scott and i went out to lunch at a place close to us we really like for bread, pastries and empanadas but we had never tried their lunch special before...
so we go to order and scott's like, what are "priétas"? (spelling is definitely wrong there).
the response included something like "relleno de sangre" (filled with blood). immediately, i think, no thanks. i'll have the mashed potatoes, please. scott's like, "i'll take it."
turned out it was blood sausage. if i had eaten it i'm sure i wouldn't have iron problems for weeks.
ironically i had some this past weekend in mendoza, ar because it came in our parrilla (aka bbq meat festival- pronounced "par-eeja" in argentina) and it was quite good, much better than the grilled intestines. yum!
anyway, as we were dining over pig and cow insides (come on, you gotta experience life, i suppose) i told an argentine guy we had made friends with that i used to be pretty much vegetarian for quite a while and his outward, stereotypically argentine response was... sounds pretty boring.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
to be or not to be... a pack rat
before i came down here, i remember at least a couple of people gave me a hard time about bringing so much stuff. they'd say cait: "it's not like you are going to a deserted island. they'll have toothpaste there." i had three bags that were filled with clothes, shoes, teaching materials, toiletries and medicine. i also had two carry-on bags that held my computer and several books. needless to say, i was pretty bogged down. at logan airport, a couple of people wanted to know where i was going with all that stuff. i felt a lot better after i revealed that the stay was more than a month or two, that it was actually 10 months (at least). when i got to the hostel here, a couple of backpacker dudes commented about how much stuff the teachers had. like we were being completely frivolous.
well, last week's experience sure paid off for me in the planning ahead category. i had brought a completely new container of saline solution down with me from the states. unfortunately, the time had come where i needed to purchase more. scott and i noticed that saline solution is not sold at drugstores or grocery stores on shelves like it is in the States. we realized we now needed to ask an attendant if they could produce this magical mystery juice and present it before us so we could know what we were dealing with. as we were bantering back and forth about what the price difference could be, i have to say i was shocked when i found out just how much it was. a bottle of optifree express (around 8 bucks in the States) was 15 dollars!!! What! i couldn't believe it. at home, i buy the cheapest saline solution i can find (which usually costs about $3.50 a bottle). i had noticed a lot of chileans with eye glasses but this was just wrong. scott wasn't as surprised as i was. pancho asked him 2 weeks ago, "why do all you gringoes have bad eyes?" don't know pancho, couldn't tell you.
this experience was coupled with a more positive one. realizing that i had yet again been lapsing into sleeping more, feeling groggier and having little energy, i now know i will never get by in life without my iron supplement. the problem is it is expensive (40 US) and comes in a glass bottle and given that, it doesn't travel very well. my herbalist friend (who owns uncle sam's goods in troy) recommended (through e-mail) that i try siberian ginseng or alfalfa here. feeling a little down that i would have to pay almost 9 mil to be able to put lenses on my eyeballs, i found myself wandering into a holistic, naturopathic store. i looked, i saw...they sold my iron supplement! i couldn't believe it! well how much was it? i winced at the pain of hearing a price.... wait for it... 12 dollars!!! my floradix iron tabs cost a third of the price down here. why?? it doesn't make sense.
well, last week's experience sure paid off for me in the planning ahead category. i had brought a completely new container of saline solution down with me from the states. unfortunately, the time had come where i needed to purchase more. scott and i noticed that saline solution is not sold at drugstores or grocery stores on shelves like it is in the States. we realized we now needed to ask an attendant if they could produce this magical mystery juice and present it before us so we could know what we were dealing with. as we were bantering back and forth about what the price difference could be, i have to say i was shocked when i found out just how much it was. a bottle of optifree express (around 8 bucks in the States) was 15 dollars!!! What! i couldn't believe it. at home, i buy the cheapest saline solution i can find (which usually costs about $3.50 a bottle). i had noticed a lot of chileans with eye glasses but this was just wrong. scott wasn't as surprised as i was. pancho asked him 2 weeks ago, "why do all you gringoes have bad eyes?" don't know pancho, couldn't tell you.
this experience was coupled with a more positive one. realizing that i had yet again been lapsing into sleeping more, feeling groggier and having little energy, i now know i will never get by in life without my iron supplement. the problem is it is expensive (40 US) and comes in a glass bottle and given that, it doesn't travel very well. my herbalist friend (who owns uncle sam's goods in troy) recommended (through e-mail) that i try siberian ginseng or alfalfa here. feeling a little down that i would have to pay almost 9 mil to be able to put lenses on my eyeballs, i found myself wandering into a holistic, naturopathic store. i looked, i saw...they sold my iron supplement! i couldn't believe it! well how much was it? i winced at the pain of hearing a price.... wait for it... 12 dollars!!! my floradix iron tabs cost a third of the price down here. why?? it doesn't make sense.
