Involuntary Pololafication

Let´s say I was to call you up in Atlanta, Georgia and ask you out on a date. If you were interested, (and you have to be, because this is my hypothetical game), you´d say yes and we´d go out a few days later and then maybe I would call you a few days after that and maybe you would pick up because you thought there was a chance you might like me but you weren´t sure and you didn´t want to seem obvious and plus you didn´t know if I was calling because I felt like I had to call to be polite or if I was calling because I really wanted to call and even if it was because I wanted to call, one phone call doesn´t really mean anything anyway. You get my drift.

Now let´s imagine this entire scenario happens in Chile. What? You can´t picture it? That´s right you can´t! You know why? Because something like that would never happen in Chile! If I was to call and ask you out and you picked up the phone more than once, why, tada! You´re my boyfriend! I hope you don´t have any plans the rest of the month, because your nights and weekends should be kept free for the time I want to spend with you. Oh, and I´m going to keep calling until I get ahold of you. I may even call back to back, because Caller ID means nothing to me and if you don´t answer the first 6 times, I feel certain I can wear you down with ring 147. And besides, I have your email address.

Now don´t get me wrong. There are exceptions to everything and I´m sure there are plenty of non-committal, uninterested daters wandering around the city somewhere, but for the most part, ¨play it cool¨isn´t a phrase that´s been translatable. There´s nothing wrong with this, but coming from a country where 6 months of regular interaction with a person of romantic interest does not a relationship make, I´m a bit reluctant to jump on board with the idea that 2 phone calls = true love. A mis-placed text message here and there and you´ve got yourself a brand new pololo - (boyfriend, for the non-Chilean speakers) It´s true. Apparently, it is actually possible to meet, go out, and consequentially have to break up with someone after the alarming realization that they´ve branded you as their girlfriend in the course of 4 days. For those of you living in the United States, scoff as you will, but just ask resident expert Meredith Hutcheson. A couple hours of sightseeing and she had an invite to the Mothership of status formations: a family wedding.

So now to ponder what´s more bizarre: The shameless way in which these South American men profess their feelings after a few songs on the dance floor, or the revulsion we North American females experience when such makes an open effort to court us. Muy interesante.