La Vega

There is this sight and smell heavy market called La Vega here in Santiago. It's big as a city block, covered, and filled with food. It's a magical and strange place to grocery shop. You name it, La Vega has it. Fruits, veggies, grains, fish, meat, and more More MORE! You wind your way along all these tiny walkways passing vendor after vendor selling food for every type of stomach and imagination. It's on counters, in barrels, in pretty colorful piles, sitting on ice, and wafting in the air around you. My squeamish stomach did anxious somersaults at the sight of stomach, tongue, braided intestine, hooves, and other animal parts. The smells that went along with them moved my curious self quickly down the walkway. The huge barrels of spices, every kind of dried fruit and grain, and big luscious fruits and veggies I didn't mind at all. I just imagined what an enjoyment it must be to shop here. A place alive and vivaciously centered around our stomachs! Definitely my kind of place. There's also a tiny walkway packed with what you could call miniature restaurants. All the while you are walking along, trying to make a decision, you are being courted to eat here or there. Your choices are many for such a small space. Once you do decide though, you find that there are no menus, but friendly service that quickly brings you a hot plate of today's special.

Free fortune on the Metro?

The other day was quietly chatting in English on the metro ride home with another student who lives out where I do. She's a blondie so it was hard to keep a low profile even though we were speaking softly. Our differentness must have been intriguing enough, because this random guy approached us and started chatting it up.

In 4 weeks of using the metro every day no one has ever approached me. Usually in the metro you're a bunch of folks in close quarters but there isn't usually a lot of chatter. I imagine it's the same in all other subway systems---people staring off in the distance, reading something, bobbing their heads to mp3 players, or just riding with eyes shut and resting until the anticipated stop arrives.

After almost 5 months of study I'm happy to report that I can understand a good portion of what people say to me. The other girl however could not. So it was me straining to hear what this guy was saying over the noise of the moving train. At first the chit chat seemed normal. The conversation took a strange turn when he said to me ¨you´re Mormon aren't you?¨

Well what proceeded after that was some sort of fortune telling of the sort I've never experienced. Let's see, this is what I could understand... I'm introverted but intelligent, that I'll only find love once in my life, that I want a husband and family, and more interesting tidbits I missed due to the circumstances. He also mentioned things about the other girl that were surprisingly accurate as well.

We all got off the train at the end of the line, he suggested that he could tell me more, I politely declined, and we all parted ways. I left the metro scratching my head and wondering what kind of Mormon vibe I must emit. That's the only thing I figured he couldn't have deducted just by observation.

Pensamientos Sobre Mi Vida en Santiago

Well it's my final week here in Santiago. I made the decision last week to change my program and go back to Buenos Aires for my last 2 weeks. As much as I've tried I haven't fallen in love with Santiago like I fell in love with Buenos Aires. I do think Chile as a country though, could easy win my love as there are infinite numbers of outdoorsy things to do. That love will have to wait on another day when I have the time and money to find myself so far south again.

My Chile Experience. The observations, enjoyments, and dislike over the past 4 weeks:

1. I've been cold on and off for the entire 3 weeks. What did I really expect with winter on the way? I've asked myself the exact same thing. Turns out that a lot of places in Santiago don't have central heating, including my room which has 3 outside walls and doesn't receive a lot of sun during the day. My nightly attire includes wool socks, my Patagonia pullover, and some nights a beanie. I conduct the majority of operations in my room with my body tucked into the heavily blanketed bed. I will never again take such things as central heating for granted.

2. The pollution here is visible and ever present. It's like you've put on a pair of glasses that zaps away the details of the horizon, the Andes, and clear blue sky. In place of this your eyes must pierce through the hazy air. Sometimes, when I'm walking towards my house and I look up and can just make out that the Andes are ahead, I wonder how my little lungs are doing breathing the air here day in and day out. It's definitely not the kind of souvenir I want to take home with me.

3. The Chileans who live in my neighborhood and the neighborhood where my school is are squeaky clean folks! I pass by some of the cleanest park benches ever on my way from the metro stop to the school. I swear I see them being cleaned at least once a week. And every morning people are out sweeping the leaves from their little bit of sidewalk too. So my shoes stay clean and my lungs are being filled with dirty dirty air. What a funny irony.

4. I've had the fun experience of jamming myself onto the improved and crowded subway system everyday to get to and from school. Though it's often a full contact experience, it fills my people quota for the day. To be totally truthful, I think I've become addicted to having lots of people around me. Like I've mentioned before- I'm sure I'll experience withdrawals when my feet finally find their way home to Utah. I'll go from seeing hundreds upon hundreds of people everyday to a number drastically less. Please come visit me and when you do, would you mind bringing your entire neighborhood with you?

5. Teenagers here are big into the gothic/punk look. In general though the clothing color scheme includes a lot of black.

