Party For One

I woke up on Sunday and was ecstatic that it was not raining, so I decided to make my first trek to the mall. The mall is a big outing for me since I don't have a car. I put on my sneakers, bundled up in comfy clothes, and took off to the metro. The metro is a 15 minute walk from my house and the walk from the nearest stop to the mall is about another 15 minutes. The city was dead because A) almost everything is closed on Sunday (except the mall) and B) it was Father's Day. 

On my walk from the metro stop to the mall, I made a few stops which you will see in the photos. The first was the Military School where all the Chilean military are required to go. A side note - Chile is about 2,600 miles long (only an average of 100 miles wide) and the entire border is lined with soldiers. My second stop was the Hyatt. Everyone has told me it's the nicest hotel in the city; "the most American." Therefore, I stopped in to check it out.  There really aren't that many big hotel chains here - there's a Ritz but it's small and a Marriott - and that's about it.

I spent about 4 hours at the mall - I know you're not surprised - but you WILL be surprised that I only bought one small thing...which I now want to return. Ha! These 4 hours included lunch at a little Italian restaurant called Vendetta. When I asked the woman for the window table she asked if there were others in my party. I wish there were..."No, estoy sola." I had a really tasty lunch, and enjoyed staring out the window into a wide open outdoor area filled with people and lined with restaurants and a movie theater. It was a cross between Hollywood & Highland and The Grove.

Things are moving on the job front. Tuesday morning, I went downtown to meet with Liz Casky Culinary & Wine Experience for a potential position. I was introduced to Liz by an old client. She and her husband own the boutique tourism company and plan custom trips to Chile, Uruguay and Argentina. Liz is from PA, went to school there, and then worked in finance in NY. She had studied abroad in Chile in college, fell in love with Latin culture, and was determined to get back.  In 2001 she relocated for a finance position. Growing tired of the corporate world, she decided to pursue her passion of cooking. She went to culinary school here and started a catering company. In 2004, she started her current tourism company with her Chilean husband Francisco. They were both incredibly nice and down-to-earth. We had a great conversation about food, wine, and traveling in South America. Needless to say, she has the inside scoop on all the best restaurants and wine! I left with a great list of restaurants, and ventured down to the the giant fish market, Mercado Central, to try her first recommendation.

I was dying for warm, Chilean seafood for lunch. Mercado Central is 4 blocks from Liz's house, right near the port, where Liz and many other locals and restaurants go to get the freshest fish possible. There are rows and rows of "mongers" showcasing their latest catch and beckoning you to buy from them. The fish market was huge with multiple rooms. The pictures don't nearly capture the energy, smell, and mass of people who were there. There are also little eateries sprinkled throughout the market. Liz told me to forget the big tourist trap "Donde Augusto" and instead, eat at "Richard - El Rey del Mariscal." It's much better and a 1/4 of the cost. After wandering from room to room, I finally arrived to the big dining room where I found Richard's tucked away in the corner. There was a little man standing out front. He asked if I needed help. I said I was looking for Richard's. He pointed to his name tag and said, "That's me." :) Perfect. Once again, party for one please. He flagged someone over to quickly take me upstairs. I orderd the Paila Marina Real (a seafood soup) which was amazing. It was exactly what I was looking for, and only $10. I can't wait to return to Mercado Central. Liz gave me the name of her monger, so I'm going to seek him out next time I go and buy some fish to bring home.

Plaza de Armas - Thursday, June 18

I finally decided to hit the streets yesterday and take the metro downtown to Plaza de Armas. Plaza de Armas is the center of the city which everyone told me I must take a walking tour of. I knew that rain was on its way...which started today.  I was told that when it rains, the city is a mess, people don't know how to drive, and many stay home from work. Ha! It sounds like LA. I am now officially part of this group considering that I haven't left my house all day. It was a high of 50 and I didn't see reason to go outside if I didn't have to. Pio has been coming to my house for his English lessons so that has been nice and convenient. 

