Why I want to come back to South America

It has clearly reached me yesterday when we were sitting with a friend in park in Oslo. There was some food market and they had Argentinian empanadas bar, too. Suddenly we heard quite good singing from that direction. Really good voice singing tango. I identify the source with some difficulty.. there was inconspicuous guy in the glasses  surrounded by the rest of the bar staff. We have finished eating our thai stuff a minute after he has finished singing and aplauso of his audience was already the past. Nevertheless I felt it: I need to add my personal aplauso. Went there, said few words like: "no sabia que Carlos Gardel tienia descendientes en Noruega" (I did not know that Carlos Gardel - the tango singer star for ever with at least 3 countries claiming he was their citizen).. and I was their friend for ever, we hugged, we created new theory of the country of the origin of Gardel and quite a few steps from the stall all those "que te vaya bien, chula!", "ciao linda" where making me smile... Of course "for ever" in Argentina does not last too long but it has brighten up my day more than visiting great opera building in Olso. 

Cars or some more light on traveling.

Cars are important. You use them to see the world. From your car of course. You park your car in front of the gate of the reservation, so it would almost hit the barrier and than you can go visiting. If there is no obstacle to ride your car a bit closer to the mountain, you go in the car and you stop to take some pictures. Sometimes, if the nature is overwhelming (and I must admit, quite often it is) they even get out of the car. 

Good site of the bad things.

The visibility of rules is one of the most significant out-of-Europe-wonders. Basically - in south america they are understood (se entiende) but not presented. Or if presented... That is another story tough.  I have went through several “not possible because of the rules we have” situations. I am a fighter and come from the land of handling things out of the track (kombinuje) so I hardly ever stop when I hear that. So let’s review the solutions of impossible. 

In USA they told me it is impossible to enter the club without passport in my hand. Copy was not satisfactory  Solution: check another club and than another and than you will find one which doesn't really care.

In Europe Rynair service was sending me up and down and from the office to the counter for more than hour, Just to say me how impossible it is to print out boarding pass, pay in dollars for printing it, pass it with the board pass in my laptop, go through security at this hour and other bullshit things. Enough of them to miss my flight  for 2 minutes with all the docs printed out and having kind of priority pass through all the controls. Not possible to be helpful  against the rules. The rules are on the website and are clear and you have read them, right? Did not get it? Your fault. You must change the flight because you have not printed out the boarding pass.

In Bolivia it was supposed to be impossible for my Russian friend to pay for the visa and get it in less than 24 hours. I just mark – this visa should be paid at the entrance to Bolivia, but since it was not, it was needed before she could leave Bolivia.  Two “gringas” have done the whole operation impossible  in four hours. A lot of running to the copy / printing point a lot of starting the same story to the new person they have told us to turn to but… We managed. Why? Well.. any kind off service (printing, coping, taking money out) was just around the corner.  But the breaking point was meeting the some lady from the reception of the room 2 in migration office who knew how long is flight to Russia and could imagine how bad is to lose it.  She had decided to help us and convinced whomever was to confirm by stamping whatever paper that he should do it now. In the end everyone at the migration office was involved in our story and was passing the papers from one window to another without traditional handling them to us so we could wait in the line and pass it 2 meters further on. Summary: solution to impossible in sout America is in the people and once you meet the right ones, you are going forward. Just need to nod the head that you understand the rules they are breaking for you. 

Flight services - first but not last remarque

So as I am moving on with my comeback I wanted to do the check-in. One day before the flight, quite unusual for me. Anyway... I got this:
1. When I searched for the airlines -  Sky Airline - the final link to they webpage it came quite at the bottom of there google search result list after Despegar and other services lazy Chileans are used to consider as the only option to search for the flight as it is TV promoted. Might be that after investing in advertisments they have also thought about positioning which is pretty rare here.
2. Then I logged in and got nice communicate that my request is being processed. It took a while. Long enough to make the coffee so it was fine. Used to that.
3. And it gave results. Two nice communicates that it can not happen as the check-in service is not functioning. Why two? Well.. one is bigger and in better English. Cachay??

How is life here and why it is fun

To balance the impression you might have that I was just complaining here is a “wonder” not so ironic o analyzing like the previous ones. 

So I went today for my traditional pedicure/manicure pleasure (I tend to test it in every country I pass). Here you can go to luxury place or to cheap place at so called passeos. Quite nothing in the middle. Typical one is quite small with decent prices and some bored with life blond girls and of course super blond and super dark skin old duena (the owner). Some posters, preferably Marilyn Monroe or some other out o fashion blond stars, little tables and a lot of equipment that is supposed to look professional but hardly ever is used. This one was not different at all. But they had time and could do it al tiro (now).

Gave me en offer of 16 bucks (8 luca) for both: pedicure and manicure so as I was a bit stressed with time and postponing it for ever decided to stay there. No soap, no water, do not even think that they gonna clean devices they use for the operation, they keep them in nicely colored shoes boxes or they own purses. At least each of the girls had her own box. Half an hour for both, she offered. The girl with big everything and very pink clothes. But what can you say once you agreed? It would really made me mad and crying but then they understood I speak Spanish enough to inform them that Russia and Poland are not always covered with deep snow.

