Pololo is a Real Thing

   The first time I heard a Chilean ask; "¿Tienes un pololo*?" I sincerely thought I was being questioned if I came to the country barring some sort of gringa disease. Baffled I replied, "No, tengo todas mis vacunas**". This response was, of course met with a roar of laughter. Speaking of vaccines- I have become completely immune to being laughed at as token foreigner. So I had to ask, what in the world is "Pololo"?

Pololo/ Polola: 1. noun. An intimate friend, hook-up, the person you are seeing, the person you are interested in. See also: boyfriend, girlfriend.

   Ah yes, pololo. Of course, this is a slang term signature to Chile and the Chileans love to be "poleando" (dating). In fact, last night at local hang-out Cafe Journal I had the pleasure of meeting a girl named Mallory from Minnesota. Preface: this is as much of a real story as "pololo" is a real word- and that's real. At age 17, Mallory came to Chile for a high school exchange program and met a pololo. She returned to the states love drunk (which translates in every language) and kept the relationship going much to the dismay of her friends and family. She expressed to me- and I noted on Cafe Journal napkin this:

"When I was as young as I was I had a hard time explaining this-- nobody really believed it. And I don't really know if I did either. But it worked and, now I'm 26 and getting married in a month. Sometimes things just take time."

   Couldn't agree with you more, Mal. Buena Suerte to you and your pololo!

*Do you have a pololo

**I have all my vaccinations