after amazing place to discover. From Osorno, to Pucon, to Puelo, Cerro Castillo and to Torres del Paine, the opportunities to explore Chilean Patagonia are limitless. I wish that I would have had less pandemia here as I feel I barely scratched the surface.

The AirBNBs and Hotels – Perhaps it was the pandemic, or perhaps it is just a smaller population so you have less people driving the costs up, but we stayed in some unbelievable houses here at very reasonable prices. Some of my favourites were Christmas with my family (a house in Zapallar hanging off a cliff over the ocean, with two pools, one heated), Ralun (beautiful two bedroom cabin with a tinaja looking over the estuario relocavi in Southern Chile) the house on the Humedal in Cachagua, and Hotel Alaia in Punto de Lobos just to name a few.

Termas – A really really special memory for me is the day we spent at Termas Geometricas in September 2021 with our friends from the US and our kids. A cold, rainy day, like being in a hotsprings up in the clouds after an incredible scenic drive from Pucon. All the volcanoes here, those are just one of many, but probably the best.

Santiago mornings – particularly during the warmer months. Afternoons could be hot and smoggy, but the mornings were always clear, sunny and warm. Always a treat to wake up to.

The Coast – A quick 1.5 to 2 hour drive and you have your choice of beach towns to visit.

Surfing – I’m still a terrible surfer, but being so close to the open ocean, I got to reconnect with the sport a bit. Cold water surfing, just like at home, and it was good to be back in the water.

Viejo Lobo – the best beer in Chile…and maybe my favourite of all time. Some Belgian dude named Armand brewing beer by the Ocean in Pichilemu…he has it figured out. Do they ship to Canada?

The first answer is no – when you ask Chileans whether you can do something, the first reaction is usually no…you just really have to get through that “no”, the next “no” and finally around the third try you can start to convince them to work on a “yes”

Vacunatorios – Look, I don’t want to get too far into this as I know everyone has their opinion about vaccines, but the setup of the COVID vaccination program here was impressive. And people did it and went about their business. For all the things Chile fumbled in the pandemic, this certainly wasn’t one of them.

El Mercurio – The establishment newspaper in Chile that was probably a little right leaning…I mean, a puff piece about Hermann Goring. Yikes!

The asado – I was skeptical of Chilean BBQs at first…but I shouldn’t have been. I will always say the food is a bit more simple here, usually not a lot of spice or complicated recipes, but grilling using carbon (kinda like charcoal, but a bit more with a smoky wood taste) makes the meat delicious. But it’s also the process…the slow burn…come to the house at two, warm up the grill, drink wine and eat meat and good food for the next 6-8 hours while you chat and the kids play. Good food, good friends and no rush…a bit different than North America where we start by noon and leave by two on the dot.

Bringing the whole family along – we were fortunate that our parents were able to visit us here (save for pandemic times). Our families were able to share this experience with us and get to know a part of the world they had never or barely seen. There’s something incredible about meeting your parents in the Sao Paolo airport and then spending a week at a Brazilian beach, or spending a family Christmas with at an incredible beach house in Chile. We left, but they were able to come along and live this with us.

Peruvian food – Someone remarked to me before we came, the best food in Chile was Peruvian. Well, they were not wrong. I can name countless restaurants here (Sarita Colonia, La Mar, Don Doh, Tanaka) that are an amazing fusion of Peruvian cuisine, although one stands out in particular. La Picanteria, a Arequipian place that serves the best damn fish ever, in a concept that I have never encountered in Canada.

Barrio Italia – a funky hípster district with lots of little restaurants and shops and a great walk on a warm spring day with the kids.

Rental furniture – the first 6 weeks in Santiago the company rented us furniture. I remember how sparse it looked in our huge house and how cold it all felt. I will never ever buy a white leather couch.

The fruit guy – I loved the random people who would sit outside grocery stores selling fruit at half the price and at twice the quality. Or at a random stop light, sliding down my window and buying a few cajas of strawberries on the way home from work. Thanks chicos.

The sunsets – I don’t know if it’s the smog or maybe lack of ozone layer, but god damn the sunsets here are spectacular.

Clay Court Tennis – I’d never played on clay courts before I came here but in some ways it was like learning a different game…and tennis became a great way to meet fellas. Nightime tennis in Santiago in the summer is one of the many treats of this city.

Trips to the supermercado – When you spend so much time in quarantine and the only excitement is going to the grocery store, perhaps your child will start to think that getting groceries is an exciting weekend activity…right Maelle?

La Roja – sorry Chile soccer fans, but Canada’s going to the next World Cup, and not your seleccion. Tough break.

Hot Christmas – I’ll admit that the Christmas season is not as festive when it’s 35 degrees out and the sun sets late so you miss the twinkle of Xmas lights. But I also don’t mind spending it at the beach or beside a pool. Also why they call it “Sweaty Santa”.

