I am always up for new cultural experiences here in Chile and last night was a great chance for that. I feel like I have gotten to know Chilean food pretty well but there seems to always be something new to try. Our friend Jorge wanted to make sure we had all tried the typical Chilean sandwich called Chacarero, which he considers his specialty, so last night he had all of us and other friends over.
As you can see from the pictures, the Chacarero is probably unlike any other sandwich you have ever had because one of the main ingredients is green beans! It is put together on a bun with thinly sliced steak, tomatoes, green beans and aji (the common Chilean pepper which I passed on). Now I am not a huge green bean fan but I went into it knowing what I would be eating and I was pleasantly surprised. It was not only tolerable, but I would say it was good. Who knew!
What a great night including sweet friends, beautiful weather, great conversation and a new and interesting food. I love my life!
Saturday, January 28, 2012
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Saturday, January 14, 2012
As I said, our actual anniversary date depends on who you ask and what date you are marking. So to make sure I cover all my bases let me say Happy We've Been In Chile One Year Day! All of that time was just a blur of sadness, excitement, airport, luggage and tiredness. By the time it was over I was very impressed that all 7 of us made it with all our luggage since each of us had 5 pieces checked (including a dog). It was a successful international move and a start of a huge step of faith. If I had a chance to relive that day....I'd pass. :)
Friday, January 13, 2012
The anniversary of one year in Chile is a little confusing. What day it falls on depends on who you ask and what you are actually marking. January 13th marks the day I left the US to come to Chile. I said goodbye to my parents and lugged 5 pieces of luggage through the DFW and Miami airport. January 14th marks the first day I arrived in Chile. So, either way I am celebrating one year in Chile and the significance of this event. So much has happened in one year and I am so thankful to God for his faithfulness throughout it all. Bring it on year two!
Me and all my bags
In the airport
On the plane
The little boy's room I slept in my first few days
Crashing after a sleepless night on the plane
In the airport
On the plane
The little boy's room I slept in my first few days
Crashing after a sleepless night on the planeTuesday, January 10, 2012
Thanks to my sweet friends and neighbors I had a very active New Years celebration time. The eve before NYE some of my neighbors got together to celebrate and they invited me. I was so happy to be included and they were all so sweet to make sure I was tracking with the conversations and understood all the slang they were using as they spoke.
I also needed a little help with my food and they showed me what to do. You see, we ate a big disc of mariscos (shellfish). Now, I have eating some shellfish here and there since being here but usually it they were already out of the shells or covered in cheese. This was the real deal. Game time. Go big or go home.
I can't say mariscos is something that I want to eat on a regular basis but it wasnt the worst thing I have ever had. :) It is just a lot to get your mind around and an interesting taste to get used to. These shellfish were dang fresh. They pretty much tasted like chewy sea water and I even felt a little sand in my teeth as I ate. Their shells had barnacle looking things on them as if they had just come out of the ocean that morning. Some of them were still closed and I had to pry them open with a knife. This is where my neighbors stepped in. They showed me where to put my knew to break them open and then which part of their gooey body to eat and which part not. Then, I put the shell up to my mouth and suck them out. I did it and did not make any faces and was quite proud of myself.
My plate. See the barnacles? I made sure to take a spot with the fewest maricos.
The rest of the night we sat around talking and listening to one guy play his guitar. He had instruments for the rest of us to play along with as well and I got the maraca! It was really fun to get to hang out with all of them and felt nice to be included.
Monday, January 9, 2012
I was also able to celebrate Christmas with my parents and teammates this year. My parents sent me a package in the mail and I ordered things for them online and had them shipped to them. On Christmas Eve day we got on Skype and opened gifts together. They were kid-less this year for the holidays as my brother and s-law were not able to be there either. It was actually quite funny opening gifts together on Skype so of course I had to take a few pictures.
Our team also had our first real Christmas together (not counting Christmas in July). We drew names for Secret Santa so we would all have gifts to open but didn't have to buy for everyone. It was really fun and I think everyone enjoyed giving and receiving. For food, we decided to embrace the summer time feel around here and had a yummy summer meal of BBQ brisket, fresh corn, watermelon, deviled eggs, potato salad and cherry pie. I also could not resist making fudge and peanut butter balls. It just is not Christmas without those sweets.
Friday, January 6, 2012
I had a wonderful first Christmas and New Years holiday in Chile this year. I was able to spend time with many different friends and neighbors and learn about how Chileans celebrate these holidays. I have lots of different stories and events to tell about so I will just share a few of my favorites over the next few blogs.
Viejito Pascuero is the name Chileans use for Santa Clause around here. It actually is Viejo Pascuero but they love to add -ito and -cito on the ends of words to make them small and cute, so that's how you get Viejito Pascuero. The Chilean tradition of Christmas and Santa Clause is a little different than in the US. The way it works here is they have a big dinner together as a family (or friends) on what we call Christmas Eve and then at midnight they go outside to look for Viejito Pascuero and while they are looking he sneaks in their houses and leaves them gifts. So when they come home, not having found him, they have their Santa gifts. I was thrilled to be able to experience all of this first hand this year.
Many of my neighbors were concerned about me spending Christmas alone so one family, who is actually Colombian but have lived in Chile a long time, invited me to join in their festivities. They have two cute little girls who are 2 and 5 and they were pumped about Viejito Pascuero. Around 9pm we went to their house and Skyped their family in Colombia to participate in their traditional activities. They read a few Christmas prayers and sang a few Christmas songs and everyone had their own instrument. I played the tambourine. After this we shared a Christmas meal together of Turkey, potatoes, rice and salad. I was able to tell them about some of my families Christmas traditions and explained to the little girls that Santa must come to South American first since he comes here at midnight and then he comes to the US during the night and we open gifts the next day. Haha.
Around 11:30 the girls wanted to go look for Viejito Pascuero so I went with them and their mom to look while their dad conveniently stayed behind to wash dishes. We walked down our street and back and did not see him. We went into my house to see if he had come but he had not. We walked back down the street and out of the condominium where we saw other kids running around looking for him. We asked them if they had seen him yet but they had not. We headed back to their house and their dad came out and said he was washing dishes and heard something upstairs and the thinks that Viejito Pascuero came in through the bathroom window (they don't have chimneys you know). We ran upstairs and there were little gifts on their beds and in the bathroom. They were so excited and added these gifts to their family gifts and got to opening.
Opening gifts like crazy
Little kids are not very quick gift openers because they just want to play with each thing as they go along. I stayed until 12:45 and at that point they were about half way done. I told them thanks so much for letting me spend this holiday with them. I really had a great time and loved getting to see such a special moment for those little girls and seeing how Chileans celebrate Christmas.
