Santiago: Sunshine, Strays, and Sopaipillas

Well, folks, after 3 months living here in Santiago, I’d say it’s about time to fill you in on some of the quirks of this city; some good, some bad, some just plain ridiculous…

It is ALWAYS sunny in Santiago. Okay, yeah, it’s summertime. And it probably won’t be like this in the winter months. But seriously, at the moment, every day is a perfect day, weather-wise. No humidity, no rain, rarely any clouds, just bright blue skies and a cool breeze.

Unfortunately, that cool breeze isn’t the cleanest. Santiago is also known for its dirty air. Air pollution is actually a big problem in this city, mainly because of its location between 2 mountain ranges, huge population, and lack of clean energy. And in the winter, it will only get worse, when smog is known to engulf the city (you can already see some of this smog in the picture above, and we're not even close to winter...).

So the air is not so great. But what scares me more than a potential respiratory disease is the Chilean recluse spider (known here as the araña de rincon, or corner spider). Basically, if you get bit by this spider, you could die. (If you don’t go to the hospital within 24 hours of being bit, that is). It resides in dark corners and closets of many homes in Chile, and just the thought of it scares the s@#t out of me. The first time I saw one was during our big VE weekend retreat in the mountains. Early in the morning, I groggily made my way to the bathroom to be the first in line for the shower, pulled back the shower curtain, and EEK!

there it was, looming in the corner of the stall. So, as only a true coward would, I ran off to wake some of my friends to do the dirty dead of killing it.

Another creature that dominates Santiago?

The Stray Dog.

I have never seen so many stray dogs in my life. They are everywhere. Sleeping on street corners, under park benches, at bus stops,

or tagging along behind you as you cross the street. They’re even known to jump on the buses and hitch a ride. Luckily, I love dogs. So the only thing that bothers me about the stray dogs of Santiago is that I always have to resist the urge to pet them. 

But there are some urges that I don’t resist: like helping myself to a second (or third, or fourth) fresh-baked roll at once (which is, basically, the Chilean version of tea time). At around 5pm every day at the hogar where I work, once is served. And it’s one of my favorite parts of the day. All the girls and all the tias sit down together; the girls with their milk, the tias with their tea, and everyone with a piece of delicious Chilean bread (the marraqueta is my favorite) served with butter, or jam, or manjar (dulce de leche), or cream cheese, or avocado…

Yes, they serve bread with avocado. Pan con palta is to Chile what pan con tomate is to Spain (más o menos). And it’s surprisingly delicious. In fact, after 3 months living in Chile, I’ve found that avocado (mashed up with some lemon and salt) is good with almost anything! They love their avocado here. They put in on their bread, yes, but also on their salads, their chicken,

 their hot dogs,

their churrascos...

Speaking of hot dogs and churrascos, did I mention how GOOD Chilean fast food is? Hot dogs stands are commonplace, as are stands selling sopaipillas

(delicious little fried circles of dough made with pumpkin, then topped with condiments like pevre , Chilean salsa), stands selling empanadas

(big ones. Most commonly cheese. Or meat, with onions, a hard-boiled egg, and an olive), and stands selling mote con huesillos

(which is basically sweet tea served in a plastic cup with oatmeal and peaches. Sounds weird, but is so tasty!). And let’s not forget the fantastic Chilean asado.

This is a Chilean barbeque thrown for almost any type of celebration (or whenever people want an excuse to get together). And during which they serve one of my favorite, albeit simple, Chilean foods: choripan (chorizo and pan… yum!).

As much as I love Chilean fast food, however, I can’t say I love going to Chilean restaurants; mainly because the service kinda sucks. Having worked as a waitress for many years, I may be a little biased, but when everyone’s food is served at different times, you get something you didn’t order but have to pay for it anyway, and you have to wait 30 minutes for your check even after you’ve asked for it 3 times, I’d say that’s pretty bad.

You know what else is bad? A mullet.

I don’t care if you think it’s stylish, random Chilean guy, mullets are NEVER okay. You know what else you should get rid of? That stupid fanny pack on your waist. Nobody looks good with a mullet. And nobody looks good with a fanny pack on their waist. But the people of Santiago don’t seem to feel that way…

So have you ever tried to eat a lemon?

How about eating a lemon with a tablespoon of salt?

I’ll never forget the first time I saw one of the tias in the hogar do just this: take a half of a lemon, sprinkle it with a bunch of salt, take a bite as if it were an orange, sprinkle it with some more salt, and then eat the rest, without even squinting her eyes. I was impressed and repulsed at the same time. Turns out, a lot of Chileans eat lemons in this way, and they love it. Because Chileans love lemons. And salt. And, like with avocado, put loads of both on almost everything. And, like with avocado, I have become accustomed to doing this too. But I don’t think I will ever become accustomed to eating an entire lemon whole, let alone with a tablespoon of salt.

So what does all this boil down to? Basically, I’m going to get fat from eating too much delicious Chilean fast food and bread, wrinkly from daily exposure to sun, a respiratory disease from polluted air, fleas from petting the stray dogs, high blood pressure from too much salt, and might even end up sporting a mullet and a fanny pack… Santiago, what are you doing to me??

Okay, yes, I’m exaggerating. In all seriousness, I actually love living in this city (no, seriously, I do). And the things that strike me odd about a culture are also generally the most interesting. Besides, living here has helped me to appreciate some of the little things in life (well, what I used to think were little things, but now that I don't have them, seem like a luxury): having a dishwasher to wash the dishes for me, a dryer to dry clothes for me, heating and air-conditioning and not just a space heater or an open window, screens on the windows to keep the damn flies out, being able to flush toilet paper down the toilet rather than having to throw it in the trash, public restrooms that actually supply the toilet paper and soap, an oven that turns on with the push of a button or turn of a knob rather than having to light a match, a cellphone I can actually call people with without worrying how much the call will cost me, hopping in a car to get from point A to point B and, of course, a potentially white Christmas…