rub-a-dub-dub, thanks for the grub

This post owes its title to my most preferred pre-Thanksgiving-Dinner prayer.  So let's talk turkey.

(FOOD POST!)

I've been eating well in Chile, to say the least.  My host mother prepares all of my meals from market-fresh vegetables, bread still warm from the bakery, and meat fresh from the butcher.  Life is good.

Allow me to describe some of the typical foods that I've tried.  I haven't really been taking photos of my food here (because, let's face it...that's kind of weird) so please excuse the google images.

1.  Pastel de Choclo: a sort of pot-pie type baked dish of shredded chicken and corn paste.  Delicious.

2.  Zapallos Italianos Rellenos: zucchini stuffed with corn, ground beef, and parmesan cheese.  My host mom's specialty.

3.  Completos:  hot dogs smothered in avocado, diced tomato, and astounding amounts of mayonnaise.

4.  Empenadas:  a pocket of dough filled with meat, seafood, or cheese.

5.  Choripan con pebre: chorizo sausage on a hardroll with pebre (tomato, onion, cilantro, hot pepper) ...generally served as an appetizer to a hearty meal of asado (Argentine-style grilled beef).  Chileans like their meat.

6.  Cazuela: Chilean beef stew

7.  Calzones Rotos: "broken panties" - fried dough covered in powdered sugar.  No idea where the name comes from.

8.  Panqueques de Manjar: dulce de leche crepes.  A Valparaíso café standby.

9.  Mote con Huesillo: A non-alcoholic summer drink similar to iced tea.  Made with husked wheat and dried peach.

10.  Pisco Sour: Pisco (grape brandy), lime juice, sugar, bitters, and egg whites (optional).  Best drink on the planet.

11.  "El Terremoto": "the earthquake" - Chileans are the most self-deprecating people on the planet.  As such, they commemorate last year's earthquake with this drink of white wine, pineapple ice-cream, grenadine, and whatever other liquor the bartender has on hand.  Wanna know the best part?  One refers to a post-terremoto hangover  as a "réplica"(an aftershock).

12.  Vino: WINE.  Chile is one of the leading producers of wine, both red and white, in the world.  One can buy a bottle of decent wine for less than a bottle of water.  As such, wine is a welcome addition to any Chilean meal or social gathering. 

13.  Mariscos y Pescado: Seafood.  With its incredible coastline, it should come as no surprise that Chile has a bounty of shellfish and fish-fish.  And it's all good.  

14.  Frutas y Verduras:  Fresh fruits and veggies like you wouldn't believe, both commonplace and exotic.

As in Ecuador, the main meal here is lunch.  Main courses are generally served with rice or potatoes and some form of vegetable/salad.  Breakfast is bread, cereal, or oatmeal with coffee and dinner is a light meal or "once" of sandwiches/cake with tea.

Well.  I think that's eat!  I mean...it.  ahahahahhasjdlfkjslkdfjlkajflkalfkds

Wipe that drool off your face.  

Mayo (May/Mayonnaise)

In keeping with my recent trend of updating once every 3 weeks/when the guilt is so much I can't bear it, I'M BAAACK!

Well, readers of mine, I write to you a changed woman.  I had a rough couple of weeks in Chile and just recently resurfaced from a brief period of hybernation, filled with excessive chocolate eating and facebook stalkery.  Without being a drag, I will tell you that I got hit by a perfect storm of homesickness, real sickness, and petty crime (I lost my handbag in a non-violent, but nonetheless traumatic altercation with a Valparaíso hoodlum a few weeks back).  I think it was just a kind-of mid-semester schlump and, honestly, it was long overdue.  I had spent 4 blissfully happy months in South America without a single glitch...it was about time that karma came a knockin' to take me down a peg or two.  Knock it did, and I can honestly say that I am stronger and more world-wise because of it.  More importantly, I'm back to savoring every last moment in Chile.  I am reborn.

All in all, the month of May was pretty laid-back.  I did, however, have a nice little mid-month retreat with the Middlebury program in Santiago.  We gathered for a viewing of The Judge and the General, a documentary about the human rights trial against Chilean dictator Agusto Pinochet, followed by a question-and-answer session with Judge Juan Guzmán, the judge responsible for bringing Pinochet to justice.  Meeting Judge Guzmán, such an important figure in Chilean history, was absolutely unreal.  Afterwards, we went to La Museo de La Memoria y los Derechos Humanos, a museum dedicated to the countless Chileans who were tortured, oppressed, and "disappeared" under the military dictatorship in the 1970s and 80s.  From there, we moved on to El Cajón del Maipo, a beautiful nature reserve outside of Santiago, where we stayed in cozy cabins, enjoyed the fresh air, ate well, and drank good wine.  As a whole, the weekend was a perfect mix of learning and relaxation.

