Charlie in Chile:
Charlie Johnson's Spanglish is welcomed in Valparaiso

As a part of PC’s Maymester program, I had the opportunity to come to Chile for two weeks last May with the Spanish department.  One of the things that struck me at the time about Chileans was that everyone we met seemed to be very open to foreigners in their country.  There are so many American influences here, from music to movies to television channels to popular characters on notebooks, clothing, etc. that it does seem to make sense, in a way. 

However, just as other parts of the world are greatly offended by the degree of influence maintained by the US in their cultural spheres, it is possible that Chileans could have taken up this same disdain for the “invasion” of these outside influences and the outsiders who, however unwittingly, represent them.  Instead, my initial impressions from that short trip in May have held firm so far in my semester here. 

Of the dozen or so people I’ve been forced to get assistance from during my many directional blunderings, not one has ever conveyed an attitude of disdain at my less-than-adequate Spanish.  The same applies with all the people I have conversed with, if only for a minute.  A few give me patronizing smiles when I fail to understand their basic replies, but so far, I have yet to meet anyone definitively “rude” here.  More often, after I begin to speak with someone, he or she will start asking me questions, where I’m from, what I’m doing here, etc.  I would hope that if the Chileans I have encountered were to visit the US, they would be greeted with the same level of interest and respect, even as they struggled through halting English.

posted by Stacy Dyer '96

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