As promised, here is my post about Chilean food and the crazy “completos”. When I think of fast food in the U.S., McDonalds, Burger King and Subway come to mind. In Chile, “Doggies” is unavoidable. I cant imagine a healthier meal than an enormous hotdog covered in a ton of mayo, guacamole, and tomatoes. In Chile, this is called a “completo”. Although it may not sound very good, I have to be honest, they really aren’t that bad. When I come back, I promise to make you a true Chilean completo. It will be an experience you will never forget.
In Chile, a small breakfast, a large lunch in which the whole family comes home from work, and then a small dinner also known as an “once” are very common. For breakfast, white bread and Nescafe, or as I call it “Nes-CRAP-e” are a must. Everyday, I have a 90 minute lunch break from school so that I can go home for lunch. Beans, beef, potatoes, rice, fruit, some sort of vegetable and white bread are common foods for lunch. In the U.S., we are accustomed to having large dinners. Here in Chile, a small “once” is common, which consists of white bread and tea. Notice the “white bread” theme. I think I have eaten more white bread in the last week and a half than I have in my entire 22 years of life combined!
Due to the fact that Los Alamos is pretty close to the ocean, a lot of sea food is consumed in this region. “Mariscal” is a delicious soup of sea food which consists of clams, oysters and a mixture of other sea food. I have also had the pleasure of walking around a few fresh fish markets that have creatures that I have never seen before. Let me tell you… there are some really crazy looking sea animals out there. I will attached some photos of the fresh fish markets at a later date.
A little side story… I am currently sitting in the teachers lounge writing this blog post. In order to spell “mariscal” correctly, I asked one of the other teachers. The rest of the teachers proceeded to inform me that mariscal is an aphrodisiac, and the rest of the male teachers then pointed to their “man areas” and then pointed upwards! As if telling me that mariscal is an aphrodisiac was not weird enough! Haha. I couldn’t help but put that little side story in this blog, but crazy things that catch me off guard are starting to become a norm for me here in Chile.
All in all, Chile has been treating me very well. The Chilean people have been incredible warm and welcoming. I could not ask for a better host city, host school and host family. That is all for now… tonight I will be attending a “cueca” competition for the entire community of Los Alamos. “Cueca” is the national dance of Chile so it should be great to experience a truly traditional Chilean activity.
In Chile, a small breakfast, a large lunch in which the whole family comes home from work, and then a small dinner also known as an “once” are very common. For breakfast, white bread and Nescafe, or as I call it “Nes-CRAP-e” are a must. Everyday, I have a 90 minute lunch break from school so that I can go home for lunch. Beans, beef, potatoes, rice, fruit, some sort of vegetable and white bread are common foods for lunch. In the U.S., we are accustomed to having large dinners. Here in Chile, a small “once” is common, which consists of white bread and tea. Notice the “white bread” theme. I think I have eaten more white bread in the last week and a half than I have in my entire 22 years of life combined!
Due to the fact that Los Alamos is pretty close to the ocean, a lot of sea food is consumed in this region. “Mariscal” is a delicious soup of sea food which consists of clams, oysters and a mixture of other sea food. I have also had the pleasure of walking around a few fresh fish markets that have creatures that I have never seen before. Let me tell you… there are some really crazy looking sea animals out there. I will attached some photos of the fresh fish markets at a later date.
A little side story… I am currently sitting in the teachers lounge writing this blog post. In order to spell “mariscal” correctly, I asked one of the other teachers. The rest of the teachers proceeded to inform me that mariscal is an aphrodisiac, and the rest of the male teachers then pointed to their “man areas” and then pointed upwards! As if telling me that mariscal is an aphrodisiac was not weird enough! Haha. I couldn’t help but put that little side story in this blog, but crazy things that catch me off guard are starting to become a norm for me here in Chile.
All in all, Chile has been treating me very well. The Chilean people have been incredible warm and welcoming. I could not ask for a better host city, host school and host family. That is all for now… tonight I will be attending a “cueca” competition for the entire community of Los Alamos. “Cueca” is the national dance of Chile so it should be great to experience a truly traditional Chilean activity.
those dogs look pretty good if you ask me.
ReplyDeleteKeep the blogs coming! We're getting a good feel for what life is like in Chile (since we can't experience it ourselves). Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteI like the little side story. Sounds like Chile is a wonderful place. Hope all is going well, Matt. Enjoy your time there. What do you think about skyping classrooms sometime?
ReplyDelete