When I first thought of some of the activities I wanted to do in Santiago, speaking to a citizen of this amazing city was near the top of my list. I was curious to see what they thought of their hometown; what they thought of the U.S.; or what they even thought of us, as study abroad students. From what I have seen so far it seems like we have been recieving positive reactions from many of the locals. So after some searching I found a Chilean citizen to interview. It turns out the person to talk to was none other than our tour guide Sergio. Below are 8 questions that I asked him on the ride back to Santiago from Valapraiso.
Q1: What is your full name?
A: Sergio Andres Molina Rodriguez
Q2: What is it you like about your job?
A: I like that it gives me the chance to practice my English, teaching people and also I do not have to be in an office.
Sergio speaking to OSU study abroad students about the murals of Valparaiso.
Q3: What do you like most about Santiago?
A: I like that Santiago is safe, clean and well connected to other cities. It is also very active so you are never bored. However, like most people, I do not like the winter. It is also cold and gray.
Q4: What is you favorite site in Santiago?
A: My favorite site is San Cristabol, it has a lot of activities.
Q5: If you could visit 3 U.S. cities where would you go?
A: I would go to Los Angeles, Chicago and New York City. Also now Ohio since I have met you all.
Q6: Is there any U.S. entertainment that you like?
A: I like to watch TruTV. The towing shows and Storage Wars are my favorite.
Q7: Did you attend college? If so, where and what did you study?
A: Yes, I attended UTEM. That is short for Metropolitan TEch University.
Q8: What has been your most memorable experience with OSU so far?
A: My most memorable moment with OSU would probably be meeting you all, your arrival from the airport. I also would have to say Plaza de Armas.
First off, I love the idea of interviewing a local and especially love it was Sergio. I think it’s really interesting that his answer to why he loves Santiago is so similar to why I love Ohio State. I always tell people I am never bored. It’s really interesting how a city like Santiago can be liked in the same way as a setting like Ohio State.
I’m glad to hear about the US cities he is interested in. I always wonder if people only know how diverse the US is from region to region.
I wonder what interviewing a lot of people in a lot of parts of Chile may show. It seems like there is a very strong American presence here, with all the music and entertainment. I wonder how aware people are of American culture and problems of today. Especially after learning about all the tragedies of Chile during the 80’s, it seems very important that people learn the hardships of other countries.
I liked hearing how much he enjoys his job. From what I’ve seen he very much seems to enjoy his work which makes the entire experience better for everyone.
It’s interesting he watched the US truTv. To me, that seems like a slightly obscure station that even I don’t know much about. I wonder if that may give a skewed representation of Americans.
This is my favorite blog post I have read so far! Interviewing someone was such a creative idea and was very interesting to read. It made it even better you interviewed Sergio since we all know him and can relate. I find it interesting he has two middle names and I am curious to why that is. Sergio told us this morning that his passport is expired but he is very excited because he now has enough money to get a new one. Hopefully once he gets his new passport he can travel to New York City, Chicago, or Los Angles. It makes me happy to see that Sergio loves his job. It makes it more enjoyable for us all when the tour guide is having fun with it. This morning he told us that this week he is also going to a soccer game and hiking in the mountains. It was great to see how excited he was to take more people places and was so sweet he was telling us about it.
It was interesting to see Sergio say that the people here are very active and never bored. That was one thing I noticed while being here but wasn’t sure if that was the normal for countries outside of the United States. Walking through the parks you will see people working out, walking their dogs, sitting on a bench, or just enjoying eachothers company. I love that they are all outside and being active and I wish the United States was more like that.
Bryant this is awesome! I am sitting in the hotel waiting to leave for the plane with Lisa as she drinks a raspberry and lemon juice (it surprisingly has a great herb taste – kind of minty). I came across your blog post and just had to read it out loud to share because it is such a unique idea. Definitely a journalist instinct in you.
I have also been super interested in talking to some of the locals especially when we went to the universities. I desperately wanted to talk to some students, but I wasn’t confident enough in my Spanish speaking abilities so I never tried to ask anyone anything. Although, a girl at San Joaquin did come up to me and start talking to me in Spanish until I told her I didn’t understand. She then surprised me by starting to talk to me (quite well) in English. I think it is incredible how people can just almost flip a switch in their brains and start fluently speaking in another language. She noticed that I was taking lots of pictures, which is actually a hobby of mine because I love editing them, and told me about a spot across campus that was “great for taking photos”. And she was right!
I’m glad you had more energy than me on that bus ride and were able to stay awake long enough to interview Sergio! I am definitely guilty of sleeping the whole ride home haha. I get car sick on long rides though so it was probably for the best in my case to sleep the whole time to avoid any unwanted queasiness. It was cool to find out a little bit more about Sergio before we left and learn a bit about his impressions of us Americans as such a large group!
I wish that I were more prepared to communicate with people here because I think it is such an important tool to be able to learn more about the culture of the place. But I’ll just take this time here in Chile has a learning experience to be more prepared on my future adventures to be able to interact with the locals of a place!