Time, planning, intensity, exuberance

There are a few ways in which I feel more at home here in Chile than I do in Australia. Let's begin with time and planning. So far the flexible approach to these things is making sense to me. (We'll have to wait and see if I do an about-face once I start being responsible for things about which I care.) Now, generally speaking, I'm a very organised person, yet there's a complexity, messiness and unpredicability to life that gets in the way of attempts to be punctual or efficient. And it can just be stressful trying to push on through as if these extraneous things weren't there.

Despite my organisation, punctuality is something that doesn't come easy to me. The only way I can manage it is to make myself very focused on the task ahead. So even if some of what I have to do is having coffee with other people, life ends up feeling like a string of tasks. But in Chile, I'm free of that and able to focus on whatever's at hand, or simply be. So if I'm pfaffing around getting things done or misjudging how long it will take me to get ready or make it there, it's okay. Well, not always - there are some situations and some people who will care, but, generally speaking, lateness isn't even something you need to apologise for.

Chilean life also allows me to be a bit hopeless (or introverted). If I haven't got on top of my emails, or am having trouble deciding if I'll go to an event, or I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by people and things, I can just do the Chilean thing and let it slide. Not reply to the email and not show. Of course it's not Chilean - or Christian - to be doing this all the time (well perhaps for some Chileans it is :P), but it's fine every now and then. That's just how things roll and no-one takes it personal. Things don't get thought of, mapped out and nailed down in advance. It's the reason why the morning of any appointment, one of the parties will get in touch with the other person to check it's still going ahead, and why it's no big deal if they say they can't make it any more. And the beautiful thing is that there is a way of doing this without damaging relationships - you just be warm and welcoming when next you see them. That way both parties know there was no offence. Again this flexibility stops me seeing people-related tasks as duties. The appointments are changeable, but the relationships remain constant.

There's a third way in which I feel more at home here, and it has to do with intensity and exuberance. I'll start with the second one, because that's the way relationships usually go. Chileans are expressive and warm - greeting someone or sending them an email are occasions of enthusiasm and affection. This comes pretty natural to me, but because it's not a particularly Australian trait I'm 'forced' to reign it in there. But here I can 'be myself' - I can even be a bit over-the-top sometimes and people (I think) just see it as a sign that I care. And then, when you get talking about something, especially something personal or political, it's completely normal to be intense. (You also don't have to shut up anytime soon: it's okay to talk your listeners through every detail... sometimes this gets a bit much!). People don't get weirded out by your intensity or take offence at your strong opinions - they know you're just being honest. Folks know all about emotions - indeed they are something of the currency of life here.