Prepare for the Basics of Life in Chile
Your first steps in the country
The story of Chile started when I was a little girl who moved here with her parents.
We were a typical Ukrainian family running away from the local mess and the poverty spread in the country during the ’90s. Even though thousands of people keep doing that today… Anyway, my parents found a relative living here for many decades, we grabbed almost nothing we had and flew into the unknown…
Today I am an adult and this introduction entitles me to state that I have some experience to share, accumulated during more than 17 years of the Chilean adventure.
The purpose of this post and the whole blog is to reveal many aspects of Chilean life that are not usually represented by common travel blogs.
For the start, the pandemic has shut us all in our current countries. However, whether you are presently planning your relocation to Chile or already living here, some nuances may have a chance to give a surprise.
The Language
First of all, the problem lies in the language. The Chilean Spanish differs from the Spanish-Spanish, taught as Castellano by the typical European programs. Here doesn’t exist the “vosotros” concept, neither we talk about “coches”, just “autos” (cars). It is a common difficulty many non-Spanish-speaking foreigners run into the moment they step into the airport. For example, I have a friend who had studied Spanish for 3 years in a Ukrainian university before coming to Chile. She ended misunderstanding 80% of the context not only because the Chileans invented a parallel universe Spanish, but also because they punch you in the face with their speech speed and word endings swallowing. Therefore, if you come here, be prepared for feeling linguistically blindsided.
Immigration Paperwork
Secondly, please don’t travel here without the proper documentation. There is a new immigration law going around that obliges immigrants to file for permanent residency from the country they come from. Historically, one could opt for a tourist visa and afterward seek a “temporary visa” or permanent residency being in Chile. Nevertheless, today this possibility is banished, so if you choose such a scenario, don’t complain while trying to reserve an hour for the “Extranjeria” (the official name of the immigration department) and waiting for the answer. Seriously, it reminds Zootopia full of sloths working around.
The Great Expectations
Here I can give at least a dozen examples of real people whose expectations were beaten as Dickens’s Pip. Many lost their illusions of finding a better life even in the first year of living. And there are many reasons for that: starting from the hardship of finding a job, an abysmal difference in cultures (it doesn’t matter where you come from), and finishing with the everlasting promise of something being done tomorrow — the black hole, the dystopia, the Neverland of every worker. So, please don’t put high hopes of discovering here unicorns walking down the street, even though the investment companies may promise you otherwise.
This was a very brief introduction to an adventure that is just beginning.
My purpose is not to scare you away from moving to Chile. I found out and assigned myself the goal to prepare you for the long journey of discovering Chile as it is.
