July 31: Emporio La Rosa

SUCH GOOD ICE CREAM. Pinapple Thai= Heavenly. And so many other good flavors I could barely even choose. (I had rose and lucuma the other day).Have I mentioned how I love this city recently?
We went for a bit of a walk today, by which I mean we walked at least 5 miles. Nothing like making sure my clothes still fit...

July 30: Patronato

Today was super great. I woke up after hours and hours of sleeping. My host parents get up pretty late as well, which is awesome, because I never really have to feel guilty about it like I do at home.

After a delicious lunch of rice with vegetables and chicken, I went shopping with some friends to Patronato, Santiago's sort of Chinatown/Arabictown/most amazingly cheap shopping ever district. If you can wear it, chances you can find it there. I got cute converse like sneakers for like $10, although it was awkward because I accidently bought 2 pairs at first before I realized the error. O funny communication fails...

I had a lot of fun back at the house tonight. Dinner was delicious- cheese empanadas with manjar (dulce de leche) and bananas for dessert. Talking with the fam has gotten much easier. I've started to realize that it's ok to talk about myself a bunch. Today for instance, I explained how I often get mistaken for Jewish back at Tufts, especially by rabbis out to look for non-practitioners. My family didn't believe that people thought I looked Jewish and told me I looked Hispanic, which I thought was kind of funny, since I've been mistaken for hispanic for a few times (not ever after I've said anything in Spanish of course.) I've learned when to ask questions too, instead of pretending to understand when I don't.

Some random facts I learned about Chile at dinner:
-Eating the last of something means you're going to get married- in the same way catching a bouquet at a wedding does.
-There is no death penalty in Chile.
-Spiderman= hombrearaña in Spanish
-Bodega= warehouse in Chilean, not bar/corner store
-Our dog has recently gotten fat since he had to have his testicles removed, which explains his, as my host-mom put it "balloon-like" shape
-My family is not against gay marriage (from what I could tell)
-Mapuche (the main Original Peoples of Chile) are engaging in tomas, "takings" of land in the South of Chile.

"Si no buscas nada, nada va pasar" : Valpo Take 2

After an overnight trip to Valparaiso, my sense of time and space is entirely warped and overwhelmed, due to crazy angles and hills and staying up all night. "Valpo" is one of those places that if you are the kind of person who likes it, will get into your head and never quite let you go.

From my overly romantic worldview, Valpo proves that city planning takes all the fun out of things. Vibrantly colored houses are stacked up on incredibly steep hillsides overlooking the port, streets are practically vertical with tons of staircases and bridges, ancient ascensores(cable cars) ferry people up and down hillsides, and graffiti and art fill every corner, even more so than Santiago. Basically, Valpo could best be described as having a hip, working class artsy vibe.

After our quick 1 day trip last week, we felt like we had a lot of unfinished business with the city. So, since it's only $11 to go round trip (cheaper than 2 one way tickets), we figured we had to aprovecharlo.(take advantage of it)

We stayed at El YoYo, a really cool and quite cheap hostel, filled with art, circus silks and trapeze equipment. The staff was really laid back and cool, which took a bit of adjustment for our Tufts type-A selves, but made for a great time. They were so nice that they let us lock up our stuff, gave us the keys and let us go out to dinner before they even remembered to ask us to pay the $10(US) for the night.

We ended up going to a club close to the beach that night called La Sala, which was quite a steal ($4 entry, including a free drink) and an excellent time. It was divided in two parts, one side playing dance remixes of American pop and the other playing reggae/reggaeton and filled with Rasta type characters. Needless to say, a recipe for an interesting evening. One of my friends was dancing with a guy who coincidentally had ten other male friends and we ended up pairing off. Also, a total coincidence, I ended up pairing off with a really awesome guy with whom I had a ton in common. We ended up actually having a real conversation, as much as this was possible in 2 languages (he kept speaking to me in English) in a loud club. I don't know if it was just because I was so starved for a real conversation after 4 days of attempting to not bring up anything controversial around the host fam, but we were talking about social class in Chile. In a dance club. I could not have happier.

