It feels like the past 13 days have flown by while dragging
themselves along. If that makes any sense at all, I applaud you! The past
several days I’ve been mentally cheering myself on saying: “you can do it! Just
sit down and write this dang blog post!.” But it’s SO hard, I have way too many
things to write about. So, I apologize in advance for the haphazard flow. :)
The fall 2013 IES Santiago group of 25 students spent the
first several days in the Orientation program, where we listened to
presentations and lectures about basic cultural norms and learned about Chilean
Spanish. Chileans speak very fast with a lot of slang, so my host family has
been joking around with me by saying that I’ll come back to the US speaking a
version of Spanish that people will barely understand. It’s been a bit of a
scramble learning new words for foods and slang for everyday expressions, but
with time I hope I can speak adequate “Chilean”. We are very dedicated to
improving our Spanish skills, so we always speak Spanish whether we are in the
IES center or out discovering the city, for which I am VERY grateful.
We also went on a short day trip to the gorgeous cities of
Valparaíso and Viña del Mar (about 2 hours west of Santiago). The city is
beautiful, yet has a very different dynamic than Santiago. There, the affluent
and the poor live interspersed throughout the city, so they live with each
other and probably interact on a daily basis. In Santiago, one side of the city
houses the more impoverished population while the center of the city is full of
wealthier people, where it resembles the US with shopping malls and US
fast-food chains. There’s a very clear separation between the two areas, which
I’ll hopefully learn more about while I’m here.
We’ve visited Plaza de Armas (for a mini-tour of the place,
see my facebook photo albums), the Museo de Bellas Artes (the fine arts
museum), the Centro Artesanal de Los Dominicos (a fascinating “strip mall” of
local artisans who make and sell their work), and countless shops and markets
throughout the city. It’s very easy to get around this huge city on the micro
(bus) and metro (subway system). I have a goal of looking through my tourist
guide and talking to my host family about where I should visit in the next few
weeks before academics start up in full swing.
In a few weeks, I’ll be starting the Clinical Observation
Seminar where I’ll learn about the Chilean healthcare system and observe
doctors in various hospitals and clinics, both publicly and privately owned. I hope it will help me decide if I actually want to
become a doctor, or if I want to be involved in healthcare through a different
role.
Some things I need to constantly remember:
Don’t sniff. Don’t yawn. Don’t stretch. Don’t walk too quickly. Don’t wander aimlessly and look around in wonder. These are all dead giveaways that I’m a gringo (foreigner) in Chile. I thought I might blend in with my darker hair, but somehow people have a sixth sense that can identify any foreigner. It’s very homogenous in Santiago; there is very little diversity amongst the population. So, no matter how well I try to communicate with people in Spanish, they’ll still respond in English sometimes. Honestly, it’s easier for me to understand Spanish than very accented English! :)
There are times when I get pretty frustrated that I don’t entirely fit in with the culture yet, but there are SO MANY more positive things I can write about than petty foreigner adjustments.
Don’t sniff. Don’t yawn. Don’t stretch. Don’t walk too quickly. Don’t wander aimlessly and look around in wonder. These are all dead giveaways that I’m a gringo (foreigner) in Chile. I thought I might blend in with my darker hair, but somehow people have a sixth sense that can identify any foreigner. It’s very homogenous in Santiago; there is very little diversity amongst the population. So, no matter how well I try to communicate with people in Spanish, they’ll still respond in English sometimes. Honestly, it’s easier for me to understand Spanish than very accented English! :)
There are times when I get pretty frustrated that I don’t entirely fit in with the culture yet, but there are SO MANY more positive things I can write about than petty foreigner adjustments.
Such as…
The food! It’s not spicy, contrary to the what the name
“Chile” suggests. Lots of fruit, palta (avocado), pasta, and really yummy bread.
The city! It’s such a relief being in a city again, I feel
like the whole world is outside my window instead of just another cornfield (no
offense, Iowa!!). The city has a more relaxed vibe than Grinnell, which I think
is a healthy break from the constant stress and
“need-to-get-everything-done-now” feeling from the US.
My host family! They are wonderful. A single mother with a daughter who studies/lives in Argentina while in school makes a very atypical Chilean family. In Chile, there is no dorm life because students will still live with their parents while they attend university. We’ve had many discussions about cultural differences between the US and Chile, how gender and sexuality establish (or change) themselves (interesting fact: instead of referring to a male as “straight” they said “hombre”, which literally means man. Some language thing might be reflecting the way people view sexuality? Or the other way around? I’ll need to see!), how the Chilean political system needs to change, how and why abortion needs to be legalized, how the future generations may change Chilean politics, and other fascinating topics that are introducing me to the complex culture I’m visiting.
My host family! They are wonderful. A single mother with a daughter who studies/lives in Argentina while in school makes a very atypical Chilean family. In Chile, there is no dorm life because students will still live with their parents while they attend university. We’ve had many discussions about cultural differences between the US and Chile, how gender and sexuality establish (or change) themselves (interesting fact: instead of referring to a male as “straight” they said “hombre”, which literally means man. Some language thing might be reflecting the way people view sexuality? Or the other way around? I’ll need to see!), how the Chilean political system needs to change, how and why abortion needs to be legalized, how the future generations may change Chilean politics, and other fascinating topics that are introducing me to the complex culture I’m visiting.
All in all, even though I sometimes get exhausted and feel lost with all these new experiences, I’m thriving in Chile. I love speaking and hearing Spanish all day long, reading the Spanish street signs, and being surprised every once in a while with a spectacular view of the cordillera (Andes).
Here’s to another few weeks full of growth and happiness. :)
Ciao!