Valparaíso

I have officially been in Valparaíso for a week and I couldn't love it more.

Valparaíso is a large costal port in Chile, two hours west of Santiago. The population is 253,580 people. The neighboring city of Valparaíso is called Viña del Mar. Viña has a population of 289,970 people. People refer to Viña as more of a resort and tourist town, where Valparaíso is more of a funky town. Viña and Valparaíso make up the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Chile. When I say Valparaíso, it's safe to say I'm referring to both Valparaíso and Viña. They remind me of a mix between Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Francisco, with its own unique flavor. 

My host family is incredible. I love with my host mom, Noemi, who has such a kind heart. She's made my transition into Chilean life seemless. She also can't pronounce my name so she's taken to calling me Lee. I also have a 22 year old host sister named Javi who's studying to be a dentist. My host brother, Roberto Carlos, is only around on the weekends because he works in the Armada during the week.

Although that's my core family, there are so many more people: a cousin and her boyfriend who sleep at the apartment almost every night, a dad, another brother who's moved out with his own family, cousins, the list goes on and on. It feels like there are people always coming in and out of the apartment.

Chilean culture is entirely different than the US. The mom is the big head of house here. They do all the cooking, cleaning, and a lot of them also have jobs. My host mom cleans my room, cooks every meal for me, does my laundry, and won't let me have it any other way.

The food down here is also entirely different. Breakfast is usually a sandwhich. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day and is usually sometime between 1:30-3:00. There's usually a salad of lettuce, tomato and onion, some sort of meat dish, bread, fruit, and dessert. Dinner is called "once" which means eleven. It's usually eaten between 8:00-11:00 and is sandwiches and tea. It has definitely been an adjustment learning to eat later and eat a lot of bread. People also generally don't snack, so meals are the only eating time.

Communication has been hard. In the US, my Spanish is decent, but down here, it's barely cutting it. I'm able to understand mostly everything and respond appropriately when people speak slowly. But when they speak at their normal pace, I have no idea what's going on on. I've perfected the smile and not which means, "I have no idea what's going on but I hope this is an appropriate response."

The biggest and hardest cultural difference has been the treatment of women on the street. When I walk down the street, I get catcalls. When I go on a run, I get cars honking and leering eyes. No matter where I am, I hear, "Hola preciosa" (hello precious), or, "Ay, que bonita" (how beautiful), or, "¿Qué pasa sexy?" (what's up sexy?). I have never felt more like a piece of meat. It doesn't matter what I'm doing or what I'm wearing. Here, guys think it's okay to treat women on the street with less respect. This is the hardest cultural difference to get over. I have grown up teaching and learning respect, and it's what I've come to expect. But down here, I don't get that. I'm working on internalizing the catcalls and using them to fuel my fire and make myself stand taller and stronger. At the moment, that's the best outcome I can hope comes from it.