During my time in Chile, I have been able to observe many aspects of the culture. One aspect of the local culture that stood out to me the most was their communication. When I observed the way in which Chileans communicated, I realized that there were similarities and differences that existed among my family culture. Some of the similarities that were present with the communication of Chilean culture and my family culture are the intimate greetings and animated conversations. While some differences that exist with communication among Chilean culture and my family culture is the use of language and power distance.
Since I come from a big and close family, we usually spend a lot of time together. Whenever I see my family and vice versa, greetings are an integral part of our communication. Our greetings are comprised of a hug and kiss, just
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One difference that is quite evident is the language in which we use to communicate. Even when I did try to use Spanish that I knew previously, they still didn’t understand what I was saying, and vice versa. Later I learned that Chileans have their own type of Spanish. In support of this claim, in “Chile: A Continental Island” by Skye Stephenson, its stated that “Chileans have a distinctive way of speaking Spanish that disconcerts many when they first hear it.” However, while I was in Chile, to offset the barrier of language, body language was used heavily. Whenever I came across a local and the Spanish I knew was enough to understand them, we both relied on body language to understand each other. Another difference that exists between Chilean culture and my family culture is power distance. In Chile there’s a greater power distance that exists between different people in society. While in my family, although there is power distance that is present, is not as great as it is in