We are mostly expats or exchange students living in Santiago right now. This makes us the best source of up-to-date information for other expats, students and travelers.

Browse the profiles of our staff. Learn about where we come from, and why we're dedicated to continually gather the best, most accurate information about Chile!

CURRENT STAFF AND INTERNS

ALEJANDRA DIAZ - Office Manager

Alejandra was born in Santiago and studied advertising at the University of Santiago. She has worked for CHIP since 1994 and has two teenaged daughters – Vera and Maga.

Alejandra has made a valiant effort over the years to learn English, but has finally decided that she is linguistically challenged. Still, she more than makes up for her English-language learning handicap with an abundance of good cheer and lots of hard work - handling CHIP finances and keeping the offices in good running order. She handles all matters relating to subscriptions and tries to keep Steve focused on business priorities.

BENJAMIN WITTE – Editor, The Patagonia Times

Benjamin Witte has been living in Chile on and off since 2000, when a recommendation from his aunt and uncle first brought him to the “poto del mundo.” After a year-long stint in “Chepe” Costa Rica, Benjamin returned to Santiago in 2002 and began working at the Santiago Times. He left again in 2004, completed a journalism degree in Canada, did some reporting work in Boston and... surprise, surprise – he just couldn’t stay away. Born in Nova Scotia, Canada, he did most of his growing up in the People’s Republic of Berkeley (California). Favorite reporting topics include hydroelectric dams, farmed salmon, human rights issues and basketball.

BILL STOTT - Writer and General Editor

Bill Stott was a Foreign Service Officer in French-speaking Africa in the 1960's and thereafter switched to teaching at the University of Texas. Now retired, he lives in Santiago with his Chilean wife, who teaches the subjects he used to teach - American Studies and English. He wrote several books (including a journalism standard, "Write To The Point") he'd be delighted to tell you about.

Bill endured some major surgery in mid 2007, and so was out of the loop for several months.  Still, he'll soon be back at the office, sharing his wisdom and charm with all the hard-working interns, all the aspiring journalists. 

MAURICIO EYZAGUIRRE- Account Manager, The Santiago Times

Mauricio  is a student at the Arcis University Mauricio’s real passion, however, is music: he’s been a musician for the past eight years and has released two records with different bands- . He is now working with "Polimetro".

Mauricio has had the opportunity to share the stage with foreign bands (mainly European) at Santiago shows. He began his internship at The Santiago Times in November 2004, and has been a full-time employee since March 2005.

 

 

NICOLE CANIVILO- Web operator & others.

"I only know that I don't know anything" 

                                            Sócrates. 

 

 

 

 

Although a native Chilean, Natalia has lived most of her life in North Texas.  One day she realized she should just move to Santiago since she spends all of her money traveling to Chile anyway. . . and so she did in September 2008.

So far she thinks she made the right decision, but would love to be eating a veggie Chipotle burrito right now.

Natalia graduated from The University of North Texas in August 2008 with a degree in Public Relations and a minor in Women’s Studies.

 

NATALIE ALIX MULLER- Writer, The Santiago Times

Natalie initially came to Santiago on exchange to study journalism. She didn’t do much of that, thanks to strikes in the public university system, but had a great time anyway settling in and learning how to survive in a foreign country. When looking for an excuse to stick around a while longer and do some actual work, she found the Santiago Times.

Although originally from Sydney, where she studies journalism in the University of Technology, she also spent some time growing up in Cape Town, where she traveled around much of southern Africa with her family. She misses the Sydney beaches and Aussie accents, but wouldn’t swap them for her amazing experiences in Chile. Her favorite things are films, traveling, palta, writing and investigating environmental issues. Hobbies include chatting with the pigeons outside her window in Santiago and persuading Chileans that yeah, sure, it is actually possible to ride in the pouch of a kangaroo. 

DANIEL ZARCHY - Writer, The Santiago Times

As a global economics major from the University of California, Santa Cruz, Daniel managed to schedule his college life to finish with a six-month trip to Chile.

Though he claims he always hated writing, he discovered that there is life after essays when he began to work at his college newspaper. Always an anal-retentive word nerd, in freshman year Daniel volunteered to be a copy editor for the paper, an excuse to nitpick, and the rest is history.

Now, he’s enjoying taking classes at La Chile, practicing Spanish, and doing journalism in a whole new environment. So far he loves Chile: palta, empanadas, the colación, the Metro, palta, the politics, the wine, and most of all, the palta.

He dearly misses Mexican food and his hometown Giants, but he’ll make do… somehow.

KENDAL MONTGOMERY - Photographer, The Santiago Times

Kendal came here not knowing a soul and ready for anything. After graduating from West Virginia University in May 2009 with a bachelor's in journalism, she decided to jet set to Santiago, and see what working in the media and life was like abroad.

She loves photography and hopes it can someday keep a roof over her head, food in her belly, and music in her ears. Check out her website: web.me.com/kendalmontgomery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

MEERA PANDIT - Writer, The Santiago Times

Meera is an English major at Tufts University in Santiago for the semester "studying" at U. de Chile, and working on her Spanish (so far to limited success).

Through working with The Santiago Times, she has discovered its sister publication, Revolver Magazine, which she is now interning for as well.

 

 

 

GIDA HOMAD-HAMAM - Writer and Photographer, The Santiago Times

 Gida, a Jordanian of Palestinian/Syrian descent started off in Chile on Aug. 3, 2007 without a word of Spanish and far far away from her home in Amman. She has a BA Specialization in Anthropology and Sociology and a Minor in Art History and Studio Arts from Concordia University, Montreal, Canada. After completing her studies, she went back to Jordan, worked for two years with CARE International and the Jordan Red Crescent amongst others, got married and embarked on the journey to Santiago.

She learned Spanish, did an internship with Amnesty International, taught English and learned that palta is good with everything. In Santiago she has also nurtured her love for cats and garnered her interest in dogs.
She learned about the Santiago Times from a friend and thought she would try her hand at both photography and writing. Gida hopes to see a lot more of both Chile and South America.

 

 

AMANDA WOODRUFF - Writer, The Santiago Times

Mandi, 22, is on that amazing journey between college and whatever is supposed to come next in life. She thinks she's supposed to have a job and a mortgage or something else grown-ups seem to like, but she decided to throw rationality out the window and take a stab at covering news overseas instead. After five years of failed attempts to learn French, she picked up 'castellano' on a two month trip to Salta, Argentina and hasn't looked back since.  She graduated in 2009 from the University of Georgia with a degree in journalism and Spanish and can think of no better way to put her studies to use than by covering news in Chile. She's loving Santiago so far and will probably cry when she heads back to the states and is forced to start paying $2 for an avocado again.

 

 

 

 

 PAMEAL MORALES - Writers, The Santiago Times

Pamela was born in Osorno Chile but grew up gringa in Cleveland, Ohio.  After spending four wonderful years in Toronto she had a choice: Stay on the corporate train headed to Phoenix or get off.

She (and her fantastic husband) closed their eyes, sold all their belongings, and jumped.
Following three months of delightful do-nothingness she joined the Santiago Times to pursue her interest in writing.

 

 

 

 

JAMES FOWLER - Writer, The Santiago Times

A native of the North of England, James has divided most of his life between the cities of Newcastle and Leeds. After graduating with a history degree from the University of Leeds in 2007, he spent 15 months traveling South East Asia and Australia. This trip, following on from a year studying in Canada, has reinforced the traveling spirit in side of James. Residing in Santiago under the pretense of improving his language skills, he now realizes that learning Spanish in Chile is as hard as learning English from a Geordie.

He currently gets to translate his passion for sport into writing, temporarily agreeing to sell his soul and call football 'soccer'. He is really enjoying Chile, particularly the weather and wonderfully cheap wine.

 

 

ASIA LINDSAY - Writer, The Santiago Times

After a disasterous job-attempt in Peru involving bricks, jenga and flimsy safety helmets, Asia fled the country and turfed up in Santiago. She now spends her time writing for the Santiago Times and Revolver, teaching at a school in La Pintana and, like the rest of the crew, eating lots and lots of palta.

 

 

 

 

 

 

ALINE FITZPATRICK - Writer, The Valparaiso Times

Aline came to Chile on exchange in 2008 as a part of her Public Relations and International Studies degree.  Coming from Sydney, Australia a love of the beach brought her to live in Viña Del Mar where she spent most of her time investigating mural art work, hanging around Valpo, playing ‘pichangas’ (social soccer matches), snowboarding in the Andes, learning how to salsa and trying to sound less like a gringa.  After returning home to Sydney in January 2009 she realised that the financial crisis is as good an excuse as any to return to Chile, and came back in July of the same year to complete her degree, finding an Internship with the Valparaíso Times.   

She has a passion for food and wine and loves learning Chilean recipes from friends, cooking Indian and Thai curries (with ingredients from home!) and introducing Chilean friends to her two favorite condiments – Sweet Chilli Sauce (with philadelphia and crackers) and Vegemite (with hot cheese on toast).

Aline still gets nicknamed Gringa by her Chilean friends - and still can’t roll her tongue when speaking Spanish – which she has come to accept probably won’t change any time soon.

THOMAS DERRICOTT - Writer, The Valparaiso Times

A native to the salt-spattered shores of Sydney, Thomas travelled to Chile in hopes of expanding his horizons as a writer. After six months of completo bingeing pisco abuse, he awoke from his stupor to actually make good on his resolution.

As a Valparaiso-based exchange student, Thomas juggles his sporadic university timetable with an internship at the ST’s Valparaiso wing, churning out pseudo-journalistic offerings whenever his battered liver permits. Thomas harbours a specific interest in culture and feature articles, and hopes to fuse a career in writing with his penchant for murky sub-cultures and cutting edge methods of debauchery.
 

 

RAY ANDERSON- The Santiago Times

Ray, age 12, is the youngest member of the Santiago Times staff. A bilingual wonder, he provides a certain youthful zest to whatever assignment he takes on.

In addition to extolling the virtues of the children's news hour "31 Minutes," (he knows all the songs by heart), he is a sports fanatic - both an aspiring fisherman and an innate soccer player.

 

CHIPSY the Cat - The Chile Information Project

CHIPSY the cat does very little, as cats are wont to do. It is however, a mascot, pushing our staff to work ever harder - the antithesis of lazy catlike behavior. At least CHIPsy held still for photos.

 

 

 

 

BLASTS FROM THE PAST: THE PAST INTERNS WHO HELPED KEEP THE PAPER GOING ALL THESE YEARS!

CHRISTOPHER NOYCE - Writer, The Santiago Times

Chris is a student of French and Spanish at Cambridge University, England, and is spending time in Chile as part of his year abroad to practise his languages. He originates from Southampton on the south coast of the UK, although he now lives further towards the south west in the countryside, alongside numerous cows, sheep, and tractors.

Chris decided to come to Chile as it provided a more exciting and adventurous alternative to Spain; he is very much enjoying Santiago so far, and hopes to see other parts of the country as much as possible given his rather limited budget as a result of eating and drinking too much in Paris last year. Chris has never before worked in journalism and apologises in advance for the inevitable ham-handedness that is likely to flourish in anything he writes…or says.

 

 

 

SILKE STEIML - Writer, The Santiago Times

As a student of Latin American studies at University of Cologne, Germany,  Silke spent two semesters in Valparaíso trying to study Film and History. That didn't work out too well because Chilean students seem to be quite  into striking...

Although she thought about selling her furniture and becoming a vegetarian hamburger street vendor in her new-found favorite city, Silke went back to Germany to continue (not finish!) her studies.

