Being an Outsider in Chile
An Interview with a Venezuelan Immigrant
As I made my way to interview a pleasant man at the elegant Hotel Plaza San Francisco in Santiago, Chile, I expected to hear a Chilean accent and local perspective—but was surprised to learn he was actually Venezuelan. The moment he greeted me, his voice and warmth hinted at something different, and sure enough, his story came from farther north than I’d assumed. It was a small twist that reminded me just how layered and diverse life in Santiago could be—how borders blur and people carry whole countries with them, even when they’re standing in a Chilean hotel lobby.
North vs. South: How Chile’s Geography Surprised This American
When I first arrived in Chile, I expected the landscape to be similar to what I knew back in the U.S., but what I found was a land of contrasts that couldn’t have been more different. The Andes mountains, looming like giants, stretched across the horizon, their snow-capped peaks cutting through the sky in a way that seemed almost unreal. In the U.S., we have mountain ranges, but nothing quite like this. The Andes felt close, imposing, and otherworldly, like they were holding the entire country in their embrace. I stood at the base, craning my neck to take it all in, and couldn’t help but feel small. The scale of it all was overwhelming, as though Chile had given nature full control.
Then there was the Atacama Desert. If you’ve ever seen a desert in the U.S., you know they have a way of stretching endlessly in front of you, their vastness almost comforting in its familiarity. But the Atacama? It was otherworldly—nothing like the deserts I had seen in places like Arizona or Utah. The ground was cracked and dry, with dunes and salt flats that shimmered in the heat like a mirage. The landscape was so stark and dramatic, it almost felt like another planet. There were no familiar cacti, no occasional oasis, just raw earth and sky. It was beautiful in a way that almost made you hold your breath, as if not wanting to disturb the delicate silence.
What really struck me, though, was how quickly the terrain could change. From the desert to the lush, green hills surrounding Valparaíso, Chile’s diversity in geography was mind-blowing. One moment I was standing on the edge of arid plains, and hours later, I was surrounded by the cool, misty air of a coastal city, looking out at the ocean. It made me realize how dynamic Chile’s landscape really is—a land of extremes, from the towering Andes to the flat, wind-swept deserts, and everything in between. It was like traveling through different worlds, all in one country, and I couldn’t help but be in awe of how unique and varied Chile’s physical geography truly is.
