Chile Forum

eeuunikkeiexpat wrote:. . . . And those cultural orgs that survive for generations in Chile are FME with the Japanese center in Santiago run like any other hierarchical Chilean org with those foreign surnamed officials thinking and actng in very Chilean ways.

So I've observed.

eeuunikkeiexpat wrote:That American group in Santiago, the AAC has got to be the snobbiest, most exclusive, cuico, nose in the air a$$hole expats I've ever met in Chile.

'Glad, then, that I've never come across them. It's embarrassing, the false face of the United States that many a blind or thoughtless emigré shows to the world.

Isabel Allende wrote in one of her books (I think "house of spirits") about a Neighbor who was many generations born in Chile talking about going "home"to England. My Uncle in one breath would talk about his grandchildren being eights generation in Chile and in the next saying he would be going "Home" to England , I wondered if they were ever neighbors. My uncle had no home in England but he did go once a year to visit a sister or cousins etc. maybe that is why I forgot the word immigrant.
You are right that we call everyone who comes to the US Americans, I don't think that is so true in Chile, and many of these people also have dual citizenship, which is a little different than the US .
And how many of you reading this forum are considering immigrating and seeking Chilean citizenship ASAP. It is different than the US

Well EEUU
I am glad I missed the Gringos, that bad ha?. Never even met one, though I am related to some of those 8th generation born in Chile, Chilean,Brits.

You're right, Helen. Most if not all of us will retain American citizenship out of sentiment, or at least for convenience's sake and because we won't be so deeply attached to Chile.

I don't know whether Chile has more immigrants who come merely for economic exploitation that the United States do; I doubt it. Look, for example, at the many millions of Mexicans who cross the southern border each year and send back billions of dollars to build residences in their hometowns; or at Polish immigrants to America over the past few generations -- three quarters of them returned to Poland for good. Perhaps it's simply the nature of modern migration, with its ease of movement, to be inconclusive.

I find it relaxing and annoying to be surrounded by other expats. It is relaxing because you know the cultural norms better and are not surprised by as much. It is also annoying because when you get used to every conversation being a learning experience. My brain is operating at a much higher level when talking to a Chilean as I am trying to understand so much more than just difficult vocabulary and verb tenses. The discussions may range from the mundane to the extreme but even if I am talking to a car parker I am more involved than back in the states in a similar situation. I guess it seems like going into the TV rerun season when I am surrounded by expats that I don't know that well. Same conversations over and over.

I do spend a lot of time with expats but they are the ones I have a personal bond with. I spend time with people that I work with or have worked with. I am one of those that work at an international school and if anything I get too much english in my daily life so I look for ways of avoiding it in my down time. I also have family living here so I can just go spend a day with my brother and slip into a comfortable conversation that keeps me from being desperate enough to bond with the next stranger that speaks english at a bar. I am in a convenient situation that keeps me sane.

That being said, The Geo Pub is one place that you can go. It is around the corner from the Unimarc on providencia and tobalaba. I would try to avoid going to suecia unless you are with people that will watch your back. It is not as safe as it used to be and muggings and theft are common. The menu hawkers are annoying as well. Most of the the places that expats go to depend on which country they are from and which profession you are in and what area of town you live in. So when you get yourself a job and meet your coworkers and discover your neighborhood you will have a better idea of what you want. They will also help you find your watering hole.

Hope that helps

Do Chileans call Americans gringos, or do they call themselves that?

'Serious, Z.?

Yes. I’ve never been to Chile, and I noticed that English-speaking people call Americans gringos here, or am I mistaken?

El Zorro wrote:Yes. I’ve never been to Chile, and I noticed that English-speaking people call Americans gringos here, or am I mistaken?

Gringos call themselves gringos because Chileans do. It's just Spanish for "foreigner" (or something like that).

Mark

Interesting. I also read Tom Bradanovic’s blog, which is commented to mostly by Chileans, and I realized that they share a great number of slang words with Argentina, except that there, Italians are called gringos and Americans Yankis, and you know how they pronounce the “y” when it precedes a vowel in a syllable.

El Zorro wrote:Interesting. I also read Tom Bradanovic’s blog, which is commented to mostly by Chileans, and I realized that they share a great number of slang words with Argentina, except that there, Italians are called gringos and Americans Yankis, and you know how they pronounce the “y” when it precedes a vowel in a syllable.

I read this somewhere once upon a time. Not sure if it's urban myth. But, the term Yankee has an interesting history. During early colonialism, New York was predominantly Dutch. There was a lot of what we would call today racism. The non-dutch referred to the Dutch as "Jon Cheese" (because the Dutch were known for cheese making). Over time this morphed into Yankees.

Other terms such as "Dutch treat" come from that period. A slur, indicating the cheapness of the Dutch. (You pay for your meal, I'll pay for mine.).

Mark

Z., I'm tall, blond, and blue-eyed, an American of English and northwestern European descent. I've been called "gringo" by Argentine cousins (who are of English descent, too) and friends (only in jest, it seems) though never yet by Chilean cousins (again, of English descent, though dark-haired) or friends -- perhaps there's more reticence in Chile on this score. But I've heard foreigners who look like me called "gringo" in both countries. (As you know, however, the term carries some opprobium in Mexico and, thus, in the minds of most Americans.)

"Yankee", of course, is different. In the American South, it labels Northerners. In the North, it labels New Englanders. In New England, it labels those descended from the English settlers of the early and mid seventeenth century. Tremendous speculation and disagreement about its origin. I think that a Dutch origin, as Mark mentioned ("New York" was the Dutch colony of "Nieuw Nederlandt" until 1664, and lies immediately to the West of New England), is most likely; and "Janke", pronounced "Yahn-keh" and meaning "Johnny", would be an easy enough (if somewhat dismissive) way to refer to adversarial English settlers, among whom, indeed, "John" was by far the commonest male given name.

I remember still the disbelief with which a Virginian cousin encountered being labelled "Yanqui" in a certain Latin American country some decades ago. He came to understand that foreign ignorance of American ways and heritage could indeed attempt to brand him with the hated word (he'd grown up hearing stories of the sufferings his people endured during the War between the States), but he never could overcome his indignation at being lumped together with people so different from himself as "real Yankees"!

Yanqui isn't used in Puerto Rico, here the local call them Norteamericanos, they don't even shorten it to Nortes or nortenos. they seem embarrassed when the term Gringos is used by Gringos. Most Americans just are not offended by "gringo". I remember once in the Virgin islands being called a Honky, it was used hatefully and the teenager was extremely offended that I laughed, you can't be offended by a term that has no particular offensive meaning to you.