OTTER!!!!! So cute. So helpful for speaking Spanish with a native-like accent

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0OyhHeelyo The otter. So cute. So sweet. They hold hands! Playful, furry, adorable. otter otter otter otter otter otter otter otter otter Can you say "otter" like the average American would say it? (Not like a Brit, but like an AMERICAN?!?) Even better, can you say "otter" like a Southern American? If so, good news - you can sound super authentic in how you say hundreds of Spanish words. Say the following: ah bl otter = hablar = to speak come een otter = caminar = to walk who g otter = jugar = to play buy l otter = bailer = to dance co seen otter = conicar = to cook dee boo ha otter = dibujar = to draw moan t otter = montar = to ride con t otter = cantar = to sing tome otter = tomar = to take / to drink

On buying soap in Chile

Sure, you could just go to the mega-mart (Líder, now owned by Wal-Mart) but if you wanna do it Chilean style - and get a better price - this is how it goes.

1. You find a store that looks like a drug store or a Dollar Tree except that all the products are behind counters, stacked on shelves against the wall.
2. You push your way through the crowd until you identify the product you seek. The product is probably something like mascara (normal CoverGirl or Maybelline, nothing fancy) or soap (St. Ives or Dove, for example). One of the sales clerks gets the product for you. You ask some questions, they give some answers, you pick what you want and hand it back to the clerk.
3. You go to where the clerk scans the item. The clerk then passes you a receipt.
4. You go stand in line at the registr (the Chileans tolerate waiting in line).
5. You pay and receive another receipt.
6. You go back to where the first clerk scanned your itme. With your ticket in your outstretched hand, you squeeze your way alongside all the other people with their tickets in their outstretched hands and wait for someone to take your ticket, put your product in a bag and hand it to you.

It´s an event unto itself!

Día de la Vírgen

Today is the celebration of the Concepción Inmaculada on the Catholic liturgical calendar. It´s a big deal, especially in Concepción. There was a festive atmosphere for several city blocks leading to the Cerro de la Vírgen (the hill of the Virgin) with vendors selling crafts, food, drink and many other things.

As you crossed the threshold, though, from the normal world onto holy ground, the difference was quite palpable. It was quieter. Some people were climbing bare-footed or on their knees as a way of showing sincerity or gratitude. The city noises disappeared amidst the lush fragrant forest. The choir singing at the top could be heard at various points along the climb thanks to speakers mounted to trees along the path. A beautiful place, a beautiful ceremony.

The new love in my life...

As some of you may already know, I am madly in love. Here´s the story of my romance with the Empanada.

I had noticed the Empanada before. I´d even had a couple. In fact, the first one I had was at a restaurant the first day I got here. But I was disoriented from so many hours of travel and my new environs, so I was mostly just happy to be eating something. I didn´t really pay it too much attention. The next encounter was a few weeks later at the peña hosted by the Talcahuano Sur Rotary in the lead-up to the 18th of September. That night, the Empanada and I really connected. But I thought it was just something people ate around the 18th. Little did I know that I would soon find myself completely smitten with this little treat...

I had passed a bakery - San Diego - near the University several times and noticed that it was always packed. I wasn´t sure what was in there, but eventually my curiosity got the best of me and I went in. I ordered by pointing. Empanada de pino grande. About $1.50 US.

I guess it started as a casual friendship. I´d stop in for one if I was in the neighborhood and hadn´t had much of a lunch. I guess I knew that there seemed to be a spark of something special between us, but I thought maybe I was just imagining it. Then I started going there more and more, almost every day that I was on campus. Then I found myself going out of my way to go there.

I realized I was in love when I started to notice all the other Empanada places in town and wondering what each one was like. I knew I had fallen hard when I began to plan my days around trying different Empanadas that people recommended or that had piqued my interest in my walks around town.

Why, you might ask, am I so enamoured with this delectable? Well, there are just so many things to love about it. It´s satisfying - giving you protein and just the right amount of carbohydrates. It travels well - you can continue your walk around town with it. It´s efficient - the "masa" holds everything in and you don´t have to worry about spills or drips. It´s versatile - you can get a big one if you´re really hungry or a little one if you want just a nibble. It´s humble - the most expensive one I´ve had was about $2.00 US and the most inexpensive was about $.60 US.

Empanadas are everywhere! There are different configurations - fried or baked, with beef, chicken, ham, cheese, seafood, and on and on. The kind I like - de Pino - has meat, onions, olives, sometimes raisins for a bit of sweet, sometimes peppers for a bit of spice and half a boiled egg all tucked neatly inside "masa" that has been folded according to the style of the place that made it (sometimes they´re semi-circles, sometimes triangles, sometimes rectangles) and baked in the oven.


Now the Empanada and I are in a full-blown relationship. I think about them when they´re not around, and I look forward to the next one. Each and every moment we´ve spent together has been special. I´m so glad I met the Empanada, and I think it was appropriate we shared Thanksgiving as this is one of the things I am so thankful for down here in Chile. I don´t know how I lived my life before the Empanada, and I hope to learn how to make them so that when I go back to the US I won´t ever have to live without them again. ¡¡Te quiero mucho, mi querida EMPANADA!!

un buen tema

Me encanta este tema. ¡¡¡Me da ganas de bailar!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRPXl6fqImw

¡Viva el completo!

This was actually my second experience with the completo. Unfortunately I didn´t have my camera with me when I ate my first one. The first one I had was at a restaurant called Llanquihue. I immediately understood the draw of this food product on my first bite. It´s a hotdog with kraut, tomatoes, avacado and mayo. They are serious about their bread down here (there are good bakeries on just about every block), so it´s on a good fresh bun that´s been toasted just a bit.

My second experience with the completo was at my friend Ely´s house. Same concept as the one we ate at the restaurant. Below are the pictures. Ana didn´t want to be photographed in her PJs at first, but she eventually came around.

Student Strikes Successful

They didn´t get exactly what they wanted (50% reduction in tuition), but they got 30%, and it´s frozen for three years. Tomorrow the students government and University administration sign an agreement saying as much in front of a notary.

http://www.elsur.cl/diarioelsur/pagina.php?pagina=08&fecha=20091017