Plaze de Armas was wonderful.  I wandered aimlessly for a couple hours taking in the people and grandeur of the buildings.  The Cathedral was the most breath-taking.  According to the most recent census in 2002, 70% of Chile is Catholic so, I guess this shouldn't be surprising. The outside of the Cathedral does not do the inside justice. When I walked in, I was stunned by its beauty.  It was huge with high domed ceilings, ancient mahogany pews, and intricate baroque design.  I was surprised by its size and how much it reminded me of the Basilica in Rome in design. As I made my way around the parameter, I arrived at a plaque which said that the Cathedral was erected in 1561.  The church then hired an Italian architect in 1748 to begin interior design plans, and then another Italian in 1780 to complete it!  Huh!  I was right. :)  The Cathedral was finally completed in 1898.  

Last night, Estefa invited me out to see her friend's band play. She loves live music which I love as well.  I've been out with Estefa three times now and each time have met a different group of friends. These friends were just as nice as all the others I had met. They were very sweet, down-to-earth, and welcoming. I never say "no" when I'm invited out because I'm trying my hardest to make friends, and going out is also when I get the opportunity to hear and speak Spanish most. Estefa picked me up, we went to her friend's house, who is the guitarist, for a few drinks, and then headed to the local. The local was more like a bar - one small room with a stage. Two bands played - punkish Chilean music. Clubs here are not like clubs in LA.  They are smaller and lower profile. There is no list, there are no stiletto heals, and there is no pretentiousness. Chileans are out to just dance and enjoy the music. I haven't been out in Silver Lake but I'm thinking that Santiago is similar in its vibe. A random note is that light beer does not exist here.  Something us Californians aren't used to.  I prefer the vino tinto anyway. :) You really can't go wrong with the wine here. It's interesting because you won't find wine from outside South America. 98% of the wine sold in the grocery stores and restaurants is from Chile.  The other 1% is from Argentina.  

The most exciting thing that happened today is that I got a job offer! I interviewed on Tuesday with a language institute called English First for a sales position. I had walked in last Friday to give them my resume with the intention of getting a teaching position. The owner called shortly after noting that my resume is "sales-heavy" and said he was actually looking for a sales person. I just can't seem to get away from sales!!  :) 

Saludos,

Jennifer

Laughing -The Universal Language

Providencia & View from Apartment

I've decided to start a Tour de Pan...Chile 2009.  You are all invited, actually strongly encouraged, to join me so that I don't feel as guilty about my bread consumption habits.  I don't think Molly's family will partake but maybe they will attend strictly for moral support since they are such fans of the Tours.  I truly do believe you could navigate Santiago via fresh, baked pan.  Of course, I think I could navigate any city en route to bread. :)

I can't believe I've been here for two weeks today!  It's crazy how fast time flies.  I got home at 6 from a wonderful day, enjoying the glorious, abnormal 75 degree weather.  Pio always laughs and says that I brought the California sunshine with me. :)  Typically, around this time of year there is rain and chilly temperatures in Santiago, and snow on the mountains.  But, there has been less rain and warmer weather this year here as in other regions of the world.  A little side note about the air.  There is smog in Santiago but the dirty air we see is actually not all pollution. 75% of Santiago's air is dust.  No rain plus dry Andes mountains to the east and endless deserts to the north means extra dust.  I learned this from Cecilia.  She is the wife of another of my dad's friends from work here.  And, Cecilia is allergic to dust.  Can you imagine??  Regardless, I'm taking advantage of the weather and walking the city as much as possible.  

Today, I went downtown to drop off my resume to the Instituto Chileano-Norteamericano.  On the way home, I stopped into another school called English First, only blocks away from my apartment.  In doing so, I made a new friend named Kate.  Kate is from Georgia, decided to become a free spirit by buying a one-way ticket to Argentina where she had a hostel reserved for one week.  A friend of her sister's cousin's dog's mom introduced her to a guy in Argentina, and after 10 days of dating, she moved to Chile with him.  Now, Kate's been living in Santiago for a year and is Sales Coordinator for the English institute.  We instantly bonded.  She was very sweet, gave me her email and phone number, and said to call her if I ever want to hang out. This kept me smiling my whole walk home.  

