I'm alive!

I wish I had some amazing story of why I have been unable to post these past two days. Like being kidnapped by a band of gypsies, an impromptu trip to Easter Island or even just having eaten a bad chorizo and being bed-ridden. But nooooo, it's just that nothing has been happening worthy of blogging. Unless you consider studying and sleeping fascinating reading. And today is Friday and I STILL have nothing exciting to write! Nor will I for the rest of the weekend since all I have planned is working on the final projects that are due Tuesday. They are numerous and they are major. So I just have to suck it up for one more weekend and then.... freedom!

But this afternoon in class we got into a discussion about dealing with culture shock (both of our students if we're teaching in the US or of ourselves if we move to another country) and it brought up some points about Chilean culture/life that I thought were interesting:

• While eating, it is considered rude to put your hands under the table as "they don't know what you're doing under there" if your hands are out of sight. Just the opposite of America, eh?
• Many stores/take-out restaurants have a system wherein you have to wait in two lines: in the first line you wait to place your order and pay for the item/s and then you go stand in the second line and wait (again) to turn in your order slip and have your item prepared
• No drinks here are served with ice. Ever. And milk is drunk warm. Blech.
• Most kitchens do not run hot water as it is considered too expensive to heat. Hence, dishes are washed in cold water. (That one took some getting used to...)
• It is impolite to walk in someone's house with bare feet. Shoes are ALWAYS worn inside the house, even in your own home
• Bumping into people on the street without saying "I'm sorry" or "Excuse me" is perfectly acceptable
• To partake of something in front of others (be it cigarettes, gum, a drink, etc...) without first offering one to the others is a major affront and considered extremely rude
• To walk into a room or a gathering, even one with a lot of people, and not greet every single person with a kiss and, when necessary, an introduction is another major affront and would quickly get you labeled as a "snob"
• Everyone has two last names, the first being the father's last name and the second being the mother's. Women do not take the husband's name upon getting married, which makes it nearly impossible to know who is married to who. My host parents full names are, I kid you not, Edgar Gregorio Fernandez Dominguez y Maria de la Carmen Navarro Ramirez. Whew!
• And, my personal favorite: when invited to someone's home for dinner, it is actually considered rude to show up on time; it is expected that you will arrive at least a half hour late so as to give the hostess enough time to get ready. Seriously, I can totally dig that!

And that's as exciting as my last two days have been. Other than the part where I booked my flights to Argentina/Brazil. Woo-hoo! For now, I'm just trying to survive this weekend so that the really fun stuff can begin..... !