The other week was pretty relaxing. Now that the girls are in school, they seem to keep themselves busy when they come back from school. On Monday, a man and a woman came to the hogar to cut all of the girls’ hair. The girls were so cute about it, and very excited to get their hair cute. I also got to help one of the older girls with her math homework. She’s learning how to multiply fractions. I love helping out with math, especially because it’s the same as back home, so I can understand it (compared to other homework where Spanish can become an issue for me). We did one of my art activities this week as well. I had collected tea boxes from other people in the program, and some of the girls decorated the boxes. I told each girl that her box is very special; it is only for her. It’s a place for them to keep their secrets, their memories, and whatever else they would want. They had a fun time decorating them. On Friday a new girl came to the hogar. She’s 5 years old and was so happy all day. It was an exciting day getting a new girl, but it’s sad because of the circumstances.
I forgot to tell ya’ll that I finished American Psycho a while back. It was ok. I was told that it was a pretty graphic book, but thought it would be fine because I normally read books about a murderer; however, this book took it to the next level! It had a lot of disgusting, detailed murder scenes and violent sex scenes. I felt like I was reading a violent porn novel…not really my thing. And the book just kind of stopped at the end…nothing big happened. I wouldn’t really recommend this book, but if you really like over the top graphic and violent kill/sex scenes, this book is for you. I also read The Time Traveler’s Wife. That book was really good! It was a nice read compared to American Psycho ha.
Over the weekend I met up with a Chilean girl, Paulina, and her friend, Daniel, for an intercambio (we speak in Spanish for a while and then switch over to speaking English). It was sooooo much fun! They are both still in school and are 21. We met for a couple hours and just talked about random things. Both of the girls were very sweet. Paulina has been studying English for about four years now, and she really wants to go to the US but wants her English to be way better before she goes there. I told her that her English right now is better than my Spanish was when I first came to South America. She was so surprised, and me telling her that gave her a lot of hope. She told me that my Spanish was really good and that I learn really fast. Man did that make me feel great! Ha. I told her living in South America has helped me out tremendously with my Spanish and I have been working extremely hard these last 6 months. But still her compliment gave me a little confidence boost. I can't wait to meet up with her again!
The following week Jason came to Chile for a week. It was an amazing week, and I’ll write about it later.
Since this post is pretty short, I'm adding my Chile observations thus far. Chile has many similarities and differences compared to Argentina.
Similarities and Differences:
Couples make out in public in Santiago as well. However, there are way more couples out snuggling and what not in the parks here than in BA.
There is dulce de leche here, but it’s called manhar. I personally think Dulce de Leche is better than Manhar.
It's super clean here in Santiago. I always see someone cleaning the streets at all times of the day.
There are a ton of dogs in Santiago as well, but there are more strays here than in BA. All of the dogs are very friendly.
There are Alfajores and Empenadas in Santiago too! However, Argentina has better empenadas, but the ones here in Chile are bigger
Cars actually yield to you in the streets…well sometimes. It's still a big city.
There are a lot of bikers here. Seeing people riding their bikes makes me miss my bike, and also kind of makes me want to get a bike here. I don’t think I’ll do that though. Each week there is a huge group of bikers that bike through the city. They aren’t just the “serious” bikers either, they are people riding road bikes.
Café con piernes, which means cafe with legs, are a popular thing here. They are basically like a Hooters, but for coffee and less clothing. There are two different types of cafe con piernes. One is more like a Hooters, and the other type is the same idea but the women wear less clothing and the windows are blacked out. I have yet to experience these cafes, but maybe one day.
Can’t flush toilet paper down the toilets here either.
When you take a picture with people instead of saying Cheese! you say Whisky! They do this in Argentina as well.
They use the word ‘ya’ as a filler word. I hear it all the time. It’s the same as when we say ‘um,’ but I feel like they say ‘ya’ more than we use ‘um.’ They also say 'ya' at the end of sentences too, again as a filler. I have started doing this and it has transfered over to my English...oops!
They are not shy about using their horns. I get to wake up to horns blowing every morning…lucky me, just like in Buenos Aires.
Men pee in public all the time! I have seen way too many men peeing in our ally way next to our apartment and in the park. I had brought this up to my Spanish teacher a few weeks ago, and she didn't seem to think that it was that big of a deal. Gross! Ha
Going to a ‘pharmacy’ to get thinks like nail polish remover, sunscreen, q-tips, things that you can buy at Walgreens or CVS is very different. Everything is behind the counter. You have to grab a number when you get there and wait for your number to be called. Once your number is called you tell them what you want. It sucks though because you can't really see everything up close like you can back home, so it's a little challenging. I try and avoid going there if I can.
When everyone is a baby down here they get some massive shot on their left arm. The shot ends up leaving a big scar on their arms. Everyone has it and the scar is about the size of a dime.
Flash cards are really hard to find. I know where to go to get them now, but they don't have a packet of them, they sell them individually. If I had known that, I would have stalked up in BA.
I had thought that the hair do's on guys in BA were pretty ridiculous, but oh no, the ones here in Chile are way way worse. They really get creative here. There are a lot of rat tails, guys will have three really long dred-locks and then the rest of their hair will be very short, I've seen some guys with shaved heads with just a patch of long hair in the back, and so many other strange styles.
A lot of older people have braces. I feel like I have seen more braces on adults than on kids.
Fanny packs are super popular for guys down here. Every time I see a man wearing a fanny pack, I can't help but giggle.
Well those are all the observations I have made these past 3 months. It's crazy that I have have been in Chile for 3 months already (and that it has been 6 months since I've been in South America), I only have 3 and a half months left till I come home. CRAZY!
Until Next Time,
Liz
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