Less than half a year later, Silke returned to Chile, and no, not because of a Chilean lover, but because avocados taste really, really crappy in Germany.

 

HANNAH MCNEISH - Writer, The Santiago Times

After four years of studying French and Italian at Leeds University, Hannah spent five years working in the media industry in London. She left her job at BBC Worldwide in August 2008 to fulfil an ambition of exploring Latin America from top to bottom. She instantly fell in love with Colombia and after six months had only reached Peru, but crossed the Andes more times than she'd had hot dinners. In the process she fell out of love with old buses, hairpin bends, and large mountain ranges, but developed her Spanaliano and wild gesticulations into enough of a recognisably primitive Spanish to stay and get some journalism experience. She came to Chile to work and write while she waits for summer to hit the end of the world, and in the process has developed a liking for Chilean slang, street dogs, and pisco sours. 

 

EVAN ROSE- Writer, Santiago Times

Evan studies classics and maths and the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Occasionally, he finds time to entertain his penchant for South America and journalism.

He came to Chile at the end of May to work with the Santiago Times, get lost in a big city, and learn a little spanish. In his spare time at University he works at the metro desk for the student-run paper and plays Rugby, which is not, regrettably, as popular as he would have hoped in Santiago.

 

 

 

ANTONIA WYNNE-HUGHES - Writer, Santiago Times

Born and raised in Canada, Antonia recently moved to Chile to take up a writing position with the Santiago Times- an excuse for her to see another part of the world and get a taste of the industry. Having finished an undergraduate degree in History in Canada and a Masters degree in the History of International Relations at the London School of Economics in the UK, she has been living in Germany up until the big move to Chile. Antonia intends to stay only three months, enough time to improve her Spanish - which she learned as a baby - and take advantage of travelling around South America. Her hobbies include travelling and languages (obviously), as well as the outdoors and food in general! Her future plans are yet to be determined, but Germany is calling her name.

 

 

DAN BREWINGTON –  SANTIAGO RADIO

Radio Santiago Station Founder, Manager and Presenter Dan Brewington comes from New York City, New York.  Early in Dan's career he has served in the US Navy, the British Police Service and has worked as a close protection officer as well as security consultant.

But in the last 10 years Dan "The Gringo' has emerged as a club and radio DJ entertaining people around the world.  Dj'ing in some of the largest clubs in Europe including the National in London,  Dan was a pioneer in internet radio, broadcasting his first stations in 1999 and never looking back.

Coming to Chile in 2002, "The Gringo" switched to FM radio in the south of Chile by first broadcasting on Radio Camilla 98.3 FM and then being headhunted to Radio Mia 89.3FM in Los Angeles.  Once at Radio Mia, the Gringo created Chiles #1 English broadcast "The Gringo Show," which gave birth to Santiago Radio.

CATHAL SHEERIN- Writer, The Santiago Times

Although he looks like a hillbilly, Cathal is an Irishman who grew up on Shane McGowan’s "dark streets of London." He has an honors degree in literature and language from University College London, a Masters in the same from King’s College London, and a postgraduate qualification in journalism. He worked in the human rights field for almost five years and has been a journalist for the last two. He has written for local and national newspapers, and business, consumer and political magazines. Cathal is passionate about literature, history, ideas, and travel. He is trying very hard to adapt to Chilean Spanish, is unwisely attracted to risky things, and likes doing triathlons. He is available for children’s parties.

 

 

SIMON BOAS – Writer and Videographer, The Santiago Times

Simon is currently postponing the completion of his journalism degree in documentary film at the University of Oregon by living and writing in Santiago. Having grown up in Portland, Oregon, upon arrival in Chile he was a little bit shocked to find that the rest of the world doesn’t spend 10 months out of every year ducking under a ceiling of rain-heavy clouds. He spent such months in the States studying, teaching academic writing, and working in a number of dysfunctional cafés.

Simon doesn’t like to limit himself to any one medium when it comes to journalism. Although he primarily writes for the Santiago Times, he enjoys working, and has worked in the past, as a photographer, videographer, and multimedia designer. He prefers telling personal stories through whatever media the story demands. His other interests include creative writing, reading books slowly, watching the same movies over and over, drawing, animating, conversing, exploring, backpacking, biking, and starting more things than he can finish.

 

MATT BOSTOCK- Journalist and Photographer, The Santiago Times

Matt hails from the raining plains and rocky crags of Sunderland,
England. Originally a French language student from the University of
Edinburgh, he studied political science in Rennes, France, where
survived as an Orwellian plongeur. Arriving in Chile in September 2009
to reside with his significant other, he has since discovered the
delights of chorrillana and la palta del campo and is always up for an
asado, as long as he can smuggle in some Worcestershire sauce.

Matt loves old films, cooking and dancing to electro. His favorite
past times in Santiago include running up San Cristobal on a Sunday
morning, haggling for fruit at the Vega market and getting out of the
city whenever possible to head south. 

 

ABIGAIL WILKINSON- Writer, The Santiago Times

Abi  has been a part-time journalist since completing her BA in English Literature at Goldsmith's College, University of London, in 2004.

In the interim she has also worked in several positions in the public sector, a career trajectory which reached its nadir in an NHS Complaints Office, which was a significant contributing factor in her decision to leave England. She is also a writer of dark bucolic fiction and a neophyte seamstress. 







CHRIS BATTEY- Writer, The Santiago Times

Chris  grew up in Half Moon Bay, California, and is currently working on a double major in the classically paired fields of Integrative Biology and English Literature at the University of California, Berkeley. 

Chris came to Chile to study at La Católica, and wandered into the Santiago Times newsroom searching for an internship a month after arriving.  He is interested in writing about science and environmental issues, and hopes to exploit his press pass at various concerts and sporting events around the city.

 

 

ILAN CEDILLOS- Writer, The Santiago Times

Ilan is a history major at the University of California, Berkeley, and is studying abroad in this wonderful country for the semester. A native Californian, he has lived his whole entire life in the San Francisco Bay Area yet already likes to call Santiago his second home.

When not working on the paper, he likes to tell random stories, eat pastel de choclo and manjar-filled churros, painfully follow his beloved Golden State Warriors from abroad, and watch movie trailers. Sometimes he likes to go to the movies.

 

 

SAMUEL CRIHFIELD - Writer, The Santiago Times

Sam grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut, and is currently an undergraduate student of English Literature and Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University.  Sam came to Santiago to escape the States for a while, and like any good gringo, he has already fallen in love with Chile.   He now lives with a Chilean family and goes by the Spanish-pronounced Samuel.  He has jumped head-first into the unfamiliar fires of both journalism and a Spanish-speaking society, but he is enjoying the roasting.  Otherwise, things are getting pretty cold in Santiago – winter is coming, and Sam looks forward to some skiing. 

 

 

 

 

MARIA GRUSAUSKAS- Writer, The Santiago Times

Maria  grew up in small-town Connecticut, but the sunny beach town of Santa Cruz, California has been her home base for the past six years. She decided to study in Santiago to perfect her Spanish and stumbled upon some journalism classes at the University of Chile. She is new at writing news articles but hopes to improve with time. A literature major by default, Maria loves to travel and take photos. A piece of her heart resides in Mexico, and she travels to the Yucatan whenever free time and cash coincide. She is interested in researching human rights and immigration laws. She is also interested in music of all kinds and is still hunting down Santiago’s live music scene. Her greatest disillusionment upon coming to Chile is that the Chile pepper is absent from most foods. Now that she has a “Puta Madre” chili pepper plant on her balcony, life couldn’t be better.

 

 

CLAIRE BEEUWKES - Writer, The Santiago Times.

 

 

 

LUCY McDONALD- STEWART- Writer, The Santiago Times
Lucy  originated in the neighborhood of North Beach in San Francisco, California. She now studies at Smith College in Massachusetts, which is one of those small, all-women, liberal arts colleges that you've never heard of. Lucy studies Latin American Studies and Spanish to the perplexity of both estadounidenses and chileans. She spends most of her time being a nerd about Latin America; arguing about politics, feminism and other nerdy topics; eating; and trying to speak Spanish or Portuguese, often at the same time to the amusement of her Chilean and Brazilian friends. She escaped New England to study in Santiago for a year and complete her culture-lurking requirement, but will return in September to finish her degree.
 

 

 

LUKE OPENSHAW -Writer, The Santiago Times

Born in London, England in 1989, Luke moved to a small rural county in South West England, called Devon at the age of just 4.

He attended West Buckland School between the ages of seven and 18. He worked hard throughout school and managed to obtain very good results in his final school exams, receiving A grades in History, Geography and Spanish.

Luke's school was also very sports orientated and so this played a large part in my childhood too. He is now a keen sportsman and play hockey, cricket and football to a high level. Skiing is also another hobby, a hobby which he has followed around the world. It was this that first brought him to Chile three years ago and was ultimately the reason that he came back in December 2008.

He has been in Chile for three months now and has been staying with a Chilean family in Viña del Mar, a large city around 2 hours northwest of Santiago. He plans to travel all over South America, visiting Southern Chile before heading north into Bolivia, before moving west and into Peru. 

When he returns to England in late June 2009, he is going to Nottingham University to study History. This should stand him good stead for the life in journalism that he hopes to lead. In order to gain experience in the world of Journalism, Luke contacted the Santiago Times in January of 2009 and has been translating and writing stories for the paper since.

 

KAT SHIFFLER - Writer, The Santiago Times

Kat Shiffler is a writer for the Santiago Times. She prefers the country life to the city; and focuses on environmental and agricultural stories. She works out of Steve's farm an hour outside of Santiago, along with her partner-in-crime Liz Tylander. When she's not writing, she's planting vegetables and interviewing chickens and farm dogs. Previously, Kat lived in Washington, DC where she had many random jobs: from being a co-owner of a dog-walking collective to building a Bhutanese temple for the Smithsonian. She also worked as a freelance radio reporter, producing pieces for Free Speech Radio News, and Washington's local NPR station. She has made several documentary films: one about factory workers in Bolivia, and more recently about trade unionists in Ukraine for the Solidarity Center. She is an avid biker and small farm advocate, last year biking (and filming) with friends from DC to Montreal, Canada documenting "the New American Farmer". And without forgetting to mention the bulkiest carry-on luggage ever, Kat is learning to play the accordion.

Kat is an alumni of American University's School of International Service; the School of International Training's Visual Anthropology Program in Cochabamba, Bolivia; and Duke's Center for Documentary Studies.

 

MATT DILLINGER - Writer, The Santiago Times

Matt grew up with the clouds and muddy guitars of Seattle.  After graduating from The Evergreen State College with a degree in Literature he found himself working various unfulfilling jobs.  In an effort to fill the void left after a year slanging beers and espressos he travelled to Japan where worked slanging the English language instead, this time to middle-schoolers. 

Matt's presence in Santiago came about in a rather convoluted way - with a trip to South America already in mind, he met a trio of Chileans in Bangkok who were enough to ensure that his Latin American destination would be that lovely strip of a country that is Chile.  While not writing for the paper, Matt spends his time with books, pens, headphones and a guitar; as well as trying to explain the difference between Nescafe and coffee to his Chilean friends.

 

ANA TOPOLEANU - Photographer, The Santiago Times

Ana was born and raised in Romania. Soon after graduating wit a degree in sociology from the University of Bucharest, she fell into the consumerism trap, taking a job working long hours as a copywriter for an advertising agency. Ultimately, though, she was unfulfilled by this lifestyle and at the first opportunity flew to Santiago in hopes of warmer climes and "soapy" culture.

