Chile: Land of the Asado

So on Sunday I rounded out my 4th straight day of asados, or barbecues. What a great stretch that was! Chileans love to grill, the meat ranging from choripan (chorizo + pan, or spicy sausage + bread) to pork to steak, and basically any other type of meat you could grill. Thursday night I had an asado with David, a Chilean friend of mine I met through a university program designed to help each of us practice our Spanish/English, David's brother, a friend of his, and my boy Shu. We grilled out on the 14th floor of his apartment complex. The views were incredible, and even better once the sun went down and the Santiago lights sprung to life. I can't get over how massive the city is. The lights stretch until the mountains in all directions. It's a city of close to 6.5 million people, but there are so few skyscrapers, that everybody is spread out horizontally instead of vertically as I am used to in major cities. Aside from certain small parts of more "downtown" areas, Santiago is dominated by one and two story houses and buildings. We ended up eating the meat in the dark, as we couldn't find the light switch on the roof, but had an absolutely great time. In the process, I discovered a great beer (imagine that, at a barbecue!). Austral, which is brewed in Punta Arenas, the southernmost major city in Chile (and for that matter continental South America) and is exceptional. I'd tried the standard Lager before, but on Thursday tried the Calafate Ale, made in part from a special berry (calafate) only found in Patagonia. I'm not usually a flavored beer fan, but the calafate was mild enough to add just the right hint of flavor.

The next couple of days of asados were at a friends' apartment or organized by CAUC, the university group that welcomes exchange students and plans events for them, and. Both a lot of fun, even though the security guards at the friends' apartment decided that we weren't allowed to grill on the rooftop deck. Instead we cooked on the stovetop in the apartment and carried the food upstairs, kinda unfortunate. Sunday was a special day here at my house. My dad Leo and brother Luca both had birthdays. After going swimming in the morning with my brother and his friends, I spent the afternoon and evening relaxing with my family and EATING! Leo really outdid himself on the grill this weekend (yes, he chose to cook his own birthday meal). After having my share of shish-kebabs, I dug into the biggest, juiciest steak I've eaten here in Chile. Delicious! There ended up being so much extra food as well that I had to politely keep declining more. Thankfully, I've gotten to eat the leftovers the past couple of days.

We also ate our fair share of deserts, including cake, ice cream, and homemade chocolate chip cookies made by yours truly. After emailing my real mom for the recipe and chasing around for brown sugar and baking soda (the two hardest things to come by) I got to work with the help of my brother and cousin and we whipped up some pretty impressive cookies. A couple of notes. Cookie dough gets WAY bigger when cooked, good to know for next time. Also, baking soda is bicarbonato de soda in Spanish speaking countries if any of you ever have the need to know. I had some trouble tracking this down, figuring out what was baking soda and what was baking powder here, and finally understanding that i had the right stuff even though my family never uses bicarbonato de soda for cooking but instead for cleaning. In the end, the cookies turned out great and my family loved them.

I'm particularly proud of the gifts I gave my family. Luca got the biggest bar of Toblerone chocolate I could find, 400 g, and loved it! My dad got a pack of homemade Dos Equis beer. Good story behind that one. Leo looks inexplicably similar to "The Most Interesting Man in the World" from the Dos Equis commercials. If you guys don't know them, definitely YouTube it. His picture is also in the picture below (the TV personality that is). So I figured it'd be a great idea to get him some Dos Equis. Only problem is, it can't be found here in Chile. So as a solution, I bought a pack of Austral Lager, the closest tasting beer I know of here, printed off my own Dos Equis labels, and wrapped it up. It turned out great and both of them loved their presents.

Last bit for tonight. I ran a 10 km race today at La Católica. It was a race put on by the PE department, and unlike most races in the US, wasn't done for a charitable cause, but instead to encourage exercise. It went great and I beat my goal.

Some More General Reflections

I've got some time here and quickly wanted to fill you in on some more general things going on here in Chile. I'm still making every possible effort to speak Spanish and only Spanish. It's gotten hard, especially when the majority of the kids in my program (and therefore many of my classes) are speaking a lot of English, but it's become quite normal to think and speak in Spanish! I have a lot of Spanish-English conversations, but this hasn't really been a hassle. The way I see it my Spanish speaking could use more work than my understanding, which is usually the way it goes with languages, so I'm getting tons of practice with the part I need most. Although it's been a gradual change throughout the semester, and therefore harder to notice, looking back I do realize that my ability to speak coherently, quickly, and with a semi-decent accent (frikkin "rr" sound!) has improved immensely. As I assume is normal, some days are harder than others, and some times I feel as if I've plateaued in my ability to learn more, yet other days I pull out phrases, words, grammatical nuances, and a general fluidity I didn't know I had. Needless to say, it's been fun and rewarding. The one thing that has been giving me the most trouble is humor. Whereas in English I feel as if I can throw in a quick expression, a bit or sarcasm, or some other quick jive to pull out a bit of humor (you are all free to disagree!), this is harder in Spanish. As a result, I feel as though while speaking in Spanish, I am a more serious and introverted person. An interesting observation I've come across that shows the real valuable parts of spending serious time in a foreign country. Hopefully I'll be able to pick up a little more wittiness soon.

