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More Interesting Facts About Chile

Once considered the most militaristic country in Latin America, Chile has worked hard to overcome that stigma, emerging since the 1990s as a model for economic and social change in the region. Its armed forces are no longer a threat, its restructured economy is among the fastest growing in the world and its reputation for innovation is firmly established.

Chile, known as The Thin Country, extends along the Pacific Coast of South America, from the rain forests of Patagonia in the South to the desert of Atacama in the North. The cosmopolitan capital of Santiago is edged by the snow-capped Andes Mountains. Roughly six million residents live in the capital, or almost half the population of the country.

I found that information from The New York Times, I had no idea Chile had ever been considered a militaristic country. Crazy! I always thought of it as a really relaxed maybe even a poverty stricken country in South America. Since I started this blog I have learned so much and now have a whole new knowledge and outlook on Chile.

What a beautiful day at the beach!

I went to the beach today because the weather was perfect! While I was out having fun in the sun and enjoying the wonderful warm and sunny weather, I started to think about what the weather was like in Chile. So I investigated the seasons in Chile and this is what I discovered, the seasons are the exact opposite of ours here in the states. That is because Chile is in the southern hemisphere and the United States is in the Northern Hemisphere. What does this mean? It means that when our summer is starting their winter is starting, and vice-versa for all the seasons. Interesting huh?

Happy Easter

After spending a wonderful Easter with my family today filled with lots of food, games and egg hunts, I started to think about my Chile blog and wondered if the Chileans were celebrating Easter like I was. Here is what I learned thanks to THIS WEBSITE.

The Sunday before Easter in Chile is celebrated as Palm Sunday or also called Domingo de Ramos. The celebration is held with a mass or in some places as a procession. On Good Friday there is fasting and people eat fish instead of meat. There are programs on radio referred to as "mourning". Mourning programs are special music and this continues until Sunday morning with the resurrection of Jesus.

In towns around the capital of Santiago people have been celebrating a religious fiesta since the 16th century. The fiesta is known as Quasimodo and is of Latin origin, and represents the first word of an opening prayer which is said in the mass that occurs the first Sunday after Easter.

During Spanish times the day on which Quasimodo is held was the customary day for priests to take Communion to the old and the sick who had been unable to go to church during Easter. Sometimes attacks occured on priests so a group of guards would accompany the priests safely whilst performing their duties. After the priests performed the Sacrament, the day ended with rodeos and "horsemanship contests".

At the finish of the day celebrations occur with the Eucharist in an open-air mass. The Fiesta Quasimodo is full of spectacular color, song, and excitement for the huasos which are comboys or horsemen because it has continued for so many generations.

More Information from Chile native, Rodrigo Rojas

I messaged my Chile native interviewee, Rodrigo Rojas on Facebook the other day and asked him, "What are some unique or interesting customs in Chile? Or interesting facts that not a lot of people know about?" This is what he wrote back......

Thanks to a long history of immigration, Chilean manners have a largely European character. For example, the customary greeting between a man and a woman or between two women is a kiss on the cheek. When men greet each other they simply shake hands. For Chileans, the greeting is very important. Unless there are a large number of people present, it is generally inappropriate to greet someone by simply saying "hello." Take a few moments to greet people you have not met or you have not seen during the day.

Chilean men are more likely to follow rules of chivalry, although Chilean women may tell you this is changing. Men are expected to open doors for women and to give up their seat on the bus or Metro. On the bus or Metro, this is especially true for older women.

Chileans are known to have relaxed attitude towards punctuality. It is not considered inappropriate to arrive up to a half-an-hour late. If you arrive early, expect to wait.

Rodrigo also sent me this website about Huasos in Chile. Huasos are the equivalent of cowboys in the United States. Below is a picture of Huasos in Chile.

Chile has become the worlds eighth continent

For those of you who haven't heard the country Chile broke off of the continent, South America sometime early this morning and is now its own continent. The continent has drifted 11 miles West of South America and is predicted to continue drifting for another 50 miles. They have named the eighth continent, APRIL FOOLS!

Happy April Fools Everyone!

For any Chile followers or anyone else out there who is not familiar with April Fools it is where you play jokes on people so this post is NOT true and Chile is STILL attached to South America.

Chilean Slang

Here are some slang Chilean terms that will help you better communicate if you ever happen to travel to Chile. No, Hola!, Donde es el bano?, gracias! and callate la boca will not be sufficient enough in getting you through your trip to Chile and do not make you fluent in Spanish. However, if you don't ever plan on traveling to Chile they are still funny to read. Enjoy!

•Al tiro: Right away / immediately
•A Pata: On foot, i.e. when you walk somewhere.
•Achuntarle: To "be right on target," to " nail it"
•Adonde la viste: No way! I don't believe you! You're full of shit!
•Al Seco: "Chug it!" Used to encourage binge drinking.
•Andar Pato: To have no money, to be "broke"
•Huevón - means: Friend, pal, dude, dumb, fool, idiot... When you know all the meanings and all the aplications of this word, you learned very good the Chilean Spanish, because this is a very tipical Chilean word
•Estar en Pelota: To be naked.
•Arriba de la Pelota: To "be on the ball." To "be tipsy" from alcohol. To be having a good time.
•Aweonado: Dumbass
•Bacan (BKN): "Cool", awesome, neato, etc.
•Buena Honda: "good shit," or "good stuff." Describes general awesomeness. Also used to describe cool people.
•Caña: A hangover.
•Caleta: Many or lots of something
•Que Weá: If a Chilean sounds angry and says this phrase, it translates exactly like "what the fuck?" If used as a question, it means "what?" or "pardon?" in a very informal fashion
•Que Onda: What's up? Sup?
•Que lata: "What a shame," "what a bitch
•Vale: OK
•Si phó: of Course
•Talla: Joke
•Luka: $1000 pesos ( around to 2 dollars)
•Gamba:$100 Pesos (1/5 dollar)
•Gabriela/Quina: $5.000 Pesos (around to 10 dollar)
•La Dura: "Really??", "No way!" When in utter disbelief, respond with this phrase
•La Cagó: Two meanings for this word: "Damn!", "sweet!", "shit!".. Used to describe something cool when said brightly. Or the exact opposite: "Oh shit", "oh fuck", "oh no".. Used to denote something awful.
•Carrete: A party. The word with the most usage in all of Chile
•Carreteado: To be "spent", not in the mood to party anymore.
•Chela: Beer
•Cuatico: Used to describe anything exaggerated or aggrandized. It's good to use when bullshitting with friends
•Cuico/a: A stuck-up person, a snob.
•Estar Chato: To be full almost to the point of sickness (of food), to be "stuffed." To be sick or bored of something. To be very tired.
•Estar en otra: To drift off, to "be out of it"
•Estar hecho mierda: To be fucked up. Be it from drugs, alcohol, or that crazy twirling ride at fantasilandia
•Flaco/a: "Dude" or "man." A term to refer to your friend, or anybody really
•Guagua: A baby. Pronounced as "wah-wah", this word comes from the Incan language, Quechua
•Barza: Stupid person
•Puta la Weá!!: This simply translates to "fuck!"
•Mina/o: "Hottie", you would say this about person that is visually pleasing
•Copete: Drinks, liquor, booze, grandpa's cough medicine, firewater
•Plata:..Money
•Weveo/Hueveo: Silly behavior, playtime, shenanigans. What you get when you huevear. Could also mean some bullshit red tape you have to deal with.