Pros and cons of life in Chile for Russians. Life of people in Chile How ordinary people live in Chile

Q What pisses me off about life in Chile

Previously, I wrote about what gives me positive emotions in this country:
1) No bureaucracy
2) The sincere goodwill of most people
3)
4) Infrastructure

Today I will talk about what really pisses me off about this country.

1) The most important local plug - banking system. While you are a tourist, you have no rights. There are three types of accounts in Chile: Cuenta Rut - the account is opened on the basis of the local equivalent of the TIN. It is only possible to deposit and withdraw money from it,
Cuenta Vista - a full-fledged bank account with internet banking, the ability to make interbank transfers,
Cuenta Corriente is an account with a credit limit.

So the last two will be opened to you only if you have permanent residence and a work contract. And this is a year and a half from the moment of arrival. Until you have these accounts, banks will not provide the opportunity to use a safe deposit box, will not issue an international bank card, or open a brokerage account. They won’t even accept a basic deposit for 1,3,6... months. These services are only for account holders with a credit limit. You don't want to take out a loan? The bank doesn't need you! Basic services are not available to you.

For all local cards, the cash withdrawal limit is 200,000 pesos per day (22,000 rubles).

There are no ATMs in Chile that dispense dollars/euro - only pesos. Do you have a Russian dollar card and need dollars? You withdraw pesos, go to an exchange office, change pesos for dollars. Do you have dollars and want to transfer them to Russia on a dollar card? Western Union will accept your dollars, convert them into pesos, send pesos to Russia, and a Russian bank will convert the pesos back into dollars. Losses 8-10%%
You can use an international SWIFT transfer at a large bank. In this case, there will be no conversion through pesos, but be prepared to provide perfect banknotes: they will not accept banknotes with damaged edges, stamps, or pen marks. Why? There is one answer to everything: “Bank policy. Adios.”

2) Driving style of Chileans. Santiago has a well-developed bus system, which does not reduce number of taxis. There are many routes, fairly frequent service and dedicated lanes. But on the other hand, there are dedicated lanes and a minus - bus drivers start from stops, pressing the gas to the floor, and then stop, also desperately pressing the brake. Coupled with the roads paved with reinforced concrete slabs in the center, a bus ride turns into a roller coaster, especially if you ride while standing.

3) Problems with rental housing. Locals simply do not understand what short-term rentals are. All, including most agencies, offer contracts for a minimum of one year. Newly minted minrants are left with either use AirBnb, or hope for luck.

4) Circus performers on the streets. Of course, in major cities Congestion occurs at intersections. While you are standing in a traffic jam or even at a traffic light for a couple of minutes, they immediately appear colorful characters. Jugglers will entertain you, sell water and ice cream, and wash your windshield. And a lot more, just so you can say goodbye to 1000 pesos. And so on at every intersection. What if you go to work every day? It's good that thanks its activities, I don't have to do that.

Before moving, think a hundred times what is your priority and what sacrifices you are willing to make.

Hello friends! It just so happens that I’ve been living in Chile for five years and still haven’t talked about what I don’t like here.
Although friends have been asking for a long time. And I promised all the time.
At first I didn’t notice the disadvantages because I didn’t know Spanish well. Then it seemed to me that I was incompetent in these matters. And now I think like this: I’ll write now as it is. My opinion, my version. After all, people who know me need exactly this: my view of the country.
I won’t even edit the grammar, I’ll write it and post it.
Read. My view on the cons in Chile. Only for those who know me personally and who are interested in my opinion.

photo from my last trip to Atagonia (February 2018):

1. The ozone hole over Chile and the “bad sun” . Have you all probably heard about the ice hole? The hole over Chile is growing bigger every year. This means that harmful ultraviolet radiation enters without barriers. I noticed more than once that when I was a child, heatstroke could happen after just an hour of being in the open sun. And it would be fine if only I had it. Chileans do the same, even those who were born and raised here and who live in Santiago all their lives. Even though they are dark.
In the summer, I often see “Learn more about skin cancer” tents at the center. Often bad news comes - someone has died of cancer. Last week, my husband’s acquaintance died of intestinal cancer - it was diagnosed very late.
Every six months there is bad news about oncology. My friend's brother is currently undergoing chemotherapy. Russian friends say that this is not only specific to Santiago - but in general big city. And such sad statistics are typical for many megacities. I do not know. Maybe.
Here is such a sad point: the sun is not a friend here, but an enemy. Oncology.
It’s really sad when a Chilean dermatologist - a dark-skinned woman - advises applying sun cream both in summer and winter. And she does so herself.

