Kyle Hepp

22 Comments

1. 

   It sounds like you and Papito are getting along just wonderfully! You can actually get a toothbrush for dogs and special toothpaste. It helps somewhat with the doggie breath and will certainly help in the future to avoid dental/vet bills.

   Comment by Reb — August 25, 2008 @ 12:00 am

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2. 

   Dang! I clicked on the link and now I can’t get that song out of my head!!!! WTH is that group!!!!

   Ooh definetly do another Group Blog. I later realized that I could have participated on the Chilean Men one after I read all the different posts and kept thinking “this reminds me of Mexican men” or “how funny! Mexican men would NEVER do that!”… and so forth.

   As for the next subject, I’d better let you gringas in Chile come up with the plot… I’ll roll with it.

   =)
   Fned.

   Comment by Fned — August 25, 2008 @ 3:15 am

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3. 

   I met my new neighbors while holding a big bag of hot shit. Don’t be confused — I, too, am hot shit, but not of the smelly variety. Usually.

   And get the cheapest child’s toothbrush you can find and doggie toothpaste (if you can’t get it there, I’ll send you some). Makes a huge difference in the dragon breath, and Rudi really likes getting her teeth brushed. Yuki, not so much, but we didn’t start her as a pup, and her breath isn’t so bad. Rudi’s can (and possibly has, I don’t know) kill an entire colony of small children.

   Comment by Kristen — August 25, 2008 @ 5:04 am

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4. 

   You can get a teflon-coated cable (like a bike-lock cable) to use for a tie-out at the store. OK, maybe you can’t–I don’t know how easy to purchase they are in Chile. But it would keep Papito from chewing on the leash. Get a couple of carabiners so you can attach it to her collar and whatever you want to tether her to.

   And, sorry, I can’t help but go into dog-trainer mode sometimes, but picking up Papito when there are other dogs around is feeding and rewarding her fears and may result in a very dog-phobic dog. What you’re telling her is “Yes, yous should indeed be very afraid; I am very afraid.” So she’s learning that the approach of another dog is bad news. It’s also increasing her feelings of dependence on you. Instead, I’d carry some yummy bits of food whebnerver I took her out and when a threatening dog approaches, toss some food at it and keep moving. The food will divert its attention, and you can offer Papito a tidbit as you walk away so that the approach of another dog not only becomes nothing to fear but a very rewarding situation. I always carry food (I have a little pack with food and poop bags, and I can also keep keys and cell phone in it) that I carry whenever I go anywhere with my dogs.

   Again, sorry it’s unsolicited advice, but I can’t help myself

   Comment by Lisa B. — August 25, 2008 @ 6:36 am

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5. 

   i LOVED the group post. maybe we could do something about experiences as gringos living in Chile OR maybe something broader like things we love/hate about living abroad in general?

   Comment by nyGRINGAinCHILE — August 25, 2008 @ 7:47 am

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6. 

   I don’t know if you can buy it here, but in the States they have a whole line of dog toys that have mint in them. I got one for my puppy and she already chewed the crap out of it. Also if you just buy a baby toothbrush and brush her teeth the breath thing will clear up. You don’t need any of those special tooth brushes and beef flavored paste. A baby tooth brush is soft enough.

   The group blogging thing was awesome!! We should definitely do it again. I think once a week is too often, we will probably run out of things to write about, but once a month is too far apart. I think we should do it every other Friday. It’s a good way to end the week! I think we should do the topic of Chilean women sometime. I think since we did men, women would also be a good way to go.

   Comment by Shannon — August 25, 2008 @ 8:16 am

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7. 

   Kyle- your blog is amazing I enjoy reading all these things about men, gringas, etc:)
   next topic should be definitely focused on chilenas:)
   thanks and I am looking forward to reading your stories, guys.
   many greeting from europe:)

   Comment by Anonymous — August 25, 2008 @ 10:46 am

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8. 

   Heyya Kyle, I liked the group blog thing. It’s fun to compare experiences. I could tell we were all talking about the same men, because I agreed with almost everything I read. hahaha. what a funny thing. I wish there were a group of Chilean men bloggers who could blog about gringas in Chile. jajajaja. That would be hilarious. La venganza, jajaja.

   I agree with Shannon in that once a week is too much, once every two weeks sounds about right…And I’ve liked all the topic suggestions.

   On another note, I like the papito chulo video, jajaja. And The Papito Chulo as well. He’s pretty cute. I’d heard the song (go figure-reggaeton is everywhere here), but had never seen the video.

   Comment by Maeskizzle — August 25, 2008 @ 11:38 am

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9. 

   I’d like to participate in the group blogging topic next time, but I haven’t been able to come up with any good topics. Everything I’ve thought of sounds pretty hokey like, “What was your first time out of your home country like?” or “What do you miss most about home (or love most about home if you are in your home city)?”

   Comment by Ordinary Girl — August 25, 2008 @ 1:17 pm

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10. 

    Your post about Papito makes me miss my dog! Walking a dog around the neighborhood means you’re a local, so I’m not surprised people were asking you for directions.

    I thought the group blogging was a lot of fun and agree with the every two weeks time frame. I like the idea of posting on Chilean women. Another thing I thought of was writing about how living abroad has changed you, for better or for worse. Thoughts?

    Comment by Leigh — August 25, 2008 @ 1:31 pm

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11. 

    I also thought the group blog post was great, and agree with the every-other-week idea. The ideas so far are great, especially:
    1. Chilenas (only fair)
    2. Going abroad the first time (maybe vs. going abroad this time?)
    3. How living abroad changes you (maybe also, vs. passing through?)

