Los Requisitos - The Requirements

There are a lot of requirements that we all must deal with in our lives, such as getting a license and passing a class in order to get a permit to drive a car legally, or taking the dreaded standardized tests in order to be placed into a university or graduate program. Many are considered rites of passage, while others are taken by one's own election, a choice one makes in order to improve, change or somehow enrich your own opportunities. At times, it can feel like it is just "another way the Man is trying to keep a brother down" which is a way of saying that these requirements are the government’s way of limiting us and infringing on our civil liberties and human rights.

Yet, this is not really the fault of requirements and in some ways, without requirements or standards; there would be no way of measuring change or marking levels within life. As a person who is growing from infancy into adolescence (as a Chilean) and trying to quickly become an adult (difficult for all who know me, even as an American), there are a number of requirements that I have had to experience and in fact, pass with flying colors in order to even have the opportunity to live and work here in Santiago for 5 months this year. I will give you a relative and chronological account my process to date.

Primarily, I had to work to get a scholarship from Fulbright in order to have the means and the right to live and work in Chile. That meant I had to apply for the scholarship which took almost 6 months of planning and preparation and follow the requirements of the proposal perfectly in order to even be considered. Once chosen as a potential candidate by group that administers the Fulbright awards in the US, I had to pass the requirements of Fulbright Chile and the Administration at UMCE, and then I had to be nominated (pass more requirements) by the US Fulbright Commission.

Yet, it goes on. After that, I had to pass the medical requirements (actually, both Sarah and I had to pass these medical requirements), which included physical examination, vaccinations, blood tests and other assorted medical procedures I do not really care to list or relive. Then, we both had to secure a temporary Visa by passing the requirements of the Chilean Consulate, which required still more paperwork and ultimately a visit to Houston, Texas to meet with the staff in person in order to receive the right (and meet the requirements) of being allowed to even enter Chile and be prepared to work and live there for up to 6 months.

Now, upon entering Chile some 2 weeks ago, the next steps included getting the temporary Visa registered with the Police, which required a visit downtown to the police station (yes, I am still free), and passing the requirements to get another form, which was needed to get the final (I believe) requirement which is the Identification Card (Cedula de Identificación) which is needed by all citizens and foreigners alike. We accomplished this early this week and currently have a temporary card that will be replaced by a slick glossy ID card in about 2 weeks.

So, some 18 months after I had the great idea (really upon suggestion from our good friends Dave and Nora) to come and live and work in Chile, I have passed the requirements and am now here legally, albeit for only a short time. All in all, the experience will span 2 years, but I think the process is well worth it, and hopefully through this experience, I can help guide others who desire to spend time pursuing their own dreams, whatever they may be.