2.Smog. Everyone knows that Santiago is located in a pit: such a natural “cup”, and we are at the bottom (haha, I’m quoting my own text from “Snob” about smog!). So, in such a pit the air does not circulate, and the smog settles in the lungs of the residents. The authorities, of course, are fighting the smog as best they can, but there is no result. The level of smog is increasing every year. The townspeople flee to Valparaiso, to the sea, where there is no smog. Chileans say that living in Santiago puts a strain on the liver equivalent to smoking a pack of cigarettes a day.
There is even more smog in Shanghai. But there are no mountains around, and the smog is blown out of the city! Or take St. Petersburg - I could eat, of course. But our favorite winds immediately blow everything away from the city! And even better is the rain - all the nasty stuff settles and is washed away. I think many people, not just me, when they come to St. Petersburg, enjoy the fresh air?!
Of course, you can live and breathe too. But the level of immunity decreases. And somehow I don’t feel like running: exhaust fumes and even smog! Although the locals are running. Dust flies in very quickly - even if the windows are closed, this is such a specific thing. All the plants are under a layer of dirt in the city. It's just too much work to clean the windows. In general, I could, this sucks in all respects...

3.Santiago de Chile is far away. This remoteness is twofold. On the one hand - exotic. On the other hand, if you live here, then flying home is very expensive. I buy tickets with one or two transfers, usually flying through France. And for me this 14-hour flight over the ocean at night is so difficult. I am very afraid. And plus two transfers - and you arrive like a mad herring after a day of flight, not understanding anything, with glassy eyes. Well, jetlag, of course, because in Chile it’s day when it’s night here. It lasts for a couple of days. Then you just come to your senses. Honestly, people flying with 4 or more transfers to Chile from Russia are just heroes for me.

4. Santiago is an expensive city. Everything here is expensive. My main complaint about Chile is that all the basic, most necessary things are very expensive. Medicine, education, food, housing. Let's start with the fact that the cost of food in regular supermarkets is the same as in Europe. I specifically compared the prices for gasoline and parking as in Italy. Medicine is free, but there are huge queues. Everyone has insurance that you have to pay for every month! There is always a fee for going to the doctor - even if you are given the wrong diagnosis. Any consultation is paid. Doctors here are paid well. Next, education - until recently there were no minimum quotas for the poor to enter universities. Now there is, but all my peers studied with their parents’ money or on credit. Housing. Prices are at Moscow level in good areas. Over the past three years, prices for renting and purchasing housing have doubled or more. It's just crazy. Why? People are coming from neighboring countries, where there is war and they buy everything so that children can grow up in a peaceful country. The realtors here will definitely burn in hell for this wild markup on prices. What else? Parking is paid everywhere in Chile. And also - a lot of intrusive services. 10% tip always. Well, to be honest, I don’t know anything at all that would be free or cheap in Chile? If you know, write to me in the comments, please!
You know what's strange. Why is no one even trying to provide you with such outrageous prices? good service. Chileans say “There is no service in Chile.” Everyone knows that everything is expensive here, but no one is trying to get good service for their money.
When you travel, it's not noticeable. But now you’ve been living here for four years and you’re just amazed!
Of course, it takes smart people years to understand: Chile is not worth that kind of money. Prices are European, service is the best in the world, sorry for my French! And they go in different directions: some to Europe, some wherever else they can. I have long noticed that people who are capable of analysis do not stick here for long. Why have I been here for so long?! So I married a Chilean!

