Falling Behind

So it has happened again. I have fallen behind on my blogging duties and I apologize.

Not a whole lot has been going on, so there isn't really a whole lot to talk about. Today a group of 8 of us went on a tour of some museums in Santiago. We started out having a lecture on the history of Chilean art in Spanish.

If you read any of the blog post from orientation, I probably complained about charlas, or long-ass lectures that put us all to sleep. This lecture was in the same room, but wasn't half bad. If you are reading this, you probably know that art isn't really my thing, so if the most prominent Chilean economist could put me to sleep, than an art history professor certainly could, but didn't!

After the lecture the 8 students, Soledad, the program assistant, and the lecturer headed out onto a bus and off the the museums. We started with the Museo Colonial which, as expected, is full of colonial art from Chile. Basically a lot of European influence on religious themes. The best part of the museum was the architecture and the courtyard. There were some cool things there, but nothing that really caught my eye.

Next on the list was Museo de Bellas Artes. This is a really nice building with a couple of sculptures and paintings. Not much to say since I'm not an artist, but it was worth hearing it's relationship with Chile. It doesn't get a much funding from the government at all, which is odd since it's a pretty big attraction. It's the same as if the Air and Space museum didn't get funding. Not cool. The tour guide told us that when it rains, the roof leaks. I'm no art major, but I don't think that's good for the paintings.

The next stop was lunch. We were walking through the theater district and passed by a café with a salad bar. I didn't let the group pass that one up so we slapped 4 tables together and ate ourselves a meal. The salad bar was amazing! Yeah, some vegetables had mayo on them, but hey, it's Chile, and if there is a salad bar, that's incredible. So what if it comes with a little mayo. I also tried ceviche for the first time today.
The flavor was great, the texture was terrible. I ate most of it, but couldn't finish it. Dessert was chocolate mousse. Now that, I could finish!

The next and last stop on the tour was the Museo de Artes Visuales (MAVI). Again, not much to say, but art students get in free, so that was a plus.

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Blogging is Hard.

Believe it or not, I try to keep my entries short. I'm too lazy to keep up with this blog everyday, so when I do sit down and decide to take the time to process everything that has happened recently, stuff just starts to spew out. Since this is a blog, I don't feel the need to censor myself in the least. If you are reading this, your time is no more valuable than mine, sorry.

For those of you who don't know, I love food. I like shopping for food, preparing food, cooking food, and of course, eating way to much of it. This entry is just a quick summary of food and things related to it.

Monday:
Kiwi's and Nescafé instant coffee (To give you an idea, Chile RUNS ON Nescafé.)
Fish-stick-like patties, couscous, stewed veggies
Cazuela de vacuno

Tuesday:
Fresh-baked, French-style bread with homemade jelly of the plum and fig varieties and Nescafé
(My host grandmother owns a farm and grows a bunch of produce that my host mom uses to make jams, preserves, and canned fruit. YUM.)
I went to the supermarket, bough some yogurt and raisins for lunch. Nothing spectacular, but delicious. The yogurt I bought came with granola and dried fruit already in it. It was interesting. Not the best, but still good.
My host mother came home from a conference on Tuesday from the south of Chile and brought back fresh salmon for dinner accompanied by boiled potatoes and "salad" (just lettuce).

Tuesday dinner was actually quite interesting. There were 6 of us sitting around the table, my host mom, me, my host cousin, two students from last semester and one of their brothers. My host mom is certified to teach French. My host cousin is French. One of the two students from last semester is from Paris and the other and his brother went to school in France for many years. Picture this... I haven't taken a Spanish class in over a year. I decide to study abroad in Santiago, Chile and do a homestay to make sure I get maximum exposure to the language and culture. The first dinner where there are more than two people sitting and eating is defined by the French conversation between everyone except me. It was weird to say the least. I just didn't expect to be hearing so much French while studying abroad in Chile.

Wednesday:
Corn flakes and Nescafé
Cazuela
White fish from antarctica with rice made with cocoa. The rice was really interesting. I have never seen nor heard of rice made this way, but it has a very pleasant flavor to it. It has just a tinge of sweetness which complements the lemon juice sauce of the fish so nicely.

Thursday:
Cornflakes and Nescafé
Salmon, boiled potatoes, shredded cabbage, and a potato casserole of sorts. It was layers of potato filled with sour cream. It was delicious!
Flank steak and pasta with a white wine and alfredo sauce and shredded cabbage on the side

I'm thinking empanadas tomorrow!

The True and the Bored

Queridos todos,

No tengo mucho que contar pero voy a contar algo de las últimos dos dias para mis amigos mejores (son las "true" del título de esta entrada quien lean el blog).

La Comida Chilena:
Desde mi llegada a la casa chilena, he comido muchas cosas deliciosas como pescado con yerbas, zapallo italiano en una salsa balsámico, pasta con salsa bolognesa, biffe a lo pobre (un filete de carne abajo de un huevo frito sobre una came de papas fritas), pizza, sopa de zapallo, vegetales guisados con cuscús y pescado frito y cazuela de vacuno (una sopa de choclo, arroz, carne, zapallo, y patatas).