Ana is now following her passion, photography. She started off with a Zenith camera that once belonged to her father. Later she switched to digital, but her love for film cameras is still as strong as the first day she picked up that Zenith. When not pursuing her photography, Ana likes learning about peoples and cultures,  visual arts, word games, music and unusual situations.

 

JASON HICKERSON - Photographer, The Santiago Times

Jason has spent the last five years since graduating from Abilene Christian University making up for his neo-con, Texas roots - first with a stint teaching math and ESL to secondary kids in Namibia as a US Peace Corps volunteer, and then as store manager for the original feminist singer-songwriter's indie record label, Ani Difranco's Righteous Babe Records. Through all of that, however, Jason's passion has been photography.

In July 2008, Jason packed his camera, a couple of project ideas and his handful of photographic accomplishments to date - a couple of product catalogs, a dozen or so small publications and the DVD cover for Ani DiFranco's Live at Babeville - and left for Santiago to build his portfolio and pursue a career in photojournalism. By sheer luck, he stumbled into the Santiago Times offices a couple months later in search of that ever-elusive great cup of coffee. He's now shooting news reportage for ST during the week and personal projects on weekends. Oh, and he's still looking for that great cup of coffee.

 

 

 

LEIGH SHADKO - Writer and Co-editor, The Santiago Times

Leigh’s obsession with Chile began when she arrived in Santiago as an exchange student in 2004. After graduating as a Spanish major from Georgetown University and teaching English for a year in Quito, Ecuador, she returned to the land of cueca and choripán to try her hand as a writer for The Santiago Times.

When she’s not pounding away at her keyboard or struggling to convince public figures to give her interviews, she spends her time snapping pictures on Santiago’s streets and battling against an unhealthy addiction to cheese empanadas.

 

 

KYLE WEAVER - Writer, The Santiago Times

Kyle came to Chile in June of 2008 desiring an adventure. Soon after, he joined the Santiago Times as a Photographer. Before Chile, Kyle lived in Chicago and worked as an auditor for a non-profit firm. He also spent some time being a assistant wedding photographer. After 3 exciting years, the next logical decision was to move to a country where he didn't understand the language and pursue teaching English. Chile was that country. In his free time, Kyle enjoys playing his guitar, going on photo adventures, hiking and listening to music.
 

 

 

JEFF KENNEL - Photographer, Santiago Times

Jeff Kennel is an emerging editorial and documentary photographer. Working under a freelance photographer in Tokyo he has gained a wide range of experience in travel, editorial and documentary photography all over the world.

Jeff speaks Spanish, Portuguese, Cape Verdean Creole and disappointingly semi-decent Japanese. He has a B.A. in Philosophy (a fact that still surprises him) and is a returned Peace Corps volunteer. Over the past ten years he has lived in Argentina, Brazil, Cape Verde, China, Thailand, Japan and briefly in Cambodia and has coordinated and assisted projects in Thailand, Mexico, The U.S.A. and France. He hopes to continue to work on worthwhile projects around the world focussing on under-reported issues.

Previous Clients:

The Cambodia Daily;  International Bridges to Justice;  PEPY Ride;  JPG Magazine;  Sumo Fan Magazine;  UNICEF Book Project "Miradas de Cristal"; Medical Teams International;  The Peace Boat;  Tohsei Digital Jaws, Co. Ltd.;  Ladyweb.org;  Greyhound (musician production/promotion company, Japan);  Studio75;

You can see more of Jeff's work here: www.jeffkennel.com

 

ALICE GASTINE- Writer, Santiago Times.

Alice, 22, arrived in Santiago in early May and is completely amazed by life. She is from France, but has lived part of her life abroad.

She is in love with windsurfing, playing the piano and the bass guitar; she also adores listening to Tom Waits. But what she really enjoys, most of all, is laughing and smiling at the world.

Although she has just arrived to Chile, being the nature lover that she is, she can already hear the mountains and nearby coast beckoning her. She is certain that five months in Santiago will be full of great encounters, landscapes, discoveries and fun!

JULIA THOMPSON- Writer, Santiago Times

Julia Thompson hails from New York City where she studied Creative Writing at New School University. Now her aim is to learn how to write logically and, if lucky, find her mystical self in the mountains, deserts, and valleys of Chile’s breathtaking landscape. She is now the official beer columnist for the Santiago Times and when she is not grappling over words, sipping beer or contemplating the natural world, she is with her Chilean girlfriend. 

Julia also has an Internet radio show at santiagoradio.cl where she plays eclectic music from around the world. Tune in every Sunday from 8 until 10 pm.

VIRGINIE HOUDMONT-  Sales and Marketing, The Santiago Times

Virginie was born in Belgium, grew up in Spain, completed an undergraduate in the UK and spent the first two years of her professional life trying to keep up with the frantic rhythm of life in London. Although she’s Belgian, she considers herself to be European.

In 2005 she graduated from the Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School in Belgium with a Master in marketing management. Following four years of heavy partying and the occasional bit of studying, she donned her backpack and headed for South America. Upon her return to Europe, Virginie started her career at a multinational PR and communications agency, fully aware that she had been infected with the South American bug and would be returning sooner or later.

In 2008 when her boyfriend was offered a job in Chile, she didn’t think twice and happily left behind the stress of London for the great unknown in Chile. She’s very happy to have taken the snap decision and is looking forward to the good life in Chile.

 

GALEN BROWN - Photographer and Writer, Santiago Times

Ever since picking up his father's camera 8 years ago, Galen Brown has developed a passion for the art of photography. In 1998, Galen moved to the Republic of Panama with his family where he spent seven years. In a place with such diverse and colorful culture, landscapes, and wildlife, he developed his interest and skill in photography. Galen is studying Economics and Geography at Bishops University in Quebec, Canada. He is the Associate Editor for the University's Newspaper called "The Campus" as well as a staff photographer.
 

 

 

 

 

HEATHER TEIGE - Writer, Santiago Times

 A veteran of the international scene, Heather has lived in over seven different countries and traveled extensively through many more. Shortly after graduating from Amherst College in 2007, she relocated to the Big Apple where she enjoyed a short stint working for a Soho-based Internet start-up. Deciding the corporate world wasn't for her, she relocated and began to travel around Mexico and the U.S. During this time, she began to think more about Chile; its natural landscape beckoned. One plane ticket, two college loan deferments, and several Internet searches later, she is now with us at Santiago Times and Revolver as a photographer. She is also the host for the Revolver's weekly radio show on Santiago Radio. Her interests include gardening, film, art, theater, food, beer and wine.

 

JASON SNYDER - Writer, Santiago Times

A self-proclaimed foodie, Jason has spent the past three years traveling the world in search of culture and calories. After studying Politics and Philosophy in South Carolina, Jason set off across the Atlantic to see what all the fuss was about. After deciding to pursue a PhD in Human Rights, Jason followed his heart (and hunger) to Chile to relish in the seafood, wine and pisco culture. Enjoying a double life, Jason writes about human rights for The Santiago Times by day and bar/restaurant reviews for Revolver Magazine by night.

 
 
 
 
JEFF MCMULLEN - Writer, Santiago Times
 
Jeff hails from Southern California’s sun-drenched avenues where he has spent all the years of his life.  He is currently attending UCLA and studying Political Science and Latin American Studies.  In Chile, he is studying at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and writing for the Santiago Times.  Along with writing articles in several fields, Jeff especially enjoys covering the Di-mayor, Chile’s professional basketball league.  When out of the office, he likes to head up the Andes and ski and when the snow melts, he will take his mountain bike.  An unashamed gringo, you can find him at the American bars in Santiago watching American football via satellite during the weekends. 

 
 
 
JULIE SUTOR - Writer, Santiago Times
 
Julie Sutor is a graduate student in the University of Denver's International and Intercultural Communication program. The New England native has lived in Colorado for nine years, where she has worked as a newspaper reporter, municipal government employee and grassroots organizer. And she's always up for making some powder turns on any continent.

 

 

KAVITA BEDFORD - Writer, Santiago Times

Whilst exploring the backstreets of South America for the past seven months, Kavita heard the distinct call of Santiago Times from a chicken bus in the Amazon. Armed with, well a backpack, and a few credentials from a previous life in Australia, she made the voyage to Chile in the hope of learning more about a country than just its transportation system. Interested in theatre, arts and culture, she is looking forward to a greater understanding of the Chilean people and places and will hopefully provide some insights and impressions along the journey.

 

LINE GYLLING - Writer, Santiago Times

Line is – despite some confusion about the gender of a person called Line – a Danish girl who has found her way to Santiago to work at the newspaper. Actually, she does not really belong in the news business, being a post grad student in biology, but having studied science journalism in Denmark, she thought it was time to take the theory to the test.  When she is not occupied with science articles and Spanish crises she takes off to the mountains to enjoy the snow, get some fresh air and practice her telemark skiing. When the ski-season ends she plans to engage herself in other amusements, such as getting to know the true nature of pisco sour.

 

NATALIE HART- Writer, Santiago Times; Editor, Valparaiso Times

Natalie is currently on a year abroad from the University of Cambridge, where she studies Arabic and Spanish. She decided to come to Chile before embarking on her Middle Eastern adventure in order to feed the unfortunate addiction to reggaeton music she picked up in Mexico. When not writing about the Mapuche (and worrying about being deported) Natalie can be found drinking cortados, searching for Arabic restaurants and very occasionally working on her Borges dissertation. She is also editor of the Valparaíso Times.



 

 

REBECCA NOVELL - Writer, Santiago Times

Rebecca studies at the University of Exeter, England, and is currently on her year abroad. Being a keen surfer, she chased the waves to Chile yet is starting to wonder if she'll ever make it to the coast with her busy schedule. She is currently interning at the Santiago Times and is now part of the Revolver team, where her interests lie in arts, food, wine, and music. Furthermore, despite the fact that she studies Politics and Spanish, her Spanish is appalling and she's grasping at any opportunity to improve it...

 

 

NAOMI BRYANT - Writer, Santiago Times

Naomi is a junior at Tufts University currently "studying" abroad in Chile and traveling as many places as she possibly can.  Originally from Statesboro, Georgia, Naomi still occasionally misses sweet tea and boiled peanuts.  When she's not in class or writing for the Santiago Times, she can usually be found sampling Chilean gelato or struggling to improve her Spanish.

 

 

 

WES KIMBELL - Writer, Santiago Times

Wes Kimbell moved to Chile with only his lucky toothbrush and a passion for learning and writing. He stumbled across the Santiago Times and began writing for the Valpariso Times while living in Viña del Mar.

He graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in Latin American studies and Spanish where he also wrote as an opinion columnist for student newspaper. With an interest in culture, human rights and liberty, Wes spends his free time exploring Latin America in an attempt to learn how to love the world.

 

  

CAITLIN LANIER - Writer, Santiago Times 

Caitlin Lanier, an Idaho native, graduated with an English major from The College of Idaho in 2007. After graduating, she moved across the country to be a nanny in Boston, Massachusetts. A year later, she realized that the East coast lifestyle and motherly duties were not for her. Lured by Neruda’s poetry, wine, and dazzling landscapes, she packed her backpack and headed south. Daily, she teaches English at an institute in Santiago, scribbles poetry in the margins of her lesson plans, and nightly, crochets hats, snuggles her kitty, Petunio, and sips tea.

 

 

MIKE KAY- Writer, Santiago Times

Michael is at the tail-end of a year-plus spin through Latin America. He began in Mexico in January, 2008, and has slowly made his way down the continent, hopping into planes only where lawless jungle or transportation strikes made it necessary. Among other things, he's worked a tutor in a Oaxacan orphanage, a human rights observer in rural Chiapas and a journalist in Colombia. Other journalistic experience includes a summer on The Union Democrat, a small community newspaper in the gold country hills near Yosemite Valley.