The Comiseria Virtual – For basically a year, this was like our most frequented website. Going for groceries…well you need a permit because of quarantine. Traveling to another region, you need a permit. Getting a permit, you probably need a permit. I hope I never have to apply for police permission to leave the house ever again.

Parque Antonio Rabat 6709 – Our house, and our neighbourhood, were amazing. I’ll miss the pool, the master bedroom (trust me it was huge), bbq’ing in the backyard, hanging on the patio, and running the streets on a quiet weekend morning.

Saturday morning run club – Speaking of running, every Saturday morning hundreds of runners would descend on our neighbourhood to run those quiet streets. And ignore traffic laws and almost cause me to hit them in my car.

The first trip after quarantine – After 18 months of only car trips in Chile, in August 2021 we flew to San Pedro de Atacama. After all the bullsh*t of the pandemic, all of a sudden we were sitting in the middle of the Atacamian desert with our kids watching the sun set over the Lincacabur volcano. What a memory.

Pato Cornejo - we did Saturday morning swim lessons here for three years with a great teacher named Ivonne. Also she would not have the lesson when the pool temp dropped below 29...

Toque de Queda – We spent like 18 months with a curfew. EIGHTEEN! I remember going to restaurants at 6 and then watching at 745 as everyone cleared out like rats escaping a sinking ship. What a weird time.

Pandemic Wednesdays – During the depths of the Pandemic, every Wednesday we’d tune into Health Minister Paris to read out what communas had changed fase. Who was going into quarantine, who was coming out! Were we finally going to be released to the streets, or was there six more weeks of quarantine! Senor Paris, let us know!

The Expat life – I mean really let’s be honest. As an expat, you get to live a life in a segment of society in which you may not ever again. I’ll miss it and all them sweet sweet expat uplifts. Back to the middle class I guess.

El Clasico – My friend scored great tickets to the U Catolica/Colo-Colo game a few months back. It was everything I wanted a South American soccer experience to be. Red cards, fans throwing firecrackers at the goalie, arguing with players from the stands, fights in the crowd, a chair thrown at the bench. *chefs kiss*

Learning Spanish – I think, at this point, I can legitimately say I learned Spanish…even if to be honest, there is a long way to go.

Animal print – go down to the Casa Costanera on a weekend, and it’s like a Carole Baskin convention. Why all you cuica ladies like loose flowing cheetah print so much?

There’s a guy for that – Everything and anything can be done without leaving your house. There is always a guy or girl that will come and do it for a very affordable price, freeing your time up to live your life.

VW Gol – Being short sited, I thought I would buy a cheap commuter car to get to/from from work. Below the Golf, and the Polo, is the Gol. Basically like a little clown car, and now I have back and knee issues. It only lasted us about a year before we sold it and bought something more suitable.

Road sickness – Oh them Chilean roads. We have cleaned up a lot of children’s barf on our road trips here.

Suggested opening times on websites – never, ever, ever trust what it says as the opening hours online for Chilean restaurants or stores. Call ahead. Learned that a few too many times.

Credito/Debito? – I’m not sure why, but still to this day when they ask me if I want to pay credit or debit, and I say “credito”, there’s a 50/50 chance they hear debito. How the f*** am I saying this wrong still?

e-Steve Chaw – Still learning how to pronounce my name too for that matter. The s always has an e in front of it (you gotta make the sound real quick though), and there is no “sh” sound. So I’m e-Steve Ch-aw.

The Santiago summer – I know I mentioned weather before, but man Santiago summers are sweet.

The Chocolate milk river – also referred to as the Mighty Mapocho (it’s anything but), Maelle always has to remark how much she loves the “Chocolate Milk River” every time we pass by.

Our diesel boiler – you see that cloud of smog above Santiago in the winter. Our ancient diesel boiler we use to heat the house probably ain’t helping…when it works that is. Not feeling so sure about that giant diesel tank under the garden at the front door either.

Manquehue/Manquehuito – Right behind our house there were three mountains you could climb and bike, which I did numerous times. Pretty sweet.

So only about 10 more days to go. I'll probably add to this list as we go along, as there are so many things to remember, this is just a few. And thanks for reading along for these last four years...from Dia Uno, until now. The next time I add to this, it will be from Vancouver. I can't help but think this all deserves one last post, but maybe only once the reverse culture shock sets in...until then...

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Photos

Unfinished Business
A trip two years in the making - Machu Picchu at last!

Qorikancha
Incan palace, Cusco city. What an amazing spot.

Laguna del Inca
What I tell you about sunsets!

Big Mountain Girl
Zoe skiing at Portillo

Portillo Hotel
One last adventure before the big trip home

Last day at Parque Antonio Rabat
A little bigger than when we arrived I would say

4 years goes fast
Look at these two munchkins. Can't believe how time has flown!