Doing Business in Chile

• GDP: US$164 billion (2007).
• Main exports: Copper, fruit, fish, paper and chemicals.
• Main imports: Petroleum, chemicals, vehicles, electrical and telecommunications equipment.
• Main trade partners: USA, Argentina, Brazil, Japan and China.

Economy

With well-developed industrial and service sectors, Chile has one of Latin America's strongest economies. However, it still depends on export of primary commodities (metals and ores, fruit, fish and wood) for a large proportion of its export earnings. With commodity prices dropping recently, harsher times look likely for the Chilean economy, in line with the straitened financial times across the world.


However, Chile's industrial base has grown substantially over the last decade and includes steel manufacturing, oil production, ship building, and the production of cement and consumer goods. The mainstay of the export economy is still metals and ores: Chile is the world's leading exporter of copper and also produces zinc, iron ore, molybdenum, manganese, iodine and lithium.


The service sector has developed rapidly, especially financial services. Chile's economic performance has been strong since 2000, although annual growth had dipped slightly in 2008 to 4.1% with a further drop expected in 2009; unemployment was estimated at 7% in late 2007.

Business Etiquette

Businesspeople usually wear formal clothes in dark colours for meetings and official functions. Best months for business visits are April to December.


To keep reading this info, go to World Travel Guide.

CUECA CHILENA. Traditional dance video!

Check out more videos of Chile on Youtube.

Getting Used to Clean Air

The plane ride to Calama is a boys' club; the flight attendants strolling up and down the aisles are the only women you'll see. Calama's a mining town and, therefore, if you've got business there, chances are you're a man. It's the base-camp for the world's largest open-pit copper mine, a massive terraced crater called Chuquicamata, first worked under the Guggenheim brothers' Anaconda Copper Co.

The bus from there to San Pedro was a different deal entirely. The company running shuttles to San Pedro, 120 km east of the airport, didn't have enough passengers to make a trip economically feasible. This was lucky for me, because I took a taxi into town, ate lunch and bought a bus ticket for less money than the shuttle would have cost. No skill, pure dumb luck-especially since the cabbie gouged me out of $2 bucks. The bus, though, took two hours, just like the flight, even though it never stopped.

Now, not to dwell on my health, because I've done that recently in these entries, I went to San Pedro to get healthy, to get pure, clean, dry air. And on the bus, the window wide open and my right arm pinning back the whipping sun curtain, I breathed in that air, looking out on the white rock of the Atacama Desert, the driest in the world. At least initially, I felt better, or at least that there was hope for my sinuses.

The Atacama Desert is just like what you've seen of it in movies, like, say The Motorcycle Diaries, where the young Che walks across a dry, bright desert, flat and extensive with the sun blaring down so hard you squint through sunglasses. It's unforgiving land in the broadest sense of the term.

My bus got in shortly after 2 p.m, and it was the same one I took out 6 days later-on the surface, a newer model, but with the back bumper missing and the fan belt spinning wildly and totally exposed. My plane had left at 7 a.m., forcing me to leave for the airport at 5 (I woke up 5 minutes before the Supper Shuttle came, luckily, because the alarm didn't go off). If I felt healthier, the tradeoff was how tired I was.

Read full story at TravelPod

the best language program that I have ever used… Bueno Entonces review from FB!

Learning Spanish has been a personal goal of mine for about 10 years. I have been trying to learn Spanish since high school. I have tried everything from Rosetta Stone to generic CD’s that I listen to in my car. By far Buenos Entonces has been the best language program that I have ever used. I have learned more in 30 lessons than I did in three years of high school Spanish. I am now in the process of watching Buenos Entonces for the second time. This time I am picking up even more words. I have alot of hispanic friends and now when they talk to each other or when they talk to their family I am starting to understand.



Learn more about Spanish lessons on facebook.com/buenoentonces

Make sure you visit these places while in Chile. These are from Flickr

More pics of Chile, go to Flickr.

You'll need to learn the Language in order to work. Check Escuela Fronteras out!!!

