Bio Bio Brian

We didn't get to Bio Bio when my folks were here, but we did make it down there with Mr. Brian Clark. On a day where Brian was still feeling it from his journey and we were going to tackle 3 different markets, I knew that Bio Bio would be the crowned jewel. We ate lunch at La Vega and poked around to see all the different types of produce before heading down to the south side. We got off the bus and walked through block after block of kiosk lined sidewalks. We bought an array of typical candy as we made our way to the pizza and fried potato joint. Cait and I had seen this place before and always talked about going back. With Brian in tow, we knew that we had the best possible group assembled to go and try some of this food.

Sidenote : Santiago is not your standard South American city. It's prominence as the capital and the lingering German influence from after WWII, mean that you can walk around as a gringo with some anonymity. What's tough is when you're speaking English or being loud. hmmmm

So, as we're making our way into the heart of Bio Bio... which is politely... not the best part of town... Brian is regaling us with a reincarnation of Borat... loudly... from the mouth of a big, tall, white, red-headed gringo :) That said, we made it to the stand and found these friend potatoes to be less than exciting. They look delicious but they're just a fried outside with the rest just an unseasoned mashed potato. Not that exciting.
I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking, but we saw some incredibly cool things at a place that represents a classic example of the informal economy. Bikes, hair-cuts, surplus military gear, puppies, food, furniture, hot jeans, shoes, restaurant equipment, factory equipment, preserved insect art, books, surgical tools, antiques, computers, TVs, household supplies, and the list goes on.

Asthma

As the healthcare debate swirls in the states, Caitlin and I have had two, very positive, interactions with the Chilean system. Caitlin wrote a bit about her experience here and while our experiences haven't dealt with serious illness or disease, they have highlighted to me that there is no excuse for the incredible cost of health care back home. Also, those who call it socialism are being reckless for political sake and need to focus more on making the change that is coming...good change. Opinions out of the way...

Caitlin and I signed up for international health insurance plans that will help you if you are involved in a horrendous accident or encounter something like appendicitis. These plans are affordable and high quality, but they don't cover the small maintenance-like things that you'd use insurance for in the states.

After skiing with Brian, we stopped in at a Cruz Verde(think RiteAid) and I asked about the price of an inhaler. I was inquiring because my secret plan to have one delivered with Brian hadn't worked out. I just wanted to know how much I'd be on the hook for, if I turned out that I needed one. The pharmacist took a look at my inhaler and returned with three options. One was a brand name and the other two, generics. Now I asked the price and nearly fell over when he told me that it'd be... all of $9. Nine dollars?? Outside of the fresh fruits and vegetables that are grown here...living costs are pretty comparable to the states. Nine dollars??? I paid for it out of pocket and will be getting some more to send home when my cousin comes down to visit in December.

Finally, I asked my boss about the cost of eyeglasses here. I have an old pair of frames that has taken a beating and will need to be replaced before they break. Hoping to delay that until getting back to the states, I was encouraged to look around after the inhaler incident. He told me that while you would probably pay about $200 for frames and a dr. visit(without insurance) that I should consider going to a store down the street that made copies. Made copies??? of my glasses?? Apparently, for $70 they'll take a look at what you've got and then duplicate the lenses for whatever frame you'd like to buy. Designer frames for $30 dollars or the knockoffs at the market for $5. Whatever you want.

I don't know about you guys, but these stories make me think more about solving the issue of medical cost through ingenuity and the market than whatever system we have right now in the states. When you think about it, why does an inhaler cost $50-100? Why should glasses cost that much....why can't you get them duplicated? Who wouldn't want an extra pair of specs?

I'm not saying it's perfect here. But man oh man, that seems like capitalism.

Point for Chile

Paper or Plastic...What'd You Say to Me?

While doing some afternoon grocery shopping today, I had a quintessential interaction that illustrates how maddening living in a different culture can be. I would usually blame this on Chilean culture at large but, the more I think it as a larger issue, the more I'm convinced that it's the result of group-think... and that's not unique to Chileans.
I was fishing for money at the check out when I got the feeling that I was up against a difficult situation. The bagger was a guy in his late teens. 6' 2" 250lbs and was sporting a really nice mullet. On his right were a couple of his bagger friends, hanging out and chatting. The lady running the register was about 75 years old. It just didn't feel like a good mix. Knowing that I needed to make my preference clear for a single bag to hold my ham, bread, olive oil, can of peppers and sausage, I focused on getting this guy's attention as she started to scan my items. I had to interrupt their conversation with a polite "joven". This is the word for youth and yet it's how you're addressed as a male until someone decides you're wearing adult diapers. In my mind, it's awkward to address someone as 'young man' as I'm trying to hold onto that one myself for as long as possible....but I promise it's normal.
So I successfully get his attention and ask for the one bag. He does a legitimate double take and then, a lightbulb goes off. Ahhh, you want this all in one bag....double bagged! NOOO my mind screams. I can see that I'm now going to be involved in a game of wits with this monstrous teenager. His friends will provide his audience and the cashier will soon be barking questions at me in Spanish. I politely say "no thanks, just the one bag please". He stops with a bag in each hand and, confused beyond repair, interrupts the cashier. Now ,she's a cagey old lady and knows exactly what's going on. She looks at him with one eye while continuing to scan the bread and tells him to double bag it, lest it breaks. She comes back to me now.... challenging me with her all knowing 'grocery store eyes of wisdom'. We then engage...the three of us... in a maddening back and forth about whether or not the bag will break! Finally consenting, the kid puts my 5 items in the one bag and starts making fun of me with his friends. One of them walks behind me as if to venture out into the store and turns around as he's passing me and pushes his nose up in the air. The girl next to our fine bagger calls me fi-fi, and the group giggle begins. After the game of 20 questions with the cashier concerning whether or not I'm a member and how much I want to donate to hungry children....I finally pay and leave. A couple facts. The bags they use are already the thickness of 3 bags from the US. The baggers aren't store employees and work solely for tips!! Ughh.