After putting on some comfy shoes, I visited Ekono (picture enclosed) which is a cheap supermarket, but with a smaller selection, to tell them I forgot a bag of groceries there the day before.  I regained my items and headed to Lider for other things not found at Ekono.  Okay, I must confess.  I did make a stop into the little bakery on the way and bought some warm rolls. By the time I got home, it was dark - sun set at 5:40 tonight.  Because it is a beautiful night, I went out on the patio to take in the city's dusty air and snapped a few photos for you to see.

Last night, I met my two new best Chilean friends - Estefanía y Carolina.  This is another random connection I made before leaving CA - one of my LA mag clients has a brother John, who lived in a surf town called Pichilemu for a year, right outside Santiago.  My client told her brother the news about me moving and within 30 minutes John was ringing me on my work phone.  He was kind enough to introduce me via Facebook to two of his friends here...the power of technology and social networking these days!  In any case, I took the metro for the first time and ventured downtown to meet the girls.  I was nervous to use the metro because of A) the language barrier and anxiety of having to purchase my first ticket, B) I had heard that it was jam-packed with smelly people, and C) I was told to protect my belongings because there was the risk of being robbed.  Isn't this the same of all public transportation in big cities?  I was pleasantly surprised!  The stations were spacious and clean, and the system of lines is easy to navigate.  Let me tell you - Boston's green line of  the 'T' is the oldest line in the U.S. and just about the dirtiest, smelliest, smallest subway I have ever seen.  And, it is not efficient.  Because it is so old, it constantly breaks down.  On days when it was 90 degrees outside with 90% humidity and you descended into the T station, you felt like you were entering hell!  And if you were so unlucky as to have the ancient car break down on you, you really were in hell.  Ha!  I can laugh about it now. :)

Estefan and Carolina are absolutely wonderful!  It's amazing how at home I felt with them. Estafan is a writer for tv shows, has 3 brothers and is from a town way north, at the border of Peru, called Valle del Elqui.  Carolina is a Civil Engineer and has 2 sisters and one brother who all live in Santiago.  Estefan and Carolina spoke Spanish with me the entire night and amazingly, I understood most of what they said.  AND I was able to communicate back.  They said my Spanish was good which was reassuring.  Overall, the conversation was great and we laughed all night.  I had a big smile on my face the entire time.  They taught me a lot of need-to-know slang words such as bakan ("cool"), filo ("whatever"), and carrete ("party").  Oh yes, I did learn the word for job too ("pega").  None of these words are used anywhere else BUT Chile. Estefan and Carolina confirmed that Chileans don't speak Spanish; they speak Chilean. 

The bar/restaurant we went to is called Catedral and is located near el Museo de Bellas Artes (The Museum of Beautiful Arts) - a place I must visit at a later date.  The bar was perfect; exactly my type of place!  We walked into a big dark room with a wood bar and modern, low black and white tables lit with candles. The band was not on yet but the stage was set and instruments were ready to be played later in the night.  The room was filled with chatter and had the ambiance of a cool Venice restaurant like Axe or Gjelina.  Since all tables were full, we made our way upstairs.  I was equally excited to see the L-shaped, outdoor patio filled with people seated at white tables - drinking, eating, smoking and enjoying the temperate Thursday evening.  The patio was covered by a white awning and overlooked the city.  In the corner, there was a little bar where the sound of Pisco Sours being shaken with ice, served as a white noise all night.  Pisco Sour is the national cocktail of Chile traditionally made with pisco (type of liquor distilled from grapes), lemon or lime juice, egg whites, simple syrup, and regional bitters.  Due to health laws, a powdered egg white is usually used.  This doesn't sound very appealing but it is actually quite tasty.  It is margarita-esque and served in a champagne glass.  I sampled two of the red wines on the menu.  One thing that makes Chile so world-renowned is its incredible selection of wines!  And, they are inexpensive!  All their glasses ranged from $3-5. Amazing!  I went with a Carmenere and then a Cab each only costing $2,200 pesos or just under $4. Carmenere is a wine grape variety originally planted in the Médoc region of Bordeaux, France.  Now rarely found in France, Chile is the world's largest area planted with this variety. Mid-drinks, the band called Pato Gallina Sound Machine went on downstairs. They were awesome - their music almost sounded like a Latin punk.  