About the classes

• Max 6 students

• Curriculum created by teachers with a degree on Linguistics from Univesidad Católica de Chile and a diploma of Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language.
• Standard Spanish classes, beginner to advanced. 7 levels
• Private customized courses (Latin American Literature, Chilean poetry, Business Spanish, Medical Spanish, Latin American Culture, Latin American Music, Arts, etc.)
• Group + Private (30 hours per week)
• All class materials included
• Authentic course books (not photocopies)
  
• Help sessions

Your course schedule follow either the morning or evening schedule and will look like the following:

Schedule	Classes Monday - Friday
09:00	First period of class
10:30	First break
10:45	Second period of class
12:00	Second break
12:15	Third period of class
13:00	Lunch
14:00	First period of class
15:30	First break
15:45	Second period of class
17:00	Second break
17:15	Third period of class

Basic level students:

Although students can start any Monday all year long, we recommend lower level students start at the beginning of the three week program.

2009
1-Jun, 22-Jun, 13-Jul, 3-Aug, 24-Aug, 14-Sep, 5-Oct, 26-Oct, 16-Nov, 7-Dec, 28-Dec

2010
18-Jan, 8-Feb, 1-Mar, 22-Mar, 12-Apr, 3-May, 24-May, 14-Jun, 5-Jul, 26-Jul, 16-Aug, 6-Sep, 27-Sep, 18-Oct, 8-Nov, 29-Nov, 20-Dec

Flexibility

• Evening and Saturday classes. If you are studying, working, volunteering or doing an internship and cannot attend 4 hours of class per day we offer evening and Saturday private classes. We are open until 9 pm during the week and from 9 am to 1 pm on Saturdays so you can make the best out of your experience in Latin America.
• Out of school study. We know that sometimes you do not have the time you would like to study Spanish. Therefore we have teachers available to visit you in your home, hotel or office and bring the class to wherever you are.

Learn more about this school at Escuela Fronteras.

Healthcare in Chile and the USA

In Chile, you have nearly Universal healthcare including a thriving private sector-ISAPRE-and FONASA-the public plan. Chileans pay 7% of their income and then make a choice to enter the FONASA or ISAPRE system-and have further choice to elect greater coverage in private plans.

I'm not saying Chile has the best system in the world but it does seem odd and a bit sad that I am less likely to die here because of a needed operation. A friend of mine recently had an operation, a much needed femoral bypass. It cost about $12,000 usd cash, no insurance-that includes everything and a 5 star room to boot.. The average "list price" in the US is $50,900 according to this website. Apparently it can be done as cheaply as $18,900(huh?). Perhaps that's a good place to check before your next operation in the USA folks.

What I know is that the US is falling in status from a number of lists.

The World Health Organization's ranking
of the world's health systems (Top 50)
In 2000, The US was still barely ahead of...Cuba. Chile beat the US by 4 places (and has improved its system under Bachelet while the US has deteriorated. The US also beat Slovenia by one place. The U.S. spends 16 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) on health care, compared with 8 to 10 percent in most major industrialized nations. According to the World Factbook
(which is suspiciously updated only to 2005) The US was #2 in healthcare spending by GDP so i would guess it's now easily in 1st place(yay!!!)

Read full article at usexpatinchile.blogspot.com

CHILE - In Close Contact. Check out this video!!

Nice pics of the country!! Many tourists show Chile is alive!




Go to Youtube to watch more about Chile.

Portable Spanish Classes. Check out this video

More videos of the Pizarra Magica on Youtube

Chile, Chile Lindo. Beautiful Country

Check out these images on a video!!!



And more videos of Chile, go to Youtube.

Vibe won a trip to Argentina thru a Bueno Entonces contest. Check out her experience and reviews

Day 2 in Buenos Aires

After class I meet the production people behind Bueno, entonces... in Palermo where they work. I’ve brought some chocolate all the way from New Zealand, which I think Corrie is happy about. It’s still surreal, can’t believe these people just brought me to Buenos Aires because they felt like giving away a trip. What’s more, I’m being spoiled rotten. Tonight more amazing Argentine food... has anyone told you about the food here?
Argentines like cow. They like to eat it, apparently per capita they eat something like 80 kg of cow on average a year. I find that hard to comprehend as a concept, but then again the beef here IS really quite incredible. The portion sizes are also quite incredible. When you order a bife de lomo you get enough to feed a small village back where I come from. It also turns out that the other David from Bueno, entonces... (el productor) knows a thing or two about wine and likes ordering really nice bottles of wine. OOOh this is heaven...mmmm Malbec.

