Looking Back One Year

It's amazing to think that one year ago today I was embarking on a journey that has completely changed my life. And while plans didn't necessarily pan out like they were supposed to, today is when I emotionally left for the amazing country of Chile.

Imagine spending weeks preparing for a big trip, packing, running errands, making sure you have everything, etc. Then the day finally comes when it's time to leave. You get up early, get yourself ready, say goodbye to everyone and head off to the airport. Only to find out that your first flight is delayed therefore preventing you from catching your next two flights. Man, that was not the best day. I was so excited to leave and get to Chile a day before orientation and spend time with the other people in my program. But no, I was forced to wait a whole other day! Moral of the story: Don't fly United Airlines.

However, when the next day came and I made my flights and made it to Santiago, it was such an amazing feeling. I can't believe a whole year has passed already. I miss it every day.

Has Anyone Been Here?

I have been wanting to go to this restaurant for a long time now. I only wish I had found out about it before my birthday so I could have chosen it for my family dinner location. I'm hoping that I don't have to wait until my next birthday to go! Barrio describes themselves as "an approachable and inviting representation of modern Mexico" with two locations, one on Capitol Hill and one in Bellevue. After looking at their menu, I was excited to see that they have some of my favorite dishes that I ate in Chile such as cazuela, chorizo, escabeche and, yes, PISCO for drinks. You can check out their full menu of food and drinks on their website here. I hope it's as good as I imagine it to be. Anyone want to go soon? What special occasions are coming up?

Missing Chile

So it's been almost three months since I have returned from Chile and I have to say I am uber missing it something fierce. There are many, many things I miss about it since it was a great experience, but here are a few things I miss the most.

1. The food. I'm so sad that we don't have the same stuff here because Chilean food is so delicious. Lomitos, poroto, escabeche, sopapillas, empanadas and really good bread. Mmmm. I could go for all of those right now.

2. The word "kemchup". Haha! Okay, I miss speaking Spanish in general, but I was having a bad day the other day and remembered the word "kemchup" and it totally cheered me up. The word for "ketchup" in Chile is "ketchup" but my friends and I were out at a restaurant one night and we were discussing that even when you say "ketchup", they don't really understand, but if you say "kemchup" then they understand. It's a funny word...

3. The mountains. I had the most unbelievable view of the Andes from my home town and I miss waking up every day and getting to see the sun shining off the snow. It was so serene and made me happy to be there every day. Yeah, we have mountains here, but I can't see them from my house.

4. Traveling on the weekends. After a long week of teaching, there was nothing more fun than going to different cities or countries during the weekends to see friends or see awesome cites. Believe it or not, the buses in Chile were so comfortable and traveling on them was very calming. I miss being able to just take off on a bus and visit a different city.

5. Everyone I met!!! I seriously met some of the most awesome people on this trip and I miss them all! We are all spread out over the world right now and I only hope there comes a time when we can all come back together and reunite in the future!

Goodbye Chile

After leaving San Felipe (with a few tears), I returned back to Santiago to spend the last few days in Chile with my amazing friends from the program. We had an amazing time, but it was also quite sad as we had to say goodbye to another group every day. But we definitely used our time well, visiting the Santa Lucia market (every day) for shopping, visiting a huge cemetery that was absolutely beautiful and, of course, enjoying to great length the nightlife of Chile before we all departed. Now we're all back in the states or off on new adventures and I miss everyone and I miss Chile! There is still so much in South America that I haven't seen yet and I cannot wait to go back and see more. I hope I can return soon. I definitely recommend it to anyone that has interest in traveling, South America is amazing and now my second home!

San Felipe Celebration

San Felipe was a cute little town to live in during my time in Chile. The view of the Andes from my street was so amazing, it looked like it was painted on the sky. The buildings were all so colorful and cute and the church was stunning. My last weekend there was the celebration of 100 years since the founding of the city! I was so lucky to be there during that time because there was a parade and an "artesania" which is basically a market that sells all types of souvenirs and artifacts from all over South America and beyond! Boy, was I in heaven. I think I went to the market three or four times before I was finally satisfied with all my purchases. It was real fun to walk around the market and see all the homemade things that people make in Chile. Although the parade was hard to see, I managed to find my school and take pictures of them as they began marching. It was fun to spend time with the kids outside of school for a bit and I felt proud to be part of the group! A great last week in my Chilean home town!