5. Ignorance. Ignorance of ordinary things is simply terrifying! Again, you need to know the language to feel it. An example from my book "Chilean Diary: Sing, Don't Cry!" My neighbor wanted to cut down his apricot tree. He thought the tree was dead. It was winter. He just didn’t know, you know, he DIDN’T KNOW! that trees shed their leaves for the winter!... Or this constant: “In Russia there is central heating? Wow! Is it warm in the houses in winter? Wow!” Well, there is a lot to list here. Some people just don't have the basic knowledge. Women don’t distinguish synthetics from natural wool, I don’t know why. Yes and much more. Amazing and incredible. Nobody reads books. Expensive, they say. Well what can I say? Sadness...

6. Theft. I recently wrote about this on my blog on Snob. It's called The Santiago Heist. This text is also here. Of course, this can happen in any country in the world! But I wanted to live not “any”, but in “the most safe country South America, just South American Switzerland! "Besides me, if you google, there are many more stories. I often hear about the Chileans - “thieving people, on their own" - these are the Russians, who have been here for a long time. And the Chileans themselves are even proud that they “steal everything that is bad."

7.Chileans cannot say NO. Therefore, they promise a lot, beat around the bush, and avoid answering in every possible way. Allegedly, it is rude to say “no”. It’s very inconvenient for me to live like this, it doesn’t suit me. You just need to be born a Chilean in order to understand from the context that here it’s “definitely not”, here it’s “maybe”, and so on.

8.Chileans are closed, flattering, aggressive, touchy. If they lie, they will take it inexpensively. Many are very complex. All problems are solved with the help of loans. Recently, the wife of a Chilean friend left her job to devote herself to her family. And she forgot to tell her husband that she had a loan of a couple of million. The husband was seriously upset and sent him back to work to first pay off the loan. She left him. But perhaps the most unpleasant feature is its optionality. It doesn't mean ANYTHING at all. if you were invited to drink coffee or to siege. It will never happen. Also, infantilism is very pronounced.

9. I don’t consider such features as Chilinisms in speech to be a minus. Just as I don’t consider shaking and temblors a minus. Well, so, the features.

10. Fleas. Human fleas that bite until they bleed and are very fond of foreigners. Described in detail in the text for "Snob". Cucarachis are also quite large, just like in Spain, as far as I know, the same as in the tropics. We also had to fight with them. They're not scary, no. But they’re nasty) They just come into the house from the street! It's better to live on a high floor, of course. But there are no snakes in Chile!

11. It is very cold in winter. I spoke about this more than once. There is no central heating. The defoggers are very expensive. Warmth is not a cheap pleasure here. Gas burners stink of gas. Houses don't retain heat well. It gets warmer outside. In the pit the feeling of cold is different. Otherwise it's cold. My coldest and dank winters are in CHILE....((((

12. There are few cultural events, even in the Capital. I search during the day with fire. There are several good theaters, but this is not enough. I have a blast in Russia every year when I come. Just cultural sprees. And all my Russian friends, compared to their Chilean peers, are simply very talented, versatile, well-read, educated and crazy interesting people. I really miss my friends. According to our stormy cultural life. And for our people in general.

13. Traveling around Chile is expensive. Chileans, among other things, pay tax: if a foreigner can avoid paying tax by paying for a hotel. Then they will take it from the Chilean automatically. It’s just not in any way, in my opinion. Because when traveling they pay for the road, gas, all the homeless, tips for everyone. And then there’s this strange tax...

14. It is very difficult to truly make friends with a Chilean woman. I don't have friends my age. But I really thought it was me and tried really hard to make friends. I wasted my time in vain. I don't know how to explain.

15. Kindergartens are not cheap: from $500 per month in good areas. At the same time, I don’t quite understand what they take money for. Children carry food in backpacks from home in a thermos! But there may not be hot water in the kindergarten! They sit on the cold floor. How do I know? A friend told me! They go to a nice garden, by the way.

Here are the main points. If I remember something else, I'll add it. Soon I will also write about the advantages of living in Chile! And there are more of them. Otherwise I wouldn’t have lived here for so long. Write what surprised you most about the cons?
Was it helpful? What did they know about?

I wrote my opinion. Naturally, he will not coincide with many others who have lived or live in Chile. If you think that I’m wrong about something, write about it on YOUR blog. Have a great week everyone.

