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Visiting North America – Some Cultural Observations

Two years into our South American adventure, still contemplating the meaning of “home,” I’ve found myself temporarily living in California.  The more time I’ve spent in California, the more I’ve realized that home truly is where your heart is, and my heart is with my toddler and husband back in Valdivia, Chile.  As homesick as I’ve been, my 3 week visit which morphed into a 3 month stay in California has been eye-opening.

Between, Photo Flickr by ChrisK4u

I used to find great humor in the amount of drama, and in particular the media’s pure enjoyment in reporting on political drama when I lived in Peru, Italy, and Argentina.  People and political parties were polarized, politicians said crazy things, and the resulting spectacle was even better than watching Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (I know I shouldn’t be watching it, but did you see her shoes?!)  Chile seemed quite staid by comparison.  Even when students took to the streets protesting for education reform in Chile, the news was reported in a very even-handed manner compared to the drama applied to news in these other countries.

After spending two years away from the U.S., I am now simply blown away by the way the mainstream news outlets are reporting stories in the U.S.  All news has become political, and watching the spectacle seems to have become America’s most popular pastime.  Politics, and winning at any cost has become the national sport and obsession.   Chileans still prefer the sport of soccer to politics, and I’m finding that soccer is growing on me.

Another thing that strikes me is the difference in how Chileans and Americans relate to strangers.  In Chile, strangers insert themselves into my life on a regular basis.  They tell me to wear warmer clothes, provide unsolicited parenting advice, and regularly give my toddler food without first asking permission.  This can be great or a nuisance (or a great nuisance), and initially made me very uncomfortable.  However, all of this paternalism comes from a good place, and helps me feel like others are looking out for me.

In contrast, I went for a walk a few weeks ago in California, and just my luck slipped on a patch of ice and fell like a ton of bricks right onto my tailbone.  While I was sitting for a good 5 minutes, moaning and cursing like a sailor (allowed as long as my daughter isn’t in earshot, right?), a car drove by and a security guard peered at me from across the street.  If anyone asked, I would have said that I was fine, and didn’t need any help, but no one asked!  After living in Southern Chile, it felt very strange to me that none of the onlookers did a thing, that they regarded a stranger’s fall as none of their business.  It made me feel very alone.  I haven’t yet tested this, but I have a feeling that if I were to have a bad fall in Valdivia, I’d at least receive a lecture to be more careful walking on an icy day!

Don’t get me wrong, there are aspects of both North American and South American cultures that I love and which drive me crazy.  One is not better than the other; they’re just different and it always feels to me like walking into a whole different world when I step off of the airplane onto another continent with its distinct set of rules and norms.  For other expats, tourists, and visitors to Chile from North America (and to the U.S. from Chile), I’d love to get your feedback around things that have surprised you when making the trek up north to visit friends and family.

Leave A Comment, Written on February 6th, 2012 , Living, Travels Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Summer in Patagonia – Adventures on the Valdivian Coast

My toddler is fascinated by the town of Corral.  We visited once, a few months ago, and ever since one of her favorite “books” has become the tourist brochure for the town of Corral and its surrounding areas.  So it should come as no surprise that last week, when asked where she wanted to go, she responded, “Corral!”  While I unfortunately couldn’t partake in the fun as my three week vacation to California became a two month visit (I’m still in the US), my husband and daughter are back in Chile enjoying a Patagonian summer.  They headed to Corral last week for a relaxing day full of empanadas, sunshine, and pirates.

Fishing Boats in Coastal Valdivia

Getting to Corral is a two step process, or a three step process if beer is needed/desired along the way.  First, drive, or take a bus or collectivo to Niebla.  We like bus #20, which heads from downtown Valdivia through Isla Teja to Niebla.  It’s a beautiful drive, and one of the best deals around for $1 US.  If you get thirsty along the way, hop off at either the Kuntsmann or Salzburg breweries.  While there, enjoy a schop (draft beer) and crudo (local specialty of raw beef on white bread) and then re-board the bus once satiated.

Upon reaching Niebla, grab a boat to Corral.  To clarify, don’t hop on a fishing boat, as the preferred options are either a large ferry or smaller jetty!  The jetties are convenient, comfortable (though not luxurious) and equipped with life vests.  One of these days we’ll try the ferry as we’ve been told by Mr. L that they are the safer, better way to go.  The boat ride lasts about an hour, and affords views of fishermen in colorful boats, big blue skies, and breaking waves.

