It's difficult to pinpoint exactly what it is that is making me feel displaced. Could be that people dress up for everything here, including going to the market for pan y leche. Could be that they use a fork and knife to eat everything, including sandwiches. Could be because people talk at seeming lightning speed, whereas I understand what I hear at sloth speed. I feel like I am underdressed, even when I wear nice pants and a shirt. I feel like a neanderthal when I eat. Today I ate a burrito at the mall, and I swear I could hear 1/2 the food court snickering at me. I hadn't got a fork with my food, because I never use a fork to eat a burrito, but I felt self-conscious about it. Then I decided that it was just too much effort to wind my way back through all the tables in the food court, with a stroller and a tray of food, to get a fork. So I just tried to finish quickly, to silent the snickering, but I think that made it louder because then I was eating like a ravenous neanderthal. Ah, well. At least I couldn't understand any of the comments people made around me. And Vivi made a bigger mess eating her arrowroot cookie, so maybe I didn't look that bad.
Hoping to find the Chilean version of Miss Manners soon to learn some Espanol, and how to eat a sandwich with a fork.
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I hope that things start to get easier as you guys get settled in. Can your DH's work get you together with any other expats so at least you have some common bond and someone to talk about navigating such oddities as eating burritos with a fork and knife, seriously where is the logic in that?
You should also check out the International Board on the Nest, don't know if there is anyone in Chile but they will definitely understand what you are going through.
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