The evening ended with Estefan telling me that I am "super simpática" and she is very happy to have met me.  I told her I felt the exact same way about her!  She dropped me off at my place and said we would do a walking tour of the city.  I'm looking forward to hanging out with her again!

Sunday: Pueblito Los Dominicos - Artesanía Chilena

Sunday morning I met Pio at church.  This Sunday, Veronica was sick and the children all slept in. Amazingly, I think church is going to become a Sunday ritual for me.  The family goes and therefore, I think it's a nice way to start the day with them. This way, I naturally become a part of their day.  Sundays are truly a day of rest here and time spent with family.  Most businesses are closed.  After church, Pio and I went back to his house.  Negro was on the computer playing a game while the others were upstairs still lounging in bed.  I pulled up a chair next to Negro and watched him play.  This was exactly the time I wanted to spend with him.  I want him to become comfortable with me.  He created a profile for me on "Penguito" and showed me how to play. 

Bernadita and Negro's favorite place to eat is Mc Donald's.  So, the four of us went there for lunch.  Pio said, "I dispise.  I think it overpriced...and not verry good."  After Mcy D'z we went to Pueblito Los Dominicos.  It's an outdoor shopping plaza with Chilean handcrafts - furniture, paintings, leathers, antiques, sculptures, glass, jewels, stones, lamps, ceramic, etc. Since my camera battery died I took photos form my iPhone.  It was a nice, relaxing day of bonding with Pio and  Bernadita.  They all kept pointing out crafts to me and Bernadita and I walked arm-and-arm.  It was a wonderful day.

We all want to learn

For the last two hours, I have been unable to connect to the Internet which led to a minor freak out.  What now?!  How will I communicate with the outer world?!  I could just go to bed given it is midnight and deal with it tomorrow.  But, I really wanted to record my day because I feel like I had so many new connections that left a little print on me.  

Every morning, the first thing I do is turn on CNN (I let it play in the background whenever I'm home to constantly fill my ears with Spanish), open all the curtains in the apartment, and walk out onto the patio to take a big breath of fresh air and soak in the sun for a second before I caffeinate myself.  I started my day by reading the Spanish news from the indoor foyer which has an great 180 degree view of my neighborhood.  I don't say I have an amazing view of of the "city" because I am on the 5th floor of a 20 story building, so I am not quite high enough to see over the 10+ story apartment buildings that are to the south or west.  But, from the patio I get an amazing view of downtown to the north and the Andes to the east (when there is no smog). The place I am staying in has a multitude of windows which I love because it gives the apartment so much light.  

My next task was to find a gym.  The man who is renting me the apartment told me about a pilates studio not too far from here so I stopped there first.  My intro in Spanish was, "I moved here from the United States 4 days ago and need a gym"...very advanced opening to a conversation.  Ha.  Once they know I'm an American, they use a lot of hand gestures to help explain things.  They offered me a free pass to come back and try a class.  My next stop was "Pacifica" gym.  Eh...very small, not too clean, but the cheapest ($35/month).  I asked if I could get a free pass to try it out.  He said something, pointed to an email address on the card, and told me to send an email.  I was confused, said thank you and left.  Third stop is a gym that Katie's friend (Molly's Katie) recently introduced me to over Facebook.  It's funny how once I told people I was moving here, all these Chilean connections popped up.  Jose is from Spain but has lived here 8 years.  He used to live in my neighborhood and recommended "Sport Life." The guy at this gym was really nice, made an effort to speak slowly, and gave me a tour.  It was cleaner than the last gym, bigger, and more expensive (about $70/month) but still not all that. The machines were just okay.  I asked if I could get a pass.  He said it would be $20 for the week.  I couldn't help but wonder if this was a charge only for gringas.  I said I would think about it and left.  There are two more gyms to check out - one that is a French gym and the other called "Club Providencia".  I have a feeling all the gyms here will be sub-par.  Once I make a decision, I will have to have a native come with me to sign the contract so I make sure I'm not signing my life away - literally.  