Parrillada

As if I hadn't eaten enough delicious stuff in Chile, here's another one to add to the list. Parrillada! It's basically a giant serving of meat with some potatoes thrown in there for good measure. For my last almuerzo together with my whole host family, we went to a small town outside San Felipe called Putaendos to enjoy some parrillada. Our meal started out with some delicious and still warm bread, followed by picada (picking plate, no mas) with escabeche, olives and arrollada (pork rolled in spices and then rolled up in it's own fat...delicious!). Then came the parrillada. The waiter basically sets down a small sized barbeque right in the middle of our table covered in chicken, beef and pork. Not to mention intestines and coagulated blood sausage, both of which I tried and both of which were very good! Even though there were five of us and we ordered the parrillada for four, we only finished probably half the meat that was on there! It seemed like the "four" is probably four giant men. We definitely had some good leftovers for a few days. Yum!

Arica & English Winter Camp

Arica, Chile was a beautiful city. It is pretty much the northern most city in Chile, basically on the border of Peru. I was so happy I got to visit, plus it was a great escape from the cold of San Felipe. Arica is known for having spring-like weather year round and, although it wasn't too sunny, we definitely felt the heat. We got to stay in an amazing hotel (with the best breakfast buffet ever) and it was super close to the center of town and even next door to a casino. One of the best sights of Arica is the "morro" which means cliff in Spanish. It's right on the coast, but you can see it from the center of the city. We were lucky enough to have someone take us to the top of the morro where they had a war museum, a giant statue of Jesus and lots more historical elements. But of course, the best thing was the view of the city and the water from the top! The night life in Arica was also really fun. One night we just happened upon a car show (I kinda felt like I was in "The Fast & The Furious). We visited a few different types of bars including the relaxed open air bar with a great view of the center, a salsa bar and one with a live band. Of course the real reason we were there was to be teachers at an English Camp during the Chilean winter vacation. It was amazing to be with a new group of kids who were so excited to learn English and already knew so much! We got to work with a Chilean student studying to be an English teacher (who was probably better at teaching English than I was). And I enjoyed spending time with other people from my program finally! We had such a good time together. It was a good break from our hometowns and the difficulties we were having at our own schools. It was a great week and definitely a highlight of my time in Chile.

Stay Tuned...

I promise I'm not gone. I'm just enjoying my last few days here in Chile and will update when I'm back home in Seattle!

Up: Una Aventura de Altura

Today, my host mom and I went to see "Up: Una Aventura de Altura" at the local theater and it was super cute! At first I was a little apprehensive seeing a movie in Spanish. I was worried that I might not understand it, but I actually was very impressed that I understood what the characters were saying. I'm getting good at this Spanish stuff! And there are parts where there isn't a lot of talking, so it would have been enjoyable even if I didn't know what was going on. It is a very cute story and I think the fact that it was in Spanish actually added to the cuteness. Our favorite character was the rotweiller dog because he was just like Polo (the dog we live with)! The dogs were absolutely hilarious, but all the characters were great. Definitely a must see!

Chilean Delicacy #68,490

DEEEEELICIOUS! This dish is called "Lomo a lo Pobre" (Steak for the Poor) and it is sooooo good. It consists of a good piece of steak, sauteed onions and a fried egg all on top of a giant pile of french fries. Who wouldn't love this!? I have enjoyed this a couple times here, but it was especially delicious the morning after a good night of partying. Mmm! It's definitely a dish I'm bringing back to the states with me. Can't wait to eat it again!

Zapallar

This weekend I went to Zapallar to celebrate the 4th of July. The town was super beautiful!!! I only wish the weather was nicer so I could appreciate it more. It reminded me a lot of Hawaii, just smaller scale of course. But we had a nice weekend, enjoyed some empanadas, good music and of course some big beers! It was quite the fiesta and nice to get a group together.

Los Andes

Today, mi familia and I took a mini trip to Los Andes to do some shopping. Ok, it's not exactly a mini trip. It's basically like if we were going to Bellevue from Seattle. But it was nice to see a new part of Chile. And they actually had a mall! So I checked out some of the shops. Lots of cute shoes, but I didn't purchase any. I did however replace my glass ring that broke last year with a new one! Then we went to a store called Hiper Lider which I'm guessing is the Wal-Mart of Chile. A grocery store/department store/electronics store all in one. Believe it or not, I managed to find a cute dress there! Not a wedding attendee dress (still on the look out for one of those), but a cute dress for going out. Also, I found PHILADELPHIA CREAM CHEESE!!! My host mom bought me some cream cheese yesterday, but it wasn't quite the same. So finding the Philly kind was like a jackpot. It was a very nice little trip!

Poroto

Another delicious dish from Chile!! This one is called "poroto" and is basically just beans and noodles in a thick broth. It is so tasty and perfect for cold days (like every day here in the winter). I will have to get the recipe from my host mom so I can make it when I get home because this is definitely something I want to eat again and again! Que rico!

