Que vamos a comer?

The Restaurant we went to..forget the name.

My mediocre King Crab!

Cordero...lamb

"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

Cute!

Well the truth is I have been eating alot! What is it about being in an unfamiliar place that makes your stomach never know what full feels like? The grocery store here is about 4 blocks away and is about half the size of a grocery store in the U.S.  It is called the Unimart.

The first time I went grocery shopping I walked down every single isle eyeing all the foreign packaging wondering if the pictures on the outside told a true story of what was actually on the inside.  I found that some did and others like “crema” which I took to mean cream for my coffee was such a thick consistency that the glop’s that fell into my coffee cup caused the coffee to spill over the lip of the cup.  Yuck!

The $2 cans of tuna and the $4 bags of frozen veggies have proven that the prices here are either more or equally as expensive as the U.S.  However, as I walked down the wine isle I found reassurance in the plentitude of $1.50 bottles of wine! I looked down at my cart and contemplated trading the tuna cans and granola bars for the chance of becoming a wino for so cheap.

A recommendation from my experience is never go to the grocery store from 7-8 pm, which is unfortunate because that is when I get off work and is the most convenient time to go. However, it is just as convenient for all the Chilenos. Lines of Chileans wrapped in their multi-colored jackets carrying plastic bags of fruit and bread flood the isles, making it hard to maneuver around them.  I imagined myself standing in line at a Vons in San Diego in this situation. The picture wasn’t good. Can you imagine the scene: tons of frustrated consumers having to wait in lines that take up to 20 minutes, yelling….cussing…crying….sweating….customers who vow to never spend a dime in that store again!

Fruit is not the most appealing….apparently they export the best selection to the US and we get what’s left over here! So, I had to pass on the half brown and green bananas…I didn’t know if they were over ripe or not ripe yet?

Another interesting item is that the ladies who bag your groceries pay the store to be there and you are supposed to tip them to bag your groceries. What they expect is a mere 100 or 200 pesos which is about 25 or 50 cents.

My first restaurant dining experience was quite aesthetically and visually pleasant, however flavor didn’t match appearance.  (Picture above) I ordered the Cannelloni stuffed with king crab. It wasn’t horrible, but let’s just say I have had better! The other pictures are of lamb that the other people ordered. They had the same comments about their food. 

Last weekend we made it to see the penguins (picture above) and felt the fury of the wind. I thought I had experienced it’s worst, but the wind proved me wrong. I have never experience wind with such force. I was equipped with what I call my astronaut suit, which is my snow pants, and rain jacket zipped to the max. (Picture above)

Days are long here, so long that dinner starts at 9 and I don’t get to sleep until about 1am. No matter how much I try to get to bed early somehow time sneaks past me and surprises me at about 11pm when the sun goes down. It might have to do with the fact that I have no watch and no cell phone to keep track. I left my computer clock on PST so that I will know what time it is at home….kind of a way to hold on I guess.

I am going backpacking this weekend to a place called Torres Del Pine, it is one of Chile’s spectacular national parks! I am going with 2 other girls, and I have the most backpacking experience so I hope that we can survive! HAHA..just kidding…we will be fine. Hopefully, I will have amazing pictures for my next blog!

For now, I leave you with the advice I was given by the guides in my office for our trip this weekend: No comas la nieve amarilla!

Hasta otro tiempo! 

 ~Yenny