 

 

 

TRISH FRANK - Santiago Radio
It was a big decision for Trish to leave Germany and set out for Santiago to explore the Chilean way of life.  The internship at The Santiago Times has her working daily as a writer, but it has not been easy.  It is a struggle to see life from a different point of view while at the same time getting to know Chilean Spanish. Worse, since she is working at The Santiago Times, Trish also has to master North American spelling, too.

When she was studying International Economics and Spanish back in Germany, Trish worked for a regional newspaper and for an events agency. Since her arrival in Santiago in March, 2008, she’s doing her best to leave the busy Santiago scene every now and then to explore surrounding areas - by mountain bike or by climbing.

 

SUZANNE HOPMAN - Marketing and Sales

After one semester of doing her exchange at the USACH in Santiago, Suzanne embraced Chile and her capital. Unfortunately, duty called her back to Holland to complete her school year and pass all her classes.

But being back in Holland for 6 months made her realize how much she missed life in Santiago. So when there was the possibility of doing an internship abroad, she didn’t hesitate! It was great to see her Chilean friends again, enjoy the view at Andes every morning, and eat at the asados and drink the fantastic wines.

Last year she traveled a lot, from Patagonia to Atacama, so she saw the best already! Still, she regrets that she has less time to travel now, since travel is one of her great hobbies.

But working at the Santiago Times is really nice….so it doesn’t really feel like working and being stuck in an office all day!

Seeking out advertisers, enjoying the atmosphere at the office, practicing her Spanish … It is all fun!

The bad news is that time flies. The good news is you're the pilot!!!

 

ROXANNE KLAASSEN - Writer, Santiago Times

Coming all the way from Amsterdam to Chile for the third time can only mean that I’m passionate about Chile.

And so my aim has been to get to know the country as much as possible.  I figured that throwing myself into day-to-day news writing routine at The Santiago Times is the best way to do that.

I first got to Santiago in 2005 to do research about Peruvian migration towards Chile. After I finished my MA in Latin-American studies in Holland, I decided I would do my utmost to go back for as long as possible.

And here I am, struggling with three different languages but very “contenta.” 

 

LAUREN BUNDY - Writer, Santiago Times

Lauren came to Santiago to complete a Comparative Literature degree at Cal. Before she arrived at The Santiago Times, the last piece of journalism she wrote was for the “Mirador” at Miramonte High School in Orinda, CA circa 2002.

Here at the newspaper she takes pride in having written a “controversial article” that elicited a reader response and for sitting down with Steve far longer than any intern before her (thanks, Steve!). She really likes Santiago for its efficient and effective metro system and peaceful stray dog population, and she really likes the Times for its Mapocho River salmon jokes and for the lighting in the main writing room facing the river.

 

JP FETHERSTON - Writer, Santiago Times
JP comes to The Santiago Times fresh out of the University of Edinburgh. He has a shiny new history degree which lovingly prepared him for many long hours (and let’s be honest, years) of fretful contemplation of what the hell one does with that. 

Originally from the infinitely expanding suburbs of Washington, D.C., he spent three years happily abiding dark and soaking Scottish winters in the urban oasis that is Edinburgh. And a year in Spain where he sadly discovered the uselessness of his many years of school Spanish, realizing that Spaniards hadn’t learned the same language he had.

That hurdle now behind him, he feels linguistically inadequate anew thanks to Chile’s unique take on the Spanish language. He loves alfajores, but cannot for the life of him understand why hot dogs are such a big deal in Chile.

He will see you all later when he’s moved to the woods somewhere in the North American continent out of exasperation with the general silliness of life.

 

JAKE LERAUL -Sales, Santiago Times

Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Jake got a degree in Global Studies from UCSB. After a stint as a desk-jockey in San Francisco, he moved to Costa Rica to teach English and in 2007 traveled on to Santiago. 

He is working hard now to save money for his greatest passion: travel. He has already been to  India, Africa, Europe, and the Americas, but hopes to be in Asia some day soon.  He also enjoys reading (politics, culture, fiction, theology and useless web ramblings), writing (sci-fi and short fiction), playing music (guitar and keyboard) and shameless self-promotion (see following). 

He also runs an indie record label at www.homefryrecords.com.  Here in Santiago he works primarily as an English teacher, and several days a week with the marketing and sales team at The Santiago Times and Santiago Radio.

 

CARTER KOPPELMAN - Writer, Santiago Times.

Carter is a Junior studying International Relations and Economics at Tufts University. He is in Santiago for the year, studying Chilean history at the Universidad de Chile.

Though not much of a traveler before, since arriving in Chile last July Carter has ventured to Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, and India. When not studying or writing business articles for the Santiago Times, Carter can be found reading or exploring Santiago’s many “heladerias.” He believes firmly that Santiago’s transportation problems are caused primarily by old ladies, and that the “once” is the best meal of the day.

 

LAUREN ANDERSEN- Writer, Santiago Times.

Upon graduating from Northwestern University, Lauren promptly headed down to Santiago to utilize her film training and explore South America for the first time.

When not shooting an ongoing series on youth volunteerism or directing photo traffic at the Santiago Times, she enjoys exploring the museos of the capital, eating lots of pebre, and stumbling into accidental adventures. Although she misses  the fall foliage of her native Connecticut, she has happily embraced the stunning view of the Andes - as seen from the balcony of her tiny, unfurnished departamento.

 

MATT MALINOWSKI – Editor, The Santiago Times

Matt represents the (Chilean) textbook definition of “pata de perro,” as he swapped the Dr. Seuss books for the Lonely Planet at a young age and he has never looked back. After having visited a myriad of countries from China to Canada, Matt arrived to Chile in July, 2005 to spend his junior year of college abroad. Although he interned for the Santiago Times at that time, he now returns as the paper’s editor. Matt brings an unquenchable desire to both tell the world about Chile and have fun. He is grateful to be part of the team. 

 

FELIPE CABEZAS - Writer, Santiago Times.

Felipe worked diligently at The Santiago Times for several months.  We understand that he finished his college degree in the United States and, before starting graduate work, wanted to come to Chile to get to know parts of his family that he’d never had a chance to get close to.

Unfortunately, we never received a “bio” from Felipe, so this is the best we can do.  We will miss him and we wish him the best as he ventures back to the United States.

 

 

 

JESSICA ROBERTS-Writer, Santiago Times.

Jessica has a bachelor's degree in English and Spanish from the University of Michigan and a master's degree from the Annenberg School at the University of Southern California. After stays ranging from a few months to more than a year in places like Spain, Ecuador, the Czech Republic, Thailand and South Africa, Chile seemed a natural choice. Jessica worked at the Center for the Study of Journalism and Democracy and the California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowships while in Los Angeles. She has interned as a reporter at the Cape Times in South Africa and the Santa Monica Daily Press in California and has done freelance, stringer or research work for the Associated Press, the Santa Monica Daily Press and Forbes.
 

 

TOM NOBLE- Writer, Santiago Times. 

Tom Noble is a recent graduate of American University in Washington DC where he studied Political Science and History. Before receiving his education in the city of monuments and corruption, he was raised by his parents in the beautiful state of Oregon.

Tom found his way down to Santiago by working with Voluntarios de la Esperanza, an orphanage networking organization. In the spirit of not getting paid for his work in Chile, Tom decided to lend his skills to the Santiago Times. He enjoys sopapillas, salsa dancing, riding his bike, and grocery shopping.
 

 

CHRIS VALDÉS -  Photographer, Santiago Times

Chris first became interested in photography when his grandmother told him to take some photography classes at the university. Half-Chilean and raised in California, Chris works to bring a unique perspective to the people, places, and events of Chile. When not on assignment for The Santiago Times he loves to paint in a surrealistic style and work on graphic design.

 

 

 

JONATHAN MASCITELLI – Writer, The Santiago Times

After graduating from Chapman University in Orange, California, Jonathan took his first post-college job as a galley slave in the Bay of Biscay. After washing upon the shores of the Azores, Jonathan spent a year hopelessly landlocked, a ghost of European hostels and railways before returning to his homeland and trading his backpack for a room in the Hollywood Hills were he worked as a Hollywood assistant and script reader for thee years. Between feedings, the writing bug grew, and finally led him to the Santiago Times. 

 

 

ANNE PALLISGAARD RASMUSSEN – Writer, The Santiago Times
 
Born and raised in Aarhus, Denmark, this journalism student fell in love with Latin America when working in Guatemala for five months in 2004. She could hardly wait to get back to frijoles negros and tortillas. Alas, Anne has found that the cuisine of Santiago differs some from the Central American bean trip, but what it lacks in beans it makes up for in avocados and fried beef. As a Political Science Graduate and eager traveler, Anne has previously lived and eaten blood pudding in England, flan in Amsterdam, old dried fish in Iceland and sauerkraut in Germany. But still her Mum’s food is the best – HI MOM!-)

 

 

KRISTIAN DE LEEUW  – Writer, The Santiago Times

Kristian de Leeuw is a student of history at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. He arrived in Chile as an exchange student at the Pontificia Universidad Católica in Feb. 2007. After completing the exchange program in June this year, he decided to stick around to improve both his languages as well as his reporting skills. He’s currently writing a paper for his university back home while enjoying the good life in Chile. Although Kris misses Dutch cheese and beer, he’s become a fanatic of Chilean barbecues and wines. This Dutchman won’t go anywhere without his bike or his camera while trying to keep up to date with Chilean news events. Kristian is going    to be working at the Santiago Times until Dec. 2007. 

 

ASHLEY PANDAY – Writer, The Santiago Times

Ashley Pandya is a junior studying International Relations at Tufts University in Boston. She is in Santiago for the year studying at the Universidad de Chile and working at the Santiago Times. Ashley wants to spend as much of her free time traveling as she can. While in Santiago, Ashley can be found reading, awkwardly stumbling through Spanish (as opposed to speaking it), waiting for buses (courtesy of Transantiago) and eating delicious Chilean bread. 

 

 

SARA KEROSKY – Writer, The Santiago Times

At the age of 21, Sara considers herself extremely lucky in travel. Before arriving in Santiago, she traveled and volunteered in Senegal and Kenya for two months. She has also spent time in Costa Rica, French Polynesia, and much of Europe, though still considers Poland her favorite place to visit since most of her mother’s family lives there.

Sara is majoring in International Studies at the University of California, San Diego, and studying on exchange for the year at Universidad de Chile. She has a keen interest in environmental issues, especially conservation and restoration, which she attributes to all of those nature programs she grew up watching on TV. 
 Sara is currently enjoying a nice mix of nature escapes and city living. If she isn’t at one of her many favorite cafe spots around town, you can probably find her checking out new exhibits at any of Santiago’s art museums. 

 

TREY POLLARD – Writer, The Santiago Times

Following an extended tenure teaching and studying at the University of Georgia, Trey departed the sunny countryside of the American South for Santiago. The first lesson he learned was that, on a sphere, as you travel farther South, it actually gets colder. 
 
Trey studied history and politics, with a specialty in Southern American politics, and received his MA in May 2007. In a frenzy to escape from the manic clutches of a young life spent in the trenches of various political campaigns, and following an ill-advised flirtation with a legal education, he is seeking to gain experience as a writer and photojournalist both with the Santiago Times and as a freelancer. 
 
Amongst his interests Trey counts music, literature, sports, and bourbon. Presently, he is wondering if there is anywhere good to fish in Santiago, and whether he will ever be able to successfully ask that question to a Chilean in Spanish.

