The first thing that I noticed when I arrived was the currency.
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In Spanish the function of commas and periods are reversed, thus this Oreo McFlurry costs $1,150 pesos... which turns out to only be about 2 bucks in US dollars. Its pretty sweet walking around with a 10,000 dollar bill though.. even if its only worth 20 bucks. haha
Additionally fruit and vegetables are amazingly cheap and delicious here (we're talking a kilo, or 2.2 pounds, of raspberries or strawberries for about $2!!!!!!) Additionally alcohol is outrageously cheap, and you can find really good deals on clothes as well. But other than that, prices seem to be the same, although electronics are significantly more expensive.
In the kitchen
Okay next, almost no families have toasters.. This is the toaster.. it does not work nearly as well as a toaster
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We also have no microwave, thus I take my leftovers cold, for fear of learning how to use the oven.
One will also immediately notice that they don't refrigerate eggs in this country, nor leftovers some of the time. It made me real nervous in the beginning, but I've since gotten over it.
Also it seems to me that Chileans eat almost nothing. I eat easily as much as my host mom and brother combined, it makes no sense! They never snack and they eat tiny meals, I don't get how they don't wither away!
Oh and salt functions as every condiment. Salad dress, why not salt? Need something on your meat? Salt! Rice, you don't need soy sauce, try some salt!
Greetings
One thing that's grown on me a lot is that all Chileans will greet you with a kiss on the cheek, even the first time you meet someone, and lord have mercy if you unwittingly offer your hand for a hand shake (you will be made fun of.) So that has taken some getting used to, but it's grown on me, i think I'm going to start a trend in the states.
Things that would not fly in the U.S.
Let's see... Driving here seems to be guided on faith alone ("Jesus take the wheel!!" if you will). There are no discernible driving laws that I have observed. Sometimes streets go in one direction, but then in "rush hour" they go the other way (rush hour could happen at any time it seems.) Also usually they don't outline different lanes with paint so the method seems to be "if you can fit, you can drive there." I'm continually amazed that I haven't seen any car crashes yet. Oh and horns are to be used as frequently as possible, I've yet to drive in a car and not had the driver honk the horn more than once.
Other things that seems remarkably similar to anarchy: The kids that bag your groceries at the store don't actually get paid, they only make money off what you tip them (?!?!)
Chileans will not form a line.. no matter what.. I don't think I've ever seen it happen. Thus you must "take a number" everywhere you go, even if there are only 4 people in the pharmacy and you want to buy some dental floss... you will stand in line forever until you take a number. Also don't assume that because you are the next person in what you consider to be a 'line', that your spot is secure. Because there seems to be no concept of 'line' people will just cut in front of you.. apparently assuming that you are standing there for the fun of it(?)
Also always carry some pesos with you if you have a small bladder, public bathrooms are almost never free. And, like EVERYTHING else you buy, you will get a receipt for your purchase... in case you want to return your bathroom experience (?!?!)
It is entirely normal for kids not to move out of the house until they get married, and i'd say about half the kids my age don't have a driver's license.
Public Display of Affection is rampant in this country, i assume because kids live with their parents forever. But still.. on the crowded bus.. BAM.. makin' out. In the park.. BAM.. makin' out (or worse.) Pretty much anywhere you can imagine.
"Custom service" does not translate into Chilean spanish.. the term means nothing here.
They also don't have a pound system so there are stray dogs everywhere in the city. It's really sad but you get used it.
"Chilean Time" is a concept that the other gringos and I have embraced whole heartedly. This is the idea that you arrive between 15-20 minutes (but potentially up to one hour) after the start of any event (including class, which is usually kept to about 5 minutes late) or confirmed meeting time. I have no idea how they get anything done in this country, but I finally feel at home with people who understand the beauty of tardiness. haha.
Machismo & 'Gringa Fever'
This could still be under "things that wouldn't fly in the US" technically.
Anyway machismo is pretty crazy here. I've never been whistled at so many times in my entire life combined as in one day in Santiago pretty sure.
Additionally people (not just guys, everyone) stare at me like they've never seen a blond person in their entire life. Sometimes on the metro i like to imagine I am one of the first European explorers meeting Chileans for the first time (not really, but it feels like it!) It's also fun to put on my hood and become INVISIBLE (although that pretty much only works at night, because i'm just too white.)
Things that are way more awesome
I'm in a sarcastic mood tonight, not sure why, anyway here is the good stuff:
1) They put tons of work out stuff in the parks all around the city. Pull up bars and leg presses and stuff like that. You can only lift your own body weight so its not like a nice gym, but it's a pretty neat idea.
2) Everyone is SO nice here. Specifically, after I cut my ankle in Cajon de Maipo i kept opening up the scab, and I did it once on the metro and some random guy put down all his stuff and gave me a band aid (and a few more for later) and helped me put it on because I had a lot of stuff. I have tons of stories like that, its really cool.
3) They have a really good public transportation system (except past 11pm.) The metro will get you anywhere you want to go, and if you are brave you can also test out the micros (buses), which run all the time all over the city. And its about $1 for anywhere you want to go. (Or if you are a rebellious youth you can just sneak on and not pay)
Probably the most glorious thing about Santiago is the cheap fruit and vegetables. It's amazing. This is "La Vega" where Jess spends most of her time (haha, joke) But anyway La Vega is a magical place where fresh fruits and vegetables and all the ingredients you could ever hope for to make trailmix abound!!
Speaking of rebellious youth
These kids party til 6am frequently. Its out of control. Parties don't start until midnight. I've tried explaining to them that an earlier start and finish time would only mean more sleep for everyone, but something gets lost in translation.
Also they randomly break out into student protests that bring the city to a standstill. Stores and the metro closes, sometimes micros get diverted, tear gas abounds, but no one seems to really mind.
Okay I think that's all i can think of, I'll have my gringo friends read it to see if I missed anything.
"It was actually pretty hard to come up with this list, and it took the combined brain power of Jess and I because most of these things have become commonplace now."
ReplyDeleteI love that you said this because it pretty much sums up my attitude towards culture shock. The reason why things are shocking is because they're different. But they're only different to you. To someone born and bred in that country, they're perfectly normal, things that you barely even notice because they're just there in the background. Fair enough, my perspective is limited, as I've never lived abroad but if I ever did take the leap, I think I'd try to come up with a list of things that I really, seriously didn't like about England. There'd be plenty of them, but it would be an effort to recall them because they're just normal everyday things to me. Eventually, the annoyances of the new country would become everyday things too, they'd become normal, cease to be surprising or shocking. It just takes time and patience.
And then there's the term itself, "culture shock". It gets applied to anything that's different and I think that's a bit unfair. Something different doesn't have to be something you dislike. There have been some absolutely wonderful "different" things that I've experienced, things that I wish I saw in England. And ultimately, there must have been something wonderful that the country had to offer if you actually took the leap and moved there, something that was absent from your country of birth. You wouldn't have gone through all the rigmarole of sorting visas, overseas medical insurance, passports, permits and the rest of it for something that you could either take or leave. I think I'd try to hold that close to me when faced with the less positive things.