What else? Hmmm.... Well. Prepare yourselves for another willy-nilly list of observations and anecdotes, dear readers. I'm not sure I have it in me to write anything with real structure anymore.
- OBAMA WAS HERE! The Obamas are much loved in Chile. Barack gave a few nice speeches and Michelle looked mega classy. (really, though, when doesn't she?) There was some discontent here when Obama skirted the issue of America's role in supporting the Pinochet dictatorship, but all-in-all it was a successful visit. Heck, I'll go ahead and say it. I was Proud to be an American.
- I am currently eating upwards of 1 entire avocado a day here. They are delicious and cheap and I am in heaven.
- Nicknames. My host family has had 2 girls from the Middlebury program before, but I have earned the glorious title of "La gringa mas gringa" - the whitest white girl. My family has also referred to me as the "sandwichita de palta," an avocado sandwich. Why, you ask? When you squeeze an avocado sandwich, all the good stuff flows out the sides. It's akin to calling me "an open book," or, if you want to put a negative spin on it, "a blabbermouth." I tell them everything, including stories that are perhaps not mine to tell (e.g. my friend Andrew's love life, my friend Becca's ongoing struggles with fleas). Finally, my friend Katie calls me "la floja," the lazy girl, mostly because I, unlike the other girls in our program, do not work out 6-7 days a week... generally preferring to take long, luxurious naps during my free time. SO SUE ME.
- I miss my Ecuadorian friends, Judith and Melba. I say this because I mean it from the bottom of my heart and ABSOLUTELY NOT because they told me they were expecting a blog shout-out in the near future. :)
- The weather here has been delicious. Sunny and mid-70s. My deepest condolences to those of you living in Maine and Wisconsin.
- We went on a sunset cruise of the Valparaiso harbor to celebrate my friend Katie's birthday. GORGEOUS!
- Remember how we have a "Middlebury Language Pledge" that says we're only allowed to speak Spanish? Well we're thinking about making PROMISE RINGS!!!!
- There's a special way to be a cheapskate when trying to reach someone by cellphone in Chile. It's called "pinchando" (loosely translated = poking!): you dial someone's number and hang up before they answer so that they call you back. Thus, you can converse on your friend's dime and not spend your own precious track-phone minutes. I am a HUGE fan of pinchando and do it in excess because a) it's funny and delightfully tacky/rude and b) I hate spending money. However, the last time I employed this tactic in contacting my friend Andrew, he responded with an INCREDIBLY vulgar text message: "pinchate tu madre, puta!"
- Chileans drink the most horrible soda in the world. It's florescent orange and meant to mimic the flavor of papaya fruit. And it is called...wait for it...PAP! When pronounced in Spanish, this sounds more like "pop." But I prefer to say it with a sharp, nasal "a" (could you pass me some PAP? PAP me some skin! I'm gonna bust a PAP in your a*$!) Furthermore, I have officially decided that an alcoholic drink of pap mixed with pisco shall henceforth be known as a "pap smear."
- There was a little boy crying uncontrollably at the clinic where I have my internship. When I asked him what was the matter, he told me that he had a fear of heights (the examination table is about 3 feet off the ground, mind you). Precious.
- My friend Lizzy (also from Wisconsin) and I had an impromptu contest to see who could say "ooohh maii gaaaahhd" with the strongest 'sconsy accent. I think I won.
- Some cars here have a special horn installed to make a cat-call noise. Hassle-free sexual harassment!!!
- My friend Becca and I went to a movie with my host sister and her boyfriend a couple of weeks back. By NO FAULT OF OUR OWN, it ended up looking EERILY SIMILAR to a double date. My credit card wasn't working so Becca had to buy my ticket... my sister and her boyfriend shared a bag of popcorn, we shared a bag of popcorn... you get the picture. When the other kids in our program got wind of this, they began to call us "las pololas"...the girlfriends. UGHHHH.
- I've been going to ZOOMBA classes with my host mom, except here it's called "baile entretenido" (entertaining dance!) Each time I tell my host sister that I went she replies, without fail "awww que entretenido!" (awww how entertaining!)
- Once, I asked my Middlebury monitor Cristian how to order a drink light on the alcohol. He told me that the best way to do this is to order, for example, "un mojito suave" (a smooth mojito). Eager to practice this new and useful phrase, I asked "Entonces, uno se dice al barman 'un mojito, por favor...damelo suave.' ?" ( "So, one says to the bartender, 'a mojito, please...give it to me smooth' ?" ). Cristian's eyes got very large and he shook his head in a very decisive "no." To make a long story short, it turns out that asking complete strangers to "give it to me smoooooth" is not the most advisable way to comport myself in a Chilean discoteca.
Well that's about it, folks. This weekend I'm headed to Lollapalooza Chile in Santiago with my Midd friends and host sis to see Kanye West, Devendra Banhart, The National, Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeros, Cat Power, and many more delightful musical acts. After that, we've got a week of vacation from school and I'll be traveling to southern Chile with my friends Andrew and Katie. To quote those awful t-shirts, life is good.
Smell you later! -K8