TAYLOR MEEHAN – Writer, Santiago Times

Taking a semester off from school back in the states, Taylor has joined the Santiago Times for the remainderof this year. He is a senior at HarvardUniversity where he studies Latin American History and plays baseball. His stay in Santiago is his first in a South American country – a trend he would like to continue in the next couple of years. While in Chile, Taylor hopes to travel as much as possible, improve his struggling Spanish  abilities, and find some locals to play some ball with. 

 

 

TEDDY KAHN- Writer, The Santiago Times

I arrive in Santiago from Washington, DC via Buenos Aires and Munich, Germany.  After studying International Relations in college I taught English for a year in a German primary school.  I’m happy to be here at the Santiago Times surrounded by people who share my interests and aren’t seven years old.  I hope to improve my journalistic resume, which right now does not extend far beyond the high school newspaper circuit, log some days and nights in the Chilean Andes, and eat plenty of empanadas duringmy time in Chile.

 

 

HELEN  BUNTING- Writter, The Santiago Times

After living in Houston, Texas for most of her life, Helen is reveling in the lack of humidity here in Santiago. She graduated in May from Texas A&M University with a degree in International Studies, and is currently on a search for what she wants to do with her life. She spent last year writing for her school newspaper and enjoyed it so much that she decided to give journalism a try after graduation. While here, Helen hopes to improve her writing and Spanish skills, sample the famous pisco sour, drink plenty of Chilean wine, and maybe even learn the tango.

 

 

 

ROB BARLETT-Writter, The Santiago Times.

I am a British Student, studying Spanish, and I have to spend a year abroad as part of my course. I blithely decided that Europe was too close and studying was too dull so, having stuck a pin in the map of South America, headed down here to work. Chile seemed appropriate as it is a similar shape to me, long and thin.

Having survived being woken up at 0700h by Dan the Radio Man in the shack for a week, being evicted from my first house after 2 days, and a night on the couch that was half as long as me, I have finally settled in Santiago. Finding a house with a TV that I can watch the rugby World Cup on was key in this process.

While here I hope to become really fluent at Spanish, get outdoors, write something intelligible on Borges and Bolaño for a university dissertation and, most importantly, fight the corner for the Old Empire against the yankee dominance of the office.

 

ADAM MARSHALL-Writer, The Santiago Times.

 Adam is on a year study abroad programme at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile far from his native England.  He is trying to divide his time here between study and travel, although with his lectures including ‘Introduction to Rugby’ and his plans to spend two months in the Bolivian jungle it would seem obvious which is being taken more seriously.

 

 

 

 

 JULIA HOLMAN- Part-time Writer, Santiago Times and Valparaiso Times.

Julia comes from far-off Sydney, Australia and is studying a combined Bachelor of Communications and a Bachelor of International Studies. Her official reason for coming to Chile was to fulfill the language requirement of her degree, but in truth, it was more of an excuse to avoid finding a real job.

While completing an exchange at the Universidad Católica here in Santiago, she also works part-time at the Santiago and Valparaiso Times, which is an excellent opportunity to improve her Spanish and to master the American way of spelling!

Back home in Sydney, she has worked as a freelance journalist for a number of Australian media outlets and for a public relations company specializing in spreading the good news of not-for-profit organizations. Since coming here in February 2007, she has learnt the hard way how not to get robbed in Chile, and is more than willing to take anyone on a comprehensive tour of the Santiago café scene.

 

RUPERT ROWLING -Writer, Santiago Times

Rupert is a year out from the stresses and strains of University of Manchester life, where he is studying Spanish and Portuguese. He came to Chile with the intention of becoming fluent in Spanish but has quickly discovered that in the office mastering the alien American language would prove as vital as Chile’s own tongue. Despite being here for 4 months, he seems happy to be living out a suitcase in a hostel for the duration of his stay, with some people labelling him “the Alan Partridge of Santiago.”
In his time here, Rupert is keen to play an active role in Chile’s cricket scene and an even more active role in Santiago’s nocturnal scene. Oh and hopefully speak the odd word of Spanish too.  

 

MARK HELMANTOLER- Writer, Santiago Times. 

 Mark comes to the Santiago Times from San Diego, California. He needed to complete an internship to finish his master’s degree in international relations and decided to come to Santiago for that goal, and to be near his girlfriend (now fiancée), Claudia.

An alumnus of the University of California, San Diego, he first visited Chile in 2003 as part of a study abroad program while working on his degree in Latin American history. Mark has returned to Chile every year since to visit Claudia and to subject himself to the mental torture also known as Chilean Spanish.

At age 21 Mark had still never left the continental U.S.A. But things have since changed radically: he has now visited 13 countries, all in Latin America, while also studying in Costa Rica, Chile and Mexico. One thing that traveling has taught him is that Kunstmann Bock is the best beer in South America.

Whenever he finds himself in Chile, Mark enjoys drinking pisco sours, going to Jumbo and eating the Chilean delicacy, bife a lo pobre. Upon finishing his internship he plans to remain in Santiago and join the work force.

ANDRA GHEBAN-  Marketing Executive

We are not really sure just how Andra arrived to Chile (by way of Paris, from Iasi, Romania, we think), but we are certainly glad she made it.  Andra has fit right in to Santiago and to the CHIP team, and since her native Romanian language is a first cousin to Spanish, she gets along quite well with the local lingo.

Andra studied French and English literature four years in Romania in preparation to become a teacher.  But her yen for travel needed to be satisfied first, before settling into any long-term work commitments.

In the short time she has been in Chile, Andra has worked hard to promote the CHIP Travel tourism flyer. This means interacting everyday with local businessmen, convincing them that foreigners (like her) really do value the kind of tourism flyer the company puts out twice a year.

Andra returns to Paris shortly.  Maybe during the cold, northern hemisphere winter months she’ll think nostalgically about all those crazy Latinos and gringos she met in Chile.  And, maybe, someday she will return.  She certainly has a place to land, if she does decide to come back.

AARON BRADFIELD, THE CHIRON GROUP - Web Business Development

While most often consumed in his role as CEO and President of the Chiron Group, a web services firm in "nearby" Denver... or as GVP of Internet Business at a financial consultancy firm... CHIP's darkest angel has been consulting and generally watching over company Internet happenings since the turn of the millennium. Now formalized as a principal strategist for web-based growth, our resident vampire spends most of his life in front of glowing (if not glowering) monitors. He's not really blond - that's just radiation.

ANDREA KELLY – Marketing Intern

Andrea graduated in June 2007 from the University of Oregon with majors in Communication Studies, Public Relations and Spanish. She calls the small, college town of Eugene, Oregon home, but this Irish-Chilean spent a large portion of her childhood living and traveling outside the United States. Now Andrea has decided to try surviving and thriving in Chile and she joins the Santiago Times to assist on a variety of marketing projects. 
 
While she is enjoying Chile, there are some things she has missed about home such as driving, microbreweries, Swedish Fish candies, cheap cell phone plans, Birkenstock’s and Oregon Duck “fútbol Americano” (Go Ducks!). Most of her spare time in Chile is spent trying to figure out the Transantiago, learning Chilean slang and eating empanadas.

RAUL OJEDA - CHIP Travel Staff

Raul has lived in small towns like Lago Verde up in the Andes, in isolated islands like Maillen (two hour by boat from Puerto Montt) and big cities like Santiago or Chicago.

He is a bilingual (English and Spanish) elementary school teacher who enjoys travelling and meeting with people from all over the world. Raul and his family travelled and worked in the United States for six years as a Catholic Church missionary.  This had him working with different immigrants aid organizations, and at the same time he was involved in some volunteer programs in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.
He and his wife Vicky have been living in Puerto Montt since they got back from the States. They have two kids: Simón and Mariel.

MIGUEL FREDES - Legal Representative

Information on News and Events in Chile
Attorney Miguel Fredes has focused much of his professional energy working to assure that environmental decision-making, both nationally and internationally, is done in an open and transparent way. He has 12 years of professional experience in the field of freedom and access to information, public interest litigation, and environmental law and policy research. And he speaks good English.

When not giving The Santiago Times his legal advice, he is off living and working in Indonesia, where his wife has been posted with Chile's Foreign Service.   He is member of E-LAW, a network of lawyers and scientists working to protect the environment world-wide.
He has helped co-found three public interest environmental law firms in Chile: Fiscalia del Medio Ambiente (FIMA) in 1998, Centro Austral de Derecho Ambiental (CEADA) in 2000 and CEPDA in 2005. He served as CEADA President during 2000-2003 and has authored several articles on environmental management, access rights, biodiversity and environmental law. Miguel loves to play piano, practice Yoga and do rock climbing.

 

Elaine Ayo - Writer

Elaine Ayo is a senior at the University of Miami in Florida with a dual concentration in Journalism and Latin American Studies. She is studying at the Universidad Catòlica for two semesters and working at the Santiago Times in her spare time.
A native of San Antonio, Texas, Elaine came to Chile looking to learn more about the country and improve her Spanish. Before working for the Santiago Times, Elaine has worked for her university paper and interned at the Miami Herald, part of which was spent covering and living through one of the busiest hurricane seasons on record. Elaine thought Santiago would be an excellent place to study because of its rich culture, booming economy and absence of hurricanes.  
 

Laurel Bernstein - Writer, The Santiago Times

Laurel comes to the Santiago Times from Washington, D.C., where she was squandering thousands of dollars worth of university education working as a "Nanny to the Stars." Writing for the paper is Laurel's attempt to fulfill life-long journalistic ambitions while seeking relief from the reverse culture shock she suffered after moving from Miami to D.C. Miami is where she caught the Latin American travel bug and has since traveled to Argentina, Colombia, El Salvador, Brazil, and Haiti and lived in the Dominican Republic. She's very happy to add Chile to the list and even happier to finally be doing something that remotely relates to her college education.

While in Chile, Laurel hopes to meet Chileans, see as much of the country as possible, and finally crack the case of the rampant Chilean mullet.

 

John Baker - Contributor

Johnny Baker is a professional writer retiring from a 40-year career that began with newspaper journalism, but quickly segueing into private enterprise and government. He has taught creative writing at the undergraduate level, served as the speachwriter to the governor of Oregon, and has held a variety of mid-level communications management positions with several Fortune 500 corporations.
Baker is expatriating to South America, where he will continue to work on his satirical novel Lemmings in Freefall, teach English as a Second Language, contribute to the Santiago Times, and pursue his passions for skiing, skydiving, climbing, trekking and kayaking.
 
 

Nathan Crooks - Editor, The Santiago Times

A recent graduate from the University of Toronto (Trinity College), Nathan completed a Specialist in Political Science, a Major in Ibero-American Studies and a Minor in Spanish.

Originally from Clarion, Pennsylvania, Nathan has spent considerable time in Latin America, as a Rotary exchange student in Caracas, Venezuela and working for Amnesty International in Santiago de Chile. Nathan has also studied in Australia, Mexico, and the Czech Republic.

Nathan was looking for a way to come back to Chile and is happy to be working at the Santiago Times. Once a strict vegetarian for five years, Nathan can now be found at any local Domino scarfing down charazcos italianos.

Besides politics and journalism, Nathan is interested in e-commerce, outdoor activities, photography, among other things. Nathan runs the e-commerce division of his family's clothing company, FLCROOKS, from wherever in the world he may find himself.
 

 

Heather Domnick - Writer, The Chile Information Project

Heather Domnick began her life in Paradise California and has been on the go ever since, traversing the globe from Peru to Hong Kong (and many places in between) with her corporate expat parents. Following her high school graduation from Singapore American School and a brief stint in Thailand, she went on to university in Canberra, Australia.

