Life in the countryside

Since I had the opportunity to live and work in the countryside, I was able to gain many insights into simple Chilean country life.

My place of residence, Río Colorado, is comparable to a normal German village, with houses sometimes several hundred meters apart. However, unlike in Germany, my place of residence even has a small grocery store. These are very typical for Chile, as you can find them in every small village, along the country road, and at very short distances in the city. In our village shop, you could buy fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy products, drinks, eggs, and typical Chilean sweets. It was even possible to write down the final amount and pay at the end of the month, as there is no bank here and trips to the next city are not very frequent.

However, you can also buy food like homemade bread or fresh eggs from neighbors.

Another peculiarity that you don't know from the city is that we simply bought a few chickens for the garden. Unfortunately, they were already eaten by our dogs on the first night, as they had bitten through the fencing. However, a few days later we bought a horse, which now roams our meadow and has the company of our neighbor's horses. We even got ourselves some chickens again, this time with a more stable enclosure.

In our free time in the countryside, we do a lot together. For example, we went 'swimming' in Río Colorado, cooked and grilled a lot together, and often had visitors. It is also not uncommon for them to bring meat for a barbecue, which can last two to three hours.

Both an advantage and a disadvantage of country life here are the animals. For example, one night I had a praying mantis in my room, which I didn't know what to do with at first.

It was also not uncommon for me to lift up the duvet in the evening and see several (dead) beetles underneath. Fortunately, there weren't so many spiders in my room: I found a Chilean tiger spider twice and a Chilean corner spider once on my backpack - the only spider that can be dangerous here if it bites.

One thing you have to expect in Chile, both in the countryside and in the city, are earthquakes. I have already experienced my first earthquake. At that time, I was sitting outside on benches with Agustin, Pato, and Soledad, as well as their friends and family, while we were grilling. At first, the earthquake sounded just like loud thunder to me. It was only when the bench, the trees, and everything around us started to move that I understood what was happening. Unfortunately, two people in Chile died as a result of the earthquake on the night of January 20, 2019. Fortunately, nothing happened to us and nothing was damaged.