Upon arriving in Buenos Aires, my first impression was, of course, of the differences from Santiago.  Cafes on every corner, greenspace, a restaurant culture, unique crafts being sold in markets, architecture, blue (smog-free) sky, and most of all, an overwhelming sense of scale and grandeur from a city that prides itself in its culture and past.  All these things I had been craving in Santiago, and experiencing them all at once was sensory overload but not in an unpleasant way.  Geoff and I spent the first day just walking and taking it in.  There were those spontaneous surprises around every corner – street musicians, 2×1 café con leche, a public garden, 3-story high graffiti art – that made Buenos Aires seem endlessly large and ripe for exploring.

Buenos Aires had a distinctly Italian flair – from the accent of the Spanish to the cappuccinos to the tricky cap driver who tried to charge us $140 USD for a 140 peso ride.  But it was also different in that it wasn’t solely focused on a grand past, but also looking to its future.  This we saw in the beautiful Palermo Valle where Argentina’s startup scene convenes.  The Argentinians are naturally more entrepreneurial (maybe because they are more willing to argue?), but most of them also have a deep respect for the Chileans when it comes to business, despite the natural neighborly rivalry.  One Argentinian entrepreneur told me that the Argentines are better at starting businesses but the Chileans are better at growing them.  This statement didn’t surprise me at all.

Given their complementary strengths – Chile with its orderly, business-friendly government, fervent anti-corruption (fought with a mountain of paper receipts), straight-forward people, and safe, easy-to-live-in capital, and Argentina with its creative, artistic spirit and rich culture – I am surprised the two neighbors don’t work together more often.   Indeed, many Chileans I spoke to have never even been to Argentina, and vice versa.  This is a tragic loss of opportunity that can very easily be remedied.  I don’t pretend to be an expert on Chile-Argentina relations, and I am sure there are many historical and cultural reasons for the rivalry, but still, going forward, I think there is always opportunity when different strengths come together.

Valpo was charming and stunning, full of the traditional colors and architecture that was so different from Santiago.  There were very few high-rises and the streets were quiet, especially up in the hills.  Mirko told us to come back for New Years in Valparaiso because the hills rising up around the sea makes for a natural amphitheater for the fireworks show.  Valpo is also famous for the ascensores, or almost vertical lifts that bring you up the steep hills.  The view from the tops were gorgeous!

While Valpo has suffered from a down economy, I think due to its proximity to Santiago, charming feel, cheaper cost of living, not to mention the smog-free air, it can really become an entrepreneurial hub for Chile – a sort of Silicon Valley to Santiago.  Especially because the technical institute is located there as well.  The only thing missing is a high-speed rail line connecting it to Santiago.  Unfortunately given the costs and the lack of local funding, that doesn’t seem to be in the works any time soon.  Nonetheless, it was a breath of fresh air to visit!

Vina was a much different feel – much more modern, sleek and the typical resort town. But I found myself liking Vina more than I had expected. Rather than being overly commercial, the boardwalk has its own charm and a distinctive Chilean flavor. The handmade churros, teens on tightropes and artisan market definitely helped!

And finally, some pictures of our adventures in Santiago as well!

I’ve never been tear-gassed before, so it was a pretty shocking experience.  Even though we managed to avoid the worst of it, we could see the multiple fires down the streets, smoke and sirens, all underneath a constant banging of pots and pans in a typical South American cazerolada protest style.  From what I could see, it was definitely an overuse of force on the Chilean government’s part.  The quotes from some government spokespeople were quite disturbing: Interior Minister Rodrigo Hinzpeter warned, “The time for marching has run out”, and Andres Chadwick, a government spokesman, said, “The students are not the owners of this country.  We cannot be held prisoner as a society by the idea that the only rights that matter are those of students to protest.”

While I don’t condone when reckless violence is masked in the form of protest, and while the fires and crowds of young men running through the streets was rather disturbing to see, I still cannot believe this is the amount of force necessary against students who are calling for change in education.  If anything, seeing students passionate and willing to speak out in the name of something they cared about was refreshing to see, not a dictatorship of students over a country.  If anything, the police with their full battle gear, tanks, water cannons and tear gas were the ones that terrified me the most.  I agree with the spokesperson for the student demonstrators that riots likely would not be as violent, not as war-like, if the government did not treat it so much like a war but rather as compatriots trying to improve the situation for everyone, which is what it truly is.

