On Chilean Customs

I have found there are a few social oddities in Chile that would do any traveler well to learn:

Make Eye Contact during Salud. Salud means health in Spanish, and is what you say when you cheers over drinks or a toast or what have you. The important thing here is to always look the other person in the eyes when you say Salud or you have ten years of bad luck.

Greet and say goodbye to everyone in the room. You can commit a serious social offense by leaving a party without saying goodbye with a handshake or a kiss with someone. I personally have never commited the grievance yet, but I have heard horror stories.

Spicy Food is Rare. There is a saying here that when loosely translated reads 'Chileans are the British of the Southern Hemisphere'. They mean that in more ways than one. The weather is temperate and the food is downright tame. I think the food I eat here is more like the food back home than what I've eaten in the Dominican Republic, Spain, Mexico, etc... Oh, and like the title suggests, don't even bother trying to find spicy food. It's non-existent.