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[eliz]

hi! just a quick question ...i'm wondering how easy it is to get foreign goods, such as toiletries,Crest toothpast, Clinique products, bigger shoe sizes in Santiago. I'm just curious because I spent two years in a smaller city in Japan where it was difficult to buy things(such as toothpaste with fluoride). I would appreciate any help with this. Thanks!

[eileen]

You should be fine getting nearly all of the toiletries you need. Clinique is readily available. I don't know how the prices compare to the states, but apparently it's cheaper than it is in Europe. I'm not sure about Crest per se, but there is Colgate, Sensodyne and Aquafresh (I think). Dove soap, nivea cream, etc. I have never seen Neutrogena shampoo in Chile, or at least not the one that's supposed to strip all the residue off your hair. There's a lot of Pantene, Fructis, and that Sedal, which might be l'oreal.

The one thing that can cause problems to find are tampons. They sell them (in some stores, usually in the posher areas), but they are wicked expensive, and the brands are limited, and they are all applicator-only. If you're an OB gal, you'll need to bring from home, or take a quick dip over the border to Argentina (easily done in a weekend) to get some.

For shoes, I wear a 39 or 40 (8.5ish), and have never had a problem. I'm not in Santiago at the moment, so I don't know how big the sizes go (maybe only to a 42), but there are hushpuppies stores downtown that sell Merrell's and other brands from the states, so you should be fine on sporty shoes.

Some processed foods may not be readily available, like rice krispies, or other cereals you might know and like, or other processed foods. Sometimes you can get them from Jumbo (big grocery store, not many locations, but metro or bus accessible), but they'd be more expensive than what you're used to paying at home.

Let me know if there are more things you want to know about.

eileen

[-Stu-]

You can even buy Baked Beans in Jumbo sometimes!!!

[Brynita]

I second Eileen on the tampon issue. Most of the Chilean women I talked to were actually freaked out by the mere idea of using tampons, so yeah, they can be hard to find. I prefer o.b., but had to switch to tampax and playtex while I was there.

As for large shoes, I was ok, but I wear a US 8.5. One of my coworkers who wears a US 10 (women's) had a much harder time finding shoes, and I often saw her in unisex sandals. That's not to say it's impossible to find larger shoes, but it may take some looking (and some money). Hush Puppy is a good option, and if it's still in business, Jarman makes good shoes too. But if you're worried about really nice dress shoes, I'd bring a pair or two with you, just to play it safe. Clothing sizes should be OK, though you'll have to try on a bunch of stuff to figure out what your size really is. And if you're very long-legged, you might have some issues with pants being long enough. But don't forget that tailoring is a lot cheaper in Chile than in the US, so if you're really having a hard time finding clothes that fit, look into finding a tailor or seamstress to help you--you bring them the fabric, and they make you the clothes. May even turn out to be cheaper than buying the imported stuff at the mall. There's a street downtown, I think somewhere between Plaza de Armas and the river, that has lots of fabirc shops, but I don't recall the name of the street.

If there are foods you crave, some you'll find easily, others not so much. Peanut butter is available but ridiculously expensive (one of those small jars of Jiff costs something like US$6). Another one of those things my Chilean friends just didn't understand my craving for. The more commercial kinds of chocolates and candies (twix, skittles, etc.) are around (try the Shell station convenient stores), though much more expensive than Chilean candy. Maple syrup? Forget about it. Doritos? No problem.

I could go on and on, but was there anything else specific you were worried about?

[eliz]

wow, thanks for all the good feedback. i wasn't wondering about anything too particular-- more the little things that you just take for granted, until they are nowhere to be found. (like highlighting kits for light-haired people and Dial soap) but it sounds like i will be able to get most things there, even if i have to pay a higher price. thanks heaps!

[evansmith]

Great Topic!

Like the previous posters said, toilettries are easy to find and it wasnt hard for me to switch soap, shampoo, etc. Its the food and condiments that killed me, I'll name a few just for kicks...

-Hot sauce: Not much available aside from tabasco which is pricy and aji rojo which is an acquired taste...not bad though, just not my favorite.

