Culture

Wow. It is hard to believe this trip is almost over. It has gone super fast. Although I have said this many times, I feel it important to reiterate...God has blessed me so much regarding this study abroad experience.
Okay, from a long time ago, I commented on wanting to write a blog about cultural differences. I have taken some notes and wanted to get a blog posted on this topic before I leave. Maybe you will find some of my stories or reactions funny and/or surprising. I find cultural differences especially interesting.
Therefore, here goes:

1- GRADES. When my semester was more than half way over, I still had not received a single grade back, even though I had turned in a significant amount of assignments. Furthermore, when grades are posted, it is common to see the grades of all the students. For instance, to receive my final grade, I usually look on a paper with everyone's grades listed. I can see who got the highest grade in the class, what that was, who got the lowest grade, what that was, etc.
2- GREETINGS. Okay, although this may sound unusual, we greet people with a kiss here. So, whether boy or girl, I greet by a kiss on the left cheek. (But boys rarely do that between each other.) An example would be if I see you at the Church. I greet you with a kiss. Then, even if we only talk for two minutes, I say good-bye with another kiss. Lots of kisses. Some days I think I give over 50 'kisses'. However, it's not really that weird for me, except when I see another North American. Do we wave, shake hands, or give a kiss on the cheek? That's when it's awkward, because we know each other doesn't normally do that. However, with Chileans, it feels pretty normal.
3- COOKING. When I am helping my host mom in the kitchen, she doesn't use written recipes. She tends to add things here and there and then asks me to try it to see if we should add more of something. I have no idea!
4- TRANSPORTATION. Cars are not common here. Almost everyone takes public transportation, whether that be the buses, taxis, or subway system. Some also walk. This may not seem that different. However, it becomes more complicated when it's time to bye groceries. The question that pops into my head is how we are going to transport goods.
5- CLASSES. In my classes, I might expect the professor to be explicitly clear on instructions. However, I should expect that no longer. :) For instance, in one class I went to, the professor assigned us a bunch of readings from books, etc. It was a lot of material. In the U.S., the professor would probably say which pages to read for when, what book to read first, etc. However, this Chilean professor simply gave us the list of readings and told us to read them by the first quiz. We didn't even know which ones to start with. I end up having to ask classmates a lot of questions, and if I email a professor a question, he/she may or may not answer. This is much different than in the U.S.
6- PROFESSORS. Here, the professors are hired on a class to class basis. For instance, one of my professors may work at 3 different universities at the same time.
7- GRINGOS. Many North Americans call themselves Americans, implying that South Americans are not Americans also. To avoid this mistake, I prefer to use the name "gringos", which is what they call us. In some countries, this word carries a bad connotation. However, here it is said with affection.
8- APPEARANCES. A blonde-haired and blue-eyed person would definitely stand out here. In fact, one can even tell gringos apart by the clothes they wear and the mode of behavior they use. For instance, to wear clothes with writing on them is not very normal here. Therefore, I tried not to bring many clothes with writing. Anyway, it has been interesting to see and hear people's reactions upon seeing me. One kid at an orphanage told me I looked like a Martian. Another kid asked if I go to the same hair salon as another person. I think this second child had seen someone else with the same color of hair, and upon seeing me, thought we probably went to the same hair salon. -haha This aspect has been kind of fun. :)
9- BAKING. For my hostmom's birthday, I was going to make her a food from the U.S. I had a hard time finding the ingredients that I wanted. I am also not a very good cook. Anyway, I ended up making Rice Krispie Bars, or something like that. I went to a grocery store to find marshmallows. The only ones there were, were for kids and were marshmallow twists of different colors and I assume different flavors. However, in the second grocery store, I found white marshmallows. They weren't the exact same but close enough. I looked for Rice Krispies. When I couldn't find any, I bought Corn Flakes. I also bought butter. Upon returning to the house again, I thought I was finally ready to make Rice Krispie bars for my hostmom. Little did I know, they did not have a mixing bowl. Baking here is not very common. I ended up using a cooking pot to mix things. However, I wondered how I could melt the marshmallows. I had to divide the recipe quantities into smaller proportions and use a cereal bowl for each part. It was interesting. They turned out, and my hostmom really liked them. I did too; however, they did not taste the exact same.
10- SICK. I got sick on two different occasions while I was here. (I feel great now.) It was interesting to see the differences in caring for the sick. For instance, to help sore throats, my hostmom ordered not to leave the house without covering up the neck, as if that gets cold, the sore throat would worsen. Also, she wanted me to drink tea with lemon and honey. Such mixtures were interesting, especially because in the U.S. we have different remedies. Furthermore, in the U.S., we tend to stay away from people that are sick. To the contrast, my hostmom had 2 friends over when I did not feel well. They both came in my room to greet me, which included the common kiss on the cheek. Furthermore, on a different day, although I was already feeling better and had returned to school, two friends came to visit me. One of them skipped school to do so, even though she knew I already felt better.
11- TIME. The concept of time and punctuality can be frustrating for gringos, as it is much more relaxed. People frequently show up late. In fact, times are seen as more fluid. If somebody is running late, they are still probably going to walk slowly to where they are going, without feeling very bad and maybe not even apologizing. For instance, a Church service goes from 12-2. At 12, the Church is pretty empty. But at 12:30, it may be almost packed. On two occasions for other activities, I have waited over an hour to meet somebody. I should always bring a book or something to do. In fact, professors can and often do arrive late to class, and the students do not complain or say anything about it. Somebody even told me that it is tradition to arrive late to your own wedding (I don't remember if this is the guy or the girl or both). Although this may be seen as irresponsible, for them times are much more fluid. They aren't so concerned. In fact, my hostmom and host brother might invite me to do something tomorrow. I frequently respond with the question, "At what time?" They usually do not know or at least have to put forth a stronger effort to figure that out. In my eyes, it is hard to plan without knowing the times. One time, my host brother asked me what time it was. I said something like, "10:12". He later told me that when he asks for the time, I do not have to say the exact time, that I only have to give him an estimate. As you can probably imagine, planning is done much more fluidly as well. Somebody can invite another person to do something tomorrow and then not follow through on it. I do not want to give a bad impression. Not all Chileans do this. However, it is common. But one must also remember it is done within a different culture and its norms.