La Fraternidad Chilena:
Llegué a mi casa chilena el sabado pasado, el 25 de julio. Conocí a un hombre quien se llama Dante. El es un mozo de la casa de Magdalena (la dueña de la casa que todavía no he conocido porque está al sur por trabajo). ¡Dante concina muy bien! El cocinó el pescado con yerbas, el zapallo italiano, la pasta bolognesa, el pescado frito con cuscús y vegetales guisados, y la cazuela de vacuno. Dante fue el primer hombre a quien conocí. El segundo fue otro (casi) extranjero quien se llama Pierre. Él tiene 15 años y estudia en la Alianza Fracesa, aca, en Chile. El tercer hombre a quien conocí fue mi hermano aca, se llama Tomás. Él tiene casi un poco más de treinta años, está casado con Fransica y ellos viven cerca de aca (no en casa). El próximo hombre que encontré fue Matías, el otro hermano chileno que tengo aca. Él tiene 29 años y vive en casa. El próximo (el quinto), fue Javier, otro mozo de la casa quien viene en los dias que no viene Dante (casi dos dias de cada semana). El sexto y el septimo hombres a quien conocí son un alumno quien vivía aca el semestre pasado y su hermano. En resumen, he conocido a 7 chicos en esta casa sin conocer a Magda(lena), la dueña de la casa. Además, ella tiene otro hijo, se llama Diego, quien está trabajando en Brasil ahora. No sé si voy a tener la oportunidad de conocer a él, pero espero que sí. Vamos a ver. Con la suerte que tengo ahora, estoy seguro de que vamos a encontrarnos antes de que llegara el fin del semestre.

If anyone cannot understand the spanish, please let me know and I will post the English translation.

Despacio

Day three started out pretty much like all of the rest - a morning run to the park and then a small Chilean breakfast at the Hostel (their equivalent of frosted flakes, vanilla yogurt (a little thinner than the average American variety) and café (two cups)).

The twenty of us boarded a bus and headed to Ñuñoa for a couple of lectures on Chilean society and history, which were punctuated with café and galletas, of course!

After the second lecture, the group walked across the street and sat down to lunch.
Pan y pevere (a Chilean salsa of sorts)
Sopa de pollo
Salmón y ensalada (I traded half for pollo y arroz)
Tutti Frutti (homemade fruit-cup with kiwi, apple, pineapple, and banana)

Pasamos la tarde en La Legua, una población en Santiago que está separada por tres partes; Emergéncia, Nuevo, y Viejo. Parece como una favela de Brasil. Encontramos un grupo de viejas que nos contaba de sus vidas allí. Este lugar es infamoso por las drogas y la violencia que consumirlo. Las viejas nos decía cuentos de violéncia, muerte, y tristeza, pero todas se rieron con nosotros. Además de la tristeza de La Lengua, aprendemos de los actividades contra las drogas y la violencia. Por ejemplo, hay un grupo que incluye jóvenes, adultos, y más quién baila en vez de se hace miembro de pandilla.

It was interesting to learn about and see the vast disparity of wealth in Santiago. There is not much racial discrimination because there is a lack of diversity in general. They have found a way to separate based on economic status, which is something worth mentioning. I'm sure there will be more information on this theme once I get a more complete understanding.

Hasta luego,
Dan

Santiago: Day 1

I'm sorry for not posting on my first day here, but as you can imagine, there was a lot going on and not enough time or energy for blogging. (For those reasons, and because the internet was difficult, I am posting today.)

The majority of us were on a flight from Miami to Santiago (MIA to SCL) and we met up with the other two students on our program who flew in from Dallas to Santiago. After a little fiasco involving Honey, the Chilean FDA and a hefty fine, all of us boarded a bus and headed for the hostel (but not before the two guys who were handling our bags awkwardly asked us for tips right after our program administrator told us not to give them anything). Just imagine twenty tired Americans staring at there feet feeling guilty, but giddy because the adventures are about to begin.

Llegamos al Hostel y recibimos nuestros cuartos, compañeros de cuarto, y los llaves. Despues de llevar los equipajes arriba al 4 piso, comimos nuestra primera comida juntos en el Hostel. Teníamos huevos, pan, mantequilla, marmelada, y torta (como bread pudding) y café con leche. No soy afficionado de café pero yo sé, después de tomarla, que este café es delicioso.

After breakfast in the Hostel, the group of 20 went for a walk around the area. We ended up stopping at the supermercado for empanadas for lunch.

Later, we went to the Program Coordinator's office and had a little meeting about safety and the plans for the rest of the orientation.

The 20 of us got on the Metro and went to dinner at Las Vacas Gordas en Santiago. When we got back to the Hostel, no one had much energy and many went to bed pretty early.