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Posts under ‘Chile’

Chile: A Stable Country Plagued by Earthquakes

Soon after I began focusing on all things Latin America a few years ago, I had a contractor working on my house whose college-aged daughter was living in Santiago, Chile.
“Why would she pick Santiago over Buenos Aires, or some of the other places in Latin America that keep popping up in the Washington Post’s travel [...]

Five Congressional Brawls in Latin America

Back in September, Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina yelled “you lie” during President Obama’s State of the Union Address. The incident left many people–especially Democrats–wondering if such behavior was another sign of the lack of basic civility in public discourse.
While the outburst was somewhat disturbing, legislators in the U.S. still seem pretty mellow [...]

Red Hot Chile Bloggers Tell Us What Not to Do

A couple of weeks ago I participated in a blog carnival in which I shared my three best travel secrets. Meanwhile, a similar joint effort was going on among a group of expat bloggers in Chile. But instead of sharing travel secrets, they each listed “Ways to Alienate a Chilean.”
Margaret Snook, who writes the Cachando [...]

Worldwide Poll: Mexicans Voice Highest Demand for Climate Change Policies, Americans the Lowest

Mexicans favor climate change policies more than the citizens of any other country in the world, according to the results of a poll recently released by World Public Opinion.org.
Americans were the least receptive to having their government focus more on climate change.
The organization asked nearly 20,000 people in the 19 most populous countries how [...]

Looking for a Big Mac? Think Mexico, Not Bolivia

The Economist magazine released its latest edition of the Big Mac Index last week. The index tracks the price of McDonald’s Big Mac in the 120 countries where the burgers are sold. It converts to U.S. dollars the purchase price in each country.
The Big Mac costs $3.57 in the U.S., according to the index.
The dollar [...]

Seven Surprising Facts About Latin America

In the post last week in which readers were asked to vote on how Mexico handled the Swine Flu crisis, I incorrectly noted that Mexico’s president was up for re-election in 2012. This has reinforced my belief that it’s dangerous to assume almost anything when writing about Latin American countries. 
Below are seven quirky facts about [...]

Expat Navigates Chile’s Formal, Informal Morality

By Eileen Smith, the woman behind the travel blog Bear Shaped Sphere. Eileen’s blog was nominated for a 2009 Lonely Planet travel blog award.
I came home after a trip to the south of Chile to find my questionably-located Santiago apartment pretty much the same. Dusty, small, and now, with a neighbor’s door police-taped shut, [...]

Mexico Is Top Latin American Spot for U.S. Tourists

Almost 6 million U.S. tourists visited Mexico last year, according to statistics released this month by the International Trade Administration Office of Travel and Tourism Industries.  More than the number of U.S. visitors to Central and South America combined.
The number of people who flew from the U.S.  to destinations in Central America, South America, or [...]

How Sara Met, Fell in Love with Santiago, Chile

In this guest post, Sara, the woman behind the La Gringuita Diaries blog tells the story of how she fell in love with Santiago, Chile. Follow Sara on Twitter at @sarainsantiago.
“So, I did it! I’m going!,” my friend announced. “Going where?,” I asked. “Why, Chile of course!,” she said. “I sent in the [...]