Learning

My semester abroad is drawing to a close - approximately five days until I fly out of Santiago.

What have I learned? Lots.

What do I have yet to learn? Lots more.

Algunos ejemplos.

I am still a complete dunce at the metric system.

• Is a liter of beer equivalent to a 40?
  
• Are we really suppoesd to be travelling down this road at 100 km/h?


• I am two kilometers away from school; three minutes until class starts; will I make it?

I don't know what I am eating 79% of the time.

• ¿Cómo se dice "mush" en español?


• Does mayonnaise really belong here?


• What's the word for "goat" again?

I still get lost on the bus system.

• The 427 goes right by my apartment, right?


• Or was it the 421...?


• Crap! This is not the road I wanted to turn down! Hey Bus-Driver, can we pull over?!
  

Things I have learned?

• To cross a busy street, follow the lead of the stray dogs because they know when start walking, otherwise they would be dead dogs.


• Avoid the completo.


• "Sin mayonesa" or "without mayonnaise" is a useful phrase.


• The Simpsons are shown at 7 p.m.


• The metro is faster, but the bus is more fun (fun in the way of a rickety carnie-ride at the country fair).


• The omnipresent voice of the metro is saying, "The doors are now closing."


• During mass, Catholic priests are hard to understand, even for native speakers.


• Avocados can be sliced with house keys.


• Don't look too interested in anything a street vendor is vending, lest you want to be wrangled into buying it.


• When you don't know what is going on in a conversation, smiling and nodding is the safest bet.


• If you mention that you are sick to a chileno, they will launch into a dissertation about home remedies.


• Kissing on the cheek is a must.


• Chileans dress drably; to fit in, dress like you are attending a funeral. Every day.


• The food can be as bland as a chileno's outfit; for a country shaped like a chile pepper, this nation certainly detests spiciness.


• Chileans will give you directions, even if they don't know how to get there. Beware.


• The only way to become really intimate with a city is to get lost. A lot. I have. And I do.

That's all for now.

I will continue posting about life in Santiago in the following days.

Today I was just feeling pensive.

And now I am off to learn some more!