Expats in Chile Are All from the Midwest

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February 20, 2009

Ok, really, this is insanity. I keep meeting more and more gringa expats in Chile and they are ALL from the Midwest. I mean, seriously, the number of Minnesotans alone probably outnumbers the amount of Chileans in Santiago. Well, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but they truly do make up a vast percentage of the expats that I know.

And if the gringa expat isn’t from the Midwest, she’s most likely from New York City or California. Those are your other two options. :)

I wonder what it is about the Midwest that makes all of us gringas come running straight in the country of Chile’s open arms. Were our lives growing up in the middle of cornfields just so boring that we wanted to trade it all in for a lifetime of mullets and machismo?

It would be really interesting to do a survey and find out.

Although, I’m not certain, because I don’t know a LOT of older expats in Chile, I think the Midwest phenomenon might pertain only to this generation of gringas (20-33′ish years old). Anyways, if you could take 2 seconds to answer the poll above and tell me where you’re from I’d greatly appreciate it. I want to see if all gringas in Chile are from the midwest, or really just all the gringas I know are from the Midwest.

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11 Comments

  1. Well I’m not in Chile anymore (but will probably be going back to live in Iquique eventually) but I’m originally from Minnesota. Then when I turned 18 I moved to LA and have been living in california for almost 10 years now, so I kind of fit two of those options. Except not currently an expat, so maybe not :(

    Comment by tashia — February 20, 2009 @ 9:00 am

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  2. almost everyone i know is from the midwest, too. I´m from Virginia and I´ve only ever met one other person here from there (studying or living here)

    Comment by Isabel — February 20, 2009 @ 9:01 am

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  3. Haha… I laughed when I read that. Of course, I clicked the Minnesota. I´ve made that connection before. I think it’s because of all of the Universities in the Midwest that have programs in Chile. In Minnesota St. Cloud State and St. John’s. There are also Northwestern and a few others that I am forgetting.

    At first, I never met anybody from the Midwest and when I did it was like INSTANT friendship. Now, they are coming out of the woodwork.

    Comment by Sara — February 20, 2009 @ 9:16 am

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  4. Thank you so much for commenting on my newly-created blog… I read your two stories and I´m glad I did, they are very very helpful and good to know. I´m so sorry they happened to you, but thank you for sharing so I can be more aware.

    I like your writing and will be reading more of it for sure. I´m from MA originally and just got to Chile… so I guess I can look forward to meeting some people from the Midwest! haha. Congratulations on your 2 year anniversary :)

    Vicki

    Comment by Victoria Finn — February 20, 2009 @ 10:20 am

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  5. Pennsylvania, represent! Actually, I highly doubt there are other Pennsylvanians, haha.

    Comment by Amanda — February 20, 2009 @ 10:28 am

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  6. In high school it was exchange students from Oregon and Pennsylvania… that said, I know midwesterners too. I will post the results of my survey about exchange programs tomorrow… you kind of are covering one of my points here.

    Comment by claresays — February 20, 2009 @ 12:34 pm

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  7. i wonder if its just this little cooincidence bubble of your blog world. other than from here i rarely meet anybody from MN .

    For studying in Valpo, DC and Seattle are the biggies it seems.

    as far as real life beyond that… well i wish i knew

    Comment by lydia — February 20, 2009 @ 1:51 pm

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  8. I noticed that too…I’m from Ohio and I particularly thought there were a lot of people from the Midwest…

    Comment by Art House Queen — February 20, 2009 @ 3:40 pm

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  9. the Minnesota thing is crazy, haha… i’ve definitely noticed that there’s an uncanny number of expats from there.. me, i’m from North Carolina :)

    Comment by Jessica — February 20, 2009 @ 8:29 pm

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  10. I have been having slowwwww internet lately, the poll showed up before the post and I didn’t realize it pertained to just Chile. So erase one Californian from your poll. Actually, I never know how to answer those things, I was born in NYC, grew up in California but now live in Mexico…
    regards,
    Theresa

    Comment by Theresa — February 21, 2009 @ 9:26 am

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  11. I think part of the Midwest phenomenon has to do with what Sara said about certain universities having programs in Chile. IES, the program I first came with, is linked to the University of Minnesota. Wisconsin and Michigan also seem to send a lot of students here, or at least they did when I was an exchange student.

    I think the itch to see the world may also be stronger in Midwesterners, removed as many of us are from the faster-paced, more cosmopolitan hubs of the U.S.

    Comment by Leigh — February 27, 2009 @ 6:22 am

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