Neverland Sushi Bar

So last night I ended up in a pretty weird situation, but I got some free drinks and free sushi out of it! I went with this guy to Neverland Sushi Bar in El Centro of my city and it was a pretty cool place. I would have enjoyed it more under different circumstances, but I thought it was cute how they had theme nights. We happened to be there on Country Night and all the waiters and bartenders were dressed up in cowboy hats and scarfs and boots for the occasion. It was really quite cute. The sushi, of course, was not as good as what you can find in Washington. We ordered the Ebi Roll which was shrimp, cream cheese, rice and avocado, however it was mostly rice and not enough of the insides to stand out. Plus the rice was a bit mushy. Maybe that's just the way they make it here, but I would definitely stick to Seattle sushi! But it's definitely somewhere I might return, perhaps with different company.

Termas Jahuel

So this is a bit overdue, but I just received the pictures this week. A couple weeks after I arrived here, while the school was on strike, I visited Termas Jahuel Hotel & Spa. This was more like a resort! It was secluded up on the mountain side, you needed to ask permission to enter, it was like nothing else I've ever seen here in Chile. This place had an indoor and outdoor swimming pool, a spa, four or five buildings for rooms, tennis courts, hiking paths, it is ridiculous. I went up there with a colegue to talk with the executive chef of the restaurant to ask for students from my Liceo to come up and practice their skills. But I mostly just looked around in awe. I asked about the prices for the spa and how much it would cost to stay, surprisingly it isn't that expensive. But I guess compared to other things in Chile it would be.

Mapuche Celebration

This past weekend, I was invited to a traditional Mapuche celebration. Mapuche are the indigenous people of Chile and the ceremony was very cool and very similar to a Native American ceremony. Lots of chanting and dancing. I was very flattered to be a part of it. Plus it was a gorgeous day out so I spent most of the time sitting outside in the sun. After the ceremony, we had a delicious feast of pan c/ pebre (the BEST pebre I've had so far), arroz, papas, carne y ensalada. (Bread w/ pebre, rice, potatoes, meat and salad.) It was definitely a cool experience!

La Sebastiana

One of the sights we visited in Valparaiso was "La Sebastiana" which was Pablo Neruda's house. This is where he wrote most of his poetry and was inspired by the view. Unfortunately it was a little cloudy on Saturday so I didn't get the best shot, but you can still see the amazing view of the port and ships. No photos were allowed inside the house, but it was so cool. Each room was a different color or design and he had collections of the coolest antiques. I'm sure they weren't necessarily antiques back then, but they are now! My favorite was probably the horse from an old carousel. The house was architecturally very interesting because he bought it when it was incomplete because the original designer had died before he could finish it. Neruda made some interesting changes, but it turned out very cool. Definitely a place worth visiting.

Valparaiso, Part 2

So this past Saturday, a friend from the program and I decided to take a day trip to the city of Valparaiso. The city was soooo pretty and I got super excited when I saw the ocean. All the houses are different, very vibrant colors which is a huge change from the US, but I liked it a lot. When I have a house, I want to paint it bright blue. The city is very hilly and we're not talking small ones. The hills are very steep and high, so in some areas they have "acensors" which are like hill elevators. Unfortunately they are closed on the weekends, so Dominique and I had to walk. It was great exercise. The city is a port town and there were some big ships in the harbor. It definitely felt like a pirate town...so of course I loved it. Plus it was full of cool graffiti that was more like art than vandelism. I definitely want to go back and visit more museums. One day here was not enough!

I Heart Choripan

Soooo my favorite food so far in Chile has got to be the Choripan. As most know, I am a big fan of hot dogs, and this is definitely similar although much, much better. A glorified hot dog if you will. It is called Choripan because it is Chorizo (a fancy hot dog) + pan (bread) and there you have it. Chorizo is muy muy tasty. Then you top it off with some pebra (a salsa like condiment) and mmmm, delicioso! I plan on making this forever and ever. And it's only an appetizer! More to come from Chile "asados" (bbqs) later...

Santa Lucia Mercado

Yay my first Chilean post! The photo above...I actually saw that building today! It was my favorite building of the day and I don't even know what it is. Unfortunately it was dark when I saw it so I didn't get a good picture of my own, but I plan on going back to get more. But it's right across the street from the Santa Lucia Mercado which was the first outing I've actually been on here in Santiago. It was just a cool open air market, similar to the Fremont fair, etc. But it was nice to get out and explore. We've mostly been doing teacher training lately so we don't have too much time to get out and about in the city so I'm glad I'm staying for a few days after the program. In a couple days I'll be shipping out to San Felipe where I will be teaching high school kids! It's right at the foot of the Andes mountains so even though I'm not on the coast, I'll still fit right in cause Seattle has coast and mountains. Maybe my family will take me snowboarding!! The internet is very available so be prepared for lots of updates about how awesome Chile is!