Un almuerzo chileno (A Chilean Lunch)

Yesterday I got to visit the home of a Chilean friend for a delicious lunch. I'm lucky enough to have some wonderful Chilean friends in DC, and I was invited by their family, Ximena, Miguel, and their two twin daughters, Mery and Valentina. I'm happy to have the chance to share my experience of true Chilean generosity, especially at a time when many foreigners might be getting a bad impression of what is really an incredibly considerate, friendly people.

I met Ximena at the metro station closest to my hostel, but because of the earthquake, we were not able to take the metro back to her home in Puente Alto in the southeastern section of Santiago. We arrived by bus to their charming neighborhood set right at the foot of the Andes mountains. The view was spectacular, even on a somewhat hazy day, and I could only imagine how breathtaking it would be when the mountains are covered in snow.

We spent the afternoon chatting and eating delicious pastel de choclo, which is a traditional Chilean dish made in a ceramic bowl of ground corn (choclo), meat, olives, onion, and egg. It's kind of reminds me of a pot pie, not in flavor, but in how it looks and is put together. Here's a photo of one (unfortunately, I didn't take a picture of Ximena's). I have to admit, it was a little tough for me to understand my new friends' speech at times--there are just so many unique words in the Chilean dialect, and their manner of speaking is so distinct. I found myself constantly begging "perdon?" and I'm quite sure that I missed a big chunk of what was said. I didn't need to understand every word though, to understand that this family is one of the kindest of any I've met, and I am so happy to have them as friends here in Chile.

The daughters amused me endlessly, with their questions about America (What is Broadway like? What are the most popular zoos in the United States?) and their interest in American music (they knew more popular artists than I do). It's one of my favorite things to see how people outside the United States view our culture, especially our pop culture, and these girls were experts in it. Miguel also, is very familiar with United States culture, and we had a great time sharing experiences of Chicago (where he lived several times). We discussed differences in work culture, food, and social customs and taught each other new words in our respective languages.

Today we continue to have setbacks in our schedule due to the earthquake. We were supposed to register for Chilean ID cards (so official!) but until further notice (that seems to be the dominant theme with respect to the earthquake) they are unable to serve foreigners, only Chileans. So for now, we wait, not only on ID cards, but on news of whether classes will start on time, and whether we'll be able to do the necessary orientation with DUOC. Only time will tell.