People in Chile speak Spanish

This is post number 9 of a series of 21 posts about things you should know before coming to Chile.

9. People in Chile speak Spanish

Ok, it sounds obvious but there are some things you need to know…

I recommend that you make an effort to learn some Spanish either before you come or while you are here in Chile (or other Spanish-speaking countries). Not only because it will make your experience a lot more enjoyable but because not many Chileans speak English. Here, we’re not talking about being totally fluent or bring able to have light conversations about brain surgery. No, we recommend that you learn the basics and enough to get by.
You can always do night classes in your country or even try learning Spanish online. There are loads of free Spanish learning activities on the internet. Try some Spanish Grammar Games or Spanish Vocabulary Notes to get you started.

Learning Spanish in Chile
There is a small handful of Spanish Schools in Chile so you could also do a short course when you are in the country. You don’t really need to book in advance and you should never book weeks of Spanish lessons in advance. We recommend that you try out a school for a week or two to see the quality of what they do before committing to more hours or weeks. In fact, visit a few schools to get a feel for them before deciding on which you will enroll in and follow your instinct!!! (Of course we recommend www.spanish.cl).

Chilean Spanish
Many people say that Chilean Spanish is very difficult and full of idioms, colloquialisms and general grammatical mass destruction. They also say that if you can learn and dominate Chilean Spanish, you can understand everyone else on the continent with ease. I personally think that every country has their weird and wonderful way of pronunciation with many of their own colloquialisms and the regional differences in vocabulary is just fascinating.

I won’t go into all the details and nuances of Chilean Spanish though the main tendency is not to pronounce the S at the end of the word and sometimes the D near the end. Chileans generally speak VERY quickly with their entire sentence often sounding like one long word. Some nationalities say that Chileans sing instead of speaking (especially in the South).

Chilean Friends
Many foreigners end up teaching English to get by in Chile so are more immersed in English than in Spanish. And, when they leave work and hangout with other ex-pats, it’s not like you use Spanish amongst yourselves. How are you ever going to improve your Spanish if you are speaking English all day? If you can, try and have Chilean friends. Not just to help improve your Spanish (even though many Chileans like foreigner friends so they can practice their English), but to learn more about the Chilean lifestyle and culture.

A pet peeve I have…
Why is it that many English-speakers have the arrogance to expect everyone to speak their language? Certain nationalities (I won’t name them), tend to think that when the locals don’t understand the first time that if they say it again, only louder, they miraculously become bilingual and understand. How would you feel if every foreigner to your country only spoke their language?

For those that have been in Chile a while, how have you found the language barrier?
Did you learn any Spanish before you came?
What do you think of Chilean Spanish? Did you find it difficult to learn?
What experiences have you had with Spanish in other parts of South America?

Chile is a late night society

This is post number 8 of a series of 21 posts about things you should know before coming to Chile.

8. Chile is a late night society.

Everything in Chile starts and finishes much later than in most English-speaking countries. Sleep seems to be an overrated option, not a necessity.

Going Out and Night Clubs
If you are invited to go out, expect little sleep. Get ready to go out late since the discos and pubs are still quietish around midnight. At 1am things just start to pick up and at about 2am is when things start getting interesting. At least it is not as bad as in Buenos Aires where things start around 4am. By the way, the word 'night club' here is used to refer to a strip joint. If you want to go to a place to dance and drink (like our night clubs), they are called discos here (sounds so 70s, doesn’t it?).
When I first came to Chile I asked people that I knew if they wanted to come to a Night Club with me. Imagine the looks I used to get, especially from the girls! Remember to call it a Disco, not a Night Club.
Even if you want to go out to a restaurant, many don't open until 8 or 9pm and don't be surprised if you see it packed between 11pm and midnight. No wonder everyone is so sleepy in the morning here.