6. Happy to note that the food here is spicier. It's strange though, after so many months of less spicy food, I can feel the spiciness in my stomach. Eating more seafood here too. As a resident of a land locked state, I've tried several new types of seafood. Not sure what they were, but I ate them all the same.

Okay that seems to be enough for now---it's cold, the air is dirty, the streets are clean, the clothing is black, and the food is spicy and a lot of it comes from the sea. I love making a short story long!

Tight Jeans

My pants are feeling a bit snug on me today and not because I'm trying to imitate the ¨tighter is better¨ Latin fashion for women. It's the 5 months of vacation type eating that I've indulged in. Thank goodness I've had to do a lot of walking or things could be much worse. Will have to hit the gym and watch what I eat to get back to where I was before I left. That is of course after I eat my way through my first week home. (See previous post.)

Homesick Tastebuds...

I think our taste buds are the first things to get homesick. At least that's been the case for me. Nothing else have I missed as much as foods from home (besides family and friends).

What have I missed the most you ask?

• An American breakfast complete with pancakes, eggs, bacon, and hash browns
• BBQ Chxn pizza
• Mexican food
• Peanut butter

Though I do have to say that my last Friday in Argentina I ate at this incredible Asian restaurant in Palermo (neighborhood in BA). It was my 1st spicy food in over 3 months. (Point to note...Argentine food though good isn't spicy). I was blissfully happy! After our main dishes my 2 girlfriends and I decided to splurge and order an item on the dessert menu that contained a small portion of every dessert on their menu. It ranks in the top 10 most beautiful and delicious meals I have ever eaten!!! I took pics of both, though I haven't gotten around to uploading them yet.

And then yesterday I went to a restaurant here in Santiago that had falafel! My mouth couldn't believe it! In the spirit of experiencing a new culture and country I have chosen to live with families and eat the food that they prepare for me. So it adds to the depth of my experience and I haven't been disappointed with this at all. Every now and then though, a taste of something familiar is nice.

Mi Bienvenido a Chile

I've been in Santiago, Chile for over a week now. Physically I'm here, but my heart is missing BA in a big way. Don't get me wrong- Santiago is a nice city. It's clean, modern, etc...but I'm partial to the quirky and infectious character that sits heavy in the air in Buenos Aires. You breath and move around in it and sooner than later you find yourself addicted. At the moment I'm adjusting to life away from Argentina. The vibe of Santiago is different, but I have to say that my welcome here was quite flattering.

So I was making my way through the customs line in the Santiago airport like everyone else arriving from an international destination. I waited for my turn, approached one of the counters, handed my passport and forms to the officer, and he of course had trouble pronouncing my name. This has been a common problem on my trip. A way that I help people with my name is telling them that it is like the football team in England. Soccer is a big deal here and everybody instantly knows how to pronounce my name after I tell them that. So naturally I proceeded with this same explanation which then began a conversation. I'm please as punch about the fact that someone can speak to me in Spanish and I can understand what they say and then respond in a somewhat decent manner as well. So naturally I chatted with the officer for a few minutes. Wasn't too long before I realized he was asking me out. Took me by surprise, but also was a bit flattering. The other students who were waiting for me in the transfer van were impressed. 10 minutes in a new country and I already had a potential date.

24 de Marzo

A memory of my time in Argentina that I want to put into words...

It's the 24th of March, I'm en route to the Plaza de Mayo. The street is full of people en route to the Plaza as well. The energy in the air is palpable. I have chills as we walk by group after group of people united behind particular causes. This I think is the way the Plaza is meant to be seen.

A bit of background...the Casa Rosada is the house of government in Argentina. It was from the balcony of the Casa Rosada where Eva Peron made her speeches. It's the political focal point of Buenos Aires and in general a place of gathering. Argentines come here to protest, celebrate, and in general express their opinions.

The 24th of March has significance because 31 years ago on the 24th of March a military government took power in Argentina. What began was 7 years of uncertainty, insecurity, and terror. During those years it is estimated that 30,000 people were taken from their homes, tortured, and killed. Most of their families have no idea what happened to their loved ones and therefore no closure as well.

Every year there is a march on the Plaza de Mayo on the 24th of March to remember the awful things that happened and to never let them happen again. Last year was the 30th anniversary of the dictadura and from what I heard the march was enormous. This year the march was smaller but still made an impact on me. I won't easily forget seeing people of all ages and walks of life in the streets supporting the causes that were important to them.

For any of you that know the band U2, they wrote a song called ¨Mothers of the Disappeared¨which is about this period in Argentina´s history. It pays tribute to those who disappeared and to ¨The Mothers¨ of some of the disappeared that began to demonstrate in front of the Casa Rosada during this time and for many years after.