Read full text at beadventuresinba.blogspot

Chile President Bachelet Approval Gains To 76% In Sept -Poll

SANTIAGO -(Dow Jones)- Chilean President Michelle Bachelet's approval rating rose to a record 76% in September, from 73% the previous month, according to an opinion poll published Wednesday by conservative polling institute Adimark GfK.

The pollster noted that no Chilean president has ever obtained such a high approval rating and that only a year ago, just 42% approved of Bachelet.

"That 76% of the population says it approves of her presidential performance is something never before seen in Chile's political history," Adimark said in its poll.

Her disapproval rating, meanwhile, fell to 16% from 19% the previous month.

Adimark attributed Bachelet's record approval rating to the perception of how she and her cabinet have handled the economic crisis and also to her "warm and spontaneous personality."

Of all the members of Bachelet's cabinet, Finance Minister Andres Velasco has the highest approval rating, at 67%. In last month's poll, Velasco obtained a 64% approval rating.

The government as a whole obtains 64% approval, up sharply from 57% in last month's poll.

In January, Chile unveiled a $4 billion fiscal stimulus package that included direct transfers to lower income families. Most of these transfers were made in March. In her annual May 21 "state of the nation" speech, Bachelet announced additional transfers to lower income families.

The stimulus package was financed with funds from one of the sovereign wealth funds where the government saved the windfall from high copper prices in recent years. Chile is the world's largest copper producer.

Read more on Nasqad.com

Websites for an overview on visas and work permits in Chile.

The embassies and consulates listed below will be able to provide more detailed information:

U.S. Embassy in Chile, www.usembassy.cl
Av. Andrés Bello 2800 - Las Condes, Santiago, Chile
Tel: (56-2) 232-2600; Fax: (56-2) 330-3710

British Embassy in Chile, www.britishembassy.gov.uk/
Avda. El Bosque Norte 0125, Las Condes, Santiago, Chile
Tel: (56-2) 370-4100

Canadian Embassy in Chile, www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/chile
World Trade Centre Building, Nueva Tajamar 481, North Tower, 12th Floor, Las Condes, Santiago, Chile
Tel: (56-2) 362-9660 ext. 3340 and 3341; Fax: (56-2) 362-9393; stago-cs@dfait-maeci.gc.ca

Embassies of Chile in English speaking countries:

Embassy of Chile in the USA, www.chile-usa.org
1732 Mass. Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20036
(202) 785-1746; embassy@embassyofchile.org
Consular Section: Tel: (202) 530-4106 and 530-4107; Fax: (202) 530-4145; consulado@embassyofchile.org

Embassy of Chile in the UK, www.echileuk.demon.co.uk
12 Devonshire Street, London, W1G 7DS, U.K.
Tel: 44-20 7580 6392; Fax: 44-20 7436 5204
embachile@embachile.co.uk

Embassy of Chile in Canada, www.chile.ca
50 O'Connor Street, suite 1413, Ottawa, Ontario K1P 6L2, Canada
Tel: (613) 235-4402 ext.117; Fax: (613) 235-1176

Check out more embassies at Transitions Abroad.

Only 134 Tickets Sold For Decisive World Cup Qualifier Between Colombia & Chile

The fact that Colombia will be playing for their lives when they face Chile in a crucial World Cup qualifier on Saturday hasn't helped ticket sales.

With the importance of the match, the Colombian Football Association expected to sell all 40,661 tickets available for the match at the Atanasio Giradot stadium in Medellin. However, only a mere 134 tickets have been sold up until now.

"The sale of tickets has been extremely slow but we are hopeful that it will improve, there are only four days left until the encounter," Alicia Torres, the leading press officer of the company in charge of distributing the tickets, told AP.