    I would also throw into the hat:
    4. Chilean news media (written and televised)
    5. Chilean politics
    6. Chilean education (since I think a lot of us work or have worked in that system)
    7. Being friends with other gringos (pros & cons)
    8. Something that gringos passing through don't seem to get about Chile (and that, claro, really bugs you)
    9. Protesting and Chile
    10. Drama and Chile
    11. Telenovelas
    12. Making Chilean friends
    13. Choosing where to live (every city has that gringo neighborhood…to rent, or not to rent?)
    14. Free time in Chile (are you able to pursue the same hobbies? do you have new ones you wouldn't have at home?)
    15. Favorite spot in Chile (literally spot, as in within a city within the country)

    Comment by Meredith — August 25, 2008 @ 3:15 pm

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12. 

    PS. I agree that a really broad topic makes for very interesting results. I think that a narrower one could work too, though….if there’s a very specific question, it would be very cool to see different arguments for different solutions. Maybe we could kind of alternate between broad and focused?

    Comment by Meredith — August 25, 2008 @ 3:17 pm

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13. 

    it was good. oh man i’m loving merediths list. some other things i feel like i talk and write about a lot that might be cool to compare other gringa thoughts on would be:
    - how chileans perceive gringos
    - custom most hard to adjust to
    - chilean health beliefs
    - (haha which may or may not overlap with) supersticions
    -biggest mixup/most embarrasing moment etc. (typical, but always funny)

    also, i like the idea of “things gringos passing through don’t get” a lot, and actually, thought it may be interesting to expand or have a related topic of the difference between studying and living here (similar in that, in one you’re still kinda “passing through”) i guess…what things sink in depending on your length of stay and your outlook

    Comment by lydia — August 25, 2008 @ 4:44 pm

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14. 

    Hellooooooo…..!

    I was totally going to suggest that we do a group topic every other week too. That would give us more time to think about the topic too and come up with really good posts!

    I like Meredith and Lydia’s lists. We could also maybe write what we miss about our home country…and maybe even what we missed when we left Chile (or other foreign country) for the first time. Just some ideas…..

    

    Comment by Tyffanie — August 25, 2008 @ 5:42 pm

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15. 

    Wow. All of you guys have such good ideas. I especially like the ideas of how living abroad changes you, what chileans think of gringos (or what gringos think chilean’s think of gringos vs. what they really think of gringos .. might be hard to be subjective), biggest mix up/embarrassing moments.

    My idea would be to blog about having a male name when you are a female, a female name when you are male . . you know, the pros and the cons and how traumatic it has made your life and how your parents’ ruined your life and all that stuff. .j/k (and oh that’s getting too far off topic from the Chilean / expat / foreigner theme anyway I guess).

    Comment by Ritamae — August 25, 2008 @ 6:33 pm

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16. 

    P.S. and I meant to add that I really enjoyed really everyone’s different takes and perspectives. I found the posts in general to be very refreshing and ejoyable and it was so nice to here all of the compliments bestowed upon the Chilean men.

    Comment by Ritamae — August 25, 2008 @ 6:41 pm

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17. 

    Like the new title on the page!

    And SO wish I had a dog now!

    Jayna

    Comment by Anonymous — August 25, 2008 @ 7:42 pm

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18. 

    Weird, I always get asked for directions too. Then they always act surprised like “I wonder why the girl with short blonde hair and big blue eyes doesn’t know where this street is?”

    Then, I love it when I ask for directions and it’s like a wild goose chase in Santiago. At some point I’m just tempted to leave bread crumbs, because with what they tell me I end up going in circles anyways.

    Sweet blog!

    Comment by Sara — August 25, 2008 @ 7:50 pm

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19. 

    AAwwwww, I was laughing so hard reading this entry.

    I would love to do another group blogging post. I just can´t write about Chilean women…. but I would love to do more!! How about a regularly scheduled thing_

    Comment by Amanda — August 25, 2008 @ 8:44 pm

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20. 

    Reb, thanks for the advice, I need to figure out where to buy this dog tooth paste. Stopped in two pet stores today and they didn’t have any.

    Fned, I can’t wait to hear what you come up with. Your lado mexicano take on things is sure to be hilarious!

    Kristen, I can only hope that Papito is like Rudi because by the smell of this dog we are going to have to do a lot of brushing

    Lisa, I don’t mind unsolicited advice at all! Thanks for the suggestion, but unfortunately there are too many stray dogs in Santiago. To carry around a handful of food for each one that comes near us I would have to be carrying a 10 kilo bag on each walk! But to clarify, if these makes any difference, she plays with friendly dogs that approach and I only pick her up if a dog is aggressive. She’s not scared unless a bigger dog is growling and snapping at her.

    Everybody else, your group blog ideas are great! I’ll put all the suggestions into a poll and we can vote on the topic for not this week but next week, since it looks like the consensus is to do it every other week.

    Sara, I know, why do people act so surprised?!? They really should know better

    Comment by Mamacita Chilena — August 25, 2008 @ 8:50 pm

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21. 

    Is being covered in cat hair in this season too? Cause I´m always covered in cat hair and I hope it looks chic.

    Comment by Bluestreak — August 26, 2008 @ 2:37 am

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22. 

    I would like to participate in the group blog next time for sure. I wanted to this time but I ended up running so late that I said oh well. I did enjoy reading them though. I like the ideas I have heard so far although I don’t think I will be able to write about Chilean women since I don’t know many. Some topic ideas I thought about were:

    1.Why do gringas and Chileans get along so well?

    2. What is the Chilean attitude towards foreigners in their land?

    3. Chilean Anti-American sentiment

    4. How being in a relationship with a Chilean/foreigner has changed you

    5. Racism/Classism in Chile or other country

    6. The Chilean beauty ideal

    Comment by kumichan83 — August 26, 2008 @ 7:01 am

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