When we arrived at our home for the next ten days we were greeted by Elizabeth, our host mother. She was well turned out and smiley and led us up to her home, on the 21st floor of a tower block. Unlike Elizabeth, her home was not so well turned out, and as soon as Elizabeth had left the flat, Christian tracked down the Hoover and gave our bedroom a good clean! Our room may have been a bit dirty (Christian may use a different way to describe it) but the view was amazing.
Dirty room with a view
We shared the apartment with Elizabeth, her twenty year old daughter Xaviera, and Xaviera's two year old daughter, Isadora. The little girl was absolutely gorgeous. At the beginning of our stay she was shy and only came to the threshold of our room. However, as time passed she became more confident and by the end of our stay she was scrambling all over the room and playing with christian's iPad (and yes she was better than me on it!). An interesting thing about Chile which I also noticed in South America on my last visit, is that being a single mum is very common. It is quite a rarity for a middle-aged woman to live with her husband, she is much more likely to live with her extended family or just her children. From what i can gather (and this is a huge generalisation!), South American men do not tend to stick around. Also, children tend to stay at home until they marry, so households can be pretty full.
Isadora dripping ice cream all over herself and our doorway!
It was fantastic to stay in one place for a while and really immerse ourselves in the culture of Chile, and what an immersion it was! For starters, no-one speaks English, so school was extremely useful.
Santiago by day
During the day we went to Spanish school. We had breakfast at about eight am and then would walk for 45 minutes to school. At school we would have lessons from 9.00 till 10.30 when we would indulge in a tea break (in which only Spanish is spoken), we would then continue with lessons until 1.30 pm , when school finished for the day. At first Christian had opted for private lessons, and he was assigned the wife of Father Christmas. She was the best teacher in the school, if not a little scary.
I was in lessons with an Indonesian priest who was learning spanish to become a missionary, but after a day I asked for something more challenging because the level was too basic. As a result I was given Mrs Christmas and Christian swapped classes with me to join the priesthood. I learnt so much from my teacher and she gave me plenty of homework, which meant I spent a lot of time in the afternoons studying. However, I still managed some sightseeing. The main square (plaza de armas) and the governmental building (La Moneda) are must-dos for a stroll around. Also worth a visit are the fish Market, where you should look out for a box of chicks (ideal gift) or the market roof that was built in England and shipped over (By the maker of the spitalfields market roof).
Chick in a box
Santiago may not be the prettiest city in the world, but it has plenty of parks and green space, and one of my favourite things was hanging out in the parks. In a Chilean park you can be assured of seeing all of the following
1. Young couples on top of each other (remember they still live in the family home and have nowhere to go!)
2. Groups of teenage boys and girls (maybe the ones who can't get girlfriends and boyfriends to lie on top of!) dancing in unison to a ghetto blaster
3. Stray dogs soaking up the sun
4. Drunks listening to music from their mobile phones and nursing beers
5. Kids playing in the sun, running through sprinklers or in ponds
Santiago by night
Our biggest education into Chilean life came after midnight. My language exchange partner that I met in London lives in Santiago and Rodrigo gave us a fast track course into Santiago nightlife. We would normally meet Rodrigo at around eleven pm, although he was consistently at least an hour late. At this time we would hit Barrio Bellavista, the area where the locals hang out, and there we would do as the locals do; drink, talk loudly, dance and eat completos. The completo is a Chilean delicacy (they don't have many) and consists of a frankfurter hotdog, covered in avocado and tomatoes. Not exactly gourmet cuisine, but at four am and after numerous pisco sours (the boys would be on the beer), they tasted fantastic, and also at this time in the morning we were able to convince ourselves how nutritious they were! We had some really memorable nights in Santiago together with some that I can't remember at all, so a big thank you to Rodrigo and his friends for the memories and the memory blanks!
A Chile Christmas
Christmas in Santiago began with a Christmas lunch at the school on December 23rd. All the teachers, the receptionist, the cleaner, the students and the director (Father Christmas) sat around the table that was decorated festively. The only person missing was Tiny Tim. All four students (the school was quiet for Christmas, I guess Father Christmas had other things to concentrate on then student enrolment) had bought in some food that was native to their country. Christian and I had prepared Banoffee pie, using the South American favourite; Dulce de leche. You should have seen how well it went down, everyone was asking for seconds, so we definitely did England proud that day, and left the Chileans with the impression that England is a culinary hotspot (it's ok, they will probably never visit).
At the end of the lunch, Camilo gave a speech about the importance of Christmas and I thought I was going to cry! It was beautiful, and reminded us all that whether you are religious or not, Christmas is a time away from the stresses of work, when you can make peace with the year gone past, and move forwards into a new year with love in your heart. (after this I am almost certain he is father Christmas).
Christian and I had been hesitant about having Christmas dinner with Elizabeth and her family. Not because we didn't want to but because it was the first Christmas she was having with her daughter, her granddaughter and the father of little Isadora. For such a special occasion we thought we should stay out of the way. As it turned out, Elizabeth and her daughter practically begged us to have Christmas dinner with them and so at about 10.30 pm on Christmas Eve, we sat down as part of the family, to a meal of beef, salads, and potatoes. Only at midnight are presents opened, and it was so much fun to see little Isadora with her new dolls and pink tricycle. One of her dolls said fifty different phrases dependent on which way you moved her, and she came with an instruction booklet which kept the boys entertained. Although Elizabeth is not rich by any means, she put on such a lovely dinner and even bought Christian and I a gift each, and eveyone was very happy. After dinner we met Rodrigo at 1.30 am to welcome in Christmas day with some drinks.
What we have learnt about Chile
After ten days in Santiago, we felt pretty well acquainted with the culture and people. Our key findings were:
1. The Chilenos are fiercely patriotic of their country and everything from their country. A sure-fire way to annoy a Chileno is to compare the country to Peru. To really push them over the edge you could try saying something like "isn't Pisco from Peru, and I do like your wine but I think the Argentinian wine is better.". That could probably get you deported.
2. Like in all of South America, everyone is late for everything. Our seven o'clock dinner at Elizabeths was never served before eight, and meeting with friends was consistently at least an hour late, which led us to the conclusion Chile needs a new timezone as they are all one hour behind the clock.
3. Chilenos are very tactile and affectionate. A good example of this came when Christian and I were having coffee outside a cafe and an older couple began talking to us. We talked for about ten minutes before we had their contact details and an invite to stay with them. When they left, the man gave Christian a huge bear hug which Christian didn't know what to do with!
After ten days in Santiago we bid a fond farewell to Elizabeth and our school teachers, and an "hasta luego" to our friends who we would be meeting for new year. It was time to put our feet onto Argentine soil.
Christian and Fiona
Location:Santiago, Chile
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