The RUT is the Route to the Root of living in Chilean Society

Ok, what is this RUT thing? Well, it depends on the country:
Road Users' Tax (Philippines)
Rutland, Vermont (USA Airport Code)
Riset Unggulan Terpadu (Indonesia goverment research department)
Roskilde University (Denmark)
Really Useful Theatres Ltd (UK)

In Chile, the RUT or RUN (stands for Rol Unico Tributario & pronounced “root”) is the individual Chilean national identification number, similar to our social security number. Unlike the social security number, it is strongly encouraged for many transactions and required if you plan to work in the country. When performing activities like grocery shopping, getting prescriptions filled, staying in a hotel, visiting a doctor, checking out a video, getting a credit card, setting up a bank account…they always ask “Cual es su RUT?” Of course, short term visitors to Chile don’t or can’t obtain a RUT, so they use there passports as a substitute. For the first couple of months until we received our RUT ID cards, that’s what we had to do. This has its limitations and can make simple daily activities a bit challenging, if not frustrating and annoying. For example, we needed to get some ibuprofen which is kept behind the counter in the pharmacy. Yes, we could buy it, but without a RUT, they would charge an outrageous price. The pharmacist ended up using another customer’s RUT number off of a receipt to help get a better price.
So, how does one get a RUT number? RUT cards are issued through the “Registro civil” central office in Santiago, but have excessive amounts of required paperwork for foreigners including a “perfect” visa stamp in your passport, copies of your Chile entry stamp, a confirmation of registration paper from the local Cabineros Internacional (international police) office, specific headshot photos with your birthdate (see photo), and a hair sample (just kidding). Sometimes they require random or all documents to be notarized before accepted. (The need for and business of notarized documents in Chile is notorious and amusing.) The finalized paperwork and fingerprinting is submitted through the local office of department of transportation which appears to be similar to the DOT offices in the states: long lines, redundancies in the required paperwork and often staffed with unhappy “reglistas”. Reglistas are those individuals who follow the rules to the “T” and make no exceptions regardless of how ridiculous the rules may seem.
So, do you sense a tad of bitterness in this story? In summarizing the narration of this slightly painful experience for us, it took Marisol three attempts over the course of 3 months to finally obtain her RUT card. This process included sending her passport away twice, multiple corrections to her visa stamp, cancellation & reissuing of her Chilean visa, excessive amounts of photocopies of her documents, 3 rounds of good ole, black ink fingerprints, and charming the head of the Concepcion Extranjeria (department of foreign affairs) who used his “special” friends to expedite the corrections in a different government office. At a time when you are just trying to get settled into your new surroundings, it was difficult to go up to the counter after waiting several weeks in anticipation of picking up your RUT card and instead, get the white paperslip (resembling a “most wanted” notification) stamped “rejected” along side your name and photo.

In the end, it all worked out: another unique experience and story while living abroad. Obviously not all foreigners have this many problems getting their RUT cards, but other friends have confirmed similar challenges with the quest for their RUT.
Doug and Marisol are now happy and cherish the opportunity to flash their RUT cards when asked to do so.

Unfortunately, the thought of taking Nathan back for another round of fingerprinting and finger crossing has kept us away after his first rejection. Maybe 2007 will be the route to his RUT.

Sub-Terra

It may seem a little unusual to take a day trip to a coastal town and then spend half the time underground in a coal mine, but that’s what we did. La Costa del Carbon (coast of coal) is a stretch of coastal towns that were built around the coal mining industry that began to thrive in the region in the 1840's. Though the mines officially closed in the late 1990’s, the coal industry had been in decline for several decades leaving the people with little livelihood. The Chilean movie Sub Terra highlights the sad exploitation of the generations of miners in this area whose lives revolved around coal. (If you haven’t seen the movie, we highly recommend it).
Lota, the town we visited, has turned one of the most notorious mines, El Chiflón del Diablo (Wind of the Devil), into a historic attraction with some of the unemployed miners as the guides to their former world below. We made our way to Lota, located an hour and half drive south from San Pedro de la Paz, with our friends Dan & Catherine (another Fulbright teacher from Portland & her husband). We were a bit skeptical of taking the mine tour, but the miners’ sincerity and spirit convinced us it would be an interesting experience. They didn’t disappoint us. With Nathan at our side, the 5 of us along with our guide descended down the mine shaft 130 ft in the elevator bucket to the labyrinth below. Telling his stories of the conditions, his experiences and the often tragic history of this infamous mine, he lead us through the old mine tunnel that burrowed under the sea. It was strange to think that we were









walking in a hole under the roaring ocean or more importantly that people worked in these primitive conditions with few safety measures. Mining anywhere in the world is a dangerous occupation, but these men (and boys as young as 9 years old) sacrificed a lot for very little.
We finished our day in Lota wandering through the Parque Botánico de Doña Isidora Goyenechea, a beautiful natural park perched on top of a small peninsula overlooking the coast. The park is well maintained and stocked with native plants and trees from Chile and surrounding South American countries. The views of the fishing bay and rugged coastline were spectacular. Listening to the neotropic cormorants (Phalacrocorax brasilianus) socializing in the large trees perched over the cliff, we watched the sun disappear over the Pacific and pondered how fortunate we are.