May also brought with it some great opportunities to celebrate with my host family.  My host sisters, host dad, and I teamed up to make an exquisite lunch on Mother's day.  My chocolate cake made big waves...TGMS (Thank GAWD for Martha Stewart).  Note that in the photo below my host dad is wearing an apron that says "I'm not whipped...BUT HE IS!" (with arrows)  ...pretty rich.

This past Friday my host family, some gringa friends, and some friends of the family gathered to celebrate my host mom's birthday at an establishment called "Donde La Cuca."  As far as I'm concerned, "La Cuca" is Chile's answer to a supper club.  We gorged ourselves on parrillada (heaping platters of grilled meat), ordered much pisco, rum, and wine, and then hit the dance floor to shake a leg to some outdated (though highly entertaining) live cumbia and salsa music.  It was without a doubt one of my favorite nights in Chile.

This week I'll be sneaking off to Buenos Aires, Argentina for a 5-day reunion with my Sister Cities host family from summer '07!  In the mean time, though, I'm going to get to work responding to the questions some of you have been sweet enough to post.

The Oooool' Catch-Up (ketchup) Game

I am woman enough to acknowledge when I've been shirking my responsibilities.  And when it comes to this blog, I've been shirking hardcore.  Rather than beg your forgiveness and provide you with a number of very legitimate, but nonetheless unsatisfying excuses, I'll just tell you what I've been up to (which, if you want to split hairs, might just be a sneaky way of making excuses).

1.  Lollapalooza and Southern Chile.  I made reference to said trip in my last post and consequently left you all hanging on tenterhooks for a month, wondering how it went.  I know that what I did was cruel, that the suspense has been eating away at you... so I'll spill.
     Lollapalooza was a treat.  The best acts I saw were Francisca Valenzuela, Chico Trujillo (both Chilean), Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, and, well, KANYE.  The only blight on my good times was that time that, due to some iffy crowd control, I got caught in a stampede trying to see Devendra Banhart and almost got trampled like Simba in the Lion King.  It was wild!  So wild, in fact that I almost lost a Birkenstock in the mayhem.  (But don't worry...I didn't ACTUALLY lose a Birkenstock.  Just almost.)  Near-tramplings and mortal threats to my crunchiness aside, I had a blast!  The music was great, it was a perfect, sunny weekend, and I was wearing a truly exceptional fanny-pack the whole time.  And, as far as I'm concerned, it's pretty much impossible to have a bad time in a good fanny-pack.

    If Lolla was great, Southern Chile was DOWNRIGHT STUPENDOUS.  I spent six days roaming around Chile's lakes region with my friends and Midd peers, Katie and Andrew.  In that time, we were able to see the mystical island of Chiloe (a GORGEOUS island literally shrouded in mist), Lagos Llanquihue and Todos Los Santos (crystal clear waters nestled in between towering volcanoes), and Valdivia (beer and chocolate...what more can I say?) The views were great, the weather was stellar, and my travel companions were top-notch.  It was the trip of a lifetime.  I think I'll leave it at that and let the pictures do the talking, but for a more comprehensive review, please see my friend Katie's blog post.

2.  MY PARENTS CAME TO VISIT!  Tom and Amber (affectionately known as T&A) spent Holy Week with me here in Chile.  I did the whole family-meet-family thing, translated my buns off, and showed my parents all of my favorite haunts in Viña and Valpo.  For their part, they fed me and my friends EXTREMELY well, put me up in luxury hotels, took me on a wine tour, and showered me in love.  They even brought a little hunk o' sconny with them for my host dad (see photo below)!! It was great to see them and show them around this little corner of the world that has come to mean so much to me.  I miss them already.

3.  My Internship.  I've been spending between 10 and 20 hours a week at the urgent care center where I have my internship.  From my time shadowing doctors, I've learned a ton about primary care and, more specifically, about the public healthcare system here in Chile, its strengths and its weaknesses.  When I can, I help out taking vital signs and assist in minor procedures.  Best of all, thanks to my time at the SAPU, I can make fast friends at parties by whipping out a delightfully graphic story about lancing a puss-filled cyst in a man's groin!!!!  ...Any takers? 

4.  School.  Anyone who tells you that study abroad is just a 5-month vacation that you get college credit for...well...isn't me.  I've been going to classes, reading like you wouldn't believe, practicing my written Spanish in my journal, learning to take and develop photos, and studying for tests/quizzes.  On top of all that, I've had to keep Bowdoin happy, taking care of housing and classes for next semester, planning for some on-campus research this summer, and sorting out a few extra projects to spice up my senior year.  

But what all this boils down to is that I've been having the time of my life.  Please excuse the EXTREMELY patchy bloggage and I hope to write again soon!!!  As always, drop me a line if there's a specific topic you want to hear more about. ;)

Attentively Yours,
Kate