Cambios

Chile and Argentina receive a lot of tourists and there is not much xenophobia. In contrast, tourists are welcome and received with hospitality as long as they don’t pretend to belong to a superior race. After three centuries of colonization and two centuries with sometimes heavy outside interference people have a fine sense for any form arrogance. And if they sense it they will often not tell – (especially Chileans learned to swallow their objections - during 17 years of a military dictatorship) but expect to receive reservation and poor service in turn. And that’s a pity because Argentines and Chileans are normal open and interested people that treat guests with honest geniality.

If you are white European or a white North American accept that you are a “gringo”“Gringo”. This In the Southern Cone this term has no negative intonation in the Southern Cone unlike in Mexico. It may only presume that a gringo "Gringo" is bit ignorant of the local the local culture and customs what needs to be treated with leniency. Try to surprise your counterpart with with good Spanish skills!

If you are from the Far East, you will be considered a “Chino” no matter if you are from China or actually from Japan or Korea or any other country of this region. And please, don’t take it as an offence if you are i.e. of Japanese origin and called a “Chino”. Your part of the world is simply too far away from Chile Patagonia and only few know the complicated and conflictive history of a so distant place.

<!--Only Israelis get distinct out of this group of the "Turcos" because they travel this region in large numbers. They are normally referred to as “Israelitas” and hardly ever as “Jews”. When travelling Chile and Argentina I did not observe much anti-Semitism but some annoyance with young Israelis because of their behavior. They travel after a long and tough military service and try to get as far as possible with the least amount of money possiblenecessary. They tend to break the rules more often (as many youngsters of this age tend to do), they often bargain for the lowest price (what is not common in this part of the world and sometimes perceived offensive) and they tend to often travel in groups of their own without seeking much interaction with others.

This generalization of people from far away is contrasted by a classist thinking about their own nation, especially in Chile. A few super-rich own and control most of the country, a stressed middle class - (living mainly in the cities - ) tries hard to keep up and many simple living people - (often living in rural areas - ) learned to live a tranquil life with rather little. The different groups and social classes distinct between each other and rarely mingle; they live in different quarters; send their children to different schools and vacation in different places. You may occasionally notice this when hiking the GPT. There are a few upscale luxury hotels where you could easily spend your monthly budget for a single night. Also owing large plots of land is a status symbol of the rich. And this is where the right-of-way trouble culminates. The super-rich that own these large "fundos" and "haciendas" are rarely ever there themselves but hire guards caretakers to maintain their property and not let anyone pass. … to be continued …