Although the journey is half of the fun, the real reason to go is to explore the ruins of a former fortress which offers panoramic bay views.  Corral itself is a very, very small town, with friendly tourism office staff, rustic public restrooms, and a bus terminal which serves as a starting point for exploring nearby parks and towns.  As previously mentioned, my toddler is quite the foodie, so we’re always on the lookout for mostly-healthy snacks and dining options.  One place to grab a quick bite before your uphill climb to the fortress is the convenience store located on the town’s main street.  They have a couple of benches out front, and sell some tasty toddler-approved apple empanadas, the Chilean version of apple turnovers.  If I remember correctly, they are baked and not fried, though I may need to return to verify this…

Continue on through town, up a small hill, then after making a left at a walkway, you’ll reach the fortress.  I’ve been told they do some great battle reenactments during the summer afternoons.  The rest of the time it’s a quiet, tranquil place to sit and enjoy the views from the ancient fortress.

Pirate-Soldier Preparing for Battle in Corral

After breaking the law by having a picnic (some rules are meant to be broken, right?), trying in vain to escape a bug which seemed particularly drawn to my daughter, and relaxing in the sun, my toddler headed off to socialize.  My husband and daughter had arrived while the actors were still getting into character, and of course, my daughter decided to befriend the long-haired pirate-looking soldier.  He was friendlier than he appeared, and even stopped for some posed shots while helping my little girl climb up on a cannon, which, for my peace of mind, I’ll assume was unloaded.

My husband and daughter decided to take the boat back before the real firing of the cannons began, and embarked on the return trip to our little home in Valdivia.  A nice, relaxing time was had by all, and a big nap followed shortly thereafter.  What more could a father ask for?

2 Comments, Written on January 5th, 2012 , Beer, Food, Travels Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Playing in Patagonia

Every parent thinks their child is amazing, and I’m no exception.  How many parents do you know who can proudly say that their 2 year-old already knows what she wants to be when she grows up, down to the intricate details?  I’m sure not very many, and of those kids who have decided at this age, they probably tend towards jobs anyone can do, like become a movie star or the president.  However, not everyone can proudly state, like I can, that my daughter has decided that she wants to be a meat sandwich when she grows up, and that when asked to elaborate she proudly states “A pork sandwich!  With cinnamon on top!”  I have a hunch that her career aspirations are closely linked to her passions for creating and consuming food.  However, in many other ways she’s a normal kid, and has loved living at the Southern tip of the world, concurrently learning Spanish and English, and playing with anything and everything she encounters.

A Flower, A Rock, Classic Toys for Little Hands

We don’t have many traditional toys in the house, and as a result, my daughter likes to transform everyday things into toys.  When leaves from green onions and pineapples become magic wands, sunglasses make you a movie star or a super-hero, and paper towel rolls are megaphones, entertainment is simple.  I cannot even count the number of hours she has entertained herself both counting and finding different uses for pony tail holders, which apparently make very fashionable bracelets, especially when they’re pink and shiny.  However much fun we have at home, there are always more adventures awaiting at either the local cafe or park.

My toddler, like most, would be perfectly content to spend all day, every day going down slides, as long as there were food breaks, that is!  While we have several parks to choose from, the family’s favorite is Parque Savaal on Isla Teja, although there are several others that we’re curious to explore.  Parque Savaal charges admission of 80 cents/adult, and has 11 hectares of swamps complete with frogs and lily pads, a sculpture garden, picnic areas with shade and BBQ pits, and enough swings and slides to keep any child happy.  My husband and I are entertained by watching tourists climb and take silly pictures on the sculptures, especially the flimsy-looking metallic horse, and enjoy the serenity of the frogs’ chatter.

A Friendly Frog in Parque Savaal

On the plentiful rainy days, we like to head to a cafe with toys.  One of our favorites is Cafe Philippi, which is tucked away behind a museum inside of a park.  They are a bit of a retreat, serving items I really enjoy like tasty vegetarian lunches, loose-leaf teas, oatmeal cookies, and even chai tea lattes.  Their wifi is spotty, though they have plenty of magazines to compensate and a big green crate full of toys, enough to keep several toddlers happy.  And when toddlers are happily drawing, pretending to cook corn, or playing with the toy trucks, moms are happy too.  My little girl, always one to make herself at home, will ask the servers about the toys as she makes her way behind the counter towards the green crate.  The owners and servers are friendly, my daughter has a favorite (and surprisingly, he didn’t even need to give her food to earn the title!), and on warm days we can linger over the outside tables near the garden, the sea-saw, and the shy-but-friendly dog.