Pio picked me up at 5:30 and we went back to his place.  Tonight I would meet his other English tutor who he's been working with for years.  Pio told me he does not want to get rid of his other tutor since they are good friends.  He said if he doesn't learn English in these next 6 months, he never will. Pio is such a sweet man - always smiling and so polite.  I still cannot pronounce his tutor's name so I will call him Victor.  Victor comes every Tuesday and Thursday for 2 hours each night to practice English with Pio.  He works for the big Chilean-American institute here. Victor is from Peru and moved to Chile 10 years ago.  He became fluent in English when he was in college.  He is now an attorney and teaches English on the side.  Pio warned me "he is very formal man."  I said a sentence to Pio in Spanish and Victor complimented my speech.  I told him I didn't feel like my Spanish was good at all.  He said that when he moved here he couldn't even understand the Chileans because they spoke so fast and he speaks Spanish!  He would have to constantly ask them to slow down.  He said do not worry. It's not you.  If you can survive here, you can survive anywhere.  I laughed and said how much better he had made me feel. :)

I could not tell how old Victor is since he has no wrinkles, no gray hairs, and also no animation. He wore a sullen expression so I was not sure if he was a happy person or not.  As the conversation unraveled, I realized he actually was very amiable.  The three of us sat in the living room for 2 hours talking...Pio just wants English conversation.  We talked about the top economies, populated countries, and trafficked airports of the world.  Both are infatuated with the United States.  Victor thinks it is the best place to live because "it has everything and everyone is very friendly."  His siblings live in Miami and NY.  We talked about how to renew my Visa and they informed me that only Americans have to pay entrance fees into Chile, Brazil, etc. because we charge them to enter our country.  Interesting.  I didn't know that.  Pio is a pilot and Victor wants to be a pilot so we then got into the Air France tragedy.  Pio then segued into some story about a friend who crashed a plane 30 years ago.  He was trying so hard to explain what happened in English which is hard because of all the technical terms.  Pio held his hand level, looked down at the ground, and demonstrated with his hand and his body, the plane crashing to the ground.  Victor interjected saying, "it took a nose dive."  "Nose dive"...that is a hard slang U.S. term.  You could tell by the end of the 2 hours, Pio was beat.  Victor left and we sat down to dinner.

Veronica informed me at dinner that Pio and Peta are dyslexic.  Hm...that could explain why learning English has been so challenging for Pio.  On the drive home, Pio told me he was very tired.  He said when Victor comes over he tries so hard to focus on what Victor is saying and understand.  I totally feel his pain.  Eventually he would like me to teach Negro and Peta English. They need to feel comfortable with me first though.  He said the reason Peta talks so much and so fast is because she is nervous.  That's cute - I thought she always talked a million miles a minute.  Pio tells me when he is by himself with them, they say they would like to learn. Hearing this gives me inspiration.  I would love to teach them both.  They're both really cute kids.  Now, I will focus on bonding with them in an effort to gain their trust.  Baby steps.  I'm looking forward to the months to come. :)

The case of the overpacker

How does one pack two 60 lb. suitcases plus carry on a backpack that is the size of Texas :) and STILL have nothing to wear?!  I unloaded my suitcases and seems that I have packed for the opposite seasons.  The funny thing is that while I was packing I was sure that I was packing all the right things.  I convinced myself that I could survive these first months with spring to mid-fall clothing.  The first day of my arrival, I realized everything I packed was wrong.  All the Chileans are completely bundled up - I see no skin - even though it really isn't that cold yet. They obviously know more than me and perhaps are anticipating the chilly weather to come. Or, maybe it's a mental thing.  For them, this is the end of fall and it has been atypically warm these last 2 weeks.  Thursday, they tell me, everything will change. Therefore, I have put in the request to my dad to please send that winter stuff I set aside.  Although, it does not snow in Santiago and it does not get anywhere near the bone chilling temps of Boston.  There is actually quite a bit of smog here.  Today was sunny and beautiful but the mountains were shaded by a light brown layer smog - nothing us Angelenos are not accustomed to. But, I didn't expect it in Chile.  I've learned Santiago is in a valley and with the Andes being only an hour away, the smog has no where to escape to so it just sits there...similar to San Gabriel Valley. 

