On Friday, June 6th, a group of St. Edward’s students and I visited the Escuela Uruguay for young girls in Valparaiso, Chile. We arrived at the school promptly at nine am, and waited for instruction from the head mistress. After climbing staircase after staircase, we reached the summit of the school and entered the cafeteria where the boys in our group were going to be serving breakfast to the teachers in the school. We sat and spoke with the teachers while employees of the school danced a traditional Chilean dance called the cueca.
We spoke in our CULF 3331 class about the accuracy of using the word ‘American’ to describe where I am from due to the fact that South Americans are, in fact, also “Americans.” With this in mind, I made it a point to say I was from the United States, and more specifically from Texas. Not only did this realization allow me feel more educated, it also made me feel like I was respecting the national identities of those around me, which enabled me to be more comfortable and confident in how I spoke.
Entering the building I was fairly nervous about the language barrier. However, I felt myself communicating with the Spanish speaking teachers by using hand gestures, facial expressions, and the minimal amount of Spanish that I know. I had the assumption that it was going to be awkward and uncomfortable, but in reality I was able to overcome some of my own language barriers while laughing and having a great time along the way.
The schools demonstration of the cueca dance showed their interest in preserving Chile’s culture. The dance, which is a parody of the courtship between and rooster and a chicken, begins with the man inviting the woman to dance, then progresses into circles, semicircles, and turns towards and away from one another, all while holding a handkerchief in the air. Although the cueca was not the official dance of Chile until 1979, it has been preserved through its dancers for hundreds of years.
I learned that communicating goes far beyond a spoken language. I learned this when I was able to communicate with the teachers who only spoke Spanish. This matters to me because I plan to travel to many culturally diverse places. In light of this learning I am now more confident to travel and communicate with people who may not speak my language.