After leaving Australia for California to work at a local social services agency, Heather decided that the grass (or in this case, the cornfield) was greener in Peoria Illinois, and so set off with a suitcase and a fresh drivers license (she almost didn't pass) not knowing that her life was about to change dramatically.

Just nine months into her stay and much to her father's surprise, she met and married Jake after only six weeks of dating. But all doubts were recently put to rest when the couple recently celebrated their tenth not-too-romantic-'cause-I-didn't-have-a-sitter wedding anniversary with their three fantastic children, all of whom enjoy life and school in Santiago, especially the youngest who often declares that he loves this place " 'cause the casts are gooder here." His parents keep a running tab at Clínica Las Condes.

 

Nate Doyle - Writer, The Santiago Times

Hailing from a small town in western Illinois, Nate graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a business degree in Accountancy. He spent three laborious years in public accounting before trading the view from his 14th floor Chicago office for the panoramic beauty of the Andes Mountains last February.

An avid sports fan, Nate has been moved to temporarily exchange his undying allegiance for the down-trodden Chicago Cubs to the less-than-stellar play of the University of Chile's soccer team. When he is not hard at work at the Santiago Times, Nate has been known to feed his caffeine addiction at the local cafe con piernas.

In addition to his contributions to the business section of the Santiago Times, Nate volunteers as an English teacher at a local vocational university.

 

Cristina Dunn, Editor The Santiago Times

Cristina recently graduated from Edinburgh University with a Ma in Spanish and History. Having worked for The Sunday Times and ITN she decided to return to Chile to unite her passions for Latin America and Journalism.
Cristina fell in love with Chile when she worked for The British Council for a year in 2003 to 2004 as part of her Spanish degree.

Unlike a lot of tourists and residents of "Santiasco" Cristina loves Chile's capital city and has adopted it as her home away from home. While in Chile Cristina hopes to learn as much as possible from the staff at The Santiago Times and practice as much Salsa Dancing as possible!

Kerry Rae Fleisher - Nightlife Editor, CHIP Travel

A native from the Washington D.C region, Kerry shocked absolutely no-one back in the U.S. when she announced her impromptu decision to teach English in Santiago and avoid committing to life plans. She had already fled the east coast once before, embarking into the UC Berkeley abyss where she spent two guilty years camouflaged as a hippie, one year playing bass for a mediocre yet earnest Cali band (Kantar), and countless hours writing academic fluff that sank without trace.
She can be seen slinking around Santiago's grocery store network looking for that "perfect red wine," extolling the virtue of auxiliary verbs to her classes, and tossing around Chilean slang in all the wrong contexts, to the pleasure of her engineering Duoc students in Maipu.

 

Laura Gillis - Writer, CHIP Travel

Laura graduated several years ago with a degree in Literature, History and French from NYU. After a couple years waiting tables in the Caribbean and traveling in Asia (mostly in the South East) she decided she wanted to learn Spanish, and maybe put her college education to use. After a year of various restaurant and office jobs at home in San Francisco, she heard about the Santiago Times, decided an English newspaper in Santiago sounded lovely, and moved here at the beginning of June 2006. Laura also served a short stint in 2001 as a bear trainer in the Moscow circus. 
 

 

 

Patrick Hieger - Contributor, The Chile Information Project

Patrick has been living and working as an English teacher in Santiago since July, 2005. He studied creative writing and Spanish at the University of Missouri, his home state. His hobbies include long, difficult novels, walking, cooking and sewing. He owns and uses an antique Chilean typewriter. He is not blue.

 

 

 

Beatrice Lucy - Writer, The Santiago Times

Bea studies Spanish and Politics at the University of Bristol. She came to Chile with aim of improving her Spanish and quickly realized that 'Chilean' is a very different language from the Spanish she studies in the UK.

Belonging to the small group of blondes who live in Santiago, Bea is finally getting used to people pointing in street and even thinks she'll miss it when she goes home!

 

 

Chris MacLean - Contributor, The Santiago Times/CHIP Travel

As the son of international school teachers, Chris grew up traveling my entire life. Although born in Canada, he got on his first airplane at the age 6 weeks and has not looked back since. He has lived on 5 different continents in 7 different countries and has already seen 3 out of the 7 wonders of the world. Chris writes for the sports section of the McGill Tribune at McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

While specializing in international relations and majoring in political science, Chris, deep down, is an aspiring travel writer and explorer. He is also and avid sports fan and addicted athlete. Basketball is his primary sport, but he's also played soccer since the age of five. He went to high school in Europe and was the goalie on the varsity team. His favorite team is the Montreal Canadiens (NHL).  
 

Cynthia McMurry - Writer

From Minneapolis, Minnesota, Cynthia is studying International Relations and Spanish with a minor in Studio Art (painting and ceramics) at Tufts University, and would like to pursue a career in radio journalism after college. She´s spending her junior year abroad in Chile, and plans to spend the summer backpacking around South America.

Cynthia is slowly acclimating herself to life in Santiago--she loves the cheap wine, abundant fruit and palta-covered vienesas but is still scared to cross the street sometimes and not sure why everyone seems to be listening to Iron Maiden.
 
 
Cecile Loial - Writer, Sales Assistant

Even though Cecile is trying to juggle 3 languages at once she still maintains a level head in the office. Born in the French West Indies, she lives in Toulouse, France, and studies political science. She is outgoing and says that she doesn't think she will change the world but hopes to change a few minds along her way. Cecile's love of traveling and the outdoors brought her to Chile, which she heard was a beautiful country, and is looking forward to experiencing what it has to offer.
 

 

Natalia Padilla - Intern, The Chile Information Project

Natalia Padilla is a student from the University of California, Berkeley majoring in Mass Communications and Spanish and finishing her last semester of college at Pontificia Universidad de Chile. She is interning at the Santiago Times, working on newspaper sales and writing.

Originally from Los Angeles, Natalia decided to travel to South America to perfect her Spanish, drink lots of wine and study Chilean literature. Natalia is often mistaken for Chilean since she currently sports the popular Chilean mullet. When not in class or interning, she can be found wandering around the city, and is in constant search of corn tortillas. Let her know if you find any.

 

Nura Sadeghpour - Writer, The Santiago Times

Born in Nicaragua to a North American mother and Persian father, Nura looks forward to forging connections with Latin America for her future life and career goals. A 2003 UC Berkeley graduate, Nura spent a year in southern Chile volunteering at the Baha'i Institute and Radio Station in Labranza, then made her way back to the States to work as an editor. Now back in Chile for several months, she enjoys striking up conversations with people in coffee shops, discussing anything from education, religion, what makes Chileans tick, to the beauty of the Andes outside the window. And she doesn't even drink coffee.
 
 

 

Charlie Sanchez - Writer, The Santiago Times

Charlie is from England and studies English and Spanish at the University of Exeter. He arrived late September and will be staying at The Santiago Times for seven months on his year abroad.

Charlie is hoping to smash Matthew Silverman's record of the longest time spent in the shack at the back of the office, but his current run is under threat from new interns.

Aside from writing for the paper, Charlie is keen to get out and experience Santiago and to practice his Spanish. His interests include Music, Food, Sports and he has been known to dabble in Computing.


                                    

Caitlin Sandercock - Writer, The Santiago Time

Hailing from the far off shores of Sydney, Australia, Caitlin enjoys frequently uprooting herself and discovering new places. Currently living in Santiago de Chile under the auspices of being a hard-working, serious exchange student (for the third time), Caitlin found that an internship at the Santiago Times might be just the ticket to unwinding after her grinding class schedule of 6 hours a week.

An undergraduate majoring in Communications and International Studies at the University of Technology Sydney, Caitlin has also lived and traveled extensively in Europe and Mexico, but has yet to reach her goal of seeing every continent. She previously edited her university's newspaper and wrote for an online travel magazine.

Outside aspiring to be fluent in Spanish and a half-decent journalist, her interests include traveling, music, social justice, street art, finding drinkable coffee and confounding many, many a North American with her Australian accent.

                                    

Cate Setterfield - Writer, The Santiago Times

Cate studies Spanish and Russian at the University of Cambridge. Entirely by accident, Cate happened to choose a university course that would oblige her to part from beloved England with its rain, mud and never-ending university exams for a whole year. She is currently making the best of a bad situation by soaking up the sun and forcing down copious amounts of Chilean wine.

Cate is living in the shack at the back of the office, but hopes to move in with a Chilean family before she freezes to death. While in Santiago, she hopes to become fluent in Spanish, and complete her third-year dissertation on contemporary Chilean women's poetry. Other interests include rollerblading, rugby, and ice cream.

 

Will Sherman - Editor, The Chile Information Project

Free office space and Wi-Fi. Those were the two major perks that attracted Will to the Chile Information Project. From this departure point, it's been quite an interesting experience vicariously traversing the regions of Chile through the top-notch writing of top-notch student interns and aspiring journalists, past and present. Need Website Content?

 

Mathew D. Silverman - Writer, The Chile Information Project

After traveling through 6 countries down here, Matt decided it was time to learn Spanish and end his two-month-long silence in Latin America. He has found a family to live with in Santiago's Barrio Providencia and looks forward to finally understanding what locals are saying to him.

Born in Philadelphia, he received a B.A. from The University of Vermont, majoring in both Economics and Political Science while editing the student newspaper -The Vermont Cynic.

Before returning to the states, Matt hopes to complete his South American passport stamp collection, surf the coast of Arica, swim in glacial waters and sample all the best wines the Southern Cone has to offer. 


Ashley Steinberg - Writer, The Santiago Times

Ashley was confident that her Spanish teachers at her South Florida high school had prepared her well, but when she found herself unable to communicate beyond the words "hola" and "gracias" during her various travels, she decided to move to South America to learn the language properly. She recently graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, where she majored in Political Science and in Communications and minored in History.
Born in Winnipeg, Canada, Ashley moved to the state of palm trees and senior citizens and has also lived in England and New York City. She has always been passionate about travel: highlights include studying in Israel, researching in India, debating in Peru and Singapore, zigzagging across Europe, and almost being sold for an unspecified number of camels in Morocco. She is interested in astronomy, music, ice skating, and photography, and is extremely excited to visit the penguins in the south of Chile.
 

Renata Stepanov - Writer, The Santiago Times/CHIP Travel

When she could no longer find inspiration at the Jersey shore or her charming, but modest hometown of Highland Park, NJ, Renata took her passion for writing, travel and new languages to Chile. She follows the labor, immigration and environment beats working for the Santiago Times. On the side she enjoys writing cultural reviews, travel documentaries and political blogs.

While studying Politics at Princeton University Renata had the opportunity to travel and do research in France, Russia and Hungary. Thanks to her parents, who stayed in Ukraine until 1989, she can get by in Russian, but is finding Chilean Spanish very hard to pick up… Hopefully before she relocates to Queens, New York in January of 2007 Renata will be able to write her own guide to surviving the Chilean jungle…
 

Morten Szygenda - Writer, The Santiago Times

The only European working at The Santiago Times, Morten is busy working three languages at the same time. Reading in Spanish, writing in English and still thinking in Danish.

After interning for a year at a Danish daily, he is now in Santiago for half a year for credit towards his masters at the Danish School of Journalism.

Morten took the obligatory turn in the ice shack in the back of the office. He finally left the shack and is now living in Santiago Centro in the apartment of a Chilean woman, practicing his Spanish. Normally busy kite-surfing, free diving or running, he finds it difficult to do any of the three in smoggy Santiago.
 
