An Interview with Brendan Burke and Owen Lisac
1. Why did you choose to go on this trip to Santiago, Chile?
BRENDAN: I always wanted to travel abroad. I found out that I had the opportunity and figured there was no better time to do it.
OWEN: I chose to go on this trip because I felt it would be important for me to broaden my horizons, especially in a language that I was studying.
2. What did you enjoy the most?
B: I enjoyed meeting people my age from a totally different culture, and making friends through language barriers. Hanging out with all my friends I met down there either at a park or at someone's house or at their local shady amusement park most nights was the highlight of the trip for me. I'm still best friends with a lot of them.
O: I felt that the best part about the trip was that I was able to experience a culture different from my own and was able to experience different viewpoints that I was not previously aware about.
3. Are there any differences between your experience at St. George’s and at St. Eds?
B: St. George’s College is less structured than Eds. The school is co-ed, obviously, the dress code is much more lax (jeans and hoodies), etc. You're not really expected to sit silently and pay attention all class -- you can eat, go on your phone, talk with friends, pretty much whatever you want as long as you keep your grades up and don't annoy anyone. The school doesn't assign homework usually; most kids are able to just go home straight after school and do whatever they want, which is a lot different than here. All the students start learning English full-time from a very young age, with other languages like French and German offered in addition. My friends said that my 4 years of high school Spanish classes have gotten me to the level that a 4th grader would achieve in English in Chile. Sophomores in high school at SGC were dissecting English literature and writing pretty long papers, so they’re at a similar level to US students at that age.
O: At St. George’s, it seemed as though there was a much more open atmosphere. Potentially it was because the school was mostly outside, but the environment felt much more free. There was less structure and the school allowed you to stick more to your personal schedule
4. Are there any major cultural differences between the two nations?
B: I'm sure there are more, but I wasn't really exposed to every corner of Chilean culture, you know? At least in Santiago, they don't get much snow, and get excited when they get one or two inches every couple of years. They do get earthquakes, though; everyone kind of accepts them as a fact of life. They eat lots of seafood and steak, sometimes raw. Shellfish are big there, especially abalone. For every meal in the home I stayed at there was always a basket of bread in the center of the table, usually paired with ham slices or butter. They keep their milk in boxes, and unrefrigerated, which threw me off for a while until I got used to room temperature milk from a cardboard carton. Lunch most days at school was a hot ham and cheese sandwich. Their restaurants don't serve free refills, they have to go to an American chain like TGI Friday's for that. The driving and drinking ages are both 18, which is weird. High schoolers don't have cars, they take the bus or walk or ride bikes to wear they need to go. There are lots of Ubers, which is nice because both the traffic and the drivers are insane there. I saw people hit 30 MPH easy inside parking garages and the idea of using blinkers is just nonexistent. Overall, kids are much less micromanaged than in the US: their parents don't always know where they are, don't care as much where they spend the night, how late they're out, etc. My host family had a live-in housekeeper that cooked, cleaned, and generally helped out around the duplex apartment I lived in.
O: At least where I was, it seem like it could just be an American suburb. Therefore, Chile was not as different as one might think. That said, there were a few glaring differences, such as the law. The police were not ever-present, as in the US, so law enforcement was much more lax. Car use isn’t as wide spread- the places that they go are usually within biking distance. Shellfish was also much more prevalent. Despite these differences, I was able to fit in with not much effort.
5. Do you plan to stay in contact with your hosts?
B: I have! I still talk all the time with both my host and all of my other friends that I met down there. I plan to return to Chile on my own this summer to visit them for a month or so.
O: I certainly plan to as I think that it would be beneficial that I stay in contact. This experience was important for me, as were the lifelong friends that I met.
6. Would you recommend this trip? Why?
B: 100%, by far the best decision I ever made. You'd regret not traveling and experiencing a different culture like this when you have the chance.
O: I would recommend this trip, especially to students studying Spanish, as it actually helps them understand the culture of Southern American countries, something that they focus a lot on in class. Plus, the experience is something that you’d never forget.
