Everyday Life

The last couple days have been full of simple, but very fulfilling, activities with friends. On Tuesday I had my Chilean Folklore dance class. The teacher is energetic and full of positive energy and never ceases to entertain us. We had spent a lot of classes learning the cueca before Chilean Independence Day but on Tuesday we moved on to a new dance from the northern part of Chile. It involved holding holds, chasing after each other, and clapping and spinning circles. As funny as this is in itself, it is always more entertaining when we don't understand the directions and do the wrong ridiculous movement.

After dance we headed to La Vega for lunch. I had been to La Vega (the fruit/vegetable market) several times and had been waiting for an opportunity to eat in the hot lunch section. Katy and I went with another friend from our class and shared Lomo Saltado, Fried fish, potatoes, salad, soup, and drinks for less than $3 per person. Cheap and delicious! The best part of La Vega is the atmosphere. I love watching all the different people come and go, eat lunch, buy fruit, peddle toys, sing songs, and meet friends. La Vega is also a place to observe Chile's stark social contrasts. The freshest and highest quality fruit is sold in La Vega; however, if you are a wealthy Chilean you would not be caught dead shopping there. When I told some of my Chilean friends about eating lunch in La Vega they immediately asked if I had food poisoning.

That night Becca, Katy, and I made Butternut squash soup for Becca's family. I had asked several people how to say butternut squash and nobody could tell me a word other than the word for pumpkin. Little did we know that butternut squashes are only for decoration in Chile! Becca's family thought it was pretty strange when we served them as a soup, but they did admit that it was really tasty!

Wednesday I had to go downtown to try to find an Argentina travel guide. I succeeded in finding a spanish copy but didn't buy it when I found out that it was $60. I checked out some of the other books and they were all expensive. Lesson learned: If I want to be literate I will need to move back to the US.

For lunch I met up with Maca and we went to a soda fountain near Plaza de Armas. She recommended the churrasco and I took her advice (minus the mayonnaise). It was a hamburger-style sandwich with sliced beef and heaps of mashed avocado. I really enjoyed the opportunity to talk to Maca and we had a great time hanging out, eating lunch, and walking around downtown. I had a little time to kill before class so she showed me a neighborhood I had never seen where they sell all sorts of beads and craft supplies- (mom, it was like a mini Sham Shui Po! I'm pretty sure it is all imported straight from there anyways.)

After Spanish class Becca, Katy, and I met Maca and Javi to make fajitas and have a Sex in the City party. The fajitas came out really well and Sex in the City was hilarious. It's a funny show in general but when all of the phrases are translated into spanish it is even better! This led to a quality conversation about all sorts of modismos and chilenismos.