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I’d like to start this blog off by saying I’ve been a Spanish language learner for about eight years now, and I would like to think that I speak decent Spanish. I can understand 95 percent of what people say to me, and when I speak I can usually get my point across. Of course I came to Chile to visit schools and work with children, but I also wanted to better my Spanish. Improving my Spanish is very difficult here because I’m unsure of what Chileans actually say. I know they speak Spanish, but their version of Spanish is unlike anything I’ve ever heard before. I’ve been taking Spanish classes at a school called ECELA, and they have been going well. I understand what my teachers say to me, and I get the opportunity to speak in Spanish without anything counting for a grade. I take grammar classes as well, and they are difficult, but it’s not anything I haven’t encountered before in Spanish classes in college. When I leave ECELA is when I feel like I know absolutely nothing about the Spanish language. I went to the mall a few days ago and it was by far the largest mall I’ve ever been to. There were five floors, and the last floor consisted of nothing but restaurants and fast food. I was shocked to discover that the McDonald’s, Burger King, Pizza Hut, KFC, and Taco Bell all had one thing in common: Empanadas! I decided to try an order of empanadas from Burger King, and it was definitely an experience. I had no idea what line to stand in, and then when I finally got in the right line I had no idea what the cashier said to me. Luckily the lady in front of me was nice and decided to help me out. I would love to tell you the dialogue that the cashier and I had, but I honestly don’t know what she said to me. I have a friend here in Chile name Daniela who came to visit Buffalo along with a few other Chileans, and now my cohort and I are here visiting them. Dani invited me over to her house to spend the night and to do Chilean things. I ate choripan (small sausage), pastel de choclo (a sort of casserole with meat on the bottom, egg in the middle, and soft cornbread on top), sopaipilla (a type of fried dough made with pumpkin), and watched a game fútbol (soccer-it’s the most important sport here). I did all of this along with one of her sisters and her best friend. It was so much fun to hang out with other Chileans, but it was extremely difficult because I could not communicate with them. Dani knows how to speak slow because she knows I’m a foreigner, but when I heard Dani speak to her sister and friend I couldn’t understand a word. I now know exactly how young children feel when they come to the U.S. from a different country and want to make friends, but cannot because they have no way to communicate. Not only do Chileans speak extremely fast, but they have their own words they’ve created called Chilenismos. The combination of these two things would make it difficult for even a native Spanish speaker to understand what they say. I can only hope that maybe one day I’ll know this language called Chilean Spanish, because it’s definitely one hard language to understand.
2 Comments
Patty George
6/8/2017 08:52:43 am
Hello Bryanna! It has been so much fun reading your blog posts! It sounds like you are having an amazing experience in Chile. I really enjoyed learning about the food you ate at Dani's house. It is always so much fun trying foods from other cultures! I was getting hungry just reading about it! Your comments about the language are so interesting. I'd love to hear more about it when you return. Enjoy the rest of your time in Chile!
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Solicitar un préstamo ahora
1/23/2024 03:24:55 pm
Buenos días señor / señora,
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Author¡Bienvenidos! My name is Bryanna Hill and I'm an Elementary Education major with a concentration in Spanish at SUNY Buffalo State. This will be my second experience abroad with the school, and I'm excited to see what Santiago, Chile has in store for me. I enjoy laughing, dancing, and trying new things. ArchivesCategories |