So, when things winded down around 3:30, they asked us if we wanted to go to their beach house nearby. Normally, I would never do anything like this. But, remembering advice I'd once received from a teacher in high school that you should do at least one thing a month in college that you would never do normally, I decided to lump up a couple of months worth of crazy doings into one night. After all, we were in a group, they were our age and we could always have called a taxi, had it been necessary.

Best "bad" decision I've ever made. Although we ended up staying up literally all night, we had a wonderful time. The whole group was musical, and just kept singing Chilean songs, both new and traditional, drumming along with various things. They even played La Bamba for us, figuring it was the only song we would know. They were pretty much right about that...It's so funny how other countries have a canon of popular songs that pretty much everyone knows. Not that the US doesn't, but there's so much more variation...

In one of the more brilliant episodes of the night, we learned the cueca, the national dance, from a former national cueca champion, using toilet paper instead of the usual handkerchiefs. (Lol)

It was so great to finally meet Chileans our age, something that has really been challenging for those of us without young host siblings. Corny as it sounds, it was so great to find so much in common with people across hemispheres, cultures and everything else. They were totally a bunch of hipsters, but they backed it up better than most.

And I have a new favorite song now. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzgpJuUyFCY

After a short nap, we hit the city to explore the market and climb a few cerros, to get views of the city. An amateur photographers dream. We ended up climbing a cerro filled with art, including an open air mural museum called "Museo Cielo Abierto."

Then I came home and slept for 15 hours.

Different Names for the Same Thing

Today was...interesting.
I finally got all my problems registering for classes resolved, but in doing so, I missed the entire group leaving for our Orientation at the Facultad de Artes. So, somewhat arrogantly, I figured I would find it myself. Of course, this was also somewhat necessitated by the fact that I had left my phone in the office, which was now locked. Luckily, I had a map, figured out where I thought I was going and proceeded on the subway. Turns out I went to a station that was less than close- there was a better one I could have chosen. And even though the station and the campus were on the same street, that didn't exactly mean that they were near each other in the slightest. I was also worried that my host parents would call me or something and worry since I didn't pick up the phone.

When I finally got to the neighborhood, there was no school where it was "supposed" to be. Surprise! Residential neighborhood. More fumbling with the map book.

Finally, I figured out what street I needed to go to, except no one could tell me where it was. Surprise! Streets in Chile often aren't called colloquially by the same name that's written in the guide. Finally someone figured out that "Allessandri" was what they call Macul...

Once I finally found the building and the orientation, after at least an hour + of walking (not to mention the subway ride too), everything was great. We got a tour of the open air building, which consists of a main spiral staircase ringed by classrooms. Afterwards, we hung out at Plaza Ñuñoa for a bit at Las Lanzas, a cheap eatery/bar which was a great time. After all the stress and the extra walking, I felt deserving of a beer. I tried an Austral Patagona Pale Ale- excellent taste to price ratio. It's so nice to be legal :) On our walk home, there was a lovely sunset against the lovely mountains. And then I watched Dr. Phil dubbed in Spanish with my host mom.(Hilarious) All part of an excellent late afternoon.

Getting lost is kind of my favorite way to get to know cities, except today's incident was no fun because I knew exactly where I was (just not where the place I was going was) and I was on a tight schedule. Luckily, it wasn't in a dangerous neighborhood either. I'm hoping some of the fun kind of getting lost will happen tomorrow- we're planning on going again to Valparaiso, which is pretty much grid-less. Promising!

July 26: Amor

I'm counting today as the day I officially fell in love with Santiago.

These were some of my favorite things about her today- almost like a "To think that I saw it on Mulberry Street"

The cold of the morning in half light
A metro cop greeting every single person who walked by "BuenosdiasBuenosDiasBuenosDias"
Besitos
Vibrant sculptures
Graffiti-especially the political
A Marching band of soldiers playing for the Prime Minister of Dubai
Colonial architecture
A random Alhambra Museum with Arabic patterns
The press of people on the metro and buses
Jazz/Chamber Music concerts
-Mural/Weaving/Modern dance workshops
Sopaipillas-fried dough with squash
Grape fruit juice freshly squeezed by a Peruvian immigrant
Gypsies begging for money
Mullets and dreadlocks
People wandering the streets playing the guitar as they walked
Dogs everywhere
Busy streets
Cathedrals
Marionettes
Cafes and glistening postres
Mountains and sky
Mercado Santa Lucia
Gelato- rosa y lucuma
Cute backstreets filled with outdoor restaurants
Parks and green in the midst of caos
Vistas out over miles of habitation
A flute and guitar duo on the bus
Reggaeton
Pet stores filled with baby daschunds
Tons of old VW bugs
Beautiful Gardens
Home