-Mustard: The typical Chilean stuff is sweet, almost like honey mustard and not so good. You can get frenchs or fancy mustard but they're more costly.

-Mayonaise: I'm not a huge mayonaise eater, but for making a tuna or other sandwich, it's a necessity in my book. The Chilean mayo is just not as good as our good old best foods, and it's yellow. The color didn't bother me, but it has a funky after taste. Some gringos I know liked it, I kind of did at first too, but got sick of it. Best foods is made by hellmans, the same mayo maker as in Chile, but it is not the same stuff...who knows...oh, and don't get lured in to putting it on your hot dogs people, come on, thats gross.

-Pasta sauce: Don't bother buying the "pre-made" pasta sauces in Lider or Unimarc. Its not like Prego or whatever. It's better to just make your own creation using the stewed tomatoes and some spices

Speaking of spices...there aren't a plethora of seasonings and stuff like that, but they do have all the basic spices and herbs.

Beef jerky: I guess this might be more for guys (as you don't often see girls gnawing on slim jim), but hey if a chick is down with jerky, thats cool in my book But not in Chile, 'cause it doesn't exist. If you travel south, you can find "Charqui" (I think thats how you spell it) but DO NOT buy it. I did, and had to find out the hard way that it tastes like dog food. Or at least the one I bought.

Anyway, the list goes on, but these are only minor annoyances and are easy to deal with once you start dealing with the overall efficiency (or lack therof) of anything having to do with the govt and start living on "Chilean time" instead of "Gringo time" But it's all a part of the experience so you have fun with it (or try your best )

But nice topic, made me think of all the things that I missed when I was in Chile. And all the things that I will soon be missing again, as I am returning on Sept. 15th...oh boy, do I really want to do this again

[-Stu-]

Montecarlo sell the kind of mayonnaise that you can get in England/Europe and it isn't too expensive. I think it's made by Kraft. I agree the Chilean mayonnaise is vile.

[Brynita]

Even my Chilean friends who have had the opportunity to try north american mayo agree ours is better, and you know how proud they can get about stuff like that! I liked charqui, but it did freak me out a bit when I read the ingredients and saw the words "carne equina." That stuff ain't beef, folks.

A bit more on food:

If you like baking, you may find it hard to get vegetable shortening. Margarine or lard or butter, no problem

Ketchup: Ugh. Unless it's Heintz, don't buy or eat it. There's a lot more corn syrup than tomato in most of the stuff you get at the typical sandwich joints.

Cheese: the readily available cheeses in Chile are good, but not too sharp. If you want cheddar, you can get it (for a price). No guarantee your local pals will like it though.

Cookies: If, like me, you are a fan of chewy cookies (soft-bake, or whatever you want to call them), good luck. You'll most likely have to bake them yourself.

Bagels: I only know of one bagel place in Chile. It's called the New York Bagel Bakery and I think it's near Tobalaba/Providencia (behind the Unimarc?). They're better than nothing, but they're not NY.

Chinese food: In my experience, the Chilean take on Chinese food is pretty bland. It all tastes the same, regardless of what kind of meat or veggies you choose. If you ask for it spicy, they add some chopped up aji verde. Actual Chinese hot sauce? What's that? And though you can find it on some menus, most Chileans I knew disapproved of the very concept of "sweet and sour."

Spicy food in general: Like evansmith said, tabasco and aji are pretty much all there is. You can buy curry, but it's not really spicy hot. I think there might be 2 Indian restaurants in town, but I could never afford them. Mexican food is also far less spicy than many might be used to, if you can find it at all (tho it's possible to find those Ortega or Old El Paso taco kits in some supermarkets--again, pricy). Couldn't tell you about Thai food choices.

OK, now I'm hungry.

[denise]

There�s a Mexican place called The Burrito Factory (I think) across from the Alto Las Condes mall. Maybe I�ve lowered my standards after having spent two years in Japan, where they used crepes as tortillas, but it was decent. Nice chips, too.