Next I'd like to shed a little more light on my favorite class here, Chilean Politics, Economy, and Culture, taught by an ND guy on staff here, Esteban Montes. First of all, Esteban is one of the most interesting professors I've ever had. Dynamic speaker, great ability to explain things in a manner we can understand, and of course first hand information on our subject matter. He is Chilean after all. The class has really taught me to appreciate the opportunity to study in Chile. I have to admit, I didn't know much about Chile before coming down here, but the country is just dynamic. It's so different from so many other countries I've learned about or visited. Some interesting facts I've learned: It absolutely controls the global copper market (with something like 1/3 of the global production); it has gone from being one of the poorest South American country 100 years ago to the richest per capita today; 4 families own 50% of the value of the Chilean Stock Exchange; the local indigenous population (Mapuche) were the most effective in all the Americas in fighting off the Europeans (this unfortunately means that poor relations between the Chilean government and the Mapuches still exists); despite being so successful at fostering economic growth and eliminating poverty, Chile is one of the most economically unequal countries in the whole world today... and on and on the list goes. I love the experience of being here more and more each day. Both in and out of class I'm learning things about Chile, the US, and myself that I just don't think I'd be learning back at ND due to the different culture and social setting.

Back to my adventures. Last Sunday I went to a Chilean soccer game between Colo Colo and La Universidad Católica. Despite being named after the university where I study, La Cato (as they call the team) doesn't currently have any connection. The name comes from the foundation of the team, when the university was involved. Colo Colo is the most popular team in Chile, often considered "the people's team" and also the most flaite, or ghetto. La Cato on the other side is regarded as the most cuico, or snobbish and elitist (probably from its roots alongside the university). This made for an intoxicating environment. We went with a group of about 18 (nightmare of a ticket organization), all of us sitting amongst the Colo Colo fans, and some of them rooting stronger than others (yours truly included). Needless to say, we didn't let anyone know we actually atended La Cato! The game was at least twice as crazy as the game in Argentina I told you about. It was completely sold out, and even though we arrived about 30 minutes early, we had trouble finding seats and all had to split up. From the report I heard, there were 700 carabineros, or Chilean policemen that often more resemble military, all dressed head to toe in riot gear. We bought tickets in the 2nd craziest section (craziest was all sold out), which in addition to being separated from the calmer sections (keep in mind no section was actually calm) with barbed wire, was also separated from the truly crazies, La Garra Blanca (the white claw) by more barbed wire. The game was intense, the fans were disrespectful, the refs and players from La Cato were verbally harassed beyond belief... AND IT WAS AWESOME. As my program has over twice as many girls as it does boys, I was privileged to sit with 4 gringas from ND amongst hoards of drunken Latin Americans. Boy did the guys love flirting with the girls! My nickname immediately became cuñado, or brother-in-law, because the Chileans all wanted to marry the gringas. After a great game, Colo Colo came out on top 3-2 and we celebrated the whole metro ride home. Great way to spend a Sunday.

Machu Picchu and Peru

Machu Picchu... so where do I start. Well 7 of my friends and I spent the past week in Cusco, Peru, one of the greatest historical cities of the Americas. The main highlight of the trip was certainly the day we spent at Machu Picchu. The secluded and sufficiently hard to get to ancient Inca city took us a taxi ride, train ride, and bus ride to get to, but man was it worth it. I decided to pass on the extremely popular Inca Trail 4 day hike. Although I'm sure it would have been a great time, it was pricey and due to porters, sleeping in pre-arranged camping villages and eating food prepared by the guides, it wasn't really the hiking experience I would have been looking for. I'd much prefer a more individual hike, without the masses of people, and one that relies on my own ability to carry my pack, pitch my tent, and cook my food.

Instead, we took the other very popular Machu Picchu strategy, staying a night at Aguas Calientes (AKA Machu Picchu Pueblo, the town at the base of the mountain containing the ruins) and waking up obscenely early in order to be one of the first 400 people into the park, allowing us to climb Wayna Picchu, the mountain seen in the background of my ubiquitous post-card shot above. The summit promised truly unique views looking down upon Machu Picchu from about 1000 feet above. Our day started at 4:00, when we awoke in our hostel, with plans to hike up to the monument in the dark, assuring us one of the first spots in line when they opened the doors at 6:00. One problem... it was pouring rain! As a steep climb through mud and slippery stone stairs didn't seem to make a ton of sense, we instead went and stood in line for the first bus, departing at 5:30. After getting our spot in the surprisingly long line for such an early hour, we secured our spot to climb Wayna Picchu, as well as the opportunity to explore Machu Picchu before the masses of tourists arrived on their day trip from Cusco..