July 25: Hogar, Dulce Hogar

At last- I've arrived in my home for the next 5 months!
I can't seem to sleep for whatever absurd reason, so I figured I would blog about my new living situation for a bit.

We moved in with our host families on Saturday around noon, after a night of adventure and amusement at our lack of dancing skills at a really cool salsa club called Maestra Vida in Bellavista.

While I really love our group, I'm glad we moved in when we did- sometimes too much time together can be a bad thing. I was drained from orientation more than I realized and its been so much easier to recuperate from my cold,etc. in a house, especially since my room has a heater AND 6 blankets! I was really needing some time alone and starting to long to explore things by myself, which has always been my first preference, especially when it comes to interfacing with cities.

I love my host family!- in general we seem really well matched. They've been so generous towards me so far with everything- heat, coffee/tea, food, laundry. The best way I can describe them is very easy going and warm-hearted.
Margarita, my host mother, was raised in Argentine and is a painter. She's been married to my host father, Arturo, for over 30 years since she was very young.
By appearances, they are opposites- Arturo is remarkably skinny, almost fading away while Margarita gives the impression of being very hearty and permanent. Yet their chemistry as a couple is incredibly palpable- in fact, the only other people I've come across recently who exude that kind of energy have been, well, my actual parents. They have a certain joie d'vivre and ageless which is refreshing and intriguing. Gosh I love people.
Their two sons are also currently living at home. The older son, Rodrigo, is married, but has moved back home to start a business while his wife finishes school in Spain. The younger son, Gonzalo, lives in a separate half of the house with his wife Cynthia, and their two beautiful children. Francisco, aka Coco, aka Palomita (because he makes pigeon noises- pigeon=palomita) is 2 and doesn't talk yet, although he frequently lets out vociferous cries and gets into literally everything that isn't bolted down.
Martina is 3 and is so fun. She's like a little actress already- she dances, and she loves to monologue while watching movies. Today, she was watching Peter Pan (dubbed in Spanish), and she knew everyone's lines and copied their postures from the screen. Kids are so fascinating. Playing with her is good for my language too- even though she doesn't speak actual Spanish a lot of the time, I can ask her questions about the words for things, which is good for her mental development as well as my vocabulary! I'm a little worried though that my less than grammatically correct spanish is going to negatively affect her development, but there are so many other people in the house that she'll barely be hearing my voice at all. Lastly, Blas (not Max), is mainly Arturo's dog from what I can tell, who lives outside the house. He's a fat little beagle- super cute!

I'm overjoyed we don't have a maid. It just would have made me extremely uncomfortable. In generally, my family is definitely upper middle class, but not in a way that is ostentatious in the slightest, unlike so much of the wealth in Chile. Their home is comfortable, inviting, simple and elegant.

I'm also kind of obsessed by my room: it's spacious, warm and has an absolutely magnificent view of the cordillera. Today, it was amazingly clear since it had just rained and AHHHHHH it was gorgeous. I don't know how I'll be able to live without the drama of mountains after this: the other end of the horizon just looks so mundane in comparison.

Like I've mentioned before, Chile isn't so much of a culture shock as it as a reminder of what a nuanced thing culture is. My host parents speak English and half the TV programs are in English with Spanish subtitles so sometimes its easy to forget where I am. But then there are so many little things, such as:

-Does my host mother think I'm rude because I've been consciously trying not to eat a lot and sometimes politely refusing extra food? (Somehow, despite the starchy/meat diet, I think I've lost weight and would love it if it stayed that way)

-Figuring out which forms of address are appropriate and remembering how to conjugate them.(Tú, until I figure out this vos deal properly)Not to mention just trying to remember how to talk.

-Remembering to kiss people upon entering a room, if you haven't seen them for a while or when they enter.

