The school days here are passing by relatively quickly. It's crazy to think I'm already gearing up for my first real weekend here in Arica, Chile. Luckily, my classes are located in the Universidad de Tarapaca building that's only 20 minutes away from my house, so I can walk there easily and I don't have to spend the 450 pesos (~1 dollar) each way for a collectivo (public taxi with a specific route that will pick up a bunch of people). There are 4 students who live within walking distance from me so I have had company on all my walks so far. The students here are still on strike so we are the only ones in the building but the Chilean government has just reached a "deal" (debatable if they even agreed to anything the students wanted) with the students will return to class September 5th.
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| UTA |
Arica has been a really good culinary experience so far because the school day is divided into two, unlike Santiago or other bigger cities in Chile. We have Spanish class from 9-12 in the morning and then return home until classes resume from 3-5/5:30, when we usually have a public health seminar or a visit to a certain health center in town. During the break from 12-3, it is typical to return home to eat a big lunch with your host family and nap. Most business close down during this time anyway so there isn't much else to do besides come home!
The cooking has been really interesting and new- Chileans eat very differently than I normally do. An average day in my house (which also is not average all over Arica, because there are different customs in each family) consists of:
- Breakfast of tea, orange juice, toast with jam and butter
- Huge lunch of salad with quinoa in it, some type of homemade soup with croutons, and then pasta or chicken with potatoes or this amazing vegetable dish called charquicán which my mom makes with a little bit of ground beef (it resembles a pile of mashed potatoes and you eat it with whole grain rice)
- "Dinner" (which they call "té"= tea) of a slice of bread with avocado, cheese, or tomato and tea
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| Typical "dinner"- more like an evening snack |
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| The delicious charquicán (not always the most attractive) |
I have yet to try the elusive Chilean street food- the classic completo, a jumbo hot dog covered in palta (small avocados from Chile), tomato, sauerkraut, and mayonnaise. I'll let you all know when I complete the feat of the completo :) The only place I've found them so far is the McDonalds downtown and I am not going to stoop to that level here... I can't support them in the U.S. and I definitely won't in Arica!
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| Completo italiano (one type among many!) |
I realize now that this post is mainly about food... it happens... I hope all of you are eating well in DC, Portland, or wherever you are reading this from!
As always, questions are welcome! marisaw@gwmail.gwu.edu
- Marisa
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