Our New Neighborhood

Combined with its neighboring cities, Concepción stacks up as the second largest city in Chile with a population of around a million. The big city acts as an important industrial port hub being located in practically the middle of the country and hosts several universities which lend a young energetic feel to the city vibe. Founded in 1550, Concepción has endured an interesting history including acting as the northern border for the Mapuche resistance (indigenous peoples), a political stronghold for the Marxist movement in the late sixties and suffered several large earthquakes that have literally moved the city’s location.
Situated on the south side of the mighty Bio Bio River and across the river from Concepción, San Pedro de la Paz is the small city we call home. Liceo San Pedro, Sara Marisol’s Fulbright exchange high school is located near the center of the villa and drew us to this area. Upon arrival to Chile, Sara and Nathan found a small house to rent from Marcela, a friend of Loreto Bustos (the exchange teacher). Marcela and her mother, “Abuela” (or “grandmother” as she likes to be called), welcomed us with open arms and helped Sara and Nathan settled into the neighborhood. Marcela and Abuela who live just around the corner have really treated as well and like to visit with Nathan. Our house is just a 5 minute walk from the Liceo and came furnished or “over furnished” (with everything someone collects through out a life time and not always need): Doug spent the first couple of weeks reorganizing the space to make it “Nathan proof”. All and all it’s a cozy place with everything we need. In fact, it has been quite nice to do away with an energy-sucking dryer and have fresh smelling clothes dried the old fashioned way.
As the photo of our house (the yellow half) shows, many of the residences in Chile are built as duplexes to keep construction costs down. The street we live on is called a Pasaje (a side street with little traffic) which is ideal for us. It’s a middle class neighborhood, but doesn’t compare in terms of openness to our Portland neighborhood. The neighbors are friendly to us, but don’t seem to relate or really know each other, which seems odd. This is apparently not uncommon. In general though, we have been treated quite well by Chileans thus far. Our other neighbors though are downright rude at times getting into fights, making noise at all hours of the night and leaving unwanted “presents” everywhere around the house. To clarify, I am talking about the stray cats that drive us crazy at times, particularly at night when they pounce around on the roof making me think I am actually living in the house of spirits. We actually like the neighborhood dogs that are mostly friendly and non-threatening, though leaving Sobaka in the states was a wise decision. Unfortunately, like many other countries, Chile has a problem with their stray cat and dog populations and albeit slowly, they are trying to make needed changes to help & protect the animals.
We have a small fenced-in backyard that Doug has taken on as his gardening project. Little did he know the elements he would face in this endeavor including the relentless cats, unknown funguses, plagues of snails, non-draining soil and some of the most intense UV rays in the world. The verdict on the fruits of his labor won’t be known until after Christmas, but the cilantro appears to be thriving.
There is a small family corner shop just 3 houses down the street and a basic bakery with warm, fresh bread around the corner. Monday through Saturday, Daniel the “verduras” man makes his way through the neighborhood around noontime selling fresh fruit and vegetables from the nearby farms out of back his horse-driven cart. This is truly what buying local is all about. The community as a whole has much to offer. Along with being a quiet, clean and safe place to live, the area has many little “green-strip” parks along the streets that are well maintained with colorful annuals and playgrounds. There are two lakes in San Pedro de la Paz: the larger one just a 10 minute walk away. The big lake has a very active outdoor amphitheater, an open park with lots to do and a bike trail around its perimeter. The lake also is a great place to fly a kite (a favorite Chilean pastime), go boating or check out the birdlife including the unique Chilean black necked swans (Cygnus melancoryphus) who frequent the shallows in the spring and summer months. Public transportation is quite good from where we live. We have multiple bus lines that pass by the end of our street that will take you anywhere in the Concepcion area and a new light rail stop just a few blocks away.
So, that our new neighborhood: come by for a visit, you’re all invited.

Fiestas Patrias

September brings the warmer winds of spring and one of the biggest national celebrations in Chile referred to as Fiestas Patrias or “el Dieciocho”. Though often thought of as Chile’s independence day, September 18 actually commemorates La primera junta nacional de Chile (Chilean leader’s proclamation of limited self-government) marking the beginning of their independence movement in 1810. Chile’s actual independence from Spain did not come until 1818. For the week leading up to September 18, the country celebrates its traditions and heritage with parades, festivals, foods, folk music, and dancing “la cueca”. The empanadas & asados (barbequed foods) seemed to be consumed at every meal and much like our 4th of July, excessive drinking (and I’m not talking about jugos) is common particularly among the men. That aside, it really is a treasured holiday event with the major focus on family and traditions.

“Abuela” our new friend who owns the house we are renting, brought some homemade wine, empanadas and desserts to initiate us into the holiday week. We were fortunate enough to attend several different Fiestas Patrias events over the week starting at the Liceo San Pedro (Sara Marisol’s high school).

After only a couple of classes in the morning, the students and teachers gathered in the school’s outdoor basketball courtyard to begin the festivities: traditional food and dancing the “La Cueca” were the main events. La Cueca, the national dance of Chile, is characterized by flowing motions created with handkerchiefs by both partners while set to upbeat guitars rhythms. Style, flow, creativity, traditional costumes and synergy make for a good la cueca dance. La cueca dance competitions are held throughout the country particularly at this time of the year.
Some sort of boche-type game, spinning tops, singing, trivia, along with chanting antagonizing rhymes at the other team while drinking Pisco sours were some of the more memorable activities. Here Sara Marisol gets a quick lesson from a fellow teacher on proper top winding technique. Asados including sausages, chicken and beef were cooked by several teachers in an open pit fire built in the courtyard. (Unfortunately for Sara Marisol, the Chileans definitely love their meats and seem to have some at every meal). After a nice formal lunch with the staff, the La Cueca dancing commenced and continued on into the evening hours.

On the weekend, we attended a couple of Fiestas Patrias parades and festivals: one in our neighborhood and the other in a small rural town, Santa Juana, about an hour away. The parades in the small towns hold nothing back: every form of locomotion that the city owns is showcased in the affair including the sparkly-clean garbage truck and a shiny, new long-distance passenger bus (especially purchased from New Zealand).


Nathan really enjoyed all the events and we must say that despite the lack of impressive fireworks, Fiestas Patrias made the “4th of July” holiday seem a little deficient at times.