Things aren't that different here.

First things first: I have some good news. The strike is over! I think. Basically, what I’ve heard is that the administration has finally responded to the students’ demands, so the students have agreed (or will do so, on Monday, when all is official) to return to classes. I can’t remember if I’ve explained the strike rationale yet, so I’ll just recap quickly. This whole business started a little over a month ago, when individual departments started going on strike. Strikes happen when the students want to see change in some area related to their education. In this case, the strike was based on tuition prices…apparently, the University of Conce has much higher prices than the average Chilean university, and the prices are continually going up. A lot of the students at the U have scholarships, but the scholarships are usually for a fixed amount, so when prices rise, the students need to pay more for their education. This is money that a lot of people just don’t have. Therefore, a strike begins. Students protest, demonstrate, take over the buildings at the U, do some disruptive things (breaking windows or school furniture, grafitti) and some peaceful ones (a march for equality in education) until they get a response.

Side note: The ultimate goal of many students/ people in Chile is free university education for all. Coming from the US, this seems absolutely ridiculous to me…I grew up knowing that college was expensive and that it was a privilege to be able to go. However, Chile has a history that includes a period of time in which university education was free (before the military dictatorship, I think, when the government was led by the socialist party). Therefore, the idea is not crazy, but rational to many Chileans, and they don’t understand why their current politicians and school administrators benefited from free university education while people now need to pay for their education.

Okay, that wasn’t a short recap. Anyway, on to my main message for the day: things in Chile are not that different. I’ve been thinking recently about the world, and about people’s experiences abroad, and my experience here, and have come to the conclusion that Chile is not all that different, in a day-to-day-living sense, from the US. I decided to compile lists of similarities and differences between life in Chile and life in the US, to sum things up.

Differences:

Handwriting > People have different types of handwriting wherever you are, but I have found that handwriting is very different here. Someone once told me that people here learn to write in print and cursive simultaneously…maybe this is why it’s so different? Anyway, the number ‘1’ always has the little flag/line thing, and the number ‘9’ is often written with the stem on the left side, like a backwards nine…that really got me for awhile.

Greetings > As a woman, I kiss everyone on the cheek upon meeting, or whenever I’m greeting them. Men kiss women but shake hands with other men. The program directors demonstrated this at orientation, which was funny.

Seasons > We’re in the Southern Hemisphere, so it’s spring here! I like that, although I would love to eat a fall-in-Vermont apple about now…Related to this, we had daylight savings time last week, to spring forward! With daylight savings, I guess the hemispheres twist in opposite directions (I was living in the same time zone as VT before, but now I’m an hour ahead, and when they fall back, we’ll be two hours apart).

Living at home > Most people live at home while they’re attending the university. Almost everyone has asked me if I miss my family, and I always say ‘no’…followed by an explanation of how I’m used to living away from home. A lot of people think it’s crazy that my family will let me travel by myself when I’m only twenty. This is probably because they’re not just used to living at home while they’re in school, but generally until they get married. It’s economically more sensible to live at home. Also, personal independence/ self-reliance is a theme that is much more stressed in the States than in Chile.

College apps > All Chilean students take a standardized test during their senior year of high school. Depending on their scores, they know where they can go to school and what careers they can pursue. That’s it. No essays, no interviews, no letters of recommendation. I like that. One thing I don’t like: You decide on a career when you enter, and it’s a set track. If you decide you don’t like it after the first year, you’ve got to start over with another career. General credits don’t really exist (indecisiveness is a bad trait in this situation). However, there is a benefit of this: You can decide to go to med school at age 18 if you score well enough. If only US med schools did this…

Notebooks > Generally don’t contain lined paper like in the US; they are full of graph paper. I like this too.

Bus seats > Are too small. Chileans are short. This is obvious when the part of the seat that’s supposed to go over my shoulders is where my shoulders are…

Books > Are expensive. I recently passed a bookstore where a copy of The Shock Doctrine in Spanish cost close to $50! Ay… On this note, students don’t buy textbooks. They take them out of the library, copy the pages they need, and return them. Oh, the glory of lax copyright laws…

E-mails > Always include a greeting (“How are you?” etc) before the business. They also close with something nice. I’m so much more used to the bare-bones, get-your-info kind of e-mails, but I’m learning to communicate correctly…

Vegetables > The idea of eating raw cauliflower is unheard of. Raw carrots are slightly more acceptable, but in general, vegetables are cooked.


Similarities:

Hot water > Exists. Gloriously.

Showers > Besides being complete with hot water and Dove soap (lots of American brands exist here), people sing in them. Just like in the dorms. My bedroom is next to the bathroom, so when people (specifically, the guys in my pension) shower when I’m around, I get to enjoy the musical stylings of Sergio and Erick.

Water > is fine to drink. This is so convenient! I don’t have to worry about bottled water, getting sick from the water, etc. Drink it straight out of the tap.

Food > is basically the same. Although eaten in different quantities at different times, and although bread is a main course, the types of food are generally the same.

Toilets > flush. They’re the same size and shape as those in the States. No squatting here. Usually, however, the paper cannot be flushed (although in my house it can? I don’t know why, but I like it, so I’m not asking any questions…). Also, if you plan on going to the bathroom in public, you need to bring your own paper. And hand sani. Soap is sometimes present but often not. Paper towels are very rare.

Clothing > is more or less the same. Traditional clothing for the Fiestas Patrias was different, but people don’t wear that on an everyday basis. One clothing thing I like: brightly colored pants! They’re really common here. Unfortunately, I think that Chilean clothing companies don’t make pants in ‘tall’, and if they did, they would probably still be short…

Honeymoons > happen. And the word ‘honeymoon’ translates directly, into ‘luna de miel’ in Spanish. I want to learn about the etymology of that word…what’s up with the honey and the moon?

Superstitions > The number 13 is unlucky. Don’t open your umbrella indoors here either. I don’t know how they feel about walking under ladders…

TV > Reality TV, the Simpsons, etc…

Radio > contains a lot of music in English.

Houses > People sleep in beds, have glass in the windows, use refrigerators and washing machines (dryers are less common).

French fries > are really popular.


Here ends my post for the night. Tomorrow I’m off to Linares, a smaller city about 2.5 hours from Conce. I’m going with Julie, the friend who went to Valpo with me, to investigate rural tourism. Should be interesting (I hope!).

Peace and love to all,

Tiernan