Christmas
On Christmas Eve you will see kids roaming the streets on their new bikes well after midnight and into the early hours of the morning and even the granny will be up until the early hours of the morning celebrating with the rest of the family. This is because the Christmas presents are not opened until after midnight and not on Christmas morning.

Curfews in the Past
While Pinochet was in power during the 70's and 80's there used to be a curfew at a night (Toque de queda in Spanish) and anyone found on the streets was arrested. Maybe this late-night phenomena that exists today started as a way of rebelling against the 'old' system.
Does anyone know specifically whether the curfew lasted the entire regime and at what time it started and ended?

I personally have always been a night owl and find myself most active and creative at night so I find myself fitting perfectly into this lifestyle. It is very rare to find me in bed before midnight.

Have your habits changed since you have been in Chile?

Tipping in Chile - Propinas

This is post number 7 of a series of 21 posts about things you should know before coming to Chile.

The Spanish word for Tip is Propina.

Good tipping is usually remembered and the service is often even better the next time you return to a place. What may be a small amount to you can make a huge difference to someone else.

Restaurants
The general rule of thumb for giving tips at restaurants in Chile is to leave 10% of the bill. Obviously if you thought the service was outstanding, you can give more.
In Chile the livelihood of most waiters and waitresses depends almost entirely on tips. They may be lucky to have a base/minimum salary, though even this is usually only enough to cover the transport to and from work so if you can afford to travel around the world and eat out, you can afford to leave a tip.
However having said this, you must be careful to check the bill before giving a tip because sometimes it is already included in it, though that is not the norm. I once read that they were trying to pass a bill in congress to make the 10% tip for staff compulsory and that it was going to be added to each bill but I don’t know what happened to that process.

Supermarkets
The young people that put your groceries in the plastic bags at the supermarket don’t get a salary. They depend entirely on tips so giving them a couple of coins is always appreciated. Some do it to help out their families and others for their own personal expenses like bus money, smoking addictions etc. What saddened me the other day was to see what appeared to be a normal 40-something year old packing groceries as the younger ones do to get some tips. Times are tough it seems.

Taxi Drivers
Taxi drivers in Chile are not normally tipped. You sometimes just round their fare up a bit to avoid lots of loose change.

Tour Guides
It’s always good to tip the local tour guides since in general they also get paid a very low salary. How much you should give depends on the type of tour and how long it went for though around 5-10% of the tour cost is appreciated.

Car Parking in Streets
These guys don’t have a salary at all so live on what people give them in tips. The truth is these car caretakers don’t do much but at least they are trying to make an honest living. Normally it’s only a couple or few coins depending on how long you were there for. In theory they help you park and warn oncoming cars as you come out of it. Again, it’s only in theory so you should still check to make sure nothing is coming.

Be Careful: If they ask for money up front, don’t give it. Usually only the unscrupulous ones ask up front and then they have the cheek to not even look after your car or anything of the sorts. Check out the two documentaries that appeared on National TV last year. They videoed this happening in areas with a lot of night-life activity going on and most times they would take off home early once all the car parks were full, even though they had promised to be there until the early hours of the morning.

Remember
Some people expect tips though if the service is terrible, don’t feel obliged to give one. If that happens I usually give an ‘oral tip’ and let the person know what I thought of their service. It can be a shock to them but it just may open their eyes a bit.

For information about the local currency, changing money in Chile and more, visit: Money in Chile.

Can anyone in other South American countries leave a message to let us know the tipping customs are in the country you are in? Pretty please! :)

Chilean Food Tips

This post is now at: 11 Tips about Chilean Food

For a complete list of Chilean Food with its name in Spanish and what it is in English, check out: Typical Chilean Food.

Do not bribe the cops in Chile!

This is post is now at: Don't bribe the cops in Chile

Driving in Santiago and Chile

This post now appears on our blog at: Driving in Santiago, Chile

Opening a bank account in Chile

This is post now appears at: Opening a bank account in Chile.

Take your own toilet paper!

This post can now be found here: Four things you need to know about Chilean toilets