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Hi all! My name is Anastasia Polosina, 5 years ago I moved from Moscow to Santiago. I once worked as an editor for a glossy magazine, and now I conduct author tours in South America, write a blog about travel and life in Chile, and even wrote a book “What is Chile.”

I managed to become well acquainted with the habits of Chileans and the peculiarities of life in this country. Especially for website I’ll tell you about the most unusual things that will debunk myths about this country or reveal it from a new side.

1. Chile is the most economically developed country in Latin America

Chile is called the "Switzerland of South America". There are many reasons for this: the country ranks 24th in the Global Peace Index security rating, it has the lowest level of corruption in Latin America and the highest level of economic development (Chile’s GDP per capita is 2 times higher than Russia’s), in the media freedom of speech rating Press Freedom Index Chile ranks 33rd, there are effective government funds to support entrepreneurs. So, in terms of economic development, Chile can easily outperform some European countries, and traveling here is safe and comfortable.

2. Society is officially divided into classes

“A and B were sitting on a pipe” is about Chilean society. There is a real gradation of social classes in the country: A, B, C, D, E. Each letter has characteristic features: sector of residence, level of education, type of health insurance, type of profession. At the same time, social elevators move with difficulty, and few manage to make a leap on the letter scale.

This classification is found both in everyday speech and when talking about the target audience of a product or service. Particularly conservative employers may even ask what area you live in. Not out of malice, but out of habit. Of course, these letters are not written in any documents. As a result, this segregation affects the mentality of the Chileans and separates social groups from each other. Legacy of colonial history.

3. About the unusual habits of locals

Like any other nation, Chileans have their own habits and mentality. Here are just a few of them:

• The Chileans are not masters of parking: here they do not pay attention to scratches and park almost by sound. The car will show off these battle wounds for the entire period allotted to it. By the way, getting behind the wheel after a couple of glasses is considered normal.
• Chileans like to replace a full dinner with a belated afternoon snack “onse” - sandwiches with tea or coffee. There is no normal dinner in Chile. By the way, about food. A Chilean will sell his soul for a piece of grilled meat. Barbecue “asado” is like a second religion here. But, contrary to myths, they don’t go overboard with hot red peppers.
• Men of the “middle corporate level” are characterized by a tender love for a fabric backpack paired with a suit. Such backpacks are supposedly better for your back. The look is complemented by pants that are 3 cm shorter than expected and have a disappointingly poor fit on the butt. And women love to wear high boots up to almost 30-degree heat and hippie style.
• Don’t be surprised if, when meeting a Chilean, he gives you a short interrogation with passion: “What school did you go to?”, “What area do you live in?”
• Croatian, German, English, French surnames are not uncommon among Chileans. Chilean DNA is rich.
• In Chile, everything is the other way around: cold in the south and hot in the north, summer in January and ski season in July.

4. The ocean water off the country’s coast is cold all year round

When people hear the phrase “Latin America,” many people think of palm trees, warm oceans, and impenetrable jungles. Which is true for most of the continent, but not for Chile. You can only swim in Chile on Easter Island, and then only during the season. On the mainland of the country, the ocean temperature even in summer is about 15 °C, the waves are raging and it is almost impossible to swim. But there are no sharks: they are clearly in no hurry to freeze their fins. A beach holiday means sunbathing. When a Chilean finds himself in a warm sea or ocean, he is very surprised that this, it turns out, is possible, but for the real beach holidays travel to the north of Brazil.

At the same time, Chilean nature is stunningly diverse even without the jungle: it has the world's driest desert, mountains and thousands of volcanoes, lakes, evergreen forests, glaciers and islands with penguins. Such a variety of climatic zones - from the desert to Patagonia - has become business card Chilean tourism.

5. You may not even feel earthquakes up to magnitude 7.

Chile is located in a seismically active zone and at the junction of plates. Earthquakes are commonplace here, but many don’t even notice them. Over time, I myself got used to it. The buildings are built according to special standards, which saves them from cracks and collapses. Most earthquakes here occur without consequences, and I only learn about them from the news. The fact is that shocks somewhere up to 7 points are felt as a slight vibration, nothing more, and the Chileans themselves love to flaunt their indifference to shocks.