Monday, June 8, 2009
my school
my school has a really unique design to it. namely, it's completely open to the outside. it is not uncommon to see birds wandering around inside. additionally, if it rains, it rains inside. if it's cold, well you get the idea. why pay for heating? you'd just be heating the outside anyway.
anyway, it's really beautiful, it would only be cooler if there were a lush green forest outside, with delicious air to breathe in and out. here are a few photos.
anyway, it's really beautiful, it would only be cooler if there were a lush green forest outside, with delicious air to breathe in and out. here are a few photos.
Monday, June 1, 2009
salsa
we went salsa dancing several weekends ago. it was totally fun and now i want to take lessons. arturo and cristian spun me around the floor for a couple of songs and patiently worked with me on the steps as i moved just like a gringa would. no, just kidding, i've got rhythm in there somewhere.
these salsa joints come alive at 12:30/1am. the floors are packed and it was certainly intimidating to walk out onto them knowing i was no pro. my feet were completely stepped on. but it's not like what you might think. in a salsa situation, if your feet are getting stepped on, you are the one who's messing up.
it was comforting to know that even chileans take salsa lessons. now i won't feel as ashamed the next time i step into a dance studio, ready to learn from the pros.
these salsa joints come alive at 12:30/1am. the floors are packed and it was certainly intimidating to walk out onto them knowing i was no pro. my feet were completely stepped on. but it's not like what you might think. in a salsa situation, if your feet are getting stepped on, you are the one who's messing up.
it was comforting to know that even chileans take salsa lessons. now i won't feel as ashamed the next time i step into a dance studio, ready to learn from the pros.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
hitchhiking love
scott and my first experience hitchhiking couldn't have been more rewarding.
the morning leading up to said experience started with getting up at 5am to leave the house at 6. we were told by several individuals that there was only one bus (that left one time a day) and headed in the direction we were going (baños morales). the problem was no one could tell us when that was. so, we did what any sensible person might do... we left really early to ensure we would make it in time.
upon arriving at the side of road where the bus was to pick us up (at 7am), we were told by a taxi driver that said bus to b. morales would leave at 9am. that left us almost two hours to chill in front a santa isabel supermarket. scott was not happy to say the least, his water had leaked inside his backpack making him and his sleeping bag quite wet (needless to say, the morning wasn't particularly warm either).
we arrived back at the bus stop at 8:50. now you have to keep in mind... there are about 10 buses (some truncated, some green, purple and blue, some colectivos, others not) that arrive within a 10 minute period of time. some buses don't even stop, you have to know ahead of time when to flag them down. generally there are signs on these buses that indicate the various destinations available. well! we did not see one bus with the sign we needed to see. the taxi driver returned and tried to assist us by asking a bus driver about the 9am bus. his response was that that bus only runs during the summer, the current season being fall. what to do? some hippy looking chilean stuck his head out of the bus and yelled to us that we should get on the bus anyway, at least it would take us in the direction we wanted to head in.
cajón de maipo is the name for a series of towns (pueblos) that head in an easterly direction towards argentina. some towns are not particularly safe for gringos like us to wander in. it was suggested to us that we head to a town called san gabriel and stay there, there are still trees and greenery our chilean friend says. (the further east, closer to the andes and volcanoes the less green stuff there is). disappointed i wasn't making it directly to the baños, scott and i discussed the possibility of hitchhiking. meanwhile, the bus driver (who could only bring us as far as san josé) said we should get off there (the last stop), stand right where we got off his bus and wait for the next one. this bus was 10 minutes behind, traveling (of course) in the same direction.
*side note- without being critical i have to say that logic here in chile can be quite interesting. for example, you sometimes need to buy 5 packages of hamburger meat (all the same size because they are not sold any other way) to get the amount you need. in my mind, why not make bigger-sized meat cartons so people buy and consume less packaging? along the same vein in this little vignette here, why didn't this bus run through to the next town? was there somewhere this bus just needed to be?
anyway, we got off the bus and deciding that this whole thing was quite worth the adventure, we boarded the next one with a final destination of san gabriel. we knew nothing of the return bus schedule and thought we might need to hitchhike home the next day... when we arrived in san gabriel we had the expectation (through yet another conversation with a nice chilean) that some other bus might leave from there and take us to baños morales an hour later. sweet! this is how being spontaneous pays off. well we waited that hour, only to then find out from the carabineros that just kidding, that bus comes in 3 and a half hours. so we said screw it, let's hitchhike. only 100 feet down the road we "hacimos los dedos" and the first car stopped.
scott and cait: ¿adondé van?
truck filled with 4 twenty-somethings: arriba
scott and cait: ¿podemos....?
truck with people: sí
and we jumped in the back of their truck, quickly turning off the dirt road and heading just as they said, up. having no idea what could possibly be "up" especially considering that everything i had read and heard about was east and straight, i was excited at what possibilities this new direction contained.
