Santiago: The next phase

My sweat streams over my body, while I am looking to the white mountain tops of the Andes. The melted snow is changed into a river with a diarrhea color, which passes below me under the bridge. On the waterside lay a few matrasses which serve as a public hostel. Fifteen meter higher cars pass quickly, street artists try to earn money, weed gets sold as water and you can pick a crack pipe from every street corner. While I am looking to the Andes I realize that I am far away from that beautiful piece of nature. I turn around and see the typical, boring block of cement which can resist the strongest earthquakes, and street seller who tries to sell a few rolls of toilet paper and a smart business man who sells mojito in a Hawaiian outfit with tropical music. I am standing in the center of a metropole looking for opportunities in between the chaos.  

Personal change

I am in Santiago de Chile, the city where I have lived the past 10 months and will be the next period. I arrived as a backpacker and are still without money, but my life has changed a lot. From a party animal who learned Spanish during his dates with women and earning money with a few tennis lessons, work in a bar and at the pubcrawl to a man with a girlfriend that is at the point at starting a business. After I had lived year in full freedom I needed more and more adrenaline to feel fulfilled, till my adrenaline level stagnated. Despite a life without rules and full of adventure I lost the sense of fulfillment. And it seemed like the next part of my life path was already paved, I just had to start walking it. I met a great woman and got a business idea which both gave me goosebumps, and I decided to follow my instinct.

Natalia

This woman became my girlfriend and luckily she still is. Her name is Natalia and she makes me smile every day, knows how to touch and break me, accepts me as I am and gives me more love than I could wish for. She had the patience to wait till I was willing to give myself fully, has been forgiving, supports and helps me in what I do and show me every day her unconditional love. I feel a blessed man. For years I have said that being single was the Walhalla, but having a loving relation in which you give yourself and accept the other has much more value.

Ding Dong

While it got serious with Natalia, I got a business idea while I was working in a bar. We ran out of ice and I took a few hours, before we got new ice. I noticed that a company that would deliver ice immediately would be useful, but apparently didn´t exist. The next days I did some research and figured out that were no big companies in Chili who delivered food for restaurants; a market with way more possibilities than to deliver ice to restaurants. A few weeks later I found an Indian company who would develop de website and applications and I focused on developing a logistic system, brand and contracts. My idea got a name, the name got an image and the image became a show which is almost ready to show, so keep an eye on the website http://www.ding-dong.cl (at the moment de website is still in development).

Opportunities or obstacles?

To build up my life in Chile has not been, and it still isn’t, easy. I still live in a hostel with my stuff in plastic bags. But I am used and can live well this way, although it isn’t ideal. When I arrived I had to learn Spanish, adapt to the culture and lifestyle in a 2nd world country; a process that is still going. I found out that Chilean often don’t do what they say, are experts in being best friends with their boss and often do their work only half. But I also connected easily with the people, I found them helpful with a good sense of humor and happy with little. The country is a mess if it rains a bit, 5 minutes of snow is enough to cut off Santiago from electricity for 3 days. The wages are low, while the costs are at European level. The competition for junior jobs is high and a social care system doesn’t exist. But the country also offers opportunities. Solar panels and windmills barely exists, traffic lights aren’t working together and the street food stands all sell the same food. You can see the obstacles or the opportunities. I like to see and grab the opportunities, which means starting a company that gives me money to maintain myself and being seen as an ‘’Chilean’’. In the worst case I go back to Holland broke and with a lot of lessons learned.  

Good friendships don’t perish.

The past months I have been to the Netherlands for the first time in 2,5 year. Een nice and pleasant visit in which I witnessed the wedding of a good friend, the birth of the son of my sister, the celebration of my grandmother’s birthday and the reunion with family and friends. Luckily nothing changed between me and my family and friend, even not after 2,5 years. You priorities can shift, but your person doesn’t change. We still laugh about the same things, we keep our special characteristics which makes us authentic and we can still talk about the same topics for hours. Time doesn’t change that.

Final word

It’s a pity that I haven’t wrote an update earlier. I notice that when I stay at one place, writing isn’t a priority anymore. I experience less things to write about and are kept busy with the daily things. Despite that I enjoy writing and think I should make more time for it. So, you well keep hearing from me.