Thursday, September 6, 2007
Saying Hola y Adios!
So I realized I need to be sharing some of the unusual customs in Chile that differ from the United States. One item we´ve had to get used to is the greeting and goodbye kiss. This seems very European to me. When you see someone you know, you greet them with one kiss near the cheek. You don´t actually kiss each others cheek, but kiss the air. At first, I thought this was a little too personal, but now it seems less so. This cheek kissing is only done between women greeting women & men greeting women; men shake hands with each other! Also, when people say goodbye, Adios, is not the norm. Instead people more commonly say Ciao!
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3 comments:
i love the kissing. we did a lot of kissing in NY. not so much here...
Lewster, you've got to give us more info on cultural standards of politeness. Is it required to bring an avocado (La Fruta Nacional de Chile)when you visit someone's house? Is it OK to borrow another person's sombrero in a rainstorm? Are you allowed to eat burritos on the subway?
Matt,
I'll try to post more cultural standards of politeness (I'm not sure that there are very high standards!) A lot of things Chileans do strike me as rude - staring, cutting in line, pretending that other people don´t exist, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk, etc. A lot of these things are just cultural, but it is hard to not see them as rude! To answer your questions, no avocado (palta) is required when visiting, though a bottle of wine is always nice! I haven´t borrowed anyone´s sombrero, so I am not informed. Also, I don´t see a lot of sombreros in general. The subway question is something I´ve been trying to figure out since we got here! There are no signs posted in the subway about not eating, but I never actually see anyone eating or drinking while on the subway, so I just avoid it. However, on the buses, venders often hop on to sell candy & treats! Unfortunately, I do not know of people eating burritos here at all! I know, it is a sin!!!!
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