Two of my classmates were especially struck by
the treatment our skin and hair brought us. Molly Hunt,
a junior at Boston College, recalled, "There was no hiding that I was tall, blonde and American and it was hard
to blend in anywhere I went." Ashlyn Byers, another
junior at BC, commented, "From catcalling to pick
pocketing, I felt targeted as a visitor." She later described how this treatment differed in various Chilean
cities based on their level of accustomedness to tourism. In La Serena, a coastal city around 290 miles north
of Santiago, Ashlyn recalled the locals being more welcoming to the "gringas", a non-derogatory term used in
Chile for foreigners. When I asked her to express the
overall feeling she got from Chileans, she responded
by saying, "I got the impression that the people of Chile
did not want visitors."
as diverse as one might expect it to be in the twentyfirst century. According to World Population Review,
Chile has a very low European community with the exception of Spaniards, Italians, and the French. Therefore, it is relatively uncommon in large cities such as
Santiago and Valparaíso to spot someone who has natural blonde hair and bright blue eyes. It was no wonder
at all why my classmates and I stuck out to such a great
extent in crowds full of Chileans, who characteristically
have very dark-colored eyes and hair.
Chile is home to the most geographically diverse region in the world, surrounded by the Andes
Mountains, the desert, as well as the Pacific Ocean. It
also has some of the richest foods in the world as well
as the strongest economy in Latin America. I strongly
suggest that if you visit Chile in the near future and reBefore packing my bags and leaving for South ceive weird stares, that you ignore them and enjoy the
America, I was sure that the capital of Chile would be million other majestic attributes that make up this exfull of diversity as a metropolitan city. It surprised me traordinary country.
upon arriving to learn that the population is not nearly
Incan Flag (Photo: Maya Grodzka)
OCTOBER 2015
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