Cerro San Cristobal

On Saturday, Matt and I woke up early to hike Cerro San Cristobal, a hill/mountain very close to our apartment.

The cerro is a part of the larger Parque Metropolitano de Santiago, a park system that includes hiking, zoos, and public spaces.

It was a chilly morning, but I still got pretty sweaty hiking. The incline was steeper than it might look. Kudos to Matt for putting up with me during the hike!

Some people hiked, like we did, but others ran, or even biked. I saw one man walk up with a yoga mat, presumably to do some yoga or stretching at the summit.

Here's what it looks like from the road about a mile away. Notice the helicopter.

The path was steep and lined with cacti. How treacherous!

Peeking through at the city on the climb up.

"Together forever." There was lots of romantic graffiti on the way up.

Santiago. There are those beautiful Andes mountains, and a partial view of this huge city. (Plus a layer of smog, but we'll ignore that for the moment.)

Matt at the summit.

Another shot of the Andes.

Looking out.

La Virgen. 

Many Spanish-speaking cultures are Catholic, and they truly adore the Virgin Mary. La Virgen is so important in Hispanic cultures. She plays a much bigger role in their Catholic culture than she does in others'. 

When you see prayer candles like this one in latino markets or in the international aisles at the grocery store, that's la Virgen de la Guadalupe (the Virgin Mary).

A giant statue of la Virgen sits on the summit of Cerro San Cristobal. At night, she is illuminated, and we can even see her from our street below. There were big signs that said SILENCIO around her, so that people could pray in peace. There were people lighting prayer candles, there were plenty of people quietly praying, and even one man who appeared to be weeping for her. 

To give you an idea of how important this figure is to Hispanic Catholicism: on the mountain there is a relatively small statue of Jesus, then this enormous statue of the Virgin Mary. She is a big deal (literally and figuratively in this case).

Mountains at every angle.

More mountains. I don't get tired of them.

At the summit.

Since we were short on time and had somewhere to be, we took the funicular - cable car - down. They were big and very open. Matt didn't much care for it, even though the car conductor assured us several times that they had worked for over 80 years without an accident. They moved pretty fast down the incline.

Most people who know me know that I'm not much of hiker, or outdoorsy at all, so this was certainly a new experience for me. Hiking is hard work, but you do get a rush of accomplishment when you reach the summit.

We'd like to do this hike again sometime, hopefully on a morning after nighttime rainful. The rain clears away some of the smog in the city, so if you hike after it rains, the city is much clearer, and the mountains look fantastic (for two reasons: the rain clears the smog so you can see them better, and in the mountains that rain turns into snow, so the caps are super bright and snowy).

Thanks to Matt for taking me all the way up Cerro San Cristobal. 

Work

So what am I actually doing in Chile, anyway?

I moved to Chile for a couple of reasons. First, I knew I wanted some kind of change, and I've always wanted to live in a Spanish-speaking country. I had always been too afraid to do it by myself, but when Matt came into my life, with his spirit for travel and adventure, I knew this was the time to act.

So why Chile? Matt lived in Chile in 2011. I felt more comfortable going someplace he already knew than going somewhere totally unknown. That's not to say we didn't look at other places. Mexico was on the list, as was Guatemala. We decided on Chile, though, because Matt loved it and missed it, and because I wanted to see it. And it's somewhere people don't usually visit.

Chile is the long skinny country on the western side of South America. Although it's on the western coast of the continent, it actually isn't very "west" at all. If you look up near the top of the map, you'll see that Chile is almost a little east of Florida. That's why right now there's no time difference between VA and Chile - we're longitudinally not so far apart. 

Before I moved, I was a teacher. Here, I am also a teacher, but in a very different capacity.

In the US, I taught high school Spanish (level I and levels IVZ and IVH). In Chile, I teach English. It's not an English class like you'd have in a high school in the US, though. (We're not reading Shakespeare or writing essays.) I'm teaching mostly business (but sometimes conversaitonal) English to adults. 

How does that work? Matt and I are both working for a language company, technically as independent contractors. Our language company gets a call from the businesses and businesspeople in Santiago who are looking to learn English, and our company finds a teacher for the job. They provide the curriculum structure, the tools, and the texts. 

Most of my classes are in person, and last an hour and a half. No class is larger than six students, and in fact all of mine right now are one-on-one. I like my students a lot.

What does it all look like?

This is the Titanium Tower. I posted it a few days ago as well. I have two classes here. It's a gorgeous building that hosts several different businesses. The ground floor houses many restaurants and cafes, as well as a gym.

I took this walking to the Titanium Tower, over in the business sector. It's nice that the mountains are always visible. 

The elevators in the Titanium Tower are huge. 

Waiting for a student and looking like a horror movie ghost.

This building is alive! It's across the street from the Titanium Tower. 

I also teach an online class. It's also an English class, and since conversation is the best way to learn a language, we use Skype to communicate, and an interactive internet platform to teach grammar and vocabulary. It's neat. 