-Quiet times- I'm never sure if things are pleasant or awkward silences, until you get to know people better.

-Using matches to light the stove (This has been challenging, given my lack of skill with fires whether in stick or lighter form)

-Getting used to the heat situation. I've been yabbering on a ton about it I know, but its almost more because its a state of mind than a comfort issue. I love the mentality Chileans have about certain things- on the whole, its not a quickest possible fix/let's throw some money at it and it will go away North American mindset. Problem solving seems way more holistic. Take my room for instance. Rather than having central heating, which would be expensive, inefficient and wasteful given the age of the house, I have a small heater, for when I need it, comforters to cover the windows and many blankets. The end result is similar, more ecologically friendly but certainly wasn't a one size fits all solution. Too bad my carbon foot print is climbing up due to my meat eating/plane flying though.

I know time has also been a big theme on this blog but I realized today how much time I've spent over the last 2 years especially trying to make sure my schedule is full all the time without really reflecting on what I've been doing. I've still been looking for opportunities to travel all the time, but I'm also excited to have a chance to start anew with my host family and the friends I hope to make. Because of where my life has been emotionally for a while, it's been difficult for me to focus extensively on my friendships and relationships. I'd really like for that to change this semester with people both near and far (geographically and otherwise).

Tomorrow, we're going to the national registration office and then I have the afternoon free to explore. I'm thinking I may hit up some artesanal markets or other cheap clothing stores. I have the perfect pretext to buy more clothes- I lost a bunch of things at the hostel and I packed lightly to start with...besides, everyone's wardrobe could use a little more alpaca...

July 18: Social Tour of Santiago

Today was my low point on the trip so far. I was feeling really sick and tired, which was frustrating and then on top of that I felt really challenged ethically by the activities we undertook that day.
We went on a unique tour of the city, looking at the different social classes in the structures where they reside. We started out in Los Dominicos, at the end of the #1 subway line, all the way up near the mountains in Las Condes. It’s an old adobe village full of shops with beautiful woolen goods, metal/wood working, jewelry and for some reason, tons of birds. Although it was super touristy, we had a really fun time and a lovely lunch. For anyone who’s planning to visit, you can get most of the stuff they sell there at the Mercado Santa Lucía or other places for way less, although its not all necessarily as high quality.
We went up to Cerro San Cristobal, to see the best view of the city. It was a pretty clear day for Santiago, so we had a great view. We talked about the difference between the vertical and horizontal cities we saw below us: the vertical representing wealth and power in high rises and office buildings and the horizontal representing the poorer parts of the city, areas with huge inequalities in access to services, education, etc.
We drove on one of the roads that circumnavigate Santiago. Because it’s almost 200 km around the whole city now, there was obviously no way we could see every neighborhood, know here as comunas. Instead, we focused on seeing comunas that were representative of different social classes. We drove through Ñuñoa (where I’ll be living starting Saturday), Florida (the largest comuna in Santiago- middle class from the most part) and several other poorer neighborhoods. Unfortunately, at this point, I fell asleep since I was just feeling exhausted (and we didn’t even go out the night before).
When I awoke, we were in El Espejo, one of the poorest poblaciones (slums) in the city, which struggles with drug addiction among other problems. We visited Casa de Acogido, a drug rehabilitation center, started by an amazing pobladora(community member). While it was amazing to see the sophistication in technique and relative success rate of someone without any formal training, I felt like we were intruding. Of course, it’s kind of hard not to feel this way pretty much everywhere when you’re walking around in a giant gringo pack of 15 people...This feeling only got worse when we went down the street a little to Las Turbinas, one of the worse communities in Santiago, and one that has been that way for over 3 generations, pllagued by at least 60% unemployment, lack of running water, abysmal housing and desperation. While most shantytowns have progressed over time, bettering themselves mainly through large scale social movements, for some reason, this has not happened here.

While I appreciate that we needed to see the conditions of the poor communas, I felt really frustrated by the experience. I felt that if we were going to see the conditions of these places, we should be doing something to help their inhabitants or at the very least, talking directly with them about their struggles rather than about them, as if the inequalities they experience were nothing more than an academic problem. I think in many ways this has been one of my challenges throughout college: to accept that I need to understand the causes of things before I try to take action on them, even if it means I have to study things in a way that seems unnatural and denies a voice to individual suffering. Walk, crawl, run: I guess it’s how it has to work.