Every time I look into my closet I sigh and say to myself that I HAVE to stay until December now just so I get use out of all these clothes.  Although, I don't know how much the style will change in the summer.  I've only been here 3 days and have not traveled anywhere else in South America so this next statement could be wrong.  But from what I've seen, Chile is to Argentina or Brazil what Boston is to New York.  Chileans appear to be on the conservative side, not too fashion-forward, and they all look similar - todos están morenos. There is more diversity in Boston though than there is here.  Tourism has not really taken off in Chile.  With the Andes lining almost the entire length of the country, they literally separate Chile from the rest of the continent.  I have not seen one blond yet.  Except for tonight - I did see a wannabe blond.  María Jesus (Pio's eldest daughter - the 18-year-old troubled young adult) came home with yellow hair.  Her mom almost fell over.  María Jesus has long brown beautiful locks of hair which she barrel rolls in big pieces.  Now, "it is the color of mustard" Veronica tells me.  And her eyebrows are still dark as brown can be.  This is María Jesus' first year a la universidad.  She's obviously experimenting and wanting to be different.  I remember when I died my hair red and then had Christina give me highlights at home.  Since we didn't use bleach to cut through the color, the highlights turned orange, pink, and a few other hues.  I basically had a rainbow on my head.  My mom and grandma had just seen José Eber on TV so insisted I go to his salon to have him fix me.  I had never heard of him before and thought his name was pronounced like the Spanish "Jose".  I expected a 5'5'' Mexican man to walk out so was shocked when the 6' something French man walked out with long blond hair wearing a cowboy hat.   Anyway, Veronica also informed me that María Jesus is very intelligent but immature.  She has epilepsy which has completely taken over her life.  It is not so serious that she ever goes into convulsions, but it is serious enough that she takes 8 pills a day to combat depression and disorganization among other things to help her focus, sleep, get up, etc.  I'm sure more will unfold over the coming months.  

Today was quite busy.  Veronica picked me up at 11:30 to go shopping.  I also packed the incorrect shoes.  All the boots I brought have heels.  They look great but are not comfortable for all the walking we do here.  Veronica was nice enough to take me to the mall for flat, practical boots.  We visited the three major department stores, Zara (So exciting to find! It was the most stylish store I saw.), and a few others but I didn't see anything worth buying.  We then had lunch at a salad bar buffet and left to pick up Negro (Pio Jr.) from school.  The reason they call him Negro is that when he was born he had black hair.  How Not PC this nickname would be in los Estados Unidos.  Negro's school starts at 8 and does not get out until 4pm!  We dropped him off at his tutor's - he goes twice per week; we went to the pharmacy to drop off María Jesus' presciptions and while doing so picked up ritalin for Negro...another new "problema" I learnd about today; picked up Peta (13-year-old) from yoga at 5:30 - a nice after-school activity she does once a week; and went back to the tutor's to pick up Negro.  While we were saying good-bye, Veronica remembered that it was Negro's first confession tonight.  She panicked.  It was 6 and they had to be there by 7:30.  We raced home, Veronica put dinner on the table, and Veronica's aunt came over to watch Peta for the evening.  Her aunt lives next door and has such a friendly air about her!  She greeted me with a big smile, kiss and "Estás la gringaita?"  Apparently, I'm making a name for myself. :)  We sped to Negro's school and said our good-byes.  Since it is only 4 blocks from my apartment, I walked home.  As I walked, I saw a few father's all suited up running down the street to make the confession ceremony in time. It made me smile. :)

Buenas noches,

Jen

And on the 7th day we rest...and eat

Beinvenido!  This is my first blog entry. :)  I spent a few hours getting this blog set up.  I'm still not sure if it's programmed correctly so this will be a test.  If you get annoyed with the emails, please feel free to unsubscribe and if you want to be added, let me know.  I also apologize for this being a novel!  I'll try to keep it brief moving forward.

