New Years in Chile

It seems that everyone is selling yellow underwear in the streets today. Gold sequins march across each pair, spelling out ‘Feliz año nuevo’ – happy new year. I’ve lived in Chile enough times to know I still have much to learn about this culture, but I remain perplexed. How much of a demand can there really be?

Underwear ignorance aside, I’m feeling good about my ability to navigate daily life here in Patagonia. Experience has taught me plenty about how things are done here, and it seems that the lessons from previous stays have been etched in my memory, enabling me to accept and avert the obstacles that used to catch me by surprise and make the daily routine a challenge. I have a better sense of what to expect, and as a result, the quirks and inefficiencies are no longer the annoyances I once perceived them to be.

I know, for example, that regardless of the hours posted outside, most stores won’t open before 10:30am. And that they will close for lunch around 12:30pm and re-open sometime after 3pm. Most of the time. I know that even the smallest transaction (such as buying gum) is likely to involve at least three salespeople: one to select the item I’m looking for, which is often in a glass case or shelf off-limits to customers; another to take my money and give me a receipt; and another to hand me the item in exchange for the receipt and then hand me another receipt for the entire transaction. Once I have purchased something, it will be nearly impossible to return it, so I choose my purchases with care.

For all its idiosyncrasies, the store routine is familiar to me, as I embark upon my fifth time living in Chile. It seems that the Chilean routine and forma de ser (way of being) are becoming part of me, and it is this familiarity- no doubt along with my acceptance of things that I cannot change– that has made coming back easier each time. Familiar are the personalities in our lives down here, from the faces of friends and family to the women who work at the natural foods store to the people in my yoga class and other acquaintances we run into on the street. Unpacking our boxes from storage has reunited us with familiar plates, towels, sheets, camping gear, and everything else we had packed up nearly two years ago. When I arrived at my yoga class the other day, my pink mat was still at the gym where I had left it; the seamless transition made the 20 months since my last class here fade away in an instant. Even the wind is a familiar friend, greeting me back with 120 kilometer per hour gusts and tossing me around as I make my way down the hill.

Our apartment is perched on a hillside with views out to the Straits of Magellan and Tierra del Fuego. Sitting at our kitchen table (see photo above!), I can see the ever-changing weather and watch the winds chase the clouds across the wide open sky. Cruise boats, oil tankers, and Antarctic research vessels come and go, and the city’s international population – at least during the southern hemisphere summer, which it is now – is felt by the different languages overheard on the streets and in the cafés: Russian, French, Portuguese, German, English. Backpackers stand out in their brightly-colored jackets and zip-off pants. The city bustles with activity during the long summer days, where the sun rises around 4am and does not set until after 11pm. With so much daylight, there is an eternal timeless quality to each day.

Washington DC feels very far from here. While we made some good friends and enjoyed being back on the same coast as my family, it wasn’t the right place for us. So we’ve traded in the comfort and security of regular paychecks and health insurance for something else, something that we are still in the process of defining. Time will tell if we are brave or simply naïve. We’re running on faith and optimism and hoping that the Fates accompany us on our travels.

Which brings us back to the underwear. As Nelson’s family explained, wearing yellow underwear is one of the Chilean New Year traditions thought to bring luck in the year ahead, as is eating a plate of lentils on New Year’s Eve and eating 12 grapes, one for each month of the coming year. (Chileans who want to ensure travel in the new year can be seen circling the block, suitcase in hand). Despite the uncertainty of where we will end up or what we’ll end up doing in the coming year, we are excited and renewed by the opportunities that life presents. We have eaten our 12 grapes. We’re wearing our proverbial yellow underwear. We’re ready for 2010 and hope you are too. Much love and smooth sailing to all in the new year.