Chileans tend to be jealous couples, and the phrase: "tengo polola celosa" (I have a jealous girlfriend) is frequently heard.
I spoke with my aunt about the way Chileans express love, and she related to me that she's also been met with the expectation that affection is partitioned unequally. Love here isn't totally unconditional, she explained, it's tied to performing certain actions - such as being a respectful and obedient child. There is also the notion that people only have limited amounts of love, and therefore one must defend their relationship, and allotted love, from others.
On my commute to school, I'm daily met with a TVN Chile sponsored poster for the show "Say what they will" that features a smiling woman in her 30's with the caption: "I think I love one child more than the other." Needless to say, I think that this poster would be viscerally rejected in the U.S., given U.S. ideals of equality (and boundless love.)
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so interesting... that's an idea i had really taken for granted. i love realizing these things. anyway, sorry for disappearing for so long - i caught up on my work, finally, so i'm back on the blog scene. to backtrack:
ReplyDeletea) i'm jealous of your delicious peaches. if you do turn orange, please send pictures. my fruit selection is limited to bananas, squished strawberries, mealy apples, and mandarin oranges whose rinds are coated with cairo grime. it should be a single word. cairogrime. :P
b) your classes sound good, though sorry about the prevalence of english. i just read jenelle's blog about the photocopying... that sounds absurdly frustrating. haha. egyptians also express disdain for copyright laws, but at least AUC has a decently efficient printing system.
c) pig pox? ugh. americans really need to get over this meat addiction...
d) miss you. hope you're doing well. it's really great to hear your thoughts :) have you had any luck with skype? we should chat sometime...
Hope my grammar is alright :)
ReplyDeleteI disagree with you limited love idea, Chilean people think that love is something that's easily lost and they've got to live knowing this, so they just care a lot, because they just don't want to lose something that valuable.
I'd love a cup of tea soon... so cya ;p