 
Liz Yates - Writer, The Santiago Time

A proud native of Seattle, WA, Liz is a junior at Tufts University majoring in International Relations. So in order to really internationalize her study, Liz ventured beyond US borders for the first time in January of 2006, and the six months since, traveled to four new continents, most recently landing in South America as an exchange student at the University of Chile.

After years of writing and editing for student newspapers in high school and college, Liz feels right at home in The Santiago Times newsroom. Liz's goals for the semester include speaking enough Spanish to eavesdrop on the metro and to convince at least one native Chilean that, despite outward appearances, she is an authentic Chilena. 
 
 
The Chiron Group - Web Business Development

While often consumed in his role as CEO and President of the Chiron Group, a web services firm in "nearby" Denver... or as GVP of Internet Business at a financial consultancy firm... CHIP's darkest angel has been consulting and generally watching over company Internet happenings since the turn of the millennium. Now formalized as a principal strategist for web-based growth, our resident vampire spends most of his life in front of glowing monitors. He's not really blond - that's just radiation.

In the fleeting periods of time not spent baby-sitting the "net" in general and optimizing the CHIP web presence in particular, he takes every opportunity to whisk his sons Ares and Thor skywards to the dismay of his proudly Chilean wife, Pame.

CHIP staffers would like to thank all of our interns and employees who have made substantial contributions over the years! Please take the opportunity (click above on CHIP ALUMNI) to view former CHIP interns, helpers and friends. Many of these bright young people are back at large, so look out world, here they come!

 Marc Hamel - Photographer/Photo Editor, The Santiago Times

Marc is currently a graduate student studying photojournalism at the University of Texas, Austin.A native of Denver, Co., he graduated from Marquette University with a marketing and advertising degree. After a year of fun in Colorado, he started his marketing career in Denver and then moved to the Bay Area where he worked for several companies including Sega Entertainment, Mattel Interactive and interactive firm Fluid, Inc.In 2002 Marc left San Francisco and Golden Gate Park behind and headed to Nicaragua as a Peace Corps volunteer. His primary assignment was to work with an organization managing the Cerro Musun nature reserve, located in central Nicaragua. He spent two years teaching environmental education, teaching art class, building trails, and generally wandering in the jungle.If he's not making pictures you will probably find him doing something outside, and most likely it will be running or cycling.

Anna Kendrick - Writer, The Santiago Times

Anna Kendrick comes to the Santiago Times from Boston, Massachusetts, where she is a sophomore History and Literature major at Harvard University. After going to college three subway stops from her home, Anna decided that some time down in the southern hemisphere might be the best way to spend her first summer in college. Her interest in Latin America brought her to Santiago, Chile, where she is excited to explore its old neighborhoods, eat fresh fruits and empanadas and practice her Spanish (or rather, learn Chilean).On the weekends, she hopes to venture out of the city to enjoy clean air, attempt to learn to ski, and find out just how cold the Pacific Ocean really is in the winter. While at the Santiago Times, she will be interviewing local business owners and writing profiles for the online newspaper.

Alex Ogle - Writer, The Santiago Times/CHIP Travel

Alex stumbled into the Santiago Times in the same way you might fall down the stairs with hands in your pockets. Indeed, he would never have set foot south of the US border were it not for the wily charms of a vagrant New Orleans dancer, but that's another story. Steve rejected his copy-editing skills many times but finally yielded under the weight of requests. Alex was soon questioning his own short-sighted planning as he found himself sleeping at the office, nestled under four sleeping bags in the ice-cold shack in the back, waking with icicles in his hair.But hey, buy the ticket, take the ride: there's a heat-wave currently melting drizzle from the shores of his native England, but can they see the Andes from their office windows? Alex enjoys fumbling away with stunted Spanish, poking degenerate streets dogs, and late night walks through smog-soaked Santiago. When not feeding dodgy translations into his news copy, he alternates between humming unintelligible half-seconds of songs and forcing fellow riters into uncomfortably deep conversations at inappropriate moments. Alex looks forward to returning to London to take on a journalism MA at City University.

Nicholas Parkinson - Writer, The Santiago Times

Nicholas, a Mormon missionary gone awry, came to the Santiago Times for various reasons. But he must admit there was no epiphany or anything like that. He has reported in the Spanish language for the past three years and would like to write in English while getting to know a new country. He loves to travel, snowboard, rock climb and learn untranslatable words in other languages. "Melliza" for example, that's a great word.It's like "gemelo" but not identical. Nothing is identical, not even gemelos.

 

 

Pascal Tieman - Tour Guide, CHIP Travel

Pascal is the Tour Coordinator at CHIP Travel. He was raised in thecity of Tilburg, Netherlands, close to the Belgian border. He studied marketing and came to Chile in September 2000, following his heart and a beautiful Chilean woman. He is now married to her and they have two children.In Chile he worked for Marriott Hotel and currently guides Saturday tours for the Colchagua Wine Train or Tren del vino. During the week he works as a tour guide and travel coordinator for The Chile Information Project.

 

 

Sarah Dingle - The Santiago Times

Sarah is an intern at The Santiago Times. The rest of the time, she's an Australian journalism student studying in Chile for the year.

Sarah has written or worked for, among others, the Sydney Morning Herald, ABC Radio National, 2SER radio, Vibewire.net, Reportage, FBi radio, the St George Leader, the North Shore Times and the City Hub. She likes making radio, playing capoeira, Santiago in the summertime and the price of avocadoes in Chile.

 

Ana Maria de la Fuente - The Santiago Times

Ana Maria was born in Lima, Peru and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and has come to Santiago after earning a degree in Literature and teaching English in Japan. She has worked as a Adminstrative and Editoral assistant at Edmonton´s Vue Weekly as well as tour guide, English tutor and waiter.  She is currently interning at the Santiago Times to further explore the journalism, and live in her father's native land.

Fernando Martinez Bravo - The Santiago Times

Fernando Martinez Bravo was born in the city of Puerto Montt in the south of the world. There, surrounded by lakes, volcanoes, and curanto he was inspired to begin experimenting with photography. Eventually he moved north to study Publicity and Photography in Valparaiso. (Unfortunately the first nude model presented to him was not a goddess, but instead a wrinkly old woman of extremely generous proportions).
Recently he gave in and moved to the congested capital he had been avoiding for so long in order to complete his studies. At this moment, he works at the Santiago Times as a photographer.
 

Catherine Housholder - The Santiago Times

Born and raised in a tiny town in northeast Indiana, Catherine Housholder decided to head to Massachusetts for college (at an all-women's school!) and major in Latin American studies.

After three summers of working at local dailies in Indiana, she opted
to fly south to Chile to write for The Santiago Times and chase politicians around the city.  She enjoys being liberated from the all-female environment at school and feeling independent in a big city. Since coming to Santiago, she thinks writing about the powerful may be her calling.

 

Lisa Hirschmann - The Santiago Times

Lisa Hirschmann was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Just a year ago she crossed the country to attend Columbia University in New York City, where she studies Spanish and Latin America, and writes for the university daily newspaper, The Columbia Spectator.

Last semester she covered an academic freedom controversy in Columbia's Middle Eastern Studies department for the Spectator, and won the Reed Strauss Award for "exceptional talent in journalism" for her work. After traveling to Chile in the summer of 2004 to study, she fell in love with the country and knew she had to come back.

She spent her summer break in 2005 working as an intern at The Santiago Times, before heading back to New York to start her sophomore year of college. She loves learning Chilean idioms, futbol and pastel de choclo.

Nina Vizcarrondo - The Santiago Times

Though Nina grew up amidst the hustle and bustle of New York City, she has found Santiago to be an even more overwhelming city - but one that has, so far, pushed her to absorb and integrate an influx of experiences, history and current events that she hopes will soon help her yield ultimate wisdom and nirvana.

In the big apple, Nina spent 13 years trudging up and down the 10 flights of the all-girls Spence School, where, when not too exhausted, she helped put out the student opinion magazine, *spark. Nina came to the Santiago Times, however, straight from Harvard, where, after a semester rowing on the Charles, she spent a good deal of her freshman year paying her dues at The Crimson (thecrimson.com), singing in the freshman musical and enjoying her peers.

She has also been nothing but impressed by her co-workers at The Santiago Times and at the scope of its coverage, especially after a summer "interning" at El Diario de Zapotlan in rural Mexico, which had one
reporter on staff.

Stephanie Berlin - The Santiago Times

Born and bred in the boggy lowlands of Northern Germany, Stephanie found a meaningful existence by selling fish, lugging stones for conservation projects, and freezing her feet off in Greenlandic meltwaters before finishing her master's degree in Urban Planning and completing her teacher training at Muenster University. After teaching German at High Schools in Scotland and working with the Planning Department in Glasgow on a regeneration project in the city's post-industrial east end, she spent some time roaming the forests and counting deer as an intern in Killarney National Park, Ireland.

Stephanie makes her home in Vancouver now and works as a German instructor at the University of British Columbia. Still torn between two continents, she opted for a third one instead, leaving the sunny beaches of Vancouver behind to spend the summer holidays in wintery and smog-ridden Santiago. She is getting more and more caffeine-hyped thanks to her café-hopping Spanish class and enjoys the beat of the first South American city she got to know.

Her internship with The Santiago Times is her first journalistic experience. It might distract her completely from her future as a teacher, at least for a little while.

Muireann Prendergast - The Santiago Times

Muireann Prendergast was born in Ireland and is 25 years old. She studied Philosophy and English Literature at Trinity College, Dublin and later completed and MA in International Communications and Human Rights at City Univeristy, London.

She has written for the Buenos Aires Herald and The Irish Times, and is also features editor of a bi-lingual, French and English, Paris-based magazine called Aspire & Emerge.She came to The Santiago Times to write about human rights issues in Chile.

 

Natalia Hernández - The Santiago Times

Natalia is a Chilean journalist who was inspired to work in English after spending an incredible semester studying abroad in Canada. Dreams can come true there, she says, and hopes that some day they will come true for her here in Chile. Or maybe some day she'll return to Canada? A Harry Potter fanatic (really, ask her anything about the books), she came into the Santiago Times one cold morning in July after driving by the office en route to her grandparents' house. "Why not?" she said.

Natalia now divides her time between The Santiago Times and a Chilean magazine. She is also rehearsing for her "almost" band and cracking icons on Photoshop. Oh, and hopes to bring Tori Amos to Chile. A busy lady,
indeed.

Chris Evans - The Santiago Times

Despite an aversion to big cities, Chris has lived and worked in London, Sydney and now Santiago. He has worked for several years as a journalist at various prestigious titles, including The Times, The Kensington Times, Sydney Morning Herald, and some rather depressingly dull ones, including World Insurance Report and Accountancy magazine. He has the dubious distinction of being one of the only members of the team to have
experienced the 1970s, although, sadly too young to wear corduroy flares.He has an insatiable appetite for all sports, but especially football (of the English variety, not the bizarre American game where they "throw" the ball). His dream to play professionally is turning sour as each year passes, and the realization sinks in that he is getting old
 enough to be the dad of some of the current players.

Instead he occupies his days writing stories and attempting to communicate with the locals, but often being greeted with blank stares, or looks of astonishment at the giant standing before them (Chris is officially a giant standing at 2 meters tall).

Zachary McKiernan - The Santiago Times

A 26-year-old native Californian. When not taking 5,000-mile road trips between California and Panama, Zach enjoys coffee, crosswords, scholarships, and snowboarding. He arrived in Santiago, for the second time, to study at Santiago's Jesuit University, Universidad Alberto Hurtado. Somehow, he has since landed himself in the chaos that shrouds the Santiago Times.

