After 4 weeks of seeing Chile, Argentina and Brazil (also Paraguay for like 30 seconds) I can say that these countries are all very unique and offer much different tastes if visiting or livings.

Chile - economic development in urban centers - international cuisines (Korean food was very good in Bellavista and Italian in Barrio Italia)

Argentina - food and wine (personal taste) - education (many people I know are studying to be doctors in BA) - diversity in ecosystems (went from mountains to desert to subtropic to jungle) - hospitality

Brazil - party - warmth of the people - coffee (sorry Argentina, the thousands of coffee shops are cute but don’t compare to Brazil) - buffets - beaches

Paraguay - shopping for Brazilians (I don’t think Ciudad del Este is a good representation of Paraguay but it definitely was not what I was expecting for my 30 country).

In general I think the average Latin American is much warmer than someone from USA or Canada. When I needed help in a bus terminal in São Paulo a girl who was going to work took almost half an hour of her time to help me. We had a chat about the differences between our counties and at the end she asked if she could hug because she felt people were more reserved when she lived in the US. In Valparaiso a taxi driver helped me find another taxi driver when I didn’t have cash on me. The taxi driver that I could pay with card drove me to the best spots and took pictures of me. In Buenos Aires when I almost chocked on a steak and was rushed to the hospital a doctor explained to me that it wouldn’t cost me anything because “anyone that steps foot onto Argentinian soil gets access to healthcare for no cost”.

Maybe these are things that could happen anywhere with kind people but I noticed coming back to the US when I had trouble with my bag the lady at the desk said “figure it out yourself”.

:(