Well, another month has passed. I know it hasn’t been an actual physical month, but another country and ‘month’ on the race. Santiago, Chile was an awesome experience filled with so many great people and cultural experiences. Here’s a few things from the month.
1. Santiago is a melting pot with so many different people.
It was difficult to tell who were locals and actually from Santiago because it was such a melting pot of so many cultures. So many different languages. So I didn’t feel bad not understanding conversations because they weren’t always in Spanish. Very interesting and incredible to see so many cultures in one place, especially after seeing so many around the world.
2. Dinner isn’t a thing. Once (own-say) is the correct meal.
The biggest meal of the day is lunch. And then around 7pm or so, there is once. Which is usually bread, tea, sometimes cakes & sweets, and sometimes some meat and cheese or avocado spread for sandwiches. It’s like lunch and dinner are flipped from American culture.
3. Choosing a career & major in college is a big deal.
When students finish high school, they decide on a major. And have to take a big test to see if they can even score high enough to study that major in the universities. So think the ACT/SAT but on steroids and determining what you can and cannot study. Like the MCAT or a big test like that when you finish up high school. And once you decide what career you want to pursue, there’s no turning back and no changes. For those of you that know me well, I would not have done well with that, seems how I changed my major each year in college.
4. Complato hot dogs.
The New York or Chicago style hot dog of Chile. I don’t even know what all was on it. Avocado, mustard, ketchup, tomatoes, mayo, maybe sauerkraut although I’m not quite sure, and who knows what else. There’s a few variations of it. But one thing I know for sure, is that I really liked it. So if you go to Chile ever, make sure you try a complato hot dog.
5. English speaking is an actual class in some schools.
Not only did they have English class in school, like you would have Spanish class in the States, but they also had an English speaking class where all they did was talk and practice pronunciation. We got to help out with those classes a few days each week, which was really fun. Simply talking in English and answering their questions and asking them questions.
6. Speed bumps are the new stop signs.
I thought the speed bumps on campus or in my apartment complex were bad, but on all the side streets, and even the main roads, are a billion speed bumps. And some not so marked that they surprise you and give you a little bit of air in the back seat of the car. It’s crazy how many there are, but I guess it prevents the city from having to put stop signs everywhere because people aren’t going fast enough to blaze through intersections.
7. Sushi is everywhere.
Every street. Every other corner. Okay, maybe not really. But it’s not hard to find a good sushi place in Santiago. Which was absolutely beautiful. it wasn’t quite the $2 sushi like in Thailand, but it was still incredibly tasty and so enjoyable. I don’t think I ever said no to a sushi offer when that was given as an option for dinner.
8. Chileans are so proud of their culture. Especially their food.
I learned a lot about Chilean culture from our hosts, which was awesome. They were so proud of where they had come from and all the history. And they were especially proud of their culture food. They made sure we tried all the cultural foods which I love doing because I feel like I know a little bit more and gotten a good feel for the country.
9. Santiago is the South American Chicago.
Santiago reminded me so much of Chicago. Or different neighborhoods of Chicago. There are so many parts of town, each having different characteristics, similar to Chicago. And then there was the Metro which is so easy to navigate like the El & Subway. And all the different people. And architecture. It made me miss Chicago a ton and makes me that much more excited to visit there again soon. So my Chicago friends, get ready because I’ll be coming soon!
10. People are so friendly & love to joke around.
Such a fun culture where everyone loves to joke around and laugh, even if they just met you 5 minutes ago. After sharing a meal together, you feel a bit more like family. If only the language barrier wasn’t so difficult for me, I could have joked around a bit more as well as had some deeper conversations. But everyone that we met was so great and so welcoming and so wonderful to get to know.
11. The circus is an important part of Chilean culture.
I had never been to the circus before in my life prior to this month. But we got to go to the circus. In fact, one of our hosts used to be in the circus as well as some of his family members. So we got VIP status. But that aside, the circus is important to the culture. So much so, that there were about 4 or 5 different circuses in town while we were there. And it’s not uncommon for there to be a circus in town all throughout the year. It was incredible experience and so fun.
It was a full month for us with so many activities and ministry. One more down and only one more to go. I can’t believe it. But only one more country left to tell you about. Soak it in. And thanks for enjoying this blog post every month. it’s been fun to share all these different things with you. It’s crazy to think though that this was just a small part of my experience in Chile and if I were to go to a different part of Chile, I’m sure I would have very different things to share. So remember that if you ever go to these countries, you could have totally different experiences and versions of what the culture means to you. That’s so great about each travel experience. No two people experience the same things. So much beauty and so much variety in the world to experience and explore. Traveling this year has definitely given me so much perspective and has changed my view of the world and culture and so many things. Which has been incredible and so life-changing. Thanks for all the support along the way!
