Leslie Forman
July 31, 2011 — By Leslie Forman

Seeing China in Chile: a mini-photoessay

Yesterday, Brent and I strolled through Bellavista (Santiago’s quasi-bohemian bar district) and stopped to play on these: These practical and well-maintained pieces of exercise equipment are in just about every park and every apartment complex in China. I think the lottery funds them. Fun for kids aged 1-81 101! Edited 8/1/11 following an astute comment […]

Yesterday, Brent and I strolled through Bellavista (Santiago’s quasi-bohemian bar district) and stopped to play on these:


These practical and well-maintained pieces of exercise equipment are in just about every park and every apartment complex in China. I think the lottery funds them. Fun for kids aged 1-81 101! Edited 8/1/11 following an astute comment from my 88-year-old grandmother, who would love to play on these toys! Thanks for keeping me in line :) (Not as well-utilized in Chile as I remember in China, perhaps due to sub-optimal population density and/or weather.)

Then we hiked up the Cerro San Cristobal.

We tasted Mote Con Huesillos, one of Chile’s most typical snacks. It’s made of whole, rehydrated peaches soaked in a sweet syrup with cooked grains. It would have been even more refreshing on a warmer day.

Next to the statue of the virgin, I spotted a Chinese TV crew: the first Chinese people I’ve seen so far in Santiago. They explained to me that they are from Fujian Province, the home of many entrepreneurs that have moved to Latin America (and Europe) and they are making a cultural program about the Fujianese in Latin America. I was interviewed on camera in Chinese.


As we walked down a different trail, I spotted some red flowers, and posed next to them like a Chinese girl would.

That photo was taken shortly before it started to rain. Brrrrr…..

Also on the topic of China-Chile connections, I found this YouTube video of Tania, my roommate from when I studied in Chile in 2005, talking about China.

Her father was a diplomat, and she lived in China for many years as a child. She attended a Chinese elementary school, and says that this school system creates independent children. This is not the conclusion I drew from my experiences with Chinese education, but I also didn’t go to elementary school there. Her mom didn’t speak Chinese, and she needed to figure things out on her own. In the video she also talks about scholarship opportunities for Chilean students in China.

My world – California, China, Chile, and beyond – converges before my eyes, all the time. I am so lucky to be able to say this.