Chileans speak Spanish really sloppily compared to other places. They speak it really quickly, they leave out a lot of letters. You'll be able to speak and they'll understand you just the same, but it'll be hard to understand them at first. You gotta get a feel for it.
So one of the things you may have heard about Chilean language is that it's stereotypically fast and difficult to understand, and both of those are true. I would advise you not to get overwhelmed with it though, because while Chilean Spanish is difficult, people get it very quickly. The language in Santiago is a lot faster, so don't get overwhelmed when you get off the airport and people are speaking at a million miles an hour, because in Roncago they will slow way down. However, with that, it is much more rural in Roncago, and people will speak with a much more uneducated kind of rural accent, which is really difficult to understand, but it is not as fast. You have to learn Chilean as a language rather than Spanish as a language, but you get it. Pure exposure will do what it needs to do.
Some tips with the language, I would definitely recommend just learning how to like use grammar properly. If I knew how to say something then like finding the vocab and stuff came more naturally with more time and immersion in the culture. Chileans speak really fast so don't get too down when you're first learning because no one understands anything at first but after a month or so you'll start to pick up on what they're saying. Yeah, just try to be as Chilean as possible, they love that. So use all their slang and things like that, they love that.
The Chileans speak really fast. They have a lot of slang. It takes a while to learn it, but once you learn it, it really becomes an asset because you can talk to them like they talk and you start to realize that the Chilean Spanish is the best Spanish in the world. I mean, I'm kind of biased, but it really is. And you just have to speak it as much as possible.
You might have had some classes in Spanish, you know, in high school or junior high growing up. Just so you are aware, Chilean Spanish is very different. They speak really fast, they cut off their words, they have a different vocabulary. So having a background in Spanish is helpful, but once you get there you'll recognize that the way that they speak is very different than what you're used to. So it just takes a couple months for you to get used to the accent, to be able to understand what they're trying to say, and then for you to be able to respond to them. It's good to pick up on the way that they talk so that you can recognize when they're telling a joke, when there's, you know, a saying, because they have a lot of sayings and they use a lot of jokes in their regular speech that only Chileans would understand. It might be good to look up some like Chilean television shows, you know, different things where they're actually speaking in Chilean so you can kind of start getting used to the accent.
I would say get used to not understanding what they're saying. They don't speak a very traditional Spanish. It's very, very, I guess, messy, you could say. Lots of slang, lots of improper pronunciations of the words. They do have a different conjugation that they use that they don't use in other countries, so I would definitely be familiar with that. I didn't learn that they had a different conjugation for a long time, several months, and so I had no idea what they were talking about, but definitely be familiar with that.
Tengo vergüenza means I am embarrassed. Estoy embarazada means I am pregnant or I am with child. Conmigo means with me. Con yo means vagina. So, be careful of what you say.
They speak a whole different lingo. Lots of different words. The accent is completely different. They speak a lot faster. They drop the end of the words. They add a bow into the end. And so like my biggest, I guess, tip to you is to just like try and speak all the Spanish you can. I kept a little notebook where I'd like write down different like Chilean slang and stuff and that helps a ton. So just keep practicing. You'll get it. Don't be discouraged at the beginning because it'll be way more different than you ever know because Chilean Spanish is just unique.
Be prepared to learn a totally new language when you get to the country. When I arrived in Chile and was in the airport, the person who took my passport took my passport and spoke to me and I just looked at him and I didn't understand a dang thing he said. Don't freak out when you get there and you don't understand anything they say. Pull out your book and study every day for language and just speak. That's the best way to learn.