Meal Times and Manners

Just to start this off with a warning, I am vegetarian and it can be difficult to find foods in restaurants, but living with a family makes it easier. If you do go out to eat, ask for vegetarian options or you can order something without the meat (sin carne). Depending on the family you are with or the area you are staying you can have three or four meals a day. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and once. If you are going to try to go out to a restaurant, they do tend to close at "odd" times. Typically their lunches aren't until around 2pm and dinner until after 7pm. Then everything closes around 9pm or 10pm so that they can prepare for the late night crowds. 

When you eat at the table, it is very common to have both hands on the table. It isn't considered rude, and you can occasionally be questioned as to why you do not have both hands on the table, although sometimes the younger generations do not. 

It is very common to have tea or coffee with every meal. The coffee here is usually instant because "real" coffee is really expensive. It doesn't make it bad, just different. 

Now, food!!! There are some different things here, at least different to me. And I am loving them all! My favorite one so far is called "manjar". It is like a creamy caramel that you can put on anything. I usually put it on some warm bread, but I have also had it with walnuts. My chilean mom recommends having it with bananas, and obviously apples would go great with it. If you want to try it, you can probably buy some online, but if you feel like trying to make it yourself, I got the recipe from my chilean mom. All you have to do is boil some water, put in a can of unopened condensed milk (completely covered by the water). Then just let it boil for an hour and a half, the top should be rounded out when it's done. You'll love it!! The other new food that I have had and loved is artichokes. It is normal to eat the leaves and the center. But for the leaves, you just pull the "meat" off with your teeth, do not eat the actual leaf, or the white fuzzy part in the center. To cook it you need to boil water and put in the artichoke(s) in for about 30 minutes, or until you can easily pull the leaves off. Dunk the leaves in lemon and oil and enjoy. 

Interesting Tips and Tidbits

There are a couple of things in Chile that may seem odd to most Americans. These things struck me as the most interesting, in both good ways and bad.
For the first one, I do not have a photo, but you should be able to imagine what it looks like (or search for images of it). This item is called a calefont. A calefont is a small water heater that must be lit whenever someone wants hot water. It is usually found in a hallway and, in older homes, the bathroom. In my house, we are to light it when we want hot water to shower and turn it off when we are done. Utilities typically cost more here, so it is not ideal to keep it lit all day, or to even take very long showers.
The second thing is a little more strange, but when you hear the explanation for it, it doesn't seem so bad. When you use the restroom, more often than not, my guess would be about 80-90% of the time, you should throw the toilet paper that you use in the trash, not in the toilet. It may seem unsanitary, but if you throw it in the toilet, you run the risk of clogging the drains since they are so thing. That is much worse than putting it in a trash bin. When visiting, you should ask if it is safe to throw it in the toilet or if you should put it in the trash, just to be safe. The picture to the left was taken in the bathroom of the ISA (International Studies Abroad) office.

The third thing most people will find sad, but I believe that if you are warned about it like I was, it's not so bad. As you can see in the picture to the right, there is a dog eating out of the trash. This is just one of the many dogs that live on the streets of Valparaíso. These dogs sleep in public areas and walkways. They also follow you around and sometimes even walk into restaurants (which happened to a group of us when we went to dinner in Santiago one night). You will see dogs with matted hair and cuts. There are some that have rabies, fleas and ticks. My recommendation is to not pet or feed these animals, not matter how much you want to. You do not know these dogs, so you need to be careful. Like I said, they will follow you around, especially if you are in a large group. Most of the time it is okay. We have yet to run into any dogs that are hostile towards humans, although there have been a few that nip at other stray dogs (nothing too serious though). Today I asked my host mom why there were so many dogs on the street, to see if there was a reason. She said she didn't really know, but more than likely that most of these dogs had homes at one time and the owners didn't want them any more. There is also the possibility that some are breeding in the streets, although I have not seen many young puppies.
Obviously there are many more things that one needs to know about Chile, and they will be coming, I promise.

Finally in Chile!!

After a long car ride to the airport and two very long plane rides, I finally made it to Santiago, Chile. There were at least 10 other people on the same flight to Santiago with me, so it was very easy to meet up afterwards. Once we got everyone collected, we got on a bus and headed to the hotel. Interesting custom that we learned right when we loaded the bus: if someone helps with your luggage or drives you somewhere, you are suppose to give them a tip. Everyone on the bus chipped in 500 Chilean pesos, which is about one dollar. After settling into the hotel, I went to lunch with five other girls that I will be studying with throughout the semester. We later walked around the block to see what else there was and to scout out all of the coffee places. Later on this afternoon we will have a tour and then the rest of the night to ourselves. That should be plenty of time to get acquainted with the stores in the area.

Last Day At Home

Today is my last day to be at home with my family and friends. This past Sunday (July 13, 2014), my parents hosted a going away party for me. It was tons of fun, but reality started to sink in, not that that's a bad thing. There are a lot of feelings that come with the unknown. This semester, I am the only student from CMU going to Chile. I have tried to communicate with my host family and other students that are going, but it hasn't worked out quite as planned, but that happens, so it's not a big deal. I finally got all of my things packed and ready to go. If I forgot anything, I will just have to get it there. I am very excited to get on the plane tomorrow evening and meet the other students when I land in Santiago on Thursday morning.


 On this trip, I will be leaving behind a lot of things that I love. Among them, my fiancée (top left), my dog (top right), my niece and nephew (bottom left), and my parents (bottom right). On the up side, there is always ways to communicate via the wonderful world wide web! Until I see them, and the rest of my family and friends, again, I would like to say that I love them all so much and I will miss them tons! It tugs at the heart strings to say goodbye, but this is a once in a life time opportunity and I am very happy to be doing it, as should anyone who gets the chance. Wish me luck!