6. Distances between cities are much greater than we imagine

There is a harmful stereotype about Latin America that the distances here are short. And when it comes to Chile, they think that everything is clear here. Chile is the narrowest country in the world, but the illusion of its compactness is oh so deceptive. From north to south the country stretches for 4,300 km. We should not forget about the geographical distance on the mainland relative to other Latin American countries. For example, it is cheaper to fly to Cuba from Moscow than from Santiago, and the distance is approximately the same. The flight from Santiago to New York lasts 10.5 hours, and from Santiago to Rio de Janeiro - 5 hours. It’s the same with traveling around the country: if you want to see as many sights as possible in a short period of time (two weeks), you can’t do without planes.

7. Chile makes great wine

Chile is the 4th country in the world in terms of wine exports. The flagship variety of Chilean winemaking is “carmenere,” which is associated with an almost romantic story about how the harmful grape aphid ate all the vineyards in Europe and the vine survived only in Chile. Winemaking here is well developed, and there is everything for it natural conditions. A narrow strip of land sandwiched between the Andes and Pacific Ocean, in practice, gives the following: precipitation rising from the ocean encounters a barrier from the mountains on its way and settles in valleys with vineyards, and meltwater from the peaks of the Andes provides groundwater reserves.

Chileans have been making world-class premium wines for a long time, but even in the middle segment, hundreds of items score above 90 points in the ratings of authoritative wine critics. Plus, Chilean red and white are famous for their excellent price-quality balance. If you don't like Chilean, chances are you just haven't tried a good example. It's funny, but true: locals prefer beer or cocktails with pisco - local grape vodka.

8. Chileans practically do not need visas to other countries

• In the country where the strongest earthquake in human history occurred 58 years ago, the tallest skyscraper in South America, 300 meters high, was built. By the way, they built it, but most of it was not put into operation - they did not think through the infrastructure.
• In a country where a woman has been elected president twice, same-sex marriage is allowed, and some women's publications refuse to use retouching of photographs, abortion is still not allowed. According to polls, 30% of Chileans remain in favor of such a ban. As a rule, these are the poorest and the richest.
• When getting married, Chilean women never change their surname: there is no such tradition.
• Early marriages and a large number of children are the norm, again, only for the richest and poorest, because children in Chile are an expensive pleasure. Private kindergartens, schools, universities, health insurance- the norm for the middle class. Therefore, many Chileans go to the altar after 10 years of relationship and 2 “jointly acquired” children. At the same time, Easter Island is the most isolated part of Chile, not only because of its geographical location.
  • Only the indigenous inhabitants of the island can buy land; others can only rent it, including “mainland” Chileans.
  • Proceeds from admission to the island's archaeological site go directly to the local Indian community.
  • Without booked accommodation and return ticket They will not be allowed on the island at all. Only native islanders can work as caretakers. Chilean territory with a big “but”.

  Would you like to travel to Chile? What from Anastasia’s story surprised you most?

Our reader Asya Zemlyanskaya writes: @parabailarlabam: I lived in Chile for a year and wrote 50 facts about this Latin American country for Faktrum.

1. Chileans are very loving and always kiss each other on the cheek when meeting and goodbye, sometimes several times. Even if the conversation lasted 2 minutes. They will kiss you regardless of your gender, age or social status.

2. There are many possibilities as to where the name of the country of Chile comes from. Even the Chileans themselves cannot choose one generally accepted version. According to one theory, the name comes from the language of the Aymara tribe that inhabited the country and means “the place where the earth ends” (which is quite logical). In another way - in the Quechua language - “cold” or “cold”. But certainly not because of its shape - chili pepper - as many people think.

3. In Chile there is nothing wrong with sitting on the ground/floor anywhere.

4. It is also quite normal to enter the house without taking off your shoes, even if there is a storm, thunderstorm and hurricane outside, and your shoes are wet and dirty.

