Culturegram+Of+Chile

Topic 1. __ Every Day Living __ Greetings are important because Chileans believe that everyone deserves one. The word “ //Abrazo”// is a hand shake and a hug, you use this when you meet a male stranger or a male friend. The word //“Abrazo”// also occurs for women and their family, they receive a kiss on their right cheek. Also another big part of greetings is eye contact, this shows a lot of respect. They seem to show more respect to women and strangers than to.

The way Chilean people dress is very important, even if you are really rich or poor. They believe that ripped clothes are awful taste. Kids and teenagers wear clothes in an American style. Also a popular fashion is to dress like people in Europe do. I find it interesting how the way they dress is impacted by the way we dress.

Gestures are used to show respect, which is a huge part of Chilean customs. This is in greetings too, but, eye contact is a huge sign to show respect as a gesture. During a conversation good posture is another gesture used for showing kindness towards the person who is talking. When you have to yawn during a conversation it is polite to cover your mouth with your hand. If you want to point to something you pucker your lips instead. Another gesture is when you turn your palm up; this is the equivalent to the middle finger in America. I think it is amazing how some of our signals are the same while others are completely different.

In Chile marriage and dating is close together in time. The typical age to start dating is sixteen years old. After dating one to three years of dating, the average people get married. Men get married at around twenty-two years old, while women get married between the ages eighteen and twenty-three. In 2004 a new law was passed for the ability to get divorced. I think this is interesting that they only had a law for this in the last few years.

Image and Caption This is a picture of European fashion, which is a fashion in Chile

Source of Image: [| http://www.thefatandskinnyonfashion.com/european-fashion-trends-%E2%80%93-fall-winter-collections-20102011-part-2/] Copyright By: **The Fat and Skinny on Fashion**.

Topic 2: __ Architecture and Sculptures: __ Architecture is in every building. For example, in the museums palace of Fine Arts there is a ceiling that reflects the art work, so you can see the art before you really walk into the center of the building. The La Moneda (the mint) is a place where they used to keep the country’s money. This building was designed by an Italian named Joaquin Toesca. This building looks kind of like the White House except it is surrounded by Chilean flags. The typical Chilean house is where extended families live near each other. When the children start to grow up they extend more rooms or make their rooms bigger, in their parent’s house. Another option for young adults is to move into a place the Chileans call serviu. It very common for a serviu to only have a front room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. This forces them to take on responsibility, to build on to what they have. In the Plaza de los liberators there are two memorials. One of the memorials is of the first president Bernardo O’Higgins. He was born August 20th 1776/1778 and died October 1842. He was the president who stopped Spain controlling Chile. He served from 1817-1823. The second memorial is of Jose de San who was an Argentinean general. He was born February 25th 1778 and died august 17th 1850. He helped free Chile from Spain. Life would be very plain if there were not any sculptures or interesting architecture.

Image and Caption This is a picture of the La Moneda (the mint) in Chile.

Source of Image: Diseñado, mantenido y hospedado por [| Medios Digitales Interactivos]

Topic 3: Chile is very narrow, but it is wider than it looks. Its average width is 112 miles, but, all together the country is 291,933 sq miles. Chile has a lot of islands including Isla de Pascua this means Easter Island, Isla Sala y Gómez, and Islas Juan Fernández. Chile also has a decent amount of land features. This is because Chile runs north to south. In Chile there are deserts, swamps, forests, Andes Mountains, lakes, beaches, and volcanoes. In the north there are arid mountains, this is near Bolivia and Peru. Geography has defiantly effected how Chileans live. Chile has a lot of earthquakes, so, it is important that everyone has a stable place to stay. In Chile there is not a lot of space, for 16,888,760 people in 743,812 sq km, this means about 22 sq km per person. Normally it is not that worm, but, in the summer it is very dry. From December to March it is summer and from June through September it is winter. I realized that this kinda of the opposite of us in America.

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__Image and Caption__ This is a Physical features map of Chile []

__Source of Image:__ http://www.google.com/imgres?q=physical+features+map+of+Chile&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=Kyj&sa=X&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1152&bih=709&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=BfFF3zMXbjscAM:&imgrefurl=http://www.stockmapagency.com/Physical_Map_Chile_C-Chil-2007-Phys.php&docid=ollJ6wDW2CwySM&imgurl=http://www.stockmapagency.com/media/Country/Modern/T_Chile_Phys.jpg&w=250&h=321&ei=AAXhTvnvCobn0gGc6NC0Ag&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=275&sig=107755436047935283573&page=1&tbnh=154&tbnw=120&start=0&ndsp=22&ved=1t:429,r:11,s:0&tx=71&ty=67

Religion, Holidays, & Festivals

There are two big religions in the country of Chile. One is Roman Catholic and the other is Christian Faith. In the Roman Catholic religion they have churches in every part of the colony. When Spain was in charge of Chile, they only wanted Roman Catholics to spread. Some of the Holidays in Chile are similar to the United States of America while others are not. The holidays that are like ours are New Years Day, Easter, Labor Day, Independence Day, and Christmas. The ones that are not the same as in the United States of America are Naval battle of Iquique, Armed Forces, Dia De La Raza (day of the race), and All Saints Day. I find it interesting how the USA and Chile are in total different places, but, they still celebrate some of the same holidays. The way the Chilean people celebrate their holidays is very interesting. Independence Day is celebrated on September 18th (when the Chileans were freed by Spain), they go to parks, eat empanadas, drink chichas, and dance the cueca. Christmas is celebrated at summer and gifts are open midnight. New Years Day is typically celebrated with family.

Image and Caption This is a picture of the drink chicha, Chileans drink this on Independence day. []