One of the best things about living in Chile is the focus on the family, which translates into a plenitude of parks and cafes with a children’s play areas.  The general rule seems to be that children are welcome anywhere except in places where expats outnumber locals!  When bringing kids to a cafe or restaurant, they are treated like VIPs, and many restaurants and even breweries have children’s play areas, which makes it easy for parents and kids to enjoy quality family time together.  Being able to comfortably bring our daughter with us, wherever we go, means more time for playing, which really is one of the reasons we decided to settle down in the beautiful town of Valdivia.

8 Comments, Written on November 15th, 2011 , Living Tags: , , , ,
Yenny Who? Oh, You’re Talking to Me(!)…and Other Expat Musings

A year and nine months into our adventures in South America, and defining home is still a challenge for me.  We love it in Chile, and are planning on sticking around a few more years, so I caught myself by surprise when I found myself reminding my toddler that San Francisco is her home.  They say “home is where the heart is,” and if this is the case our little family as several homes, in both our casita in Southern Chile as well as with dear friends and family in California, Arizona, and scattered here and there across the U.S.  As I prepare for a trip “home,” following are a few observations and musings on living as a foreigner in a new country.

Little Shoes

My Little Girl's Little Shoes in Chile

Lately I’ve come to realize that my toddler is already smarter than me, and that the only thing to do is enroll her in preschool so that her Spanish skills can surpass my limited vocabulary and even worse pronunciation (no, it’s not really that bad, well, maybe it is, depending on when you catch me!)  Her third day in, her teacher commented to me on how quickly she had adapted.  I wasn’t surprised, as she has already lived in 3 countries, making adaption a key social skill.  People worry about travel and life internationally with babies and toddlers, and from my personal experience I’ve found that spending the first few years abroad to offer nothing but a positive for my little girl.  She is young enough that everything is still new to her, so doesn’t have any old habits to unlearn in order to fit in, and strangers often comment on how clearly she speaks Spanish and how she’s practically Chilean.  The other great thing about living internationally with a baby is that everyone loves babies, which makes it easier to meet people and make friends across cultures and languages (and easier to gain access to employee-only bathrooms when necessary!)

The things I’d thought would be easy, such as speaking Spanish, are much harder than I had thought.  Sure, it’s easy enough to speak enough Spanish, referred to as castellano, to get by, but the challenge is moving from the acceptable level towards grammatically-correct fluid castellano spoken with the local accent and understanding of chilenismos.  The more time I spend in South America, the more I start to truly understand how important language is in opening doors, as well as in putting up barriers.  Some of my favorite Santiago-based bloggers have provided a tremendous amount of help by posting about key/interesting/funny Chilean phrases, and even compiling a glossary of chilenismos (words you only hear spoken by Chileans and those living in Chile.)  Sometimes fear of saying the wrong thing holds me back, and other times perhaps it should as when I mistakenly told the director of my daughter’s preschool that my husband is a purse salesman (commerciante de bolsas) when I meant to say that he’s a day trader (corredor de bolsa) – oops!  However, this morning I actually found myself explaining to my toddler how to throw poh into a conversation, so I guess it’s all about taking baby steps…

When living in California, I often defined myself by talking about what I was not.  I was a career woman who had no domestic skills whatsoever, and went by “Jen” or “Jennifer” but nobody, but nobody called me “Jenny.”  I prided myself on my inability to cook, and claimed that Annie’s Mac and Cheese (from a box) was my best meal.  Much has changed in the past 21 months!

Chilean Pesos

New Beginnings, New Currencies, New Perspectives

While still a career-woman, I’m now taking turns with my husband; when not consulting I’m supporting him while he tries to make our fortune in coffee trading.  While waiting to start my next contract, I’m a full-time stay-at-home mom, and now even take joy in learning to do things like make pasta, prepare traditional Chilean foods, prepare my daughter’s lunches, and make nut butters (it’s actually really simple, and quite tasty!)  It’s not how I envisioned my time in Patagonia, though I’m finding that it suits me.  What really surprised me, though is that yesterday someone called me “Yenny” (Spanish pronunciation of Jenny) and I didn’t correct her!  Since everyone in Chile has a nickname, it seemed only natural I should have one too.  As political correctness doesn’t exist here, I’m just happy it’s Jenny/Yenny and not the ubiquitous “gordita” (little fatty!)  While I’m not ready to start introducing myself as Jenny/Yenny, I’m now ready to start questioning some of the other “nots” incorporated into my psyche.  Wearing white after Labor Day, no problem!  Wearing uncomfortable yet fashionable high-heeled boots – hmm, well see…

While living in a foreign country can be a  bit uncomfortable at times because it feels so, well, foreign, I’ve found that with the right attitude this is also what makes it so rewarding.  I could pack up and go “home” tomorrow, wherever that might be, but much prefer to embrace the challenge of learning to adapt to the interesting, beautiful, landscape I’m discovering in the Southern tip of the world.