5. Chileans are great patriots. Their main holiday is Homeland Day (Fiestas Patrias), which is celebrated on September 18 and usually lasts for a week. On this day, it is customary to drink young grape wine (chicha) from a bull's horn, eat traditional pies - empanadas, go to stadiums to “admire” the rodeo and dance the national dance - cueca.

6. September 18 is the only day of the year when the authorities officially allow drinking in public places, which is why it is better not to appear there.

7. Another day is associated with this day interesting fact. According to the official law, on September 18, all buildings must display the national flag. No flag - pay a fine. Enterprising Chileans hang flags from windows, hang them on cars, and sometimes even decorate their pets with state colors (we’ve seen this happen).

8. The population is very religious, 70% are Catholics. That's why religious holidays even more than secular ones. And everyone rests on them.

9. On weekends, Chilean cities die out: many shops are closed, even stalls with newspapers and cigarettes.

10. Chile's territory is 24 times smaller than Russia. And the population of this country is approximately equal to the population of Moscow and the region.

11. The favorite food of young and not so young Chileans is “Completos” - unique hot dogs of incredible sizes, which, in addition to traditional bread and sausage, include diced tomatoes, avocado sauce and mayonnaise. If desired, you can add mustard. The locals are very proud of their dish, and God forbid I tell you that this is an ordinary hotdog - oh no, this is Completo.

12. In general, avocado (which in the Chilean dialect is not called aguacate, as in other Latin American countries, but palta) is a special guest in their daily diet. There is almost always a small clay glass on the table with grated avocado of a suspiciously green color, and they spread it on everything. To prevent the avocado from losing its color and darkening, a drop of milk is added to it (but this is the secret of Chilean housewives).

13. In Chile, as throughout Latin America, there is an unimaginable cult of meat and football.

14. It must be said that the majority of the population is overweight. This is especially noticeable among people with low incomes. Completos, French fries, and meat in huge quantities certainly cannot be called healthy food. And they usually wash it all down with Coca-Cola or Sprite.

15. Chileans consider themselves the “Country of Poets” and are very offended if their beloved Pablo Neruda, Gabriela Mistral, Nicanor Parra, etc. are not well known abroad. But this is mainly the older generation.

16. By the way, the Chilean poet and Nobel Prize winner in literature Gabriela Mistral is even depicted on the 5,000-peso bill. This is how they honor their poets.

17. The younger generation hardly reads. And no wonder: books in Chile are very, very expensive (they can charge more than 500 wooden ones for a paperback brochure).

18. In the “Land of Poets” literature is not taught at school. Instead - the subject “Language and Communication”. Also required in high school are subjects such as religion, philosophy, and art (music or drawing by choice). They draw and sing, I must say, right up to graduation.

19. Chilean schools have 12 grades, and you can repeat a year as many times as you like. Therefore, sometimes they finish school at 19–20 years old.

20. The maximum score is 7, and in their analogue of our Unified State Exam in mathematics there are the most banal problems on adding and subtracting fractions (this despite the fact that our graduates have to puff over trigonometry, etc.)

21. Education in Chile is frankly weak and at the same time the most expensive in Latin America. There is no budgetary admission to universities, which constantly provokes student riots. For example, this summer students demonstrated their right to study for free with banners on the streets, which made the government quite worried.

22. Various rallies and protests are commonplace. Today students are on strike, tomorrow workers are on strike, and the day after tomorrow Mapuche Indians will block the city center demanding independence (they have been demanding it for 200 years, and everything is useless).

23. The Mapuche (or Araucan) Indians are the only people of Latin America that were not conquered by either the Incas or the Spaniards.

24. Their language, Mapudungun, has no written language. True, now in souvenir markets you can find improvised “dictionaries” and phrase books from the Indian language into Spanish or English, but hardly anyone buys them.

25. Araucaria is the main tree and symbol of the south of Chile. Araucaria seeds - piñones - are fried and eaten; they taste similar to chestnuts. They also make all sorts of decorations.

26. Chileans generally have a fairly poor command of foreign languages. They have a rare and rare translator from English. highly paid profession. “Why learn languages,” they say, “if all the countries around you speak Spanish, and the USA is far away?”