after several minutes we started to see this...
the morning leading up to said experience started with getting up at 5am to leave the house at 6. we were told by several individuals that there was only one bus (that left one time a day) and headed in the direction we were going (baños morales). the problem was no one could tell us when that was. so, we did what any sensible person might do... we left really early to ensure we would make it in time.
upon arriving at the side of road where the bus was to pick us up (at 7am), we were told by a taxi driver that said bus to b. morales would leave at 9am. that left us almost two hours to chill in front a santa isabel supermarket. scott was not happy to say the least, his water had leaked inside his backpack making him and his sleeping bag quite wet (needless to say, the morning wasn't particularly warm either).
we arrived back at the bus stop at 8:50. now you have to keep in mind... there are about 10 buses (some truncated, some green, purple and blue, some colectivos, others not) that arrive within a 10 minute period of time. some buses don't even stop, you have to know ahead of time when to flag them down. generally there are signs on these buses that indicate the various destinations available. well! we did not see one bus with the sign we needed to see. the taxi driver returned and tried to assist us by asking a bus driver about the 9am bus. his response was that that bus only runs during the summer, the current season being fall. what to do? some hippy looking chilean stuck his head out of the bus and yelled to us that we should get on the bus anyway, at least it would take us in the direction we wanted to head in.
cajón de maipo is the name for a series of towns (pueblos) that head in an easterly direction towards argentina. some towns are not particularly safe for gringos like us to wander in. it was suggested to us that we head to a town called san gabriel and stay there, there are still trees and greenery our chilean friend says. (the further east, closer to the andes and volcanoes the less green stuff there is). disappointed i wasn't making it directly to the baños, scott and i discussed the possibility of hitchhiking. meanwhile, the bus driver (who could only bring us as far as san josé) said we should get off there (the last stop), stand right where we got off his bus and wait for the next one. this bus was 10 minutes behind, traveling (of course) in the same direction.
*side note- without being critical i have to say that logic here in chile can be quite interesting. for example, you sometimes need to buy 5 packages of hamburger meat (all the same size because they are not sold any other way) to get the amount you need. in my mind, why not make bigger-sized meat cartons so people buy and consume less packaging? along the same vein in this little vignette here, why didn't this bus run through to the next town? was there somewhere this bus just needed to be?
anyway, we got off the bus and deciding that this whole thing was quite worth the adventure, we boarded the next one with a final destination of san gabriel. we knew nothing of the return bus schedule and thought we might need to hitchhike home the next day... when we arrived in san gabriel we had the expectation (through yet another conversation with a nice chilean) that some other bus might leave from there and take us to baños morales an hour later. sweet! this is how being spontaneous pays off. well we waited that hour, only to then find out from the carabineros that just kidding, that bus comes in 3 and a half hours. so we said screw it, let's hitchhike. only 100 feet down the road we "hacimos los dedos" and the first car stopped.
scott and cait: ¿adondé van?
truck filled with 4 twenty-somethings: arriba
scott and cait: ¿podemos....?
truck with people: sí
and we jumped in the back of their truck, quickly turning off the dirt road and heading just as they said, up. having no idea what could possibly be "up" especially considering that everything i had read and heard about was east and straight, i was excited at what possibilities this new direction contained.
after several minutes we started to see this...
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
feminism update
i was speaking with someone a while ago who felt quite strongly about domestic violence in chile. his argument was that only low-class chileans actually go so far as to kill women. it was hard to convince him that factors such as financial, emotional and verbal abuse existed in relationships alone (where no physical abuse was present). it was further suggested that only serious physical physical abuse existed in low-class relationships.
this echoes a pretty entrenched belief in social/economic class in chile. class is something you can never escape here. owning land, cars, multiple homes does not change your status. good or upper class in chile means good blood line and that's all there is to it.
there are many of the same beliefs in the united states as well. ideas that only black or poor people are violent (domestically and otherwise) are historically racist as well as very pervasive. even progressive minded-thinkers catch themselves asking "wait, is it really true? are poor people more violent that rich? blacks more than whites?" we have to remember where our attention is focused, whose lives are controlled and monitored more readily by the government. if it is true that low-class are people are the ones committing the femicides in chile, what are rich people doing?
here is another one of those posters from int'l women's day just hanging around valparaíso...
this echoes a pretty entrenched belief in social/economic class in chile. class is something you can never escape here. owning land, cars, multiple homes does not change your status. good or upper class in chile means good blood line and that's all there is to it.
there are many of the same beliefs in the united states as well. ideas that only black or poor people are violent (domestically and otherwise) are historically racist as well as very pervasive. even progressive minded-thinkers catch themselves asking "wait, is it really true? are poor people more violent that rich? blacks more than whites?" we have to remember where our attention is focused, whose lives are controlled and monitored more readily by the government. if it is true that low-class are people are the ones committing the femicides in chile, what are rich people doing?
here is another one of those posters from int'l women's day just hanging around valparaíso...