Ligero y Peso: July 15th

Today was full of cultural whiplash and varied between being extremely fun and emotionally intense.

After a morning of lectures about the Chilean economy and environment, we went out to see a vineyard, learn about a process that has become a huge part of the Chilean economy in recent years & taste some wines.

Being outside of Santiago was really eye opening. The huge gaps in income and access in Chile are apparent before you even get out of the city, but the countryside in many ways surprised me how low the standard of living appeared for many campesinos. While Chile’s neoliberal economy has been lauded by many, it was fascinating to finally have a visual image of those who have been left behind by growth or who it could be argued are exploited by growth.

On a lighter note, today I had the best meal of my entire life (Sorry Mom!) at San Martino Vineyards where we had a fabulous wine tasting with a huge lunch. The vineyards have been family owned from their initiation, feature artisanal wines and are the only carbon neutral vineyard in South America.

Our wines included:
-Carmenere- from a type of grape that grows exceptionally well in Chile
-Cabernet Sauvignon
-Cabernet Blanc- The best white wine I’ve ever had! I’m not usually a big fan of whites, but this was simply exquisite.

Our tremendously large meal included:
-cerviche: a seafood dish flavored with citrus
-queso fresco- very fresh and delicious seeds
-soup made from a puree of different vegetables
-avocados covered in sesame seeds & tomatoes flavored with lemon
-pan amasada- sort of like a biscuit
-canelones- pasta filled with cheese and jaiva, sweetwater crab that is unique to Chile
-Bouef bourgeon
asparagus
salad with watercress

And for dessert...
-Torta de lucuma- a sumptious treat with merengue and lucuma, a fruit from the North of Chile
-Torta de frambuesa- raspberry tart
-Mousse de mote con huesillos- A unique mousse version of a traditional Chilean dessert drink with peaches and a special grain
-truffle with coconut
-espresso

After touring the wine production on the property, we went to Paine, a community which was proportionally affected the most by the violence of the Pinochet dictatorship. 70 of the 2000 people in the town were "disappeared", mainly because they were active in agrarian land reform moments, which greatly challenged rural social structures. The citizens of the town have created a deeply intimate and personal monument to their desaparecidos, whose fate in many cases remains unknown. We met with one of them, whose father was taken and she explained the moment to us. The design of the monument was very symbolic. 1930 poles of varying heights represent la cordillera (the Andes), as well as the varying ages of the community. 70 poles are missing to represent missing community members. Instead, 70 mosaics, designed by surviving family members stand in memory of those lost. Finally, a tree planted in the center symbolizes how life continues, even in the midst of horrors and uncertainty.

Today reminded me of how much blood has been spilled over the right to have land, whether a simple personal plot or struggles for an entire nation. When you focus on the sadness of a single individual, the big pictures reasons and explanations for conflict make less and less sense.

In the last part of the day, we went to a Mapuche (original people’s) modern dance performance. Despite taking place in what our program’s academic director referred to as a “outdoor experimental shed,” the performance featured very modern lighting, video and audio effects, that included the Mapuche language. The dancing was simultaneously beautiful, fierce, weird and engaging. Seeing how we’ve been talking a ton about the importance of class in Chile, I was really fascinating by the audience, which featured people who were definitely lower class and of Mapuche descent, college students, upper class people and a few children. It really surprised me to see such a wide cross section at one event; it’s not really something you would ever see in the States.

