Cultural Shocks As A Brit Living In Chile

It was 2010. People watched a disaster unfold on TV screens all around the world. 33 miners had become trapped in the San Jose mine in Atacama, Chile. For most people, this was an event that prompted millions to pray for the safe return of total strangers. For me, this disastrous event is what led me to call Chile home for 6 years.

It’s no secret that many Brits find change hard. We are people who are very set in our ways and, for most, couldn’t even anticipate the thought of moving abroad and adapting to another culture. For me, I was still quite young when I left, and adapting to this new way of life wasn’t as hard as it might have been for others. However, there were some very big differences that had me standing still for a second, contemplating how different my life truly was.

-Toileting

I have to start here because this was truly something I found hard to get my head around. I think it would be a cultural shock for most people who have decent plumbing. You know the deal. We go to the toilet, do our business, wipe, and flush. But the step before the flush in Chile is very different; for us in the UK and most other countries, we would automatically put the used toilet roll down the toilet and flush it away, and never think of it again. In Chile, that is not the case. There are bins placed next to the toilet. This is for the used toilet roll. This is due to the plumbing. If you were to flush all your toilet paper, it would cause major blockages. In some newer modern buildings in the country, flushing is technically allowed, but it is still advised not to. The plumbing in Chile is quite narrow and not designed for anything other than water and what comes out of a human. As I said, this was probably the hardest thing for me to get my mind around.

-Language

Most likely an issue for anyone travelling to a foreign country. Upon my arrival in Chile, I knew nothing beyond Hola and Adiós. 6 years later, my Spanish is now fluent. However, it’s not your typical Spanish. When I travelled to Mexico and kept saying “po” at the end of my sentences, I got confused looks and was asked where I was from. Of course, it’s hard living in any country at first, not knowing the native language, but I somehow made it work. Doing Spanish classes in school got me nowhere, but if you live in a country where there are barely any English speakers, it comes quicker than you’d think. I get asked a lot how I learnt Spanish, but the truth is, I don’t really know the answer to that, other than I was just there and it was all I heard day and night. It eventually became natural.

-Celebrations

I must say, the way the Chileans celebrate is very far from what I was used to back in the UK. Firstly, when they celebrate, they truly celebrate. Some celebrations will last more than a day. Birthdays, weddings, and anniversaries are all massive deals. Over there, every single one is celebrated. And, of course, it is tradition in Chile that on your birthday, you blow out the candles, the cake gets shoved in your face, and then everyone is still expected to eat it. I think in the UK everyone would probably refuse to eat it if it had touched someone's face.

In Chile, on the 18th of September, it’s Fiesta Patrias, as we would call it, Independence Day. In the UK, there is no such celebration. We have St. George’s day, but the country doesn’t celebrate this; we get a day off work, and that’s about it. Unfortunately, we don’t celebrate much in the UK. The 18th of September in Chile is celebrated for days on end. Everyone has Asado (BBQ), drinks Terremotos, and eats their tasty Empanadas. It’s a time when everyone comes together, everyone is in a great mood, and it really is just one massive Celebration, and definitely one of the dates I miss the most. I used to look forward to this every single year.

One thing that I do not miss celebrating in Chile is Christmas. In the UK, Christmas is the biggest event of the year, which people plan for months in advance. Although Christmas is celebrated in Chile, the way they celebrate is very different to what I was used to. For any Brit, the standard way to start Christmas is to put the presents under the tree on Christmas Eve and go to bed and wake up to the madness on Christmas Day, which for a lot of Families is opening presents, drinking Baileys, and getting a massive Christmas dinner ready for the whole family. In Chile, however, they put the presents under the tree on Christmas Eve and open them all at midnight. They celebrate the day at the moment it actually begins, then everyone stays up until the early hours watching their children play whilst the adults enjoy a drink. Then, after they’ve slept, they wake up late on Christmas Day and all have a big dinner, which, again, is very different to the UK. It was a nice celebration, but definitely something I never got used to.

Food

Of course, the food in Chile is extremely different to the UK. I remember the first time I went to a market in Chile, I was gobsmacked. Everywhere I looked, there was fresh fruit and vegetables, full of colour and freshness; it was a whole new level to what I was used to, very different from the bagged fruit from the supermarket back at home. A lot of the food I ate in Chile didn’t always look that great, like Charquicán, a traditional Chilean dish made with potatoes, pumpkin, meat, and vegetables. I remember the first time I was presented with this meal. I looked at it and wasn’t sure what to do. In my head, I thought, " This looks like vomit. I cannot eat this. But I didn’t want to be rude, so I took my spoon and ate the tiniest bit. To my surprise, it was absolutely delicious, and I finished the whole plate. In fact, it is now one of my favourite meals from Chile. All the meals were so new to me. I had never seen food like this in the UK, but it was fantastic. Before going to Chile, I didn’t know how to cook much. A lot of people in the UK shove some stuff in the oven and call it a day. This is not how life is in Chile, and I’m truly grateful for my time there. I learnt to cook in Chile, and now I’m back in the UK, I don’t know any different. My family eats fresh food every single day, inspired by Chile and many other cultures, and I'm not shying away from my English roots. We still love a roast on a Sunday!

Weather And Housing

I think it goes without saying that the weather in South America is clearly very different to England! Of course, the hot weather in Chile was the biggest pro of them all! It was always sunny, and I always had a great tan. The weather is great over there for most of the year. This is very different in the UK. It is currently the 22nd of February, and it has rained every day of the year so far, so the change in climate was a real nice change. The hardest part to adapt to was the winter. I know you’d think I’d be used to the cold, being from the UK, but houses here are designed to keep your homes warm. We have central heating; you simply go to the hallway, turn it on, and you’re good for the rest of the day. Even on the coldest days, you eventually have to turn the heating off because the heat can become unbearable. The climate conditions in Chile can vary, depending on which part you’re living in. I was based in Santiago. When it rained, it really rained. When it was cold, it was freezing.

The houses there are not built like houses in the UK. Every house on one street is different, and some houses are just made of wood. The house I lived in was more like a typical UK house. It didn’t look like one, but the structures were similar. However, no matter how much it felt like the “normal” house to me, we did not have central heating. No one I knew did. When it got cold, we had to bring in a gas or electric heater. There is no gas within the house either. You have to buy gas canisters to use the stove and the boiler, so if you are using a gas heater, you have to bring in the gas canisters. For me, as a Brit, this made me nervous. I definitely had never seen anything like it. Big gas canisters inside someone’s home! It became normal after a couple of years, but let’s just say I definitely don’t miss it. Whichever heater you were using, there’d only be one. This was to save costs, so everyone would have to huddle in the front room to get warm and then wrap up at bedtime. It definitely makes me appreciate my heating now.

I was very fortunate. I got to experience life in another country, its lovely culture and beautiful language, and, of course, some things did take time to get used to, but honestly, I wouldn’t have changed that time for the world. I have done so many amazing things, met more amazing people than I can count, and it has shaped me into who I am today. Sometimes, even now, I see things that we Brits do, and it feels totally foreign to me. I rarely make traditional English food anymore, and I still prefer speaking Spanish. I live for the rare moment when I get to speak Spanish. It may be very different from my native country, England, but it's sure a second home in my heart.