don´t let them get you down

While I do not feel much on the “inside” of Valparaíso, what I do know, has definitely gossip potential. Valpo features the highest number of dogs of any Chilean city, for starters. This is unnerving as I recently had to get treatment for pulgas (flees!)!
A maybe more public matter: The chief of the PDI – the equivalent of the U.S.’s FBI – had to step down after a child prostitution scandal, which took place in Valparaíso. PDIs had apparently participated in the scandal and the chief seems to have covered for them. There has been a series of corruption scandals in the PDI over the past two years, ranging from bribery and destruction of evidence to “adulteration of an alcohol test to involvement in a ring that protected criminals by falsifying documents” (says the Santiago Times).

By the way, I am now able to read (and understand) The Clinic, Chile´s very own – and only, as far as I can see – magazine for political caricature/serious opposition/culture information/language joking. So it has all that I desire. It is named so after Pinochet´s sojourn in the London Clinic ...Once you get over the sexism it has a lot of great information - sometimes funny, sometimes appalling, titillating, inspiring, unnerving - but never boring.

With regards to commodities, I am generally appalled at the lack of selection and competition here. There was even an article about it in The Clinic which said Chile is lacking a law which exists in Europe and Northern America, which allows persecution and sufficient punishment for price agreements / collusion. And you can feel it. I have never seen more relaxed enterprises, with hardly any price difference, i.e. competition between their products. The ofertas and remate here remind me of elections in the Former Eastern Europe :: it´s cosmetics for form´s sake.

Equally annoying is that the big three enterprises have all about the same stuff. All of which is equally not-presented by bored overstaff who react annoyed when you ask them something. At other times there is one or two lonesome guys working their ass off for a horde of rude customers.
Rs theory is that this is Valparaíso, more than Chile. On the other hand, a guy – on the expatriate-blogosphere –, I quote: “no one gets out of your way on the street, hardly anyone walks on those moving walkways (and blocks everyone else from trying to walk), no one says sorry if they knock into you, you barely get a grunt when you walk into a shop from the workers, drivers are selfish etc” He also said, correctly, that this is how Chileans behave in public, you better get used to it, don´t take it personal and be aware that it is public not private behavior.