Amoroso!
Don't be rude. Manners are subtle, but effective. Say 'please' and 'thank you.' Call people 'Sir' and 'Madame.' It'll have been so kind of you. Super, super lovely.
The good for nothing gringo will crash into this delicate country like a toro in a China Shop. He doesn't know his own strength.
Everything's so easy in Chile. There's so much opportunity. People are so nice, and so easy going, this place is great. I will accomplish so much. Don't cut yourself sweeping it up.
Better late than never; I'm slowly learning the lesson. Crashing through glass won't get you anywhere. But you can really move mountains with good manners.
'Pardon me, Madame. I just have a question, nothing more.'
'Tell me your question, my darling son. Just ask away. I'm here at your disposal, nothing more.'
"What The Fuck Does "Don Wheel" mean?!'
Sorry, sorry. Once again:
'Good Dame, I happenened to be wondering if you would be so kind as to explain, if it's not too much trouble...eh...what does "Don Wheel" mean?'
'Why, my sterling lad, it's nothing more than Spanish for Sir Will.'
Sir Will!
I like it. But deep down, I know it's wrong. I have no right to be annointed with this title. I've become a knight in Chile simply for spending $14 a week to have a maid service the apartment.
OTOH, $14 is a lot of money. So I guess, yeah. I deserve it.
But I suspect it's more than just money, more than me. Instead, it's culture. Archaic formality that borderlines on absurd. And frustrating, when I associate it with the feudal mentality that seems to pervade Chilean culture. The need to show your ID, and sign in before entering a university campus. Then you show them your California drivers license. "Oh, wow. Adelante Señor!"
But at the same time, Chile's going global. It's just that it's a really small country, with a really small economy and not as many resources apart from what it can dig up on its own soil. And much less human capital. Obviously, people here as smart as anywhere else. We're all humans after all. But education here sucks. Then, however, if you're rich enough, you can graduate from a top school and compete in any first world marketplace or cultural, academic environment. Big surprise. But still, global legitimacy here is questioned and discussed like never before to this baby of the golden cradle.
It's a strange conversation to have. To sit down with some Chilean chemist and have him tell you that yes, he can meet with international colleagues and talk shop at a competitive level, while being Chilean at the same time. Actually, this same guy (a veritable buddy of mine at this point) won't even call himself Chilean. He's a self-described terrícola, Spanish for "earthling." Cute. I mean, bizarre. And he's not the only one.
Anyway, where was I...oh yeah, Manners. Chile could teach us some manners. I guess I could spend a lifetime here without ever picking it up. I'd still survive, and perhaps be a great success. Still, I'd never open those invisible doors.
The good for nothing gringo will crash into this delicate country like a toro in a China Shop. He doesn't know his own strength.
Everything's so easy in Chile. There's so much opportunity. People are so nice, and so easy going, this place is great. I will accomplish so much. Don't cut yourself sweeping it up.
Better late than never; I'm slowly learning the lesson. Crashing through glass won't get you anywhere. But you can really move mountains with good manners.
'Pardon me, Madame. I just have a question, nothing more.'
'Tell me your question, my darling son. Just ask away. I'm here at your disposal, nothing more.'
"What The Fuck Does "Don Wheel" mean?!'
Sorry, sorry. Once again:
'Good Dame, I happenened to be wondering if you would be so kind as to explain, if it's not too much trouble...eh...what does "Don Wheel" mean?'
'Why, my sterling lad, it's nothing more than Spanish for Sir Will.'
Sir Will!
I like it. But deep down, I know it's wrong. I have no right to be annointed with this title. I've become a knight in Chile simply for spending $14 a week to have a maid service the apartment.
OTOH, $14 is a lot of money. So I guess, yeah. I deserve it.
But I suspect it's more than just money, more than me. Instead, it's culture. Archaic formality that borderlines on absurd. And frustrating, when I associate it with the feudal mentality that seems to pervade Chilean culture. The need to show your ID, and sign in before entering a university campus. Then you show them your California drivers license. "Oh, wow. Adelante Señor!"
But at the same time, Chile's going global. It's just that it's a really small country, with a really small economy and not as many resources apart from what it can dig up on its own soil. And much less human capital. Obviously, people here as smart as anywhere else. We're all humans after all. But education here sucks. Then, however, if you're rich enough, you can graduate from a top school and compete in any first world marketplace or cultural, academic environment. Big surprise. But still, global legitimacy here is questioned and discussed like never before to this baby of the golden cradle.
It's a strange conversation to have. To sit down with some Chilean chemist and have him tell you that yes, he can meet with international colleagues and talk shop at a competitive level, while being Chilean at the same time. Actually, this same guy (a veritable buddy of mine at this point) won't even call himself Chilean. He's a self-described terrícola, Spanish for "earthling." Cute. I mean, bizarre. And he's not the only one.
Anyway, where was I...oh yeah, Manners. Chile could teach us some manners. I guess I could spend a lifetime here without ever picking it up. I'd still survive, and perhaps be a great success. Still, I'd never open those invisible doors.
posted by Chileno @ 11:40 AM
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4 Comments:
Dude..... a breath of freshair for a newly landed antipodean in for the long haul. will be checking closely for more insightful goodness....:)
Oh hunny they only call "Don" or "Doña" to people avarage Chileans deem better than them. They won't be calling a 20-something Chilean "Don". That term was more commanly used decades ago to address the elegant and refined bourgeois member of polite society until the 1960's. We all know after 1970 all the "beautiful people" who lived in grand turn-of-the-century homes emigrated to avoid living in a communist regime. Now they mostly use it to address any gringo no matter how penniless he is.
The park picture is pretty!
Now - HERE's an entry that the doughty Pato should read ... "Don Wheel" is really a gentleman, after all :-)
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