CHI-CHI-CHI LE-LE-LE VIVA CHILEEEEE

I'll try not to make this sappy.

Today is my last day in Chile! Tomorrow I head to adventures in Buenos Aires. My goals for the week are:
1. Dance tango
2. Eat chocolate and steak
3. Drink mate
4. Go shopping
5. Not get dengue fever
6. Do all of the above with a gaucho

But Chile. Oh, Chile. This has been a fantastic semester and although my classes sucked and it's super cold right now I'm really glad I came. I didn't really know what to expect when I got here. I feel like not many people in the US know very much about Chile. It's certainly more developed than expected. Not that I thought it was really poor or anything, but I did not expect to be living walking distance from two giant malls. A number of people asked me how I saw Star Trek on opening weekend. It's simple: it opened here too. The country has issues for sure, every country does, but on the whole my experience has been very pleasant.

I must also say that things are much different in real life than in the classroom. I know this seems like an obvious statement, but a lot of times we forget. I took a class last semester on US-Latin American relations and, of course, we talked at length about the Pinochet period. In 1973 Gen. Augusto Pinochet overthrew the socialist government of Salvador Allende (with the help of the CIA) and instituted a military dictatorship that lasted until 1990. While his economic policies accelerated Chile into the developed country that it is today, he accomplished it with grotesque human rights abuses. Thousands of people were tortured, disappeared, or fled in exile. In the classroom we analyzed this history as another example of US Cold War foreign policy and discussed the political implications for the region, which is all well and good. It's a lot different when you can see the pain in the eyes of a Chilean remembering how his mother was afraid to vote the way she wanted for fear of being blacklisted (which was significantly worse than being blacklisted in the US).

Well that was a little heavy... but important. Now to preempt the questions every single person is going to ask me when I get back. And if anyone asks me I'm going to punch them in the face (just kidding... maybe).

"How was Chile?"
First of all, this question is ridiculous. There is no possible way to summarize my semester (or this country) in one simple phrase. Answer: Chile was great.

"What are you going to miss from Chile?"
Food: empanadas, cheap fruit and veggies, chirimoya alegre, pisco sour, great wine, pastel de choclo, Ramitas, Coca Light (better than Diet Coke!), papas fritas
Cheap Metro with pretty stations
Juan Pablo, my environment profe
Tuesday night salsa and merengue class
the informal economy/ferias
Staying out until 6am
the mountains
Excellent transnational bus system
And, of course, my wonderful host family and the friends I made, both Chilean and American

"What did you miss the most from the US?"
Food: PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY, normal cake, Mexican/Indian food, macaroni and cheese, things without mayonnaise or avocado
Normal clothes and hair (aka NO MULLETS) (oh wait I'm going back to the south)
Clean air
Central heating/cooling
Metro open until reasonable hours
Animal shelters
And, of course, my wonderful family and friends, most of whom I won't actually see for a while

"What have you learned/accomplished this semester?"
I am capable of, and in fact prefer, travelling by myself
Spanish
Also how to get by without speaking the language (aka point repeatedly or just smile and nod)
You don't have to go to every class to get an A
I accidentally named my host sister's new puppy (they went with Ridicula)
Salsa, merengue, cha cha, cueca, and hopefully tango
I understand why people like soccer
I am perfectly happy living in a foreign country and am willing to do it again

"What was your favorite place you went to?"
While Easter Island was pretty sweet, I have to go with the raw beauty of Patagonia and Torres del Paine.

One final story that I think perfectly sums up my life in Chile. Today I got the student discount pass for the metro that I applied for in the beginning of March. When I went to put money on it the cashier asked me something that I didn't understand so I said yes. A man got on the train carrying a car bumper. For dinner we had pizza and every single family member took one bite, said "it needs more salt," and dumped a ton of salt on it.

Viva Chile!