2 7. Their families are traditionally large. Having 5–6 children in a family is the norm, but an only child is a huge rarity. The advantage of this for the Chileans themselves is that you can travel around the country without spending money on hotels - there are relatives everywhere with whom you can stay.

28. Most Chileans live in houses rather than apartments. The houses do not have central heating, and the main thing in winter around which the family gathers is the fireplace.

29. Having a housekeeper and/or nanny in Chile is the lot of not only the rich, but also people of the middle class, and sometimes even lower than middle class. Big houses need to be cleaned and five children need to be looked after. Most often, Indian or Peruvian/Bolivian women - local guest workers - go to work as housekeepers.

30. Chile is the only country in Latin America without venomous snakes. .

31. But penguins live there. Yes, yes, in the south of Chile you can see penguins and fur seals.

32. Chile claims most of Antarctica and even considers it its region. The population of the province of Chilean Antarctica in winter is 80 people.

33. Paradoxically, in this small country, in addition to the ice of the Antarctic, there is also the driest desert in the world - the Atacama.

34. Sometimes the Atacama blooms in the literal sense of the word - after the rarest rains, the desert is covered with flowers and attracts many tourists.

35. However, in normal dry times, the Atacama landscape resembles that of the moon - it is home to the world's largest observatory (Las Campanas), and also tests lunar and Mars rovers.

36. Chile is generally considered an area of ​​paranormal activity and is one of the ten “most visited by aliens” and others unidentified objects countries

37. Robinson Crusoe Island really exists - it is part of the Juan Fernandez archipelago and belongs to Chile. It was the story of the Scottish navigator Alexander Selkirk, who lived alone on an island for 4 years and 4 months, that Daniel Defoe took as the basis for his novel Robinson Crusoe.

38. Another famous Chilean island, Easter Island, is considered the most isolated inhabited place on Earth. There is only one airport and one marina for ships.

39. The main income of the Rapa Nui people - the inhabitants of Easter Island - is tourism. True, prices for air tickets, hotels and excursions are, frankly speaking, somewhat exorbitant. But if you have the opportunity, go, you won’t regret it.

40. A unique Chilean delicacy is palm honey. The taste is nothing special, but local residents They are very proud of him. It is made from the sap of the Chilean palm tree.

41. Chile also has amazingly delicious ice cream (I don’t know what this is connected with). Its advantage is a huge number of different tastes and gigantic portions. A common sight in the summer is Chileans sitting in flocks on their lawns eating ice cream.

42. Films in cinemas are shown in their original language with Spanish subtitles. The exception is children's cartoons.

43. They have no stray cats at all, but a lot of stray dogs.

44. Many Chileans still believe that Russia is under communism. They are not at all aware of the stereotype about the “bear walking the streets,” but permafrost and vodka are recognizable features of our Motherland in their eyes.

45. Chileans are also very fond of the so-called “Russian Circus”. A couple of years ago, a visiting Mexican troupe with a couple of gymnasts from the countries of the former Soviet Union amazed the locals so much that people who have absolutely nothing in common with Russians and the circus are touring under the “Russian Circus” trend. It's sad, but everything is underway.

46. Chile has its own “gopniks” - Flaite. But, in my opinion, they are more dangerous and antisocial than ours - so it’s better not to walk alone in the evening (despite the fact that Chile is one of the safest countries in South America).

47. The national alcoholic drink of Chileans is Pisco grape vodka. Although its origin is rather dubious and is attributed to Peru, the Chileans revere it as their national one. And this is another stumbling block between the two countries.

48. Chileans love Chinese cuisine, but Japanese cuisine, on the contrary, is not particularly popular among them.

49. The country is periodically shaken. The Great Chilean earthquake of 1960 was the strongest in the entire history of observations, and what happened in February 2010 shortened the time of the earth's day by microseconds and shifted the earth's axis, which is also not weak.

50. Not all Chileans are typical dark-skinned Latinos. In the south, again, you can meet the descendants of the Germans, British, etc. - blue-eyed, blond-haired Chileans. True, the further north you go, towards the border with Peru and Bolivia, the less chance you have of seeing them.