Lauren: Sunday, the day of rest.

So, the lesson learned today: Don´t go out on Saturday or Sunday. Everything is closed. Everything. No grocery shopping, no cafes, no movie theaters, nothing. Except McDonald´s, KFC, and a few cafes. The one thing that is open are the museums, which are free to all.

Aneya and I went to two gorgeous museums. One in a beautiful building with questionably beautiful art (pictured above). The other was in the Plaza De Armas (pictured below), both just blocks from our apartment.

The Plaza de Armas is the oldest part of the city, where Santiago was established 400 years ago.

This museum had amazing historical art, depiciting the relationships between the Spanish Chileans and indigenous, especially Mapuche, and the glasses Salvador Allende was wearing when he was killed in the military coup in 1973. A lot of really interesting historical information that Aneya and I were completely fascinated by.

However. Finding food today was quite a challenge. Because we are heading to the south for a few weeks we haven´t bought too much food for the house (because it might spoil) and we were hard pressed to find lunch. I had avocado on two small pieces of toast.

Saturday wasn´t as bad, but most things were closed. We were shocked. During the week, it´s a bustling city with people and shops everywhere. Both days of the weekend, it seems the city totally shuts down.

So, lesson learned. I´m stocking up on supplies every Friday.

- Lauren

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