12- MANNERS. Regarding manners, this is especially interesting to me. When I am at somebody's house and we just finished eating, I have been taught to help clear the table. However, when I have tried to do that here, it is almost seen as an offense. The host has that job. I still usually offer but usually get declined. However, to me, it would be less awkward if we just do it together. As for masculine manners, well, let's say they treat the ladies in a special way. If I am walking with my host brother for instance, I must enter the elevator first. I also exit the elevator first. He opens doors for me. I walk in front of him, unless we are going down stairs. I did not understand this. A friend had to explain it to me, when he saw me go down stairs before him...The guy is supposed to go down first, because the lady can fall, and if she does, he is supposed to catch her. Furthermore, if a guy and a girl are walking on the sidewalk, the guy is supposed to walk on the side closest to the street. Sometimes when my host brother and I were walking, I got confused when he would slow down, dropping a pace behind me, to switch sides. This was because the road and cars were now on the other side. The guy is always supposed to protect the girl from the current danger. This does not just happen in between couples. Friends do it as well as brothers and sons.
13- LANGUAGE. Although this topic is not completely cultural, I wanted to include it. Since I have spoken so much Spanish here (which is what I wanted all along), I sometimes have problems switching back to English. Sometimes I know how to say something in Spanish and then have to think extra hard to remember how to say it or to translate it into English. I am not afraid of ever forgetting English; however, I think it's a good sign that Spanish has become much more natural.
14- MICRO. The micro is a public transportation bus that follows a specific route. I can get on the bus and sit down. When all the seats are full, I would assume people would stop entering the bus. However, the bus driver wants more money and therefore tries to fit more people on the bus. Therefore, it sometimes makes for a packed bus. I found it quite funny at the beginning because I was so surprised the bus driver still didn't consider it to be full. There have been many times where I rode it standing up. But, one has to be especially careful of belongings when people are so close and touching. Anyway, other times, when the micros are less full, people come on trying to sell things like: cards, band-aids, candy, etc. Sometimes, performers come on, sit down in a seat, and sing or play an instrument. Afterward they will probably walk down the aisle asking for money. That is very common here. Frequently I see beggars and street performers who ask for money. The street performers may wait at the stoplights and when it is red and cars have to wait, they may juggle, throw fire, throw people, etc., and afterward walk between the cars asking for money. Although it is not common in the United States and the idea may not seem very attractive, these people are good at what they do. It is indeed interesting for me to briefly watch as I am walking past.
15- APPLIANCES. Finally, my last point might not be completely cultural either. However, I think it is worth mentioning to give an idea of day to day life. First of all, before we shower, the hot water heater must be lit. Also, I have to remember to extinguish the fire afterward. This also means that when I go to the bathroom and then wash my hands, I do so with very cold water. It has been colder lately (as the seasons are opposite and therefore it is winter here), but people do not have central heating nor wood-stoves. They wear more layers of clothing and eat different foods. My hostmom asked me what foods we eat in the winter. I thought the question was confusing, because I eat the same types of things in the winter that I do in the summer. She was surprised. However, from their opinion, in the winter, we dress warm to go outside but then enter a house to warmth and can immediately shed our extra layers of clothing. However, here the overall temperature does not get as low as there. But, I did hear of one of the gringas that was here at the same time as me, how she was complaining that she could see her breath in her room. That is an extreme case. In my room specifically, I have a little movable heater that I can plug in and turn on for a little while and then stop it before going to bed. Also, the ovens and stoves are not automatic. If I want toast for breakfast, for instance, I have to light the stove with a match, then toast my bread over a griddle type thing, flipping it over after a while, and then turn the fire off. Another thing is that almost all cars here are manual, not automatic. I was talking with a lady a couple days ago, who is the mother of some of my friends. She said she had ridden in an automatic car once in her life and felt as if nobody was driving, that the car was just going by itself. Another difference is that dryers are rare here. Therefore, some gringos have had problems with their clothes being too big on them, since they no longer shrink like they usually do when dried in the U.S. Also, without a dryer, one must always hang clothes up to dry. My host family lives in an apartment way up high, so that is hard to do. Furthermore, since it is winter, and the temperature outside is comparable to the temperature inside, clothes take an extra long time to dry. Although some of these things may seem like inconveniences, it is good to learn how others live.

In conclusion, much of the reason that I chose to go to a Latin American country instead of Spain was to see cultural differences. I have definitely done that. I have great respect for this culture; I do not think that any culture is perfect. I think that there are positive and negative aspects of every culture. I hope you found the differences I listed above interesting. And amidst me seeing such a different culture, God has protected me and answered many prayers. Praise be to Him! And thanks to everyone who has supported me in one way or another along the way.