I've now been here for 48 hours and all I have done is eat and fill ears with the Chilean language.  If you've read "Eat, Pray, Love" I am in her first chapter of my life here.  I understand now why all she did her first couple weeks was listen to Italian, read Italian, and eat Italian! We acclimate to foreign cultures by soaking in the culture - and language and food make up so much of it. Wow!  What a Sunday.  I will most likely be full for the next couple days.  Today was that Sunday you envision all families having but few making the time to actually have it.  And to give us Southern Californians some slack - because sprawl of the county and surrounding regions doesn't permit it.  This Sunday though it was family from dawn (or for me 11:30am) until sunset.  Since I've arrived - a whole 2 days ago - I have been staying up until 2am and sleeping in.  Perhaps, this is because I'm still on California time?  Or maybe I'm in more of a relaxation mode.  In any case, I was awoken by church bells this morning instead of my alarm clock.  Thank god (ha- no pun intended) the church is only a few blocks from my apartment.  The bells chimed at 10:50am and I was supposed to meet the family in front of the church at 11:30.  I quickly jumped in the shower, got dressed, and was out the door.  Surprisingly, I made it JUST on time.  Pio, Veronica, Bernadita (Pita is her nickname) and Pio Jr. (Negro is his...I haven't inquired into the meaning yet) were waiting for me.  Maria Jesus was missing again. She also didn't come to tio's birthday yesterday.  Both days her padres said she was sleeping. Hm...she is sounding more like a troubled teen each day.  When we got home from church at 1:30pm, she was still sleeping.  And, yesterday Pio and I dropped her off at her psychologist's office...not that there is anything wrong with this.  I actually am an advocate of psychology. Maybe if all teens had a pyschologist, we wouldn't see as high of drop out rates, crime, gangs, etc. Regardless, this is also a service money buys and unfortunately, we are not all so fortunate to have parents who can afford or care enough to send their teens.  Sorry, I digress!...Okay, back to church....So, mass is actually at Colegio San Ignacio - the all boys Loyola private school where Pio attends.  There are about 1,500 students spanning grades pre-school to 12th grade. Pio Sr., his brother, and their dad all attended their.  As Veronica told me, those who graduate from there hold the school close to their hearts.  We all loaded into the gymnasium which was a little chaotic with kids crying in the background and many having to stand due to lack of seats. Although it was a "traditional" mass, I STILL did not understand what the priest was saying.   Here's the problem as I've come to pinpoint with the help of Veronica's family today.  Not only do Chileans speak very fast, they leave out the pronunciation of certain letters - most commonly the letter "s" - and they use a TON of slang.  According to online guide "ContactChile," many of Chile's words go back to the influence of the Quechua and Mapudungun languages spoken by the native population of the area.    Most of these words are only used within the country and a few other of the surrounding countries.  The mass lasted 45 minutes and then everyone booked it.  Pio shouted to the kids "Keep walking!" and then turned to me and in a hushed voice said, "We have...lots of friends.  If we stop and talk to one...me must talk to all.  We never leave."  We all jumped in the car and then sat in a traffic jam in the dirt lot. One elderly Chilean woman squeezed her car in front of Pio's camiónita (another thing I've learned is that they add "ita" onto the ends of many words creating new meanings for words), but Pio didn't bat an eye.  I have not seen him get angry once and he seems like one who doesn't ever lose his temper.  Instead of all of Veronica's family going to her parent's house, they were all coming to her house.  So, the next stop was the grocery store.  The feast to follow was insane.  

