The Little Things

Here are a few little things that no one bothered to tell me before I left:

1) This is probably the biggest. Your adapter is lying when it says that South America and the US use the same type of plug. Don't trust it! Bring an adapter!

This (Chile)

and this (USA) are not the same!

2) Mail is a luxury. You might not realise it, (I know I didn't), but in the US we enjoy the privilege of mail that is delivered every day to our doors. We also can just stick a stamp on anything, and it's gone. Simple as that. In Chile, we have to take our mail to a company to get it sent to the US. And I'm not even sure how the delivery service works. So if you send a letter/package from X to Chile, put the phone number of the To person on it and also expect it to take awhile.

3) This is a light switch. This has no importance except to say that lights will come on if you press this. It will not page the butler (that's not a thing).

This is a light switch in Chile.

This is a light switch in the USA.

4) Bring toilet paper to school, or at least to the bathroom. In my school we are privileged to have a toilet paper holder in our class room, that contains toilet paper most of the time. But there is not any for your use in the bathroom stalls.

5) Drinking fountain? What is that? You will find one below. You can drink water right out of them, and they're just about everywhere in the US. Well, I have yet to find one in Chile. We use our hands to drink water in school, but if you're new you should be careful drinking the water. It's perfectly safe, but it's really hard, and your system might not be used to it. Mine wasn't for like the first month and a half.

6) Germaphobes, be ware. I think the US is rather anal about cleanliness. But if you don't you should know the following. Sharing food is perfectly normal in Chile. Even with the same utensil. It's polite if your eating something to ask the people around you if they would like some. I don't think that "double dipping" exists. Also, It's normal to wear the same shirt for a week without washing it.

I may sound like I am hardcore judging Chile, but I'm not. I absolutely love Chile. But it's kind-of my job to observe and write down these things. It is also my job to just go with the flow, so I'm totally cool with everything I just stated.

Here are some more differences between Chile and the USA. It's a little old, but you get the idea.