Through the pouring rain, we trekked our way up the steep steps of Wayna Picchu, stopping frequently to catch our breath in the thin air and snap some impressive pictures (A great excuse to catch our breath!). Machu Picchu itself is not only amazing, but the surrounding mountains are also awe inspiring, their steep, vegetation covered cliffs simply gorgeous. Although at first the rain seemed to be a damper on our special day, the combination of the clouds, fog, and rain added a mystical sense to the already magical place. Weird as it is, I think I actually had a better time at Machu Picchu because it was raining! After descending from Wayna Picchu, realizing we still had a full day ahead of us (it was only about 9:00!), we started exploring the wonder that is Machu Picchu, being simply amazed with ever corner we turned. Without a doubt, THE coolest place I've ever visited in my life, combining natural beauty with amazing architectural accomplishments. It just doesn't seem sensible, let alone possible to build a city in such a remote area. I wish the pictures could do the place justice, but they can't. I found it fascinating to sit up on a high hill and just imagine what the city must have been like with real life, not hundreds of tourists running around.

After Machu Picchu, I realized that the rest of the Sacred Valley of the Inca's, home to many other spectacular Inca sites was going to have a real hard time living up to the thrills of the main attraction. Despite thinking that we maybe should have visited these ruins first, saving the best for last, the ruins of Ollantaytambo, Moray, and Pisac did not disappoint. We spent a night in Ollantaytambo, waking up early to visit the ruins in town and rent a taxi for basically the whole day (for only $10!) to visit the surprisingly distant ruins of Moray and Pisac. I found the concentric circles of terraces used as an agricultural laboratory at Moray to be especially interesting and loved our 4 km hike down Inca trails and stairs from the hilltop citadel at Pisac.

After getting back to Cusco, we spent our time visiting some ruins in town (most notably ancient Inca walls that are still in flawless condition) and and a couple of museums. But the highlight of Cusco was the food. Peruvian food is delicious, cheap, delicious, and cheap. Oh, and delicious. I ate every strange thing I could get my hands on. Topping the list was anticucho de corazon (shish-kebabed cow heart), but close seconds were ceviche (raw trout marinated in lemon), cuy (guinea pig), and alpaca (relative of the llama). For those of you who are curious, the heart tastes very much like regular steak, but with a much more intense flavor and extremely tender, ceviche tastes like lemony sushi, guinea pig tastes like chicken, and alpaca tastes like a mixture between pork and lamb. Man, food may very well be my favorite part of travelling!

A cool unexpected addition to my stay in Cusco was catching the end of a rally car stage on Wednesday night. As this didn't really interest the rest of my group as much as me, I joined the crowds and listened as the cars flew by, engines sounding like airplane jets. The sounds were intoxicating, well at least to a car buff like me they were.

An unfortunate aspect of my trip in Peru was that I missed the rescue of the 33 miners trapped in Northern Chile. Truly an amazing story that has captured everyone here in Chile and many outside. There is some serious Chilean pride in the air for the successful rescue. I'll plan to fill you in on more Chilean news in my next post.

On some other notes, I shaved my beard off. It was great while it lasted but wore off it's appeal to me and became more of an annoyance. It never really looked great, and I had a lot of bare spots, but it showed potential.

I also went to a Dave Matthews Band concert last night in Santiago. Not exactly immersing myself in the South American culture, but hey, it was a great time. Dave has really compiled an amazing group of musicians in his band, joining together for a truly unique sound. Highly recommended for anyone who has the opportunity to catch a concert.

Lastly, I took a trip back to my favorite South American city Valparaíso this past Friday and Saturday (Cusco being my second favorite). This time I went with my ND program. We had a fantastic tour, our guide sharing many of the eccentricities of the city with us. The fantastic colors, old port influence, and openness to showing the tourist everything about the city from the beauty to the ugly parts has really attracted me. I keep describing it as a beautiful city to my host sister and she keeps refuting me that it is not beautiful. It may be unique, fascinating, or interesting, but she holds beautiful is not the right word (probably with some truth).

