Aneya & Lauren: Chilean Spanish.

Aneya: So when I told people I was moving to Chile, their first question was usually, ¨Do you speak Spanish?¨ to which I would reply "A little". I took two years of Spanish when I lived in France, but the class was taught in French, so it was doubly confusing for me. I had to translate three times just to understand what the teacher was saying. Mexican Spanish is abundant in Southern California, but I was told it was very different from Chilean Spanish, and I shouldn´t bother learning it. I was also told Chileans use a lot of slang, speak super fast, and are a bit sloppy with their language. Needless to say, I was prepared for the worst. But it hasn´t been bad at all.

Lauren: ...Sort of. A lot of Chilean is Castillo, and Chileans talk crazy fast. Listening and understanding is actually like an exercise. At the end of the day sometimes I´m exhuasted from listening, because it´s really hard. Chilean Spanish is very distinct. I´ve met people from all over this continent, who have perfect Spanish (or so they say), but have a hard time understanding Chileans.

Aneya: I like to think I have a knack for picking up languages, and my experience so far with Chilean Spanish has proven just that. True, some people do speak very fast and it´s common to add ïto" to the ends of words (just to be extra confusing). But really, the Spanish here is....well, it´s Spanish. And I´m frankly surprised at the amount I understand. Speaking, on the other hand, is a different matter altogether. I don´t have a huge vocabulary yet, and I still get tongue tied under pressure. So, I´m letting Lauren take the lead. Lauren is fearless in her Spanish, striding over to any policeman or vendor and conversing as if she´s lived here for years. Her confidence in her Spanish is something to behold, and I watch and listen as she speaks, taking it all in.

Lauren: So many words are indigenous in their roots from Quechua or the Mapuche, so it´s a whole new vocab. Especially with shopping and produce. And I can´t read. I don´t know why, but all those weird verb conjugations and specific vocab words. Daniela very kindly went with us to our apartment lease signing and explained everything to me. I mean, those were legal, technical renting terms, but still! For the first time in my life, I´m largely illiterate! Sort of. I can read super basic Spanish.


Aneya: I lived in France for 6 years, and I´m so used to stepping off the plane and hearing the voices of French men and women (presumably complaining about something, that´s what they do best) and yet, even with their nagging, I feel as though I´ve come home. I´m so used to understanding what people are saying around me, I´m used to ordering with confidence, being able to walk into a shop and articulate exactly what I want. Not being able to do that has been quite humbling. I have to stand back and listen (always challenge for me) and I have to let Lauren take the lead. It´s been interesting to be on the other side of things for once.

Lauren: And I´ve begun to blend my English and Spanish! I´m getting really good practice with my Spanish. I love it, but again, it´s exhausting. I learn a new word every day. Tierno = nice. That was Wednesday´s vocab word. I´m trying to help Aneya learn the days of the week. At least those aren´t different from other types of Spanish.

Aneya: Chileans are very friendly people, and they generally take pity and help when it´s obvious we don´t understand. We´ve both had trouble with the money here. What it´s called, how much something is, all the numbers seem to jumble together and they appear to give nicknames to every coin (or maybe we just don´t know the names of them yet. Why does 500 sound like 15 to me? No se.)

Lauren: People are really patient. They slow down, explain everything, use different words if there´s a vocab problem. It´s so nice.

Aneya: In any case, the language has been a challenge, but a good one. That´s part of the reason why I came to Chile, and not to some French speaking country. Because I wanted to challege myself. And that I have!


In actuality, I feel as though I´ve already learned so much in a week, (Lauren: Aneya is adapting and learning Spanish at lightning speed.) I´ll bet that by the end of this month I´ll be chatting it up like nobody´s buisness. That, or I´ll be speaking some wierd French-Spanish hybrid. On va voire!


-- Aneya & Lauren