1/2 Crude to the Canapes
The big news of the day here in Chile is that Pinochet died this afternoon. There are both supporters and opponents of the ex-dictator on the streets and in the many plazas of the city, singing, waving flags and drinking champagne. So far, things have been peaceful... but we're staying home. Strangely, some of the songs that we can hear sound somewhat like If You're Happy and You Know It, Clap Your Hands. No idea what THAT means.
Jen and I started our Spanish classes last week. She has class for 3.5 hours a day for five weeks, while I have a one-on-one class twice a week for 1.5 hours, for at least 11 days. My first class, I told my professora Carolina that I was 301 years old, and that I WAS the United States. I think I'll require more than 16.5 hours...
Some of the restaurants have English language menus. Or at least, they claim to. I didn't get a picture of one of the other pages, but it included a dish called "mud loco." We weren't brave enough to order it. And what the hell is 1/2 Crude to the Canapes, anyway?
The food at restaurants is interesting. The owner of the hostal owns a very nice restaurant just down the street from the hostal -- we've been there three times. The food there is much like you'd find in an upscale American restaurant, with, of course, local variations. But, we've eaten at a few other places (such as the "mud loco" place). They have dishes that often involve either fried eggs, mayonnaise, or both. Today, we grabbed lunch at a place while looking at apartments. Their menu of the day was bread (good), tuna salad on artichoke halves (good), over-done flank steak with a side of fried onions, both with a fried egg on top (not so good) and ice cream (good). Some places have very good pizza. But we ate at a place where their idea of pizza was... bad. Very bad.
Oh, and American culture is alive and well here in Chile, although Buzz is looking like he had just a bit too much to drink last night.
Also, I posted some more pictures of Quinta Normal, the park near the hostal. It is lovely.
Jason
Jen and I started our Spanish classes last week. She has class for 3.5 hours a day for five weeks, while I have a one-on-one class twice a week for 1.5 hours, for at least 11 days. My first class, I told my professora Carolina that I was 301 years old, and that I WAS the United States. I think I'll require more than 16.5 hours...
Some of the restaurants have English language menus. Or at least, they claim to. I didn't get a picture of one of the other pages, but it included a dish called "mud loco." We weren't brave enough to order it. And what the hell is 1/2 Crude to the Canapes, anyway?
The food at restaurants is interesting. The owner of the hostal owns a very nice restaurant just down the street from the hostal -- we've been there three times. The food there is much like you'd find in an upscale American restaurant, with, of course, local variations. But, we've eaten at a few other places (such as the "mud loco" place). They have dishes that often involve either fried eggs, mayonnaise, or both. Today, we grabbed lunch at a place while looking at apartments. Their menu of the day was bread (good), tuna salad on artichoke halves (good), over-done flank steak with a side of fried onions, both with a fried egg on top (not so good) and ice cream (good). Some places have very good pizza. But we ate at a place where their idea of pizza was... bad. Very bad.
Oh, and American culture is alive and well here in Chile, although Buzz is looking like he had just a bit too much to drink last night.
Also, I posted some more pictures of Quinta Normal, the park near the hostal. It is lovely.
Jason
3 Comments:
I saw some pictures of riots in Chile and came to check your blog to see if you had written about it. I hope everything remains peaceful around your area.
Yeah, so far everything has been fine where we are. If you look at this map (PDF), we are just left of the center line, where Compania and Maipu cross (right at the 505 bus marker, above the word Santiago). The riots we saw on TV were probably at Plaza Italia (follow the 505 bus line straight right past Cerro Santa Lucia, before you get to the tan section -- which is Providencia, one of the main sections we're searching for an apartment. That map is text searchable, too. CTRL-F in Acrobat.). Incidentally, Plaza Italia is the 0 km marker for all of Chile. All distances are measured from there.
Jason
Glad to hear you were not near the demonstrations. Thanks for map! Helps me picture things better. Very interesting that they measure everything from Plaza Italia . . .
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