I apologize for getting so far behind on my blog entries! Technology can be SO frustrating. For the past week, I have not been able to log into Google and many of its other sites…Blogger being one of them. I do not know the reason but Pio says this is happening now that I’m in Chile because my computer doesn’t understand Spanish. Ha…You have to love his light-hearted attitude.
I must back track to last weekend…my birthday weekend! I was hoping that I would have plans rather than having a “party for one”. Estefa found out it was my birthday one of the first weekends we hung out. She invited me to “el campo” with her and her friends for the weekend. El campo, or farm, is in El Tambo which is 2 hours south of Santiago. Her friend Romina, whose family owns the farm, was also celebrating her birthday. Romina is the cousin of Carolina whom was with Estefa the first time we met. Carolina and Estefa went to high school together. Mario, who also came out the first time I met Estefa, is best friends with Romina’s brother. The two circles overlapped and now everyone is one big happy family. This is when a family tree would come in handy. J
Estefa warned that the farm was going to be very cold, so I woke up early on a mission to the mall to find a casual warm coat and boots. Fortunately, I found a coat; unfortunately, I did not find boots. I was way too overwhelmed with the selection of boots and at 3pm, threw in the towel and raced home. I had been told to avoid taxis because they take advantage of gringos. I was recommended to take a radio cab instead which are typically honest. But, a radio taxi requires a phone call and scheduled pickup. I was behind on time so I flagged down a cab and jumped in. I was nervous and totally on guard. I had my cold American self up, trying not to engage in conversation so he knew I was a gringa. The cab driver knew the second I got in and opened my mouth that I was not Chilean. He asked if I was from Brasil. Oddly enough, this is the second time someone has asked me this. I guess my Spanish accent is somewhat Brasilian. In any case, the taxi driver was really nice and charged me fairly.
Estefa picked me up with Carolina and a now new friend Maria at 4:30pm on Saturday. They were all tired from a late night out so I was happy we were all on the same page. We made a stop at the Plaza in San Vicente, which is the town nearest by, to pick up some goods. Surprisingly, there were a lot of people walking around. It reminded a little of Mexico. There was a big outdoor shopping area with each “shop” separated by a plywood wall. Some sold fruit, others clothing, etc. We arrived to el campo, which really was in the middle of nowhere, at 7pm. We walked through the back and into the kitchen that had a big wood table in the middle. This big wood table would be the center of all festivities during the weekend given Chilean life revolves around food and drink. The kitchen was so warm and cozy! There was a very old, large stove in the corner which was kept burning by literally burning wood. I wish I had taken a picture of it. The fabulous thing about it was that it radiated warmth throughout the kitchen. Next to the stove was a big wood box that was filled with empanadas. Throughout the weekend, Romina’s mom would heat and serve them for snacks, meals, etc. Everyone raved that she made the best empanadas in town.
Saturday night was Romina’s big birthday party. I thought it was just going to be us girls and Mario for the weekend, but as people slowly trickled in, I realized that all of their high schools friends and a multitude of family members were coming. They had built a tarp outdoors since there was forecast of rain. Under the tarp was a huge wood table that sat about 15, which no one sat at; a table with drinks – wine, Pisco, and soda – the drink of choice for the attendees would be Piscolas; and a computer to play music attached to a pretty impressive speaker system.
At 10pm the asado began. Asado means “roast.” They call it a roast and not BBQ because Chileans think BBQ implies too small of a quantity of meat. Chileans buy about .5 kilos (about a pound) of meat per person! The meat takes forever to cook and people are so patient. The asado is the festivity…people eat as the meat cooks and it goes on all night. No one sits down and serves him or herself from a serving plate. Instead, people stand around the massive grill and progressively feed themselves as the different meats cook. And, they have asados all year long – rain or shine. I love it! So, getting back to the asado…it began at 10 and ended around 1. At 10:30, it started to sprinkle which turned to rain and then into a massive down pour and wind. I was freezing and ready to go inside and sit by the fire. But I could see that I was the ONLY one remotely thinking about this. A few minutes before midnight, Carolina and Romina's cousin Marco came up to me with a carnation and said, "Feliz cumpleaños." He was really proud to be the first one to wish me a happy birthday. At exactly midnight, Mario brought me a gift and said, "Am I the first one to wish you a happy birthday?!" I had to break it to him that Marco had just left. He had wrapped me a box of chocolates. One-by-one people walked up to me, wished me happy birthday and gave me a kiss on the cheek. Everyone was so nice and thoughtful!
At 1am, the music was turned up and everyone started to dance. As the rain poured heavier and the wind blew harder, the music got louder and people danced faster. Soon, the entire “dance floor” was a mud puddle. The tarp blew back and forth but stood strong. Water kept accumulating on top so every 10 minutes someone would push the gallons of water off into the grass. I was ready to die. I was freezing and covered in mud. We all laughed at how my white shoes were saturated.
Sunday was my actual birthday day. Because it was still raining we all woke up and spent the entire day in the kitchen playing games, singing, and dancing. They even brought me out a cake and sang happy birthday. I felt so welcomed!
Monday was a holiday in celebration of the Saints Peter and Paul. They have a multitude of religious holidays for Saints and the majority have no idea what they signify…typical Catholics. Ha! This meant a day off for everyone so we spent all Monday lounging; we took a walk to the Aunt’s farm next door – they grow oranges, apples and some grapes – and visited the geese, peacock (their pet who had a cold so kept sneezing in her cage), and dozens of chickens. My camera died so my friend is sending me her pics, which I will share once I get them. To wait out the traffic, we all drove to Kuhn’s (his name is actually Pedro but everyone calls him by his last name) family’s house near by for ANOTHER asado. We stood around the grill for a couple hours while Kuhn roasted pork and chicken. It was delicious. We headed back to the city around 8pm full and happy.
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