It's Like America, But South (Kind of)

Santiago has been great so far! We’ve been really busy with orientation activities so far (so I haven’t had much time to write), designed to familiarize us with the political, economic and cultural realities of Chile, as seen from many different perspectives. So far, we’ve had talks from 3 historians, a historiagrapher, a professor of literature, an economist, an environmentalist, a famous artist and the daughter of a desparecido. It’s been challenging, but very interesting on the whole.
Getting used to the Chilean accent has been interesting- Chileans drop their ses most of the time, talk super fast and have some really random expressions. While the culture shock hasn’t been too bad yet, every time Chile starts to seem really similar to home, something random and unexpected will happen to liven things up, which I absolutely love.
Since I also enjoy making lists, the following are the top 8 things I’ve found most surprising, different or challenging about Santiago.
1. Must Love Dogs- But seriously, if you are afraid of dogs, Santiago will present problems. Tons of stray dogs roam the streets, which on weekends, when things are empty makes it seem like a ghost town. Tons of mascotas (pets) are around too- people bring them to work if they own small street shops or kiosks. Most of these wear little coats, so it’s pretty easy to tell which ones aren’t feral. Apparently, the Spanish brought 5000 dogs with them when they came to conquer Chile so they wouldn’t be surprised by the Mapuche Indians in the forests. I have no idea if this actually has anything to do with all the dogs today, but it would be cool if it did.

2. The Food - I have mixed reviews on Chilean food. This is mainly because I’ve been eating either the best food Chile has to offer or just regular cheap street food. I’m glad I decided to de-vegetarianize myself because otherwise I would probably have starved by now: meat is in more or less everything here, although there are occasionally vegetarian options. Chilean hotdogs- known as completos- with guacamole, tomato and mayo (nowhere near as gross as American mayo although still not my thing). I’m also a huge fan of the empanadas- bready, savory pastries. They come in two main varieties- cheese which are fried or pino: baked with ground beef, onions, olives, and egg. By now though, I am crazy for vegetables and fruit, which seem oddly absent from the bready and starchy dishes. I act deranged when I see them on the street. I think the situation wouldn’t be so bad if I hadn’t just come here directly from plucking organic, fresh vegetable and fruit goodies directly off the sun-drenched vine back home. There is, however, a ridiculous amount of avocado in everything, which is awesome. Even BurgerKing offers a “Steakhouse Palta”, ie hamburger with avocado. (No, I haven’t been to BurgerKing, they’ve just been advertising it like crazy). One thing I haven’t figured out is how Chileans aren’t all about 20 pounds more overweight. Their food is so meaty, heavy, bready, salty, largely proportioned and they don’t seem to exercise. Another thing I still haven’t figured out is why there are so many Chinese restaurants, despite the fact that I have not yet seen a single person of Asian descent while I’ve been here. There are literally 10 in the area near where our hostel is. The last few days have been AMAZINGLY satisfying cuisine wise- last night we went to a Peruvian restaurant where I had a dish that was a lot like seafood mixed with Chinese style fried rice. Today, we had a fancy famous seafood dish, paila de mariscos for lunch. This is definitely the first time I’ve ever had octopus twice in 2 days. The fish in the dish was mouthwateringly delicious: melt in your mouth soft, buttery and flavorful! I had the best meal ever at a vineyard today, but I’m saving details for a later post.

3. City of Love- I feel bad for young santinguinos. Since pretty much everyone lives with their parents until marriage, most of their, shall we say, amorous displays, take place in parks. Or in the street. Or waiting for trains. Thank God for the invention of the dorm: I can’t imagine America crawling with pololos (couples) the way this city does. Despite the fact that this place was chock full of people in loooove, Cerro (Hill) Santa Lucia is a gorgeous park we visited, right near the center of Santiago, with a great view of the city.


4. Underground- The subway, or metro as it is called, takes some getting used to. It’s way faster, newer and cleaner than Boston or NY’s, which is fantastic, but I got motion sick watching the trains go by, because of their speed. It’s also incredibly crowded during rush hour- people literally pack into cars, so much that you don’t need to hold onto anything because the sheer number of people will hold you up. I think I’m going to become a big fan of taking the buses and/or walking.

5. Baby, It’s Cold (Inside)- Buildings in Santiago don’t have central heating. I’m glad I brought fleece pants for camping - I’ve been wearing them to bed every night which has worked out great.The thing I don’t get is how it is often colder inside buildings than it is outside. But once you get used to the idea that you won’t take off your coat while you’re at a restaurant, it’s less problematic. I secretly like this aspect of Santiago- it must save so much energy! I’m finding it really interesting how some things are really eco friendly- ie heating/public transport and others aren’t, like the number of plastic bags you get while shopping or the use of lots of styrofoam.

