I think one of the most rewarding parts of teaching English are the students. Therefore, one of my favorite times is when classes start, and I get to meet a whole group of new students. Very occasionally, this turns out to be a bad experience, but as a whole, I've been very lucky with my classes.
I almost always get asked the same questions the first day of class:
1) How long have you been in Chile?
Despite saying more than a year and a half, I always get tips and advice like "You should try pastel de choclo" or "Have you been to Valparaiso? You should go there."
2) Do you speak Spanish?
Some people have said that I should lie and say no so that students work harder to speak to me in English, but I'm a bad liar.
3) How old are you?
I always tell them to guess, they always guess older than I am.
4) Are you American?
Sometimes I say "No, I'm Chilean" just to see their reaction.
5) Where are you from?
No one ever knows where Vermont is, unless they know someone who has gone and worked at the ski resorts there. Sometimes I draw a very rough outline of the US and try to point it out.
And only the bold ones dare to ask...
6) Do you have a boyfriend?
I actually haven't ever had this question (before tonight) when I have been single. But like I said, I'm bad at lying so of course I just said no. Then they all looked at me with pity and asked, "But miss, WHY NOT?"
Which brings me to my point. Along with wet hair and living alone, not having a pololo (boyfriend) is cardinal sin according to the Bible of Chile. Maybe it's because it seems like everyone in Chile has a parjea (partner). It's a very couple-y country. There's a belief (and correct me if I'm wrong) that after you get past a certain age, if you don't have a significant other, life is kind of the pits.
I'm not going to lie, it would be nice to have a boyfriend, but I'm 24. I am young. I have time to find the one. And maybe (probably?) the one won't even be Chilean. So calm down, the general population of Chile, I'll be fine.
12 comments:
haha, I just finished a class too and basically had all of the same exact questions, except mine asked me if I was married?!? So no worries, at least you don't look like you should be an old married lady like me! :)
haha! I think it is easier for them to understand you living in Chile if you have a pololo. It is almost as problematic when you say you DO have a pololo, sometimes a round of other awkward questions begins ;-)
Heather: Oh, no worries. I've been asked whether or not I have kids.
Annje: Yeah, you're right, that's probably it. I've never gotten the awkward pololo questions...thank god!
If you have a boyfriend they ask when you are getting married, if you are married they ask when you are going to have kids, Chileans are a bit too nosy! And of course if you answer something "wrong" they think you are weird... sigh at least I like being weird hahaha!
Question 4 on this blog entry has my analysis of what I think the pololo question is actually about (Hint, I think Annje is on the right track), and I think it's great that we all corroborate each other's experiences of what everyone always asks us. So true! So true! http://bearshapedsphere.blogspot.com/2009/04/expat-life-those-pesky-and-repetitive.html (pardon the shameless blog pimping, it really is relevant!)
You don't need me to tell you this, but you are a smart woman by not rushing into things. Chileans appear to be a bit nosy, but this is just part of the culture.
Our beautiful 29 year old daughter is also single. She is waiting to meet the right man. I say good for her.
Congratulations on saying you believe in God. Is there anything wrong with that provided you don't go around rubbing it on people’s faces?
Maybe I'm out of touch and talking about ones beliefs has become yet another "politically incorrect" thing to do.
this week, two 15 year old students asked me "do you have a boyfriend?'
"yes"
"is he chilean??"
"yes"
"WHY do all the teachers here from the United States have Chilean boyfriends?!?!?!"
"I don't know. Probably because there are so many Chileans in Chile-who else would we date??"
"uhhhh"
Heather, I was asked several times if I was married, so don't worry!
Abby, I always, always got the boyfriend question. Then when I answered no a few times they would be suspicious.
No one knew where Minnesota was either. Sometimes they even thought I was saying Venezuela. Hah!
Everyone knows where New York is, but when they find out I'm from Brooklyn, they ask me if it's dangerous, and on one occasion I was asked if I was carrying a knife! Movies are alive and well, it would seem!
So true. And what Annje said is so true too. If you say yes, actually I have a husband, the next question is, "Great! So how many kids do you have?"
When I say "Zero!" that then turns into, "Well, when then?"
When I say, "I don't know, maybe 10 years or so, maybe never," it starts to get really awkward as they then begin to insist on why my life and marriage are not complete without rugrats. That's when I usually end awkward tirades by saying something like "Yeah. Right now people pay to fly us all over the world to shoot their weddings. I don't want to give that up." And then of course, I become the horrible bitchy gringa.
But I only do that to end the awkwardness that is people telling me my marriage isn't good enough, or giving me tips on fertility clinics because they assume if we've been married over three years and we have no baby that we're either getting a divorced or I'm infertile.
JEEZ! I guess I have some strong feelings on this. Sorry for the long comment!
Lydia- your answer cracked me up!
Abby- I'm going with Annje & Eileen on this one and taking it a step further. A LOT of Chileans don't understand why anyone would come here and stay of their own free will (Chileans rarely appreciate their country as much as we do it seems!) So they just assume it's for love (then comes marriage, then comes Abby with the baby carriage... hahah...
Here's a variation... ever had anyone ask you how to get a husband (or wife) from the US?
Its not the age. When I was 16 they were the same way.
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