Comida de Chile (FOOD!)

You all know my feelings on food. I take a basic necessity and turn it in to an all out addiction. It may not always be healthy, but my openness to eat CONSTANTLY has provided me with awesome cultural experiences in Chile! This food obsession of mine means that this post is probably just part one in a series about food, food, food.

So for now I'll spare you from details of my host mom's homemade spaghetti sauce or the local bar's delicious burger and just tell you about some basic comida chilena.

1. Empanadas. Delicious, savory, stuffed pastries. The typical Chilean stuffing is called "pino" and consists of ground beef, onions, 1 hard boiled egg, and 1 olive (which I always pick out and give to a friend). Here's a picture of my half eaten favorite in Pomaire:

2. Completos/Italianos. Hot dogs. Doesn't sound too cultural, does it? The Chilean part is the excessive amount of condiments--palta, tomatoes, mayonnaise, ketchup, salt, etc etc. The best are gigantes (meaning 2 hots dogs long!) near my school, where you can find them for a mere 500 pesos (about a dollar).

I'll post more pictures as I take them (but it's so hard to pause for a picture when the food is right there!), but beyond my 2 favorite staples listed above, I have also tried humitas-some kind of corn mixture (very filling) that is good with sugar on top, cazuela- a traditional Chilean soup in which you may encounter an entire corn cob, chunk of meat, and whole potato, porotos- white bean soup, and charquican-I don't even know what is in it completely but I can say there are corn and potatoes and this dish of what appears to be mush is delicious!

Oh I almost forgot....Any kind of meat you want--A LO POBRE!

This happens to be congrio (king clip fish) a lo pobre. More common is lomo a lo pobre or pollo a lo pobre. As you can see, the meat is served on a bed of cooked onions, with fries, and a fried egg to top it all off. It's ridiculously disgusting, and ridiculously yummy. I like to break the yolk over it all and add some ketchup to the fries. Mmmm.

Cascadas y Playas, a great end to a wonderful weekend

Well, hiking the active volcano didn't work out...but hey, I guess I can settle for an extinct one on Easter Island next weekend!

On Sunday we finished up the weekend with a tour of the region and relaxation in some hot springs. Here are a few pictures as promised. Overall the weekend was amazing. It was a great group of friends and a beautiful place.

Ojos de Caburga

La Playa Blanca

Las Termas (Hot Springs)

Volcan Villarica!!

Pucón Part One

Dearest friends,

My hostal has internet and since there is so much to talk about I figure I´d make a quick update. Forgive any typos, I´m not used to the Spanish keyboard!

Wednesday night we took a 10 hour bus ride south to pucón, located in the lake district of Chile. The bus was actually quite comfy and I got decent sleep. Our hostal here is cheap and cozy. The owner, Claudio, is a pleasant older man who is also arranging for us to climb a volcano this weekend. It´s weather dependent so there are no guarantees but I hope it works out. There is also Juan Pedro, who lives and works here. He keeps the fires in the living room going and is just generally awesome and helpful, as well as good entertainment.

Which we definitely appreciated last night, when Pucón experienced a HUGE thunderstorm complete with the entire city losing power for the whole night! We were in a restaurant eating Mexican food in the dark when something happened and water started gushing through the wall. We quickly paid the bill and stepped through a large puddle to leave. We then basically swam back to the hostal as all the streets were flooded. We hung up our drenched clothes by the fire and spent the night cozying up with some pisco and good conversation.

Today was rainy but less so with some sunny spots in between. We walked around, went shopping, and Allison and I went to a cute cafe where we had amazing coffee, muffins, and medias lunas (little croissants).Tonight Allison is going to lead the charge in cooking an amazing spaghetti dinner. This is turning out to be a cute and relaxing weekend, though I might feel differently after hiking an active volcano.

Another update to come with pictures! Happy Easter weekend!

Carrete en el campo!

This weekend I was invited by Natalia (who was invited by her Chilean pololo, Francisco) to go to a party in "el campo." El campo means the country, and santiaguinos use it to refer to any place that is not in the city. Going to el campo is extremely popular for the weekends since most love breaks from the crowded metro and smog.

This place wasn't too far by car and we got there early so Francisco could help set up. It was perfect to be outside in the woods with a system of speakers blasting music. As soon as the party got going I was having the time of my life. Even before the party picked up I was having fun with the wonderful group of gringos. I talked with a lot of Chileans throughout the night and between the pisco and the Spanish I was constantly reminded that I am in an amazing country =)

We crashed in a tent, made for four but let's just say Natalia is small and we like to cuddle. Though I might have drooled on Cody's back and Natalia's arm during the night, I got a good sleep after dancing myself to absolute exhaustion. I woke up in the early morning in that awkward light right before the sun comes out, and it was a perfect moment where I was warm from all the spooning and cold from the morning air and just so content to be exactly where I was. I was feeling appreciative the whole night.

I can't say I'm equally as appreciative and happy about the tests I have coming up this week, but I'm cutting the week short and heading to Pucon in just 3 days! My life is marvelous.

We're outdoorsy for sure. And should also be models.

The creators of our humble abode proud of their accomplishment

I CAN ALWAYS SEE THE MOUNTAINS AND IT IS AWESOMEEEE

Inglés Abre Puertas

Anyone who used to read this blog has probably given up on me. You may be thinking that life is boring here and I have nothing to write about, but on the contrary I am having the time of my life and that’s what makes it so hard to keep up!

For now, I’ll write about my new internship! Inglés Abre Puertas (English Opens Doors) is a program run by the Ministry of Education in the Chilean government that puts native English-speaking volunteers in to public schools to help teachers and students in English classes.

I work at an all-girls colegio in Providencia (conveniently right between home and school!). It’s like a high school, but it starts with 7^th grade—so the girls I work with range from 12 to 18 years old.

I’ve only had one day, but the new job is already fantastic! The teachers and students are so happy to have me and are very welcoming. Arriving at noon, I first spent some time with the 7^th graders helping them learn new words and bonding over our mutual love for Justin Bieber (don’t judge me). Then I had lunch with the teachers—a great opportunity to practice my Spanish. There are also two student teachers that studied last year in North Carolina at UNC-Greensboro, so we talked about Cookout and Southern hospitality. After lunch, I got some time with the 9^th graders (here it is called Primero Medio). They laughed at my Spanish but ultimately complimented me and said I was doing a good job. I also told them that in the US most public high school students are not required to wear uniforms (here all of the students wear uniforms). I was impressed by their maturity and strong opinions (they like uniforms because it makes them feel equal to one another). Finally, I introduced myself to the 12^th grade (Cuarto Medio) IB English class. They were excited to talk to me but also a little stressed because they have a big grammar test coming up next week!

I can’t believe I only have 3 months at this school! Time here goes by so quickly.

More adventures soon: Carrete en el campo este fin de semana, Pucón for Semana Santa, and 2 weeks from today ISLA DE PASCUA (Easter Island)!!!