That's all I've got tonight. I hope everyone back home is doing well. I miss you, but not enough that I want to come home yet! :)

Tour de Mendoza

I just got back from a great weekend in Mendoza, Argentina on Sunday. Along with Chris and Shu, two guys from ND, I traversed the Andes Mountains by bus and spent a long weekend exploring the Argentinian city. It was great to get out of Chile (although I love Chile) and see a different part of South America. The bus trip over took about 6 hours of driving and an hour and a half of waiting at customs at the border, but WOW was it a great bus trip! The scenery was so incredible that this might actually have been my favorite part of the trip. There are not very many mountain passes between the two countries and most are closed during the winter because they are often impassable with the snow. On the other hand, in the heart of summer vacation time, getting through customs can take a whopping 7 hours! I´ve included pictures from the trip above, but the pictures just don´t do the mountains justice. The Andes dwarf you and the road is built on a steep hill with a precipitous drop-off. Driving a car here takes a strong stomach, let alone a 40+ pasenger bus.

To give you a perspective on the rest of the trip, it suffices to say that we slept all of about 7 hours all weekend. Kinda makes you wonder why we even paid for the hostel... We were busy. After arriving real early Friday morning, we found a breakfast cafe, dropped our stuff off at the hostel and set off to nearby Maipu, known for it´s numerous vineyards. Here we rented bikes for the day and set off for one of the best days of my trip so far. After riding down 7 km, with a bats-out-of-hell pace, we stopped at our first vineyard, Carinae, a little boutique winery owned by a French couple. We toured the traditional artesenal factory and reserves and followed this with a delicious tasting. After discovering that the olive oil factory across the street was closed, we set off for another vineyard, Vistandes, a larger, more modern production. And so continued our day, visiting wineries, a beer garden, and a liquor/chocolate/jam factory. In the end, I can honestly say I learned a lot about wine tasting. My expertise went from being able to distinguish a white wine from a red wine before the trip, to being able to distinguish a young wine from one that has been aged in oak. Not bad for a days work!

After the exhausting day, we went to an all-you-can-eat buffet. For $12 USD I ate my heart's content (and more) of Argentinian beef, pork, and chicken. Argentina is known for it's high quality cheap meat, and it certainly didn't disappoint. As for the Argentinian beer, let's just say I was less than impressed. For a country with so many German immigrants, they should really have better beer. We did manage to find some descent ones, but it took a lot of searching and the mainstream brands taste like water (cough, cough... Quilmes). Wine's a better accompaniment to steak anyways.

Our second day was spent wandering around Mendoza, appreciating the relaxed feel of the city. Coming from Santiago, it really feels tiny. The highlight of the day was however a soccer game. Shu and Chris were in a small soccer shop looking at some jerseys when the store keeper told us about a big soccer game that was in town. We didn't have anything better to do, so we made our way over to the stadium, bought some tickets with the crazy fanatics (we supported Godoy Cruz, the Mendoza team, over Independiente), and entered into one of the craziest atmospheres I have ever experienced. I thought ND fans could get wild, but I'm sorry, we don't even compare. I'll try to give you the best impression of the populares section, as they call the seats for the hardcore fans behind each net, as I can. First of all, the entire section was encircled with barbed wire, in order to keep these fans away from the families that were sitting in other sections and probably more importantly, the fanatics of the other team. Inside the barbed wire it was lawless. There were people next to us smoking marijuana, 10 year old kids swearing their mouths off, and fans throwing objects at the cops (they were behind a fence and wearing complete riot gear so no harm was done). Although there were probably over 100 police officers at the game, exactly zero were inside these populares sections. They were however strategically positioned outside of the section in order to prevent the spread of the lawlessness. The game was a blast, as Godoy Cruz breezed to a 4-1 victory. Not too bad for a team we decided to root for only on the way into the stadium, without any prior knowledge.

As for the Argentinians, I loved them. They are characteristically very outgoing and talk with a really cool accent. It was a little tough getting used to it after becoming accustomed to Chilean Spanish but everything worked out. As is the case in Chile, we also found in Argentina that random people on the street started impromptu conversations with us, loving to share whatever tid-bit of their culture they could. In both countries, they are very happy and proud that we have chosen to study abroad in their country.

As for the Chilean side of my weekend, my program attended a beautiful folkloric dance show by BAFONA (Baile Folcrórico Nacional) on Thursday before we headed out to Mendoza. BAFONA is one of the best known Chilean folkloric dance groups and they didn't disappoint, performing dances from Northern Chile, Central Chile, Southern Chile, and Easter Island (owned by Chile). I've gotten a ton of chances to see Chilean dancing while here, but this was clearly the most professionally performed with the best dancers (although I have to say that the show by my two brothers at their school was also pretty awesome!). We were also surprised to hear that the Chinese ambassador to Chile was in attendance and was brought up on stage with many other people from the audience at the end of the show to dance the cueca, Chile's national dance. That guy can move!

Sorry about the length, I just didn't want to leave anything out. I wish I could say future posts will be shorter, but I am heading off to Peru on Thursday to visit Cusco, Machu Picchu, and the surrounding Sacred Valley. Therefore, my next post will probably be a long one as well.