1 Comment, Written on October 12th, 2011 , Living Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Gourmet and Organic Food in Patagonia

We love food, especially my toddler.  When we’re not making food or eating it, she adores pretending to either make or eat food, often with some very interesting flavor combinations.  Last week, after learning that paella is a popular dish in Spain, looking at pictures of it online and having me describe it to her, she decided to pretend to make paella for “her man” (aka daddy), though using couscous instead of rice.  Given that this is how we pass our time, it should be no surprise to anyone that among her favorite activities are visiting the food co-op, the artisan bread store, and the gourmet shop.

La Manzana Co-Op in Valdivia

We were pretty excited to learn about the co-op, as it is the only place in Valdivia to consistantly find organic food.  The co-op, whose official name is Cooperativa de Consumo Responsable La Manzana (Vicente Pérez Rosales 787, Valdivia), has only been around for a year, and already offers some really interesting products.  We have enjoyed trying a few local specialties such as ajo chilote (shallot-like garlic from the Chilean island of Chiloé), Chilean hazelnuts (sadly, not the same thing as European hazelnuts), quinoa-based detergent, and luche (local algae).  However, we really joined the co-op for the organic carrots, which are nearly addictive and which require five minutes washing per carrot to remove all of the dirt!  The co-op has limited hours, and makes shopping fun in that every Wednesday they email members a list of available products, which we fill out and email back to ensure availability of the products of interest, which we can then come and pick up on Saturday.  Come pick-up time we can socialize with other members and their kids, sample a few goodies, and generally feel the excitement start to build as we image the deliciousness in store for us once we get back home with our bag full of organic treasures.

Slow-fermented, natural yeast bread in Valdivia

Through the co-op, we learned of an artisan German bread-maker in Valdivia who opened a retail location just last month called El Canelo (Camilo Henriquez 726, Valdivia.)  She is making a bread using native yeasts, wheat flour, sesame seeds, flax seeds, and poppy seeds that is so delicious we have decided to quit making bread at home.  Well, it is that delicious, though the other half of the story is that we’ve had outrageously high gas bills lately and suspect our oven is the culprit; so we’re taking a month off from bread-making and enjoying El Canelo’s amazing bread.  My toddler, besides loving the bread, loves going to buy it since this means she’ll get to try “samples” of cookies, more cookies, crackers, and more crackers.  This shop also carries some interesting products, sometimes has a little bit of house-made ricotta available (only on Fridays!), and sells some cured meats and Spanish jams (we’ve been enjoying a bitter orange jam from Seville.)

The third fun, delicious place we enjoy visiting is the gourmet shop that has a bit of everything.  You can sit down for coffee and a baklava (we did, of course!) before purchasing kitchen supplies, a prosciutto bone (yes, we bought one!), jams, salts, mushroom-preserved cheeses, or ingredients for Peruvian or Arabic cooking.  Since interesting and imported ingredients aren’t easy to come by in a small town in Patagonia, this store, called Terralia (San Carlos 169, Valdivia), is quite a treat for us.  They opened last year, and appear to be the only Slow Food member in Valdivia.  When we visited on Saturday, the enthusiastic owner offered helpful advice on recipe suggestions and techniques, but the highlight was our discovery of the spicy yellow sauce called aji amarillo (yellow pepper sauce) which is the backbone of Peruvian classics such as aji de gallina and papas a la Huancaina, two dishes I fondly remember from my stay in Lima ten years ago.

Lunchtime with a pulled pork sandwich with Peruvian aji amarillo sauce, cebollinos and apple chips

Overall, yesterday was a very good day for our family, both in general (a sunny day spent together) and from a food-focused perspective.  After heading to the co-op to pick up our goodies, we stopped at the gourmet store for coffee and picked up the Peruvian aji amarillo sauce, then headed home for a delicious lunch.  My husband, our chef, whipped up his take on a spicy, organic Peruvian sandwich incorporating many of our new goodies:  braised and pulled pork sandwich in Peruvian aji amarillo sauce with cebollino and apple chips.  Paired, of course, with a crisp Chilean Sauvignon Blanc (2010 Quintay Clava Sauv Blanc from Casablanca Valley.)  Not a bad day at all, and a tasty welcome to Spring in Valdivia.

Leave A Comment, Written on September 26th, 2011 , Food Tags: , , , , , , , ,
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Living in Patagonia

Food. Family. Beer. Life. Real Estate.