Looking more into the actual educational issues up for debate, it seems that the heart of the matter is whether education should be a public or private good.  Chilean President Sebastian Pinera has made clear that he believes education should be private, tacitly supporting for-profit activities in education, while the student demonstrators believe in greater government intervention and funding.  For me, the biggest question is, what is the value of an education?  As an immigrant to the US who arrived as a family with basically nothing in our names, education has been the open pathway that led me, if not to guaranteed success, at least to opportunity and the freedom to choose the life I want to lead.  Beyond even healthcare, which becomes an issue only when one is sick, education affects each and every one of us and determines how many doors will be open to us later in life.  For me, the value of an education is priceless, which makes it difficult to price in the private markets.  It also has unbound positive externalities for society to have an all-around educated population, regardless of income.  So I guess I am on the side of the protestors, despite getting a faceful of tear gas and missing a friend’s birthday party because of them.

However, there are four main things I’ve noticed that are significantly different between Chile and the US, and I’ll be writing a separate blog post about each one to avoid boring you all with one gigantic essay.  They are:

1. The Beauty of Aggregation (And Why I Now Appreciate Wal-Mart)
2. The Pre-Consumption, Consumption and Post-Consumption Evolution
3. What Entrepreneurship Can Do For Chile
4. A Rich Country that Remembers Being Poor

After making it off the plane with over 150 lbs of luggage each, Geoff and I made it to Giselle’s house, then to the Start-Up Chile office.  Imagine 140 entrepreneurs crammed into one floor of a high-rise – craziness abound and wireless internet strains under the burden.  But it’s been great to meet everyone!  We’re from all over the globe with companies as diverse as apartment renting, sanitation tech, photoshare and us – fitness.

Meanwhile, at Giselle’s house, we have been getting an awesome dose of Chilean hospitality.  From Sr. Huerta’s antics with the heirloom riding cape to Pache, the cutest and possibly tiniest dog in the world, to delicious fresh meals prepared by Carmen, we’ve felt right at home in our new country.

Meanwhile, we also took two hikes to see a panoramic view of Santiago – one near Lo Barnechea in the suburbs and one with the Start-Up Chile crowd up Cerro San Cristobal, the Central Park of Santiago.  The views were stunning, despite the pretty terrible smog.

  So overall, not a bad week.  Spanish is improving all around thanks to the difficult real estate market. Can’t wait to move into our SWEET apartment this week and add some pictures.  What can you rent for $550 per month in Santiago?  Get ready to be jealous Boston and NYC folks

I’ve always been interested in the characteristics of successful people, and I’ve read books from Outliers to Bounce to Everyday Survival, but a great article in Women’s Health caught my eye today. While other books have touted intelligence, practice or instincts as the keys to success, this article says it’s grit that makes a difference.  How do they define grit? According to Angela Duckworth from the University of Pennsylvania, “Grit entails working strenuously toward challenges and maintaining effort and interest despite failure, adversity, and plateaus.” That sounds a lot like getting through a hard workout, or even getting your butt to the gym itself!

There are a ton of tips in the article on how to train yourself to have grit, but I wonder whether something like Gym-Pact might help those who really don’t start out with much grit (including yours truly) to even kick-start that learning process. What do you think?

I stayed the rest of the day to listen to the other speakers and definitely learned a ton.  Here are some great tips I learned.

From Dan Schawbel, personal branding guru:

• Update those online profiles – yes I mean Facebook too!  I’ve seen plenty of FB profiles of recent grads that still seem to say they are students.  For me, I definitely need to do some work on my FB and LinkedIn.
• Leverage small successes to get bigger ones, especially in media features.  Got covered or wrote for a local newspaper?  Put it in your bio and keep adding to it.  I’m going to update by bio to include media mentions!
• What to read: Mashable and ReadWriteWeb

• Have 3 soundbites rehearsed that you must share with reporter no matter what questions they ask.  Good advice that I wish I had heard before my interviews!
• PitchEngine - social press releases
• Always say thank you to the reporter, and offer additional content to build the relationship
• People have different preferred communication methods – if they’re not responding to emails or calls, try Twitter, FB or texting.

From Vicki Donlan on turning contacts to cash:

• Break that mental barrier between personal and business contacts, and don’t be afraid of telling people what you do for a living!
• Become an expert, the go-to person on a specific topic
• Listen for people’s needs and give before you get

Got other tips?  I’d love to hear them!