The family arrived at their home at 2.  I'm still confused as to which were Veronica's sisters and which were her sister-in-laws.  Regardless, they were all SO nice!  Two were with husbands and 2 children each and the 3rd  sister was alone.  The women chatted and laughed non-stop.  You could tell they all loved each others' company.  We started with "Mango Sour"...some sort of sour alcohol mixed with mango puree.  We sipped out of little shot glasses.  The ladies cheersed with me and said in broken English, "all the women of the house...we drink...the men...soft drink," and broke into laughter.  The four of us then went outside to join the men.  Pio was BBQing  salchichas (sal for short = "sausages") and meat that looked like hot dogs.  He would then grill small round white biscuits and make everyone little sandwiches.  They were amazing. We also snacked on pickles, and chips with a white dip made of plain yogurt, mayonnaise, and chives.  After making a few rounds of sausage sandwiches, all the ladies went inside to eat the feast Veronica had just prepared.  I can't believe the BBQ was an appetizer!  Before the guests arrived, Veronica had informed me that she had known her maid Carmen for 30 years.  She had worked for her mom for 25 years.  Once her parents got sick - her mom is 74 and has had Alzheimer's for 9 years and her dad is 87 and cannot walk - they hired 24-hour nurses and Carmen came to work for them.  She said Carmen was very depressed before; she could not read or write; now she is happier.  Carmen only works during the week and seems to prepare meals from scratch so it was interesting to see how Veronica prepares food.  The four of us ladies and one of their husbands sat around the table topped with a large dish of pre-cooked chickens you buy in the grocery store (bringing back memories of when grandma used to buy them); dish full of chopped celery; plate of cut tomatoes; bowl of chopped iceberg lettuce; rice; and a delicious "ceviche" dish which was not what we would expect by our definition of ceviche. There was no raw fish - only raw vegetables - chopped mushrooms, green peppers, parsley, and perhaps some other vegie I can't remember mixed with oil, salt, pepper and who knows what else.  Shortly after, the men came in and joined us for food.  Once they finished, all the ladies cleaned up.  After washing dishes, we loaded back into the dining room for a "coffee break." The men came back in and joined.  Veronica brought out little chocolate sticks to accompany, and served everyone a bowl of canned peaches in the sweet syrup and added a sweet, thick cream on top.  THEN, as if this weren't enough she brought out Snickers bars which I thought was funny, chopped them up on a plate, and passed them around the table.  I had one piece.  I don't remember the last time I ate a Snickers.  She then opened up another candy bar and cut it up; I passed this time.  Then, she opened up a third bar and this time INSISTED I eat another one. So, I did.  I was stuffed.  We all sat around the table for a while.  Veronica's brother-in-law spoke English pretty well and was excited to practice with me.  He's an exporter of table grapes (as opposed to wine or dessert grapes) but is currently unemployed.  He was living in Peru until a few months ago because he had a project there.  The project ended and he just moved back and is very happy to be living with his family again.  His wife is a curador - creator of wine. This part of the evening was fun because they all joked and taught me slang words they use often, a few bad words they told me I shouldn't use but are good to know :), and a Chilean socialite who they described to me as a cross between Paris Hilton and Pamela Anderson who had an affair with the ex-Argentian President and is now dating someone 20 years younger than her.

Everyone dispersed - kids playing outside, ladies in the other room on Facebook and Googling music videos - Shakira was up when I walked in once, and Pio bringing out his laptop and maps to give me a geography lesson.  Pio sat with and his brother-in-law and me for over an hour giving me a narration and photo journey of his travels with Veronica and the kids to Northern and Southern Chile - glaciers, desserts, lakes, etc.  After the geography lesson ended, Veronica told Pio to put the computer away.  Her other sister arrived with her boyfriend.  I smelled toast and assumed it was to feed them.  I walked into the kitchen and couldn't believe my eyes...Veronica was preparing more food for everyone!  Soon the table was set with a pineapple cake she had bought at Lider Express (grocery store) a huge basket of white toast, another sliced loaf of walnut bread, two bowls of mashed avocados (they explained to me it's not guacamole because there is no garlic, onion, spices, etc. added to it; it is only mashed avocados), sliced deli turkey meat, cheese, tea and coffee.  Everyone dug in grabbing pieces of bread, spreading avocado on top and sometimes adding a slice of meat or cheese.  Now can you understand why I will be full for DAYS?  We literally ate our way through the day...so fun though! Ha!  They assured me this is only a Sunday thing.  I sure hope so or else I'll way 500 lbs. by the time I leave here.  

It was 8pm and time to go home.  Pio said he has an appointment with his other English tutor at 10am so will pick me up at 11:30am to bring me home for lunch.  "Our house...is your house." He is so nice. Veronica's sister and boyfriend drove me back to my apartment.  Her sister is a scientist.  Her boyfriend said, "She is very smart.  Which is why...I love her."  Aw, that is sweet. She said her friend has been talking about getting an English tutor for her daughter.  She will call her and see if she is interested in using me as a tutor.  I think through relationships with family members and their friends, I will find myself a second job. :)  

Buenas noches,

Jennifer