boughtChanges
I have been putting off writing in this blog because I wanted to wait until I had formed a hard opinion about my experience back home. I wanted some time to think.I have been home for a week now but I don't know where the time has gone. I am very happy to have been able to be here for this short time in order to help my family prepare for and celebrate my sister's wedding (it's tonight!). But in one week, I have had no time to get anything done! I had plans to take care of some bills and school loans, go to the beach, get a hold of and visit a few friends, etc.
However, I have learned to make boutineires (I know that is spelled wrong) and bouquets of flowers while manaing to spend some quality time with my family, including nieces and nephews. They are growing so quickly! Tonight, I will be able to enjoy the company of my extended family (which numbers around 60-70) and friends.
My parents, brother and I leave Sunday to go back to Santiago and I am pretty excited. I am looking foward to sharing with them the city that I have been gotten to know in the last six months as well as a bit of the country that I still haven't travelled too much.
As for being back in the US, it has been enlightening. Before coming, I had thought a lot about the things that I knew I wouldn't like- seeing mass media and its influence on daily life (which does exist in Santiago but not to such a large extent) and resulting consumerism, having to drive, eating a lot of fast food, etc. But I hadn't really thought of the things that I might like more...
For instance, in my last entry, I had written that Americans make a lot of small talk. I hadn't ever really noticed it before because the only other foreign country that I had visited was Japan and I couldn't make small talk with people over there even if I had wanted to since there existed such a language barrier. But in Santiago, there doesn't exist idle conversation with the person standing in front of you in line at the grocery store, and that has nothing to do with the language- it's the culture. Chileans will go out of there way to help you out once you are friends, but talk to a stranger about nothing only to pass the time? Never. Why bother?
Well, I bother here for several reasons: #1 is because it is my culture and that is what I was always used to; #2 because I like to; #3 because it is funner than standing alone; #4 it passes the time more quickly; #5 because people tend to smile and joke a little while talking to strangers; and #5 because.....just because.
It's funny because people abroad have the idea that Americans are cold because they don't do the little kiss-on-the-cheek greeting when they see each other. But that is overated and superficial I think anyways. Here, when people see good friends, they give each other a good hug and express their enthusiasm with their words, whereas in Chile they give the same little kiss and a "hi, how's your family?" deal to everyone. And so what if the bank teller doesn't REALLY want to know how your day is going when they ask you- sometimes it's just nice to be asked.
There are a lot of other opinions of mine that have changed a bit since being back, but I don't really have the time to share them right now. I need to go buy some last minute things for the celebration tonight....
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