Cultural Dimensions of Expatriate Life in Chile

"Are you the same kind of person I am? Good - now how about a Coke?" Margaret Mead wrote this line to sum up some typical American hometown feelings and apprehensions about being placed in a foreign environment. U.S. expatriates new to Chile will find no mirror image, but a breadth and diversity among their Chilean friends that is extremely attractive. There is something very special about Chile that incorporates the best of Old World style with New World receptiveness to innovation. Despite the distance and expense, many visitors find themselves returning again and again, and many of these folks wind up living here either in retirement or as working professionals or entrepreneurs. For most of us who know and love this country and its vibrant, intelligent people, there is a wistful sense that Chile is a little piece of heaven on earth, far away from the travails of the rest of the world. There are so many reasons why expatriates and travelers come to Chile, and there are so many different experiences that these people have, that this book is surely only a glimpse of the possibilities. Yet I am hopeful that, for you, reading this book and thinking about some of the points it raises will offer you the opportunity to go deeper and to gain more from your experiences in Chile than you otherwise would have been able to do. If that's the case, then I've done my job, with only one last task, and that is to wish you the experience of a lifetime as you come to know and love the graceful, raw, beautiful land of Chile and its unique, fun-loving, thoughtful people.