Well, it's been a solid two weeks since I've been in Chile. Let's look at what I have found to be different about this Southern Cone country than Richmond, Virginia (lowkey miss you, baby)
1. Money conversion: Chile uses the Chilean Peso for their currency. $674.22 pesos equals one USD. The dollar can be stretched further here when it comes to local food (el completo, empanadas). Most street vendors will only charge you one luca ($1,000 pesos, about $1.50 USD) for their goods. But when it comes to eating at a restaurant, the similarity with US prices begin to show. Beer costs a solid $4-$5, entrees going for about $10-$15. So it's not deathly expensive, and if you can work around eating out everyday and trying out one of the street vendors instead you can definitely see the strength of the USD over here.
2. The Metro: Fairly easy to use. Costs about $1 to use for each trip, but is free every other trip if you can get to your next metro stop within an hour of the first trip.
3. Stray dogs: In the United States (at least I would think) if someone were to see a stray dog galvanizing through their neighborhood they would call the authorities ASAP. Here there are dogs who occupy the same spot for months at a time. There are two dogs that sit and cool it outside of my building and have passerbys leave them berries. Also none of these dogs are skinny, at least the ones that I've seen. Which has led me to think that they are being fed pretty darn well.
4. Weed: It's legal and illegal at the same time. You can have up to 2 grams on your person as long as you're not smoking it. But that has not stopped la gente from indulging in the devil's lettuce. Students and individuals are smoking at local parks next to campus on the reg. Very interesting sight to see.
5. English: Obviously I am here to refine and make my Spanish speaking skills and comprehension the best that it can be in the 4 months that I am here. What's funny about that is when I am speaking in Spanish to employees in some places, let's say at the grocery store (because it happened to me there yesterday) they will reply back to me in English. I understand it's because they want to make their English better and see it as an opportunity para mejorarse la lingua. I also understand it's kinda obvious that I am not from here and might look/sound like a typical American extranjero.
6. PDA: Dawg... people are making out at every single corner, metro, bus stop, market, pool, you name it. We learned some lingo prior to classes beginning last week and one of the phrases was "comerse". "Comer" means "to eat" and when you add the "se" at the end it makes the verb reflexive. So when using that phrase it means that they are literally eating each other And from the looks of it, they are.
7. Dinner times: I literally just finished eating dinner 20 minutes ago. It's 13 minutes before 11pm.
These are just some things that I have picked up on in the couple weeks that I've been here. I've yet to be hit with the "culture shock" that my advisers and other professionals have told me that would be experiencing, but I am very excited to be subjected to that moment whenever it does happen!
Tuesday, January 22, 2019
Tuesday, January 8, 2019
when in doubt, pinky out
My friends decided to have a game night right before I left, a soft sentiment that reflects the relationship that has grown between all like 100 of us in the group chat. The goodbyes were not as sorrowful as one would think, but I lowkey shed a tear as I was walking to my car. The break pads need to be replaced along with the caliper, an oil change, and probably some transmission fluid just for the hell of it. I'll worry about that later.
I woke up at 5 this morning after waking up at 2 because 1. I couldn't sleep and 2. My phone's battery was busted and was not charging. How do you think I felt about my phone acting stupid the DAY OF MY FLIGHT TO CHILE????? THINK ABOUT THAT FOR A SECOND.
Whatever. My stepmom gave me a wholesome goodbye, which is always nice. Brother and sister gave me several going away messages, friends sent me snaps, DM's, the whole sha-bang. It was a nice way to go out. The drive up to DC was not that bad, either. Big shout-out to my dad for caving and putting more money on his Easy Pass (not sure if I spelled that right, but I'm going to roll with it)
With my phone being broken, we go to Smart Fix in Pentagon City Mall to alleviate the issue at hand. $40 is not that bad to get your phone fixed up in a solid hour. Shortly after, mom bought me a nice Philly steak and my dad spilled honey all over his blueberry Panera bagel.
Soon after I gave my final goodbyes for a while to my parents, who eagerly and selflessly assisted me in the hectic trials and tribulations up to this point for this trip to happen. I can't thank them enough for the amount of financial/legal/emotional support that they have rendered on my behalf.
As for now, I am on my way to Miami and from there Santiago de Chile.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
same shit new hat in 2025
2024 was -- happy, sad, bad, glad, great, late, efficient, debilitating. These words that kinda rhyme-ish don't do justice to how chaoti...
-
2024 was -- happy, sad, bad, glad, great, late, efficient, debilitating. These words that kinda rhyme-ish don't do justice to how chaoti...
-
Sunday. Sunday. Sunday. No, I am not talking about the Super Bowl. Sunday is the day of rest. It's the day to sleep in and not check y...