Right now Chile is in its busy season. It's winter here right now, and everybody is very busy at work. That means lots of people are taking English classes, so there's a lot of work for us as teachers. During the summer months (January - March), Chileans take long holidays. They travel, they rest, and enjoy time away from work. Like most countries around the world, Chile offers more vacation time than the US, so it's easy for people to make such plans. During that time, it'll be a bit harder for us to find steady classes.

But for now, it seems to be going ok. Working as a contracted teacher prompts me to explore the city, since my classes are at different businesses all around the city. I'm not sure if this is something I'll do the whole time I'm here (or the only thing I'll do the whole time I'm here), but for now, it's a good place to start. 

First Chilean Birthday

Today is my twenty-fifth birthday, and my first one in Chile. It was nice and quiet.

This was technically taken yesterday, but I won't tell if you won't.

I slept in a little today, then prepared for the long-ish work day I have tomorrow. 

I did a trial run to the place I'll be working tomorrow. (For those of you who don't know, both Matt and I are working as contracted English teachers. We work for a company that sends us to different locations around the city to teach business English to adults in small groups, or sometimes just to individuals.) Since I often struggle with directions and have punctuality paranoia (I hate being late - I'm usually annoyingly early), I like to do trial runs to my locations so I can learn the route and time myself.

This is where I'll be working tomorrow:

That's the Titanium Tower. Up until a few years ago it was the tallest building in South America. The new tallest building in South America was built a couple blocks away from it. How rude!

It houses offices for different companies. I'm looking forward to checking out the inside. After that I went to work and picked up materials and walked home and did other boring things.

After that I came home for lunch/dinner.

We made lentil stew. I understand this might not look appetizing to all readers, but we like it.

Then Matt gave me some great presents.

Beautiful flowers

A new pan! The one at our apartment peeled teflon into our food. I'm pretty sure teflon is a carcinogen, or at least really gross and generally bad for you. This pan is super nice, and since I love to cook, I was very excited. Thanks, Matt!

An apron, because all my shirts are stained and I am guilty of not-so-stealthily wiping my hands on my pants.

These gifts might lead you to believe that I am a 1950s housewife. A 1950s, feminist, foul-mouthed, self-important blogging one, at least.

Then my roommates surprised me with this:

Anthology of Gabriela Mistal's poems. She's a Chilean feminist poet. It was a very thoughtful gift from a very thoughtful couple.

I'd like to thank everyone for the birthday wishes. The facebook posts, emails, texts, and snapchats (below) really made my day. I appreciate it, and I'm glad to know that you haven't forgotten about me even though I'm a whole continent away.

Thanks, Killian and Sarah!

Thanks, Matt, who sent this to me from across the room!

Thanks for making me feel loved on my birthday, everybody. Hope you are all having a great July 21st. 

P.S. Matt kind of says hi!

Costanera Center

This weekend we took two trips to the Costanera Center. I want to call it a shopping mall, but it's bigger than that. I don't know if a word in English (or Spanish, for that matter) exists to describe what it is.

It's a huge indoor shopping complex. From the outside, it looks like an enormous glass building. Once inside, it looks even bigger.

Colored water falls, palm trees, and skylights. One of the friends we were with commented that this place probably looks incredible at Christmastime. I really look forward to that.

Matt, taking it all in

The escalators were cool. There are six full stories, as well as a seventh that houses a movie theater. It was a little dizzying standing at the top. It is enormously tall. A few weeks ago, a man jumped from the top in order to protest capitalism. This place certainly emobies a culture of consumption and competitive business.

We discovered that the entire 6th floor of the building is dedicated to food. Fancy restaurants abound, but there's also a food court for quick bites. For dinner on Saturday, we went to dinner at a beautiful Peruvian restaurant called Tanta. Peruvian food is very popular in Chile. 

The restaurant was on the sixth story, and we chose to eat on the patio/balcony. The view was beautiful, and the restaurant provided heaters to keep the space warm.

Many restaurants in Chile sell fresh juice. I got a pineapple, mango, and orange juice. I guzzled almost half of it before I realized I should document it.

One strange thing about Chile: you have to pay for water in restaurants. I ordered a water after I finished my juice, assuming it'd be regular tap water, but the restaurant only served mineral water in glass bottles. It cost about three US dollars. 

After dinner with friends, we saw the new Planet of the Apes movie, which in Spanish was called Plaenta de los simios: Confrontación. The movies here are offered in a couple of different formats. You can choose either a dubbed version, in which Spanish-speaking voice actors speak over the film in Spanish, or a subtitled version, which features the original spoken English but with written Spanish subtitles at the top or bottom of the screen. We went with the subtitled version, as one person in our group does not speak Spanish.

The theater was very large, and had stadium style seating, like many of the newer US theaters. The theaters in Chile have overpriced concessions and long previews, just like at home. It was a very nice theater. Ticket prices are about $10 per person. 