6. The Writing on the Wall- Although Santiago can seem like a really bland city at times, especially in the Centro where we’ve had to spend a lot of time, it’s filled with graffiti (artistic and political) and murals, sanctioned or unsanctioned. Combined with the beautiful parks and some really funky architecture, the city has a very artistic feel if you look hard enough.

7. Cigarillos- People here, young and old, smoke a lot, which, along with Asia, explains why tobacco companies are still doing fine despite how relatively few people smoke in the US now. We’ve only been to one club so far, but all the teens & 20 somethings managed to dance WHILE smoking. Despite the obvious fact that this is slowing killing them, it’s oddly admirable for the amount of coordination it must no doubt require. It’s also weird- I haven’t seen a single add for either a cigarette brand or quitting smoking.

8. Lack of Coffee (Sin Piernas)- Nescafe is not doing it for me. Although I recently managed to cut my caffeine intake to one cup a day over the summer, I still reaaaaally like that one cup. Here, at least in the central areas, the main option for finding real coffee is a type of coffee shop known as cafe con piernas (legs). As in, women in skimpy dresses serving you coffee. I’ve been on a big feminism rant of late, so I’m not cool with yet another example of objectification of women. It’s pretty rampant around here. Maxim features completely naked women on every newspaper stand and catcalls, as well as this strange sucking thing Chilean men do are pretty common.(Although less bothersome than I expected- although I haven’t actually walked around alone yet) At least, it could be argued that women have more formal political power- Chile has already had a female president. Today, tired and craving my buzz, I caved. If I ever were to move to Santiago permanently, my first move will be to open a “cafe sin camisas” shop. That’s right, men half naked serving coffee. What woman wouldn’t want hot abs with her hot drink? I think there’s a really under- served market here.

A Few Minor Concerns

So, I am leaving tomorrow. This is kind of crazy, because I have definitely never been away from home for an entire 6 months. I'm super excited though, barring a few minor reservations. The 3 Ms, as I have started calling them, are:

Mayonnaise
Apparently Chileans are super into their mayo (see photo above) It is not an exaggeration to say that I loathe mayonnaise with a hatred that most people reserve for drug dealers or extreme weather events. I’m worried that my host family will serve me some sort of horrible mayo dish and I will have to pretend to like it in order to not to confirm negative stereotypes about Americans. Perhaps I will start some sort of Mayo Haters Anonymous group while I'm over there ("Hi, my name is Emily and I was forced to eat mayonnaise last week to be polite...")


Meat
After spending nearly 2 semesters as a vegetarian, I decided this summer to go back over the meat eating side of things while I’m in Chile, mainly for convenience. I’m laying a few ground rules though:
1. I will eat meat when my host family cooks it.
2. I will eat meat in culturally relevant situations ie to try new foods or not offend people
The problem is that I'm still kind of grossed out conceptually by meat eating, which I have been dabbling in on occasion. Once you seriously come to process the realities of meat, it seems awfully uncivilized to go back to sticking animal legs in your mouth again.

5. Max
Despite not knowing where in the large metropolis of Santiago I will be living, I have been informed that my Chilean host family has a dog, who interestingly enough is named Max. While I am generally excited about this, I'm somewhat particular about dog breeds. I hope Max won't take a disliking to me or vice-versa.

In general, I’m glad my fears are pretty mundane. Of course I'm worried about other things, ie, being homesick or not understanding a single thing anyone says due to a heavy cloud of slang. But in general I couldn't be more excited.

Greetings!

...And welcome to my humble travel blog. I'll be living in Santiago, Chile for about 6 months, going to school and hopefully on some random adventures. The title of my blog comes from a larger line in a Neruda poem "No tengo tiempo ni tinta para todos" (In the less poetic English, "I don't have time or ink for everyone") I think he was trying to express how easy it is to want so many things to happen without actually having the ability to make them happen. As a International Relations/Spanish/Latin American Studies/Environmental Studies/Anthropology/Political Science/Peace and Justice Studies/Urban Studies enthusiast, I tend to be a little short on time while at Tufts, never mind ink time for personal reflection. For now, instead of ink, I leave you with the virtual word. Hope you enjoy!