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Huevónantica
Bringing the Bromance to South America in a big way! Chile has a word for dude and it has so many wonderful uses. It's becoming a great base word for fun word-play, which is something I miss(having the ability) in Spanish. The word is Huevón(alt spelling guevón) and is pronounced (way-ohn). Pancho is a great guy that we've met here and has become a fast friend. He runs a long-term stay hostel called Nativo Homestay and took us with him this weekend to the south of Chile to visit a small town called Coñaripe. It reminded Cait and I of both our home towns as well as some of the small towns up in Northern NY. 
Monday, May 25, 2009
Market Based Chilean Recycling
Over the years, politicians in the US have been reluctant to institute new taxes on drink containers for the purpose of encouraging their recycling. Now this is a fine argument but it isn't solving the problem. Sometimes markets need help being created...and that job can only be done by government. There are numerous examples of this working well for business, re-refined motor oil being one of the best. Here in Chile, there are three main ways that materials get recycled:
This guy is one of many Chileans who you may find rifling through your garbage in the evening. He's not looking for your credit card number... he's looking for your valuable cardboard and other treasures. I love that there is a market for the materials that is strong enough to encourage this behavior. My question though is...why is there so much trash everywhere? Why aren't there opportunities for ME to recycle? How is this related to whether government plays a role? I love seeing these guys and they really work their asses off hauling their catch all over the city. And yes, he is pulling his cart uphill in the left lane...slower traffic to the right!
1) Return of beer bottles in exchange for a new one full of new beer at reduced cost
2) The return of empty soda bottles for the same reason
3) My favorite....the most market based solution possible
This guy is one of many Chileans who you may find rifling through your garbage in the evening. He's not looking for your credit card number... he's looking for your valuable cardboard and other treasures. I love that there is a market for the materials that is strong enough to encourage this behavior. My question though is...why is there so much trash everywhere? Why aren't there opportunities for ME to recycle? How is this related to whether government plays a role? I love seeing these guys and they really work their asses off hauling their catch all over the city. And yes, he is pulling his cart uphill in the left lane...slower traffic to the right!
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Food I've Been Making
While there are legitimate "bones" to pick with the food here in Santiago, the fresh produce, amazing bread and good meat mean that, if you cook it yourself... it's going to be hard to go wrong. Now there are some flavors and spices to be missed for sure, but with a little imagination...dinner at the house can be really, very good. Here are some of my favorites so far.
That picture on the left is a good example of the weird way food is packaged here. That's cream cheese that you squeeze out of a pate tube rather than scraping it out of a tub.
Political Correctness
I feel like there is a fine line that runs in between the political correctness that promotes cultural exclusivity and the mind numbing flavor that serves to get in the way of informed debate and discussion. Finding a way to respect cultural differences and the fact that some language can be damaging to the way that minority populations get ahead...well it seems like the worst job in the world sometimes. Here in Chile; the combination of a language with fewer words and a culture that came of age in geographic isolation makes for an environment where there isn't much pussyfooting around the truth. Cait and I have come across this in the way people talk with each other..."this is my black friend" or "my fat friend". There just are
n't delicate words and so people just say it the way they see it. The other thing that is different is the acceptance of the human body. Sometimes I wonder if the lingual limitations actually lead to an acceptance of what we are, rather than a sensitivity about what we should be. This frankness has even showed itself in job interviews that I've had. In one particularly memorable one, Caitlin and I were interviewing together for some teaching work on the side. The man hiring us is a career educator and in the discussion about what types of classes we might each excel in, he laid out on the table in very plain language what he thought about our strengths, weaknesses, and styles. He garnered this all from our conversations and presented it without any varnish at all. He was spot on and there was a lot of 'holy shit he just nailed me/you/us" looks being exchanged back and forth. At the end of the day though, it's more refreshing than not and it makes you wonder what would be the better system?
n't delicate words and so people just say it the way they see it. The other thing that is different is the acceptance of the human body. Sometimes I wonder if the lingual limitations actually lead to an acceptance of what we are, rather than a sensitivity about what we should be. This frankness has even showed itself in job interviews that I've had. In one particularly memorable one, Caitlin and I were interviewing together for some teaching work on the side. The man hiring us is a career educator and in the discussion about what types of classes we might each excel in, he laid out on the table in very plain language what he thought about our strengths, weaknesses, and styles. He garnered this all from our conversations and presented it without any varnish at all. He was spot on and there was a lot of 'holy shit he just nailed me/you/us" looks being exchanged back and forth. At the end of the day though, it's more refreshing than not and it makes you wonder what would be the better system?
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