This morning after breakfast we headed back over to the university for our day-long lecture on Chilean business. However, as we waited a half hour for the professor, there was a group of students socializing in the hall where we were waiting. It was kind of awkward because we felt like we were intruding on their socializing, yet it was fascinating to watch. Yesterday we had learned about a customary tradition at the school where when a student passes their final test and receives their degree, they are thrown into the school’s outdoor pool, clothes (which is a suit on that day) and all. On top of that they cut off part of the mens’ ties. We all looked at the student who was showing us around as though he was crazy when he told us this. At first I don’t think any of us understood this, nor would want to do it. However, within the group that was socializing, one of them had just passed the final test to get his degree. He was wearing his suit and everyone was congratulating him. You could tell it was a very big and exciting deal. And that’s when it hit me. This is a very meaningful tradition. If you have been studying at the university for six years and throughout your time there seen others thrown in the pool for completing their degree, it must be exhilarating when it is finally your time. It symbolizes completing a huge accomplishment. As I thought about it I realized it is kind of a honor. Now when I think about it I think it is a really cool tradition to have.
Another idea I really thought about throughout the day that came up during our lecture (and I don’t quite remember how it came up) was the fact that when we see someone speaking Spanish in America we automatically assume they are Mexican and that is that. We immediately identify them as that which is actually extremely unfair because there are many people from South American countries who come to the United States. It is unfair to group them all together when they are in fact different in many ways from one another and have their own unique culture. I began thinking about how I would feel if I were in another country and someone marked me off as another culture just because we spoke the same language and look somewhat alike. I would be really upset because I am American and that is where I come from.
In the evening we had yet another dance class, but this time it was reggeaton. It is fun but it is also kind of weird because it is just nothing that would ever be done in the United States. I love seeing the differences in the cultures though. I feel like seeing their dancing gives us insight into them as people. Tomorrow we get to go on company visits which will be exciting because even in the United States we do not really get the opportunity to talk to business professionals about how their companies actually run and the details surrounding them. I am looking forward to having these opportunities.
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