There�s also a little shop on Providencia, just west of where it splits from 11 de Septiembre, that sells Asian food and spices. I don�t know exactly what they have, because I only went there to buy tofu, but it might provide more flavor than those restaurants you�ve mentioned.

d

[-Stu-]

Has anyone found any fresh milk in Santiago? The milk here is vile.

[evansmith]

Oh yea, I forgot about the milk. It sucks. I also tried the bag form rather than the box because chileans told me it is fresh, but it tasted more like cream than milk. I usually went for the desgrasada type in the box from, one of the main brands, I cant remember (oh yea, soprole), it was stomachable. Stay away from the whole milk all together. I need to stop reading this thread or I might end up cancelling my flight back down there!!

[tiolee]

whenever I am in Chile and I whine that I miss western goods, my family remind me that "en Chile se hacen las cosas a la Chilena" then they call me gringo. I quickly readjust to the fact I am in Chile and not in the West.

And when I am in the west My family tell me to stop whining at the high cost of foods in the stores because I am no longer in Chile.

On the mayo . i love maggie mayo in Chile but only ever eat hellmans in the west. Plus palta on everything it seems in Chile

[evansmith]

Yeah, "a la Chilena." But not always "super buena...po" And I guess I'm opening up a new can of worms here as I am no longer talking just about "goods" but food in Chile in general...I have to say that as much as I loved living in Stgo (enough to be on my way back again), Chile is seriosly lacking in the food category. Only a quick jaunt across the border to Mendoza will make one aware of that sad fact. My theory is that Chileans like the food the way it is (I'm talking about every day stuff, not food at pricy restaurants) and don't want to change it because it is quote, unquote "their food." This may seem to be a crazy theory (and I am not trying to knock Chileans cooking skills here...hey, I learned to lov..well, eat it every day anyway), but I just don't see how, in this day and age, with all we know about food, and the internet and so on and so fourth, that more tasty "every day" cuisine has not made its way to Chile.

But credit where credit is due: Really good food is available in Chile!! I found it came at a premium at times, but it is available. And the seafood is espectacular, with more species of fish and shellfish than I ever thought possible. For a really tasty meal, not too too expensive, I really liked Liguria...Im sure some of you have been there, and maybe that call is too quico for others, but its good food and not an arm and a leg. And several convenient locations too I might add But for the most part, for a cheap and tasty meal, I resorted to cooking at home, which is what I would do most of the time, no matter where I lived.

So that's another 2 cents from me about Chilean cuisine. I think I'll go to "In 'n' Out" now, as my time here is running out

[tiolee]

yes u r right, chileans love THEIR food as opposed to other types of cusine. Awhile back someone tried to introduce the cinnamon bun to Chile, just like they have in the west, but it failed.

So they added manhar to it and now the chileans like it.

There is a lack of foreign foods in Santiago etc and what there is is not great. The italian food is mainly rubbish, even the ppl who own the places admit it. The chinese is bland as any other poster said. If you want great chinese food, buy it from a real chinese restaurant, a fact of eating that.

PPl should stick to what they do best, chileans make great things like, calzones rota, sopipillas and empanadas , cazuela etc but they cant make chinese.

When I was in Chile last I had to explain what a currry was, and they still looked baffled when I had finished so I just said its what indians etc eat.

Chileans do prefer to eat what they know plus chile is very isolated from the rest of the world in many ways. I read once that the immigration figure from chile was something like 0.1%. And you do not run into many chileans outside of the usual places abraod, even abroad there are not that many really.

Even the chileans abraod love to eatwhat they ate at home. I grew up in England and did not eat a curry or kebab till i was in my late teens, and I lived maybe 2 miles from the famous curry mile in Manchester.

Chilean seafood speaks for itself.

But ppl are the same all over.

I know some arabs who seem to eat nothing but lamb dishes, asians who ahve to eat everything with keema etc and englkish who have never ate a fish other than haddock or cod.

I too cook at home when in chile to satisfy my non chilean food needs.
When we travel we accept and look forward to seeing new things and doing different things but we also have to accept we will miss things and have to do without too.

When I am abraod i dont look back i look forward.

[evansmith]