Then Ecuadorian sad girl have opened the beer right at her little manicure table. Than the chick 70 years old loyal client have said some compliments about my hairstyle (sth like: look they are natural). Then the guy came in and all of the ladies have treated them with grumpy smile. He of coursed kissed everyone and hug the duena. Then he was explained Ecuadorian is soltera (single). So he went for more beer. We ended up all drinking pacena and laughing about my observations on Chilean men. I got my can, too and mother of the guy (duena) decided to take one too even if swearing she had no ganas (will to drink). After I proposed the picture with 4 rubias (blond girls) and Marilyn they would not let me go. But I had to. Another beer was awaiting. 

Why do Chilean do not speak languages

Well.. basically the only situation in which they need English is when they want to hit on gringa (quite often) or understand a bit of the songs of Faith No More or other I-do-not-have-idea-why-so-popular music group (quite rare).  

Lets have a closer look.
The only job when they English is tourism. But as every Japanese or Europen tourist comes with some smart device with translator or at least with basic Spanish they can learn few sentences about the closest working ATM and tour rules or whatever sport they gonna teach you about in 2 minutes and they are settled.

No travel plans and if yes – the first country that doesn’t use Spanish is on  helluva away, on the other continent across the ocean (I am not sure if Chilean are aware of the existence of Canada, they do not have football team nor any Chilean colony there). 

But some of them of course do speak tough sometimes seems German, French and Chinese are more popular. The motives can vary from: hitting on gringas through internet, some certificate you need for your job, parting with some people that speak only English, living at the same flat with gringos or in the harbor city, finally some special hobbies (eg. playing online some cards games). This is all I collected by now.


I was just talking with few people on the subject and all of them seem to blame two things most:

- educational system here makes just bad teachers working, not only for English (two hours for a week), but in general, so if you do not know sth you better not ask or the professor is going to demonstrate how stupid you question is, they do not dare to ask than. Another thing is that the system here is based on writing everything, and you can start speaking English without actually talking, so they can read, but they are on the mute if you ask them sth in English, afraid that they gona fuck up pronunciation

- most chilenos stay in the same group for ever, they can understand quite a lot of English words but they can not show that they make any error as the others gonna laugh at them.. tienen verguenza.. they are most blocked nation in Sudamerica..  So they do not practice much unless really left alone face to face with the really nice foreigner (well.. at least they do practice in my presence).

Vicious circle it is and all the hope that it can change is in the beer&pisco.

Travelling

There is nothing like travelling customs or ambitious here. No one year gap, no plans to visit the world and even less to conquer it. They might say they travel. That basically means they were in Argentina, in some hotel or hostel with the same group of friends they would meet on Sunday asado. Or they have been is Spain to work for a year or visit the cousin in Sweden or US. 

They have few perfect excuses for this.

One is – “saving”, the 2^nd most popular is: “my father told me I should know my own country first” or sth like that. Saving is bullshit and whoever reads this blog, knows it by now. The second one.. well.. they do travel in their country, they usually live in few cities in their life, too. But again the pattern of “let’s go to this spot for few days” is in fact  understood by everyone “lets lay on the beach in some nice playa and in the evening we will go to casino / bar / asado together and it will be so much fun”.

There are groups that do the trekking stuff, too. There is max 2 hours of the way to really great mountain from any point in this country so that would be really stupid if they wouldn’t. So they do, some of them quite regularly, but not for much longer than 7 hours to be on time for evening asado.

Well.. sometimes I understand. Not everyone is born to camp. On the other hand camping here is possible all year long, at least at the north part. And campings offer usually quite nice chinco (place for the tent and asado and playing cards). If they are any. Because why they should have any camping I the place of the only one carnival in Chile, in Tirana? It just lasts 2 weeks and it is just not more than 200 000 people arriving to the village of 100 houses.

Last but not least – they do want to travel safe (who wouldn’t) and – as in their opinion most of the cities are very unsafe – why bother. I haven’t seen any hitchhiker on the road, and I crossed here more than 8000 km of different type of roads.

It has good sides, too. With my not so big travelling experience, me travelling alone is some kind of a hero from the unknown fairytale. Plus I come from the country that has such a terrifying weather conditions like minus 20 in winter. Brave gringa with sangre helada. 

On money - part 1 of many many more stories

The most important part of life in Chile is waiting for the money to come. You hear everyday “espero que me depositaron dinero” (I hope they have paid to my account). I think people have iphones just to check if money has arrived. If you see long long line in front of the cash machine there are two things that might have happened: all the other atm (cajeros)  in the neighborhood are without money (that happens every end of the every month when the salary arrives) or
For European 200 people waiting in the line  to change check into cash is also quite a surprise. They REALLY wait. If there is system giving you number and aprox hour installed you still wait cause.. without money there is not much to do... And of course chilenos do not have savings. They have hope that money will appear soon. 

Sometimes people are called that money is waiting and immediately they go to some place to take cash from jefe hands. Well.. just after they manage to borrow money for the taxi. Then they spend half of it immediately to give back money they borrowed (but only the nicer part of them) and to buy breakfast or beer. What they going to do the next day? Wait till “me depositaron” or do the “favor trick”.