The editorializing of this subject could go on for pages, as the use and overuse of plastics is one of my favorite issues to discuss. I'll just recommend the video above as a concise and enlightening introduction to why we should be altering our behavior ASAP and that the scale of the problem is larger than most would imagine. I saw a presentation on global warming the other day that said glacial melting is "the canary in the coal mine" for climate change. With plastics, it's even more dangerous. These plastics, and the toxins they pickup, enter our bodies indirectly through the food chain and directly through the containers and packaging we use every day. Unfortunately, the canaries in the coal mine for this one are birds, fish and us. You don't know that you have cancer until it's there...and you've already eaten the fish.

How Much For A Room At This Fine Establishment?

As Caitlin and I were preparing for my parents to come visit, one of the big ticket items to check off our list, was the issue of housing. As you can imagine, sticking them in our postage stamp of an apartment was not going to be easy. We wanted them close however, and spent half a day wandering around the surrounding neighborhoods, visiting hostels. We did our best to stay optimistic that we might find something close. As we left each place, impressed by what they had to offer, we would continue to echo the refrain, "don't you wish that place was closer?" Encouraged by a street vendor who responded positively to our question about hostel/hotel availability leading toward our apartment, we headed off following his general directions. Talking about how great it would be if this place could be our holy grail...we picked up the pace. As we turned the corner down a side street, we immediately knew where we had been directed. A large, bright, pink building stuck out from the rest and advertised HOTEL FOREVER in big white letters. We entered through an overly complicated entrance and thought that, while it was clearly a bit much, the added security would likely be of comfort to my folks. The door was answered and we entered the lobby. Caitlin opened the line of questioning and asked about their nightly rate. When the women responded with a price for the first three hours, I immediately thought we were dealing with a language barrier issue. I started to correct her, and illustrate that we wanted a room on a nightly basis. But as these words made their way out of my mouth...my brain did the math. I saw Caitlin, out of the corner of my eye, 10 yards ahead of me on this one.

"What's your nightly rate?"
"9000($16.25) for the first three hours...."
"oh no, we were looking for a rate for a day...a whole night..."
-lady looks around uncomfortably-
"well that will be........"

The woman was looking increasingly confused and uncomfortable. I started to question the perfumed scent, the black, fake marble on the floor. I started to notice the padded and buttoned upholstery covering the walls. By this time she had been joined by her coworker and the realization was hitting everyone. I threw in the towel with a hasty gracias, we turned on a dime and headed out of there. She followed us to the door and closed it behind us. As we were nearing the door, Caitlin's shoulders were shaking and I was doing my best to hold it in.

Outside, safely away we doubled over in laughter before continuing the search. Part of me wishes we'd brought my folks by, just to see if they liked it! Yikes!

sexy legs and the environment

chile is expensive, but having sexy legs isn't.

along with my iron tablets, services for beauty (nails, hair, color, waxing), relaxation (massage), exercise (yoga) are much more inexpensive here than in the States.

call it machismo, but i'm glad all these ladies here have no excuse not to be beautiful...

service....................chile...........................USA

brazilian wax................$7.00 USD.........................$65.00 USD

full leg wax...................$10.00 USD........................$70.00 USD

pedicure........................$15.00 USD........................$40.00 USD

hair cut (no color)........$14.00 USD........................$40.00 USD

and at first i was scared to have my hair cut here, just like latin women i know are scared to have their hair cut by just anyone in the States. the thing is that fashion for the most part is just so traditional. practically no one has short hair and the majority smell so fragrantly and wear more make-up and lipstick than i would ever dream of... i wasn't sure i'd have a hair dresser on my level. but man, she did a great job for me being gringa with short hair!

you can't get your legs waxed without a healthy dose of man-ness...

so i'm getting my legs waxed (oh joy, weeks and weeks without shaving) when the lady says to me something about how i've obviously been needing this for a while. almost, why did you wait so long? then she says, it'll be a gift for your boyfriend (with a big smile on her face).

do you get angry? or do you just accept cultural differences? these are the questions i ask myself on a more frequent basis here in chile.

on another note, it's impressive to see the degree of conservation here. the lady at the hair salon was washing and drying the foils used in hair coloring so she could re-use them. unbelievable! and this was the thing, it was foil from real tin foil rolls! in the US they have special rolls that come off like tissues and they throw them away like used tissues just the same.

people, not even like homeless people, will dig and dig in huge piles of trash to find cans, scrap metal. metals are just expensive enough here to conserve them the way we should conserve all of the stuff we just blow through in the states.

chileans can't help but plasticize everything, though. if only plastic came with a tax that reflects the way it harms the environment. the other day at the market, a guy insisted i take his new plastic bag because it would look nicer than the "ugly", reused plastic bag i had. yes, that's right though, what chileans save in tin, glass, wood, paper, aluminum and ceramic they make up for in plastic. plastic bags? look nice?? ugh...