mostly superficial social observations about santiago, chile, and south america in general:

disclaimer: i realize that these observations are very shallow, but just know that in no way do they portray the full chilean reality. the longer i'm here the better they should get.

-in santiago at least, there are about 800 kajillion pharmacies. i'm not really sure why.
-pretty much everyone here drinks "coke light" or coke zero
-very very lucky people have 2 cars max per family, for a teenager to have his or her own car here is almost unheard of
-not really sure if the toilet flushes in the opposite direction, as i can't remember which way it flushes in the northern hemisphere
-chilean people are hardcore about drinking. like they could probably put frat boys to shame.
-i am realizing that a lot of my traits come from my mom's side of the family, like my addiction to chocolate, fear of heights, and inability to do mental math.
-latin american mtv is hilarious and ridiculous. if you don't believe me then look at this link. this is really a show. http://www.mtvla.com/canal/dansinropa/?_requestid=453837
-after about 1 a.m. soft porn and general nakedness are fair game on cable tv. so far i have witnessed girls next door and dr. 90210 without the blurs and i saw a movie that afterwards i learned was rated nc-17 in the u.s.
-Can't find parking? See an unnocupied curb? It's totally fair game! Just hop on up it, and pretend you don't hear your car's underbelly scraping on anything.
-on this side of the equator, fanny packs are still in and in a big way. It is the accessory of choice for men, and women can often be seen with one slung over their shoulder like a purse. Given the tight quarters of metros and micros, and the probability of pickpocketing, the fanny pack is not only aesthetically pleasing to Chileans but highly practical.
-rotondas (a.k.a. traffic circles) should be renamed ellipses of certain doom. all caution, judgment, and concept of traffic laws are thrown to the wind when one enters these things, and all that can be done is to pray to come out alive and on the intended street. it feels like anarchy.
-game show prizes are a lot smaller and a lot less exciting. their version of who wants to be a millionaire features a grand prize of about $220,000 USD. still nice, but not a million.
-in the mall i saw a stand that had the ends of various cell phone chargers sticking out of it. it costs nothing just to hook your cell phone up to it and let it charge. i would say that somebody should start one of these in the u.s., but i doubt it will happen since there isn't any money in it.
-a guy here has started a company where you order movies online and they are delivered to your house within the hour. doesn't sound so special right? except that you can also order food, wine, beer, baby diapers, etc. the other night i ordered a 5 day movie rental, popcorn, and a 2-person serving of frozen cannelonis and it ran me around $14 (or $7.000 pesos). not so bad.
-there are emo kids here too. God help them. actually the version of them here is more mixed with a rapper style. like tight jeans except for in the butt area where they are sagged enough to see underwear. i can't recall if i ever saw that in the states.

Chile is as funny as it is great.