The people of Chile are some of the most incredible and
awe-inspiring people I have ever met. Everyone that I have come across has been so noticeably
kind and genuine. My program director here told us on our first day that the
one thing we would have to know about Chileans is that they are curious. And
she was so spot on! All of the Chilean students in my classes come right up to me
to ask me questions. Where in the U.S. do I live? What do I study? Where in
Chile do I live? Do I like it? How does Chile compare to the U.S.? Do I need
help practicing my Spanish? Do I want to go out at night with them? My personal
favorite, which I’ve been asked at least 4 times is: "Is your university anything
like [the movie] American Pie?" I’ve seen legitimate shock and disappointment
when I tell them no, not exactly.
I’ve received
more Facebook friend requests in my first week of classes than I probably did in
the entirety of last year. I get embarrassed when speaking Spanish in front of
large groups (especially people my own age) because my American accent shines
through like no other. They don’t care though – as long as I’m attempting to
speak their language, they are patient and try their best to understand (and
even occasionally will correct me in an attempt to help me out). A lot of the Chilean students here want to
practice their English so they want to be friends to help me with my Spanish in
exchange for me to help them with their English. More than anything, they
really want to make us feel comfortable so they invite us out, offer to help in
any way possible, and go out of their way to smile and say hi on campus.
Even my
host parents, since day one, have treated me like their own flesh and blood. At
the airport, Gaby was waiting with arms wide open to give me a hug and kiss on
the cheek. At home, they are always asking me if I need anything, if I want them to
buy a certain food, if I have enough of something, if I need help with
anything at all. When I went to lunch at Emily’s boyfriend's house for the first time,
his parents were the exact same way. Chileans love to be the host or hostess
and want you to enjoy every experience you have with them as much as humanly
possible. They will happily bend over backwards to personally ensure that that
happens.
Outside of
the fact that people are generally way friendlier in Chile than in the U.S., there
are other differences as well. For example, people frequently dance or do
tricks at stop lights here in order to earn money. But they don’t beg for it or
make you feel uncomfortable. They do their tricks and flips (some of which
really are impressive) and just walk down the lane of cars, hoping someone is
feeling generous. But they don’t go bothering anyone. Another place you’ll see
people trying to make a living is at tollbooths on the highway. People
literally set up camp on the platforms in front of tollbooths with fresh fruit,
sandwiches, candy bars etc. offering to sell them to the people in line waiting
to pay the toll. They are equally unobtrusive – just sitting and waiting
patiently to make a sale.
So far, the
only unfortunate characteristic of the Chilean people (specifically boys my
age) is the mullet. I’ve seen more mullets here than I’ve ever seen before and
the worst part is a lot of them even have rat-tails in either a braid or in a
single dread lock. It’s an unfavorable trend that hopefully will cease to exist
soon. Other than that, I can’t think of a single complaint of anyone I’ve come
into contact with since I've entered this extraordinary country!
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