Blogger Tag and My Seven (Just Seven?) Links

Remember how much fun it was to play tag as a kid? Well, I just got in on a grown-up blogger version. Eileen at Bearshapedsphere just tagged me, so now I’m it. Thanks Eileen!

I have no idea who made this game up, but the way it works is a blogger tags you, you match your own posts in specific “Most this” and “Most that” categories, and then you tag another 5 people. I like the idea—except for the ‘just one’ part—it’s made me go back and think about everything I’ve posted here over the past 2 ½ years or so—not to mention how interesting it is to see what everyone else puts in their categories.

Here goes:

Most Beautiful Post

Hm, we can go a lot of different ways with “beautiful,” so I’m just going to go for the poignant-type beautiful, and name a post that I could really put in a lot of different categories; it’s another one of my favorites, I only wish I had come up with a more attractive title.

Computers, Books & Cameras started with a post that Dan & Audrey wrote on Uncornered Market about “Stuff Junky or Experience Junky,” and it really gave me pause. The topic whirled around in my head all day until it finally came together and I figured out my crossroads between stuff and experience, what “stuff” is important to me and why.

Read it.  It’s much better than its title, I swear.

Most Popular Post

OK, I have to list two here because the answer really depends on how you look at it. The blog’s número uno attention-getter—by a long shot—is the Glossary of Chilenismos page. I’ve always loved language and glossaries–but I had no idea that so many other people did too!

But the Glossary is a Page rather than a Post, so let me just sneak in a real post–one of the major “long-tail” posts that people keep finding their way to…  Viva Chile Mierda (It’s a Good Thing), about this odd phrase that invokes and expresses national pride, even though it’s talking about shit (no, not “stuff”—shit!)

Most Controversial Post

There have been a number of posts that have generated some controversy, but none like  5 Ways to Alienate a Chilean. I couldn’t believe the diversity (and number) of comments and even heated debate that this post generated. Some people didn’t get its tongue-in-cheek nature, felt insulted, and insulted me and all gringos across the board. Others came back in defense. Some comments took off in other directions. Others brought it back to topic. It generated a group post in which other Chile bloggers wrote their own posts on the topic and we linked them all together. It made for quite the blogging frenzy for a while there.

Feel free to stir up some more dust if you like!

Most Helpful Post

Again, the Glossary might work well here, but in terms of truly informative and helpful, I’ll go with Is the Heir a Parent? Demystifying Chilean Inheritance Laws, an interview with a tax attorney who helps decipher Chile’s inheritance laws—a real eye-opener for many of us!

A Post Whose Success Surprised Me

When I timidly poked my head out of the accordion-lover closet, I never dreamed that I was so UN-alone! Confessions of a Closet Accordion Lover  just took off and accordion lovers literally from around the world popped in with pictures and videos and links! (This one even got “Freshly Pressed” by WordPress).

A Post that Didn’t Get the Attention I Felt It Deserved

Well this is awkward. There are a lot of posts that I want everyone to read and love, but here’s one I thought was fun while dancing on the rim of serious: San Lunes: Chile’s Stormy Monday.

And another, much more serious and reflective piece–in Spanish, about finally getting my Chilean “long pants,” because you can’t really feel like you belong here until you’ve gone through a major earthquake:  Iniciación a los 8.8 Grados.

Post I’m Most Proud Of

This is another one of those tough categories. While I don’t love everything I’ve posted here, I’m actually pretty pleased with quite a bit of it. I’ve enjoyed the writing process tremendously and believe I have grown as a writer through the blog. I’ve also grown as a photographer over the past few years, and, although most of what I do is never published here, I think that it does show to some degree. Still have a lot to learn on both fronts, but here are two posts, one in each category:

The Dance Card’s Full: Group Loyalty in Chile, one of my earliest posts. My anthropologist comes hurdling out here as I reveal my “baby theory” on parents’ responsibilities are in different cultures and ultimately why it can be hard to become real friends with Chileans–and probably not for the reasons you’re thinking!

Chile’s Parada Militar: Gotta Love a Parade: Eileen and I discovered that the traditional Sept 19th military parade was an incredible place for people watching and photographing.

PASSing THE BATON:

PiP at Piglet in Portugal

Tracy (Señora López) at Latinaish

Conner at Here is Havanah

I’m having a hard time coming up with another two names. I would’ve tagged Eileen at Bearshapedsphere, but she tagged me first, and as I understand it, this game has no touch-backs.

I also would’ve loved to have tagged Dan and Audrey at Uncornered Market, but I bet everyone would, and they tagged Eileen, so there seems to be some kind of lineage here.

I’m sorry if I should have thought of you and didn’t. Please don’t consider it a slight or an insult—there’s none intended, I assure you! Just have my mind on other things at the moment… If you’d like to play and want a tag—just let me know!

Update: Got a taker! Leslie at Beyond China’s Single Story stood still too long and I just had to tag her–so I did! Check out her “Was in China, now headed to Chile” blog!

So, readers… are these the posts you would have chosen from the Cachando Chile archives? Have a favorite that wasn’t mentioned here?

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