In an attempt to increase enthusiasm amongst fans, Eduardo Lara, the coach of Colombia, allowed fans to attend his team's training session on Tuesday, but fewer than 100 people turned up.

Colombia will need to claim the three points against Chile if they want to keep alive their chances of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

By Gregory Sica.
Read more on Goal.com

Review: Learn Spanish with Bueno, entonces...

Prior to moving to Argentina, I spent several years working at an investment firm in Los Angeles. After the financial market collapse, I decided that it was time for me to try something different and accepted a consulting job in Buenos Aires. I set off for this new experience knowing only basic Spanish.

The first few weeks were very frustrating. This was the first time that I was living and working in a city where I did not speak the native language. I was not prepared for how difficult it was going to be to learn Spanish! My biggest hindrance in learning the language was finding the time. With a full work week and the time required to adjust to a new city, I just didn’t have the time to take classes.

I found out about “Bueno, entonces” through a friend who heard they were organizing a focus group to test the product. I joined so that I could try the program in exchange for writing a review.

I was very pleasantly surprised with how great the program was and how quickly my Spanish improved. While some of the beginning classes were below my skill level, I still found it helpful to have them reinforce basic grammar and conversational vocabulary. As the classes continued, I found myself getting pulled into the story line of David and his teacher Jimena, and also learning more and more Spanish.

More of this review at buenoentonces.com/blog

Map of Chile

Check out this and more maps at national-anthems.net

The General Linguistics Method for Teaching Foreign Languages

Created by linguists, teachers and students from a half-dozen countries, General Linguistics developed Bueno, entonces… to incorporate all the best elements of the software and audiobook language learning methods like Pimsleur and Rosetta Stone that have been around for decades.

We mixed the comprehensive learning material of the audiobook courses with the addictive, fun and universally beloved format of a television show to create the Bueno, entonces… series. Each of the 30classes is 30-40 minutes long, proven as the perfect length for a language course - long enough to cover vocabulary and grammar topics but short enough to keep you interested the whole time. The challenging fast pace and edgy, entertaining style of Bueno, entonces… will keep you coming back for more.

Learning Spanish doesn’t have to be boring and monotonous. Bueno, entonces… infuses a witty, engaging storyline into the learning process - and by following along you absorb more Spanish, morequickly than you ever thought possible. By the end of the 5-week, 30-class series, you
will be speaking and understanding native conversational Spanish!

Bueno, entonces… incorporates the following 5 principles to make learning Spanish fun, painless and effective:

1. Make The Classes Interesting & Engaging With Wit and Charm.

If you are not engaged, you are not going to learn or remember anything. Learning doesn’t have to be boring — remember your favorite teachers? Well, wait until you meet David & Jimena…

Read more about the Method at buenoentonces.com/blog.

One semester of Spanish

This is so much fun. Check it out!

Visa for Chile

As regulations are subject to change at short notice it is advisable to check with the Chilean Consulate for the latest information. At present, a visa is not required by the following:

(a) nationals of EU countries, Australia, Canada, Japan and US for a stay of up to 90 days (except nationals of Greece, who can stay up to 60 days);

(b) nationals of Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Grenada, Guatemala, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Jamaica, Liechtenstein, Macau, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Morocco, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Poland, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, San Marino, Slovenia, South Africa, Surinam, Switzerland, Tonga, Tunisia, Turkey, Tuvalu, Uruguay, Vatican City, Venezuela and Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) for a stay of up to 90 days;

(c) nationals of Peru and for a stay of up to 60 days;

(d) nationals of Costa Rica, Honduras, Indonesia, Singapore and Zimbabwe for a stay of up to 30 days;

(e) transit passengers continuing their journey on the same or first connecting aircraft provided holding required travel documents for onward destination and not leaving the airport transit lounge.

Note: Nationals of the USA, Canada and Australia entering Chile for touristic purposes will be charged a processing fee payable on arrival and in cash only. For nationals of the USA the fee is US$45, for nationals of Canada, the fee is US$55, for nationals of Mexico, the fee is $15 and for nationals of Australia the fee is US$30.


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