To unwind, Zach indulges in some of Santiago's most distinguishable delights: completos and piscolas. Besides these tasty treats, the ubiquitous smog and deplorable Nescafé of Santiago keeps him teary eyed for the bluer skies of his native land, California. After visiting nearly thirty countries, Zach, jack of all trades and master of none, still doesn't know where he'll be next year.

Hopefully, a Ph.D. program in History or Latin American Studies will come knocking on his door, but, this dumb boy with a dream (Ed. Note: Zach has since proved himself to be a dumb boy with several dreams) could just as likely take refuge in the jungles of Guatemala or pampas of Argentina.

Victor Pino - Travel Director

Victor worked in the tourism industry before joining the CHIP Travel Guide in October 1997. He's been happy with his job, which has allowed him to travel up and down the length of Chile several times. His extensive travels notwithstanding, Victor notes that each time he revisits a location, he always discovers something new.

Victor puts his knowledge to good use at CHIP, helping work out the travel plans for the many individuals and groups that ask for our help in making all their travel arrangements in Chile.

 

Will Osmond - Travel Staff

Born in France near Paris, Will was raised in the USA when his familly moved to follow the flourishing markets of the New World. A trilingual administration student at Universidad de Chile, Will began working for CHIP as a Tour Guide in 2001, favouring the City Cultural Walk-tours and the *hic* Wine Tours.He was later taken on to work in the Sales Department in 2003, but still delights in herding curious tourists through the busy Santiago streets, unraveling it’s wonders and splendor. Outside of work and study, Will teaches both English and French; enjoys jogging, writing, singing and plays the Piano.

 

Rafe Hutchings - Business Development

Rafe hails from Somerset in the U.K. He suffers from LatinAmericaitis, having had the good fortune to have lived in several of its countries.  Having completed a degree in Economics and later a masters in Information Systems, he chose to broaden his business experience in CHIP's "hands on" environment.He keeps busy by touching up on his Spanish and Portuguese, as well as persisting with his salsa dancing. He has an excessive love of rugby, and enjoys the outdoors and current affairs.

 

Gabriela Dorr Spoerer - Travel Staff

Gabriela "Guagua" Dorr was born in Concepción but only after a few months on Earth, she moved to Curico, in the central region of Chile, where she went through elementary, middle and high school.

Like all good country girls, she decided to try her luck in the big city: Santiago. That's where she studied Graphic Design for six months, but left due to the smog, noisy streets and insane drivers.

Fleeing back to Curico, she settled down once more, employing herself in a vast array of odd jobs. Then, when she least expected it, a revelation came to Guagua. She discovered a very interesting career, her true
calling...Tourism! (or so thought) When Guagua isn't looking for her destiny, she enjoys sleeping or partying with the girls, chatting away about the birds and the bees.

Marcelo Cid - The Santiago Times

Marcelo was born in Santiago and has lived his whole life gagging in its smog. He is currently earning two majors at Uniacc University: audiovisual communications and journalism. Although Marcelo has had hands-on experience working at El Mercurio,
 Chile Films, the Nueva Imagen TV company, and as an editor, news writer and TV announcer at Uniacc's Channel 34, he was pleased to become an intern at The Santiago Times in order to improve his English writing skills. His aim to become truly bilingual.
His likes are varied and oftentimes contradictory. For example, he likes both pop and classical music; avant-garde movies and Star Wars. And his conversation tends towards the philosophical and sometimes religious.His presence, as well as that of other Chileans on the Santiago Times team, is important because it helps the whole crew get a better understanding of all the contradictions found both in Chile and the rest of the world.

Mark Niesse - The Santiago Times

A resident of Atlanta, Georgia, all his life, Mark decided in early 2004 that the time had come to really see some of the rest of the world and learn another language - even if it meant leaving behind a good job as a journalist with the Associated Press and heading for parts unknown. His friends understood, although his family expressed some doubts.
His three and a half years of experience with AP has been a plus to The Santiago Times, where he was well received by a group of comrades in arms, and put immediately to the grindstone. Although linguistically challenged, Mark has made remarkable (?) strides with his Spanish in just a few short months, and will no doubt venture to greener pastures once his internship ends.

Randy Havre - The Santiago Times - Financial Columnist

Randy Havre has been a financial writer in Hawaii for 17 years, reporting on and analyzing publicly traded companies.After graduating from the prestigious Hawaiian prep school, Punahou, much to his parent's disapproval, Randy took off traveling the mainland from Guatemala City to Fairbanks Alaska. Upon returning to paradise he join the Honolulu Fire Department spending six of his nine years there as a Rescue Specialist. Realizing that he needed money to live, as paradise is quite costly, he left to open his own stock brokerage firm, and the rest is history. Randy and his beautiful wife, Spanish/Filipino, have a 23 year old daughter, also beautiful. They are avid skiers, at least 30 ski days a year, which brought them to Chile. In Hawaii, you¹ll find him most weekend mornings at Sandy Beach body surfing.

Emily Byrne, Cultural Editor - The Santiago Times

Educated at posh English public schools and Cambridge University, Emily is taking a glimpse of the "real world." Following a stint working for an HIV/AIDS organization in Burkina Faso, she is roughing it at The Santiago Times for a while.

Among others, Emily's previous occupations include barmaid, singer, envelope - stuffer, audio typist in a law firm, police line-up participant and brain scan volunteer.
Emily was editor of a Cambridge University magazine, and has had a few poems published. She enjoys singing, G & Ts, being invited to Embassy parties and bizarre English sports that no one apart from Tom has heard
 of.

Heather Cashmore - The Santiago Times

Born in the dank redbrick depths of Manchester (sorry Tom), Heather later moved to the greener pastures of Bristol where she learned to love all things west country. However, being a secret lover of misery (like all the English) she decided to move to Aberystwyth, an isolated and drizzly coastal town in mid-Wales to study International Politics and Spanish, later spending a year of study in the Basque Country in 2003.
The glamorous lifestyle and pay of a waitress, events organizer, and lifeguard allowed her to return to Santiago, having been inspired five years before by el mundo chileno during a gap year. Heather hopes to gain an understanding of the journalistic profession through her internship at The Santiago Times, as well as exploring Chilean culture and improving her Spanish. She also plays the guitar, loves photography, swimming, surfing and being in the fresh air (the latter proving a little difficult in Santiago, but we can't have everything …).

Olga Cherepanova - Marketing

Olga was born in Russia and educated in the United States. She studied business administration and marketing and took a master's in international development (yes, she wants to make the world a better place).

She wound up at CHIP after a stint with a mammoth multinational energy
company.She loves the Andes and has discovered she is a gifted wine taster. She
 enjoys history, reading, dancing salsa and samba, the great outdoors, skiing and skating (the latter hampered by a complete absence of ice).Her life here is spent switching back and forth between the four languages she speaks - English, Spanish, Portuguese and, lest she forget, Russian. Even after having lived in different countries she does fix a mean vodka drink. Her next life challenge is to learn to fly a helicopter.

Irene Caselli, Editor in Chief - The Santiago Times

Irene was born in Naples, Southern Italy, in 1981 and lived in the chaos of the Mediterranean city for 18 years. She then studied International Relations and German in St. Andrews, Scotland, and Bonn, Germany.

 After graduating in June 2003, Irene decided it was time to leave Europe, and, thanks to her brother, ended up in Chile to find inspiration. The Santiago Times has helped a bit so far, proving that journalism might be the right way. What she hopes for in future are new countries, other
 languages and more words to write down. If she ever can shake loose from The Santiago Times.

                                

David Seitel, Sports - The Santiago Times

Sports guy hails from the planet of sport. His motto is "Just Do It" and his favorite beverage, beside beer, is Gatorade. Much to the lazy man's astonishment, SG (as his teammates like to say), enjoys various things like watching sports, talking about sports, and writing about sports.

It is for the latter that SP has found a spot in the Santiago Times staff. With much practice at sports, Sports Guy knows everything from vulgar chants and mosh-pits, to the grace and elegance of a soccer goal. Although you can only contain (not stop!) him, Sports Guy has a weakness like his idol Jim Thorpe. This ultra-talented individual of sport is allergic to reading and classical music, unless there are hot chicks and complementary chips.

Cristina Cifuentes - The Santiago Times

Cristina was born in Santiago a long time ago. After graduating from the the University of Santiago, one of Chile's most upstart universities, she went to Scarborough, in the North of England to learn English for about a year. She then went to Edinburgh, Scotland, to work on a master’s in journalism and ended up staying there three years.
What she did during that time is still a bit of a mystery. Sources say she may have had problems with the law, but nothing has been proved yet. In Chile she has worked for the film magazine Cinegrama, and back in Edinburgh she worked for the Scotsman and the only Spanish-language radio show in Scotland, a project she is still involved in.

She is a strong supporter of Universidad de Chile soccer club and enjoys fencing, photography, travelling and the taste of a good Chilean wine.

Jade Frank The Santiago Times

Jade was born and raised in the frozen land of Fairbanks, Alaska. She's
 in her final year at the University of Alaska, majoring in
 photojournalism. She came to The Santiago Times to practice her skills in writing,
 photography and Spanish as an intern. Her passion for learning Spanish
 stems from a high school exchange to Quito, Ecuador, and a college
 exchange to Guadalajara, Mexico. However, she is having a little trouble
 deciphering the Chilean dialect.
Jade's dream is to buy a catamaran and sail around the world
 scuba-diving, eating seafood, taking photos and writing books about her
 experiences. She founded Chile's first official Stitch n' Bitch, a knitting club
 for progressive women. When not in the office or out taking photos,
 you can find her searching for great sushi restaurants and live music.

Katie Reilly The Santiago Times

Although a graduate of a small liberal arts college located in the woods of Maine, Katie has her roots in Washington, D.C., where she was born and grew up. While at college she spent a semester studying in Chile, an experience she valued greatly.
So it was no surprise that after graduating she decided, somewhat
spontaneously, to return to Chile to see what it could offer. And the fist interesting possibility that caught her attention was interning at The Santiago Times.
So far, she says it has been a pretty good decision to come to Chile, although she wishes she had more opportunities to play soccer. Before she heads back to DC, Katie hopes to improve her journalistic skills, her Spanish (and Chilean slang) and to travel and learn as much as possible.

Lisa Ljunggren The Santiago Times

Born on a Lappish mountain top in 1979, this Aquarius has been trying to crawl her way to the ocean ever since. By struggling through chlorine filled puddles, both as an active swimmer and as a determined coach, her restlessness (and the fact that she doesn't really like children) led her to seek new adventures.
Lisa (which also happens to be the name given to an IKEA waste basket) has spent three years in Art School, six months in the Mexican jungle and once managed to shock an audience with her outstanding pantomime interpretation of the depraved queen in Snow White.While not writing for the Santiago Times, she enjoys the meditative chaos of the Chilean capital city, strolling around barefoot and staring off into the distance while trying to figure out a plan on how best to save the world.

Maria Roeckmann Web Content Manager

Maria escaped the cruel German winter in an effort to get a beautiful tan on Chile's beaches. And to join the CHIP team, of course! Before coming to Chile, she studied education and social psychology in Bochum, an industrial town in the Ruhr area. After graduation, she decided it would be a good idea to get some practical experience in Chile and brush up on her Spanish in the process.
"Being in Chile is the best way to learn Spanish," she says, adding that it's "also perhaps the hardest way to learn, because the people here speak so fast."At The Santiago Times she is working to update the content on various CHIP websites. When she gets back to Germany she'd like to work as an online journalist or continue with work as a web site content manager.
 But for just now, she's happy enjoying the wonderful weather, beaches, trekking, and lots of wine.

 

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