undercover Chilean

I want to go under cover as a Chilean. I am not sure where this idea came from, but I think it would be fun to see how different life would be, to see how different normal human interaction would be, to understand people's perceptions of me as a different person, not as a visitor/tourist.

Now to think how I would do that I have to have an idea of what a Chilean is. First of all, Chileans speak Spanish. I'm working on that, but still can't shake the accent or pronounce the 'rr' or 'll.' My efforts to improve my production of these sounds have resulted in no improvement whatsoever. Next, customs, everything from eating with your non-fork hand on the table to knowing where to catch a micro. I think I would do ok in this department, but this one has the most potential to actually be done well I think.

Lastly looks. This gets complicated. What does a Chilean look like? Well, first of all, they are not all of the same descent, indigenous, european, wherever. So of course there is a tremendous variation. Here are my perceptions, from my extremely limited observations during a short period of time and in limited locations. I perceive Chileans as having darker skin than me. Usually. Many also have lighter skin, but most slightly darker than mine, but not as dark as closer to the equator in more tropical countries. Next, hair. I think that most Chileans have darker hair than me. Some have the same or lighter, but generally it is dark, thick, and gorgeous. I love the black black black hair a lot. Eyes too, most have brown eyes, and very few, at least in central Chile, have light eyes. And they seem to prefer contacts in place of glasses as well. Finally, I think Chileans are shorter in stature than [north]americans. I am really tall for a girl here, and fairly tall in the US. A lot of Chilean boys are shorter than me, but of course not all. By boys I mean adult men. Hmm, I forgot clothing, but this is not that different than the US I don't think. Tight jeans and dark colors seem to be trendy, but really I am crap at judging this.

In conclusion, I could dye my hair, put in [color-change prescription??]contacts, improve my Spanish, and dress better, but I would probably not seem any more Chilean. Do I stand out a lot now as obviously not Chilean? Very much, if I open my mouth. If I am not talking, I still come across as gringa for my light hair and eyes, but there are Chileans that look like me. More interesting probably is the concept of wanting to "go undercover."