We went back to the Costanera Center on Sunday to do a little shopping. I tried to snap some photos that would communicate just how big the place is.

What kind of shoppin does the Costanera Center offer? Well, it houses two of Chile's biggest department store chains, París and Falabella, as well as many general clothing stores, including ones you'll recognize from home, like Banana Republic, H&M, Zara, Clark's, Gap, the Apple Store, Armani Exchange, Calvin Kelin, Esprit, Naturalizer, Nine West, Docker's, Tommy Hilfiger, Izod, an Adidas store, and GNC, among many, many others. Click the hyperlink at the top of this post to see a full list of tiendas (stores).

There are also pharmacies, banks, bakeries, electronics stores, bookstores, and candy shops. And, just like in the US, frozen yogurt is huge here. I saw at least three different frozen yogurt places in the Costanera Center.

And, of course, there was a Starbucks.

There is a big home goods store called Easy. It's sort of like an Ikea and a Home Depot, combined.

Jumbo, my favorite grocery store in Chile, had a full-size location in the mall, too. This photo was taken in the international aisle. You can see that the US is represented by Kraft macaroni and cheese, canned pie filling, and peanut butter.

Next we stumbled upon an exhibit that featured vintage Cirque de Soleil costumes. There were beautiful.

I took some photos in the food court on Sunday, too. It was the biggest food court I'd ever seen. It had a lot of familiar US chains, as well as some enticing Chilean options. Many of the Chilean chains bake their bread in house, make their own mayonnaise, and pickle their own sauerkraut. A lot of effort goes into even the fast food.

This collage serves to prove to my brother that Chile has food he can eat. He's a picky eater, so now he knows that when he visits me, he'll have some familiar options. 

For lunch on Sunday, Matt got a completo, which is a hotdog with mayonnaise, sauerkraut, and tomato. It's a Chilean staple. 

I look forward to going back to the Constanera Center for more shopping. It really is a neat place. It has something for everyone, both shopping-wise and food-wise. I can't wait to bring visiting family and friends here, and I especially look forward to seeing it decorated for Christmas (even though it'll be a warm 80-something degrees then - talk about temperature dissonance). 

Miss you all and love you very much.

Favorite Dishes

Matt and I have been working hard to make cheap, healthy, and filling meals. The only meal we've had out was the one we had on the day we landed! We've been cooking at home to save money and to make sure we're eating healthily. 

Here are some of the dishes we've liked best. 

Mushroom risotto with peas.

Lentil stew with rice, carrots, onions, and garlic.

Deconstructed spring rolls (rice, lettuce, carrots, cucumber, green onion, purple cabbage, avocado, and chili sauce)

Rice (cooked with tomato sauce with corn stirred in), with black beans, and spicy eggs (I don't eat eggs - this was Matt's plate)

Veggie sushi (avocado, carrot, cucumber, green onion, and pickle)

Thai red curry with baby corn, potatoes, onions, purple cabbage, carrots, broccoli, cilantro and jasmine rice. 

Tips on how to eat cheap:

• Dried beans, lentils, and rice are usually some of the cheaper things at the grocery store. Instant is quicker, but more expensive. Have lentils or beans soaking - you'll find a use for them.
• Buy ingredients that are cheap for your area. Avocado is super expensive in the US, but here it's not at all expensive. We're taking advantage of that!
• Buy what's on special. The mushroom risotto doesn't require the fanciest mushrooms. We pick whichever mushroom is cheapest at the market.
• Don't buy cartons of stock/broth. We buy vegetable buillon, which comes in packs of 8 for about $1. Usually, a quart of premade stock costs $4. Boil some water and dissolve the buillon. It's an extra step, but it sure does save a lot of money.
• Buy vegetables like carrots in bulk. Baby carrots or julienned carrots would be easier, but a bulk bag of whole carrots is much cheaper, and you'd be surprised how many dishes you can throw them into. Same goes for lettuce. Bagged lettuce is expensive and browns quickly. Buy romaine hearts and chop them as you use them.
• Try to have fruit on hand. A small meal can be supplemented well with a banana or an apple or a sliced orange.
• Don't skimp on onions and garlic. They're cheap and really pack a punch.
• Have healthy, non-perishable proteins on hand. Chickpeas (garbanzo beans) are full of protein. We throw them into salads to beef them up.
• Speaking of salads, don't fuss with too many dressings. They crowd your fridge, and often go to waste before you've finished the bottle. Keep lemons, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar on hand. They're less expensive than bottled dressings, and they taste good on most salads. 
• Waste not! Make the correct portion sizes, or have tupperware ready to catch leftovers. 

If anyone would like the recipes to any of the dishes, let me know and I will post them.

First Earthquake!

We felt our first Chilean earthquake last night around 11:00 pm. 

There was some rumbling and some shaking, but nothing too scary. 

Temblores happen here all the time. You can only really feel some of them. 

You can even track them. 

Click photo to enlarge.