1) Kissing/Closeness in General I'm kind of OCD and have only recently come to terms with the fact that people need to be touched. In Chile, you greet everyone- family, strangers, teachers, peers- with a kiss on the cheek. You can do the cheatsy face rub and kissing sound, but this is much less common than it was in Mexico. Also, people are very close talkers, and very touchy. Putting a hand on an arm, rubbing a shoulder while talking, etc, are all very common. I didn't think that I would like this much at all, but as it turns out, it's kind of nice. Even with strangers, it doesn't feel germy, it feels friendly. It feels like you start out more willing to make a connection, more willing to trust.
2) Cat Calling on the Streets Ok, so I don't actually like this, but I don't mind it either. Es como...I mean, it's like this: in NorteAmerica, I also get shouted at on the streets, but it 's so much meaner. Here, they yell things like "hola gringa bonita, I love you" In the states, they just honk or whistle or yell much less clean things. I am aware that the random men yelling from their cars while showing off to their friends do not actually love me, but it's so much less mean spirited showing off than it could be
3) No Central Heat So it's still very early spring here, and, like most of the world this year, Chile is having a Chilly spring (see what I did there) The other thing is, most houses have a heater, but it's only for agua...and it's only connected to the shower. At first, the not having central heating thing was rough, but you just get in the habit of putting on more clothing. Those fingerless wool glover sure came in handy...it also helps that I went sweater shopping today :)
but seriously, it's actually a much more sustainable way of living. Plus, it's kind of cozy to snuggle under a bunch of blankets at night
4)The Late Night Culture As many of you know, I tend to get cranky when I am not fed promptly. In Chile, they have breakfast around eight, lunch, the biggest meal of the day, around 1:30 or 2, and dinner around ten at night. On the weekends, most clubs don't open until midnight, and people stay out until six or seven in the morning. (Obviomente, not everyone, but there's apparently still a scene at that point)This worried me very much when I was preparing for Chile, porque I am used to eating and sleeping much earlier. As it turns out, I just sort of avoided becoming jet lagged with the three hour time change. I'm getting used to going to bed just two or three hours after eating, and I hear it's not super healthy, but it is super comfortable :
5) It's very conservative There are liberals and progressives in Chile, but even among many of these people, attitudes are very socially conservative. (Looking at the wikipedia page, you may think that Chile is more liberal because a lot of the presidents in recent years have been part of the "Socialist" party, but that's actually quite centrists and not at all what Americans would think of as Socialist.) I thought that it would bother me, living in such a conservative country, but the level of public discourse is actually very high. Apparently it's not conservatives that bother me so much as name calling, anti logic warriors. Although I have to note that this may bother me more after I start studying the dictatorship more...
Overall, things are getting much better as I gallop right on through the stages of culture shock. A whole bunch of people in my host family's social circle have a pretty bad flu, so I'm REALLY hoping I don't get sick. I start morning classes tomorrow and afternoon classes early this week. Four Straight hours of Spanish class, here I come!
Peace
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