Three Weeks

I've been in Chile for just over three weeks. It's been an awesome, crazy, confusing time. I've already had so many adventures. Like:

Food

Chileans have a distinct diet. Meat, seafood, bread, and avocado make up the vast majority of what I've eaten. I'm not complaining. A couple of weeks ago, I made sushi with my host family. So much sushi. It was delicious, with crab, shrimp, and chicken, rice, onion, and seaweed. We fried a few rolls.

Making sushi with my host sister and a friend

About 1/4 of what we ended up making

Last Sunday. we had a great meal consisting of crab, clams, a type of fish native to the northern coast of Chile, and picorocos, From Wikipedia: "The giant barnacle, or picoroco as it is known in Spanish, is a species of large barnacle native to the coasts of Chile and southern Peru." We needed to smash the tough shell with a big mortar and pestle to get to the small amount of meat on the inside.

Earlier this week we had whole, raw artichokes for dinner. I had had artichoke once before, and it had been cooked and stuffed. These were very different. Not bad, just different.

A couple of nights ago we had crudo. By definition, this just means "raw". We put raw ground beef (a lot of it) into a bowl. This would be our entree. We then spread it on toast and topped it with lemon juice, onions, mayonnaise, and pickles, always in that order. It was actually delicious.

A more traditional meaning of the word adventure:

Trips

I've gone into the city of Santiago four or five times now. It is expansive, so I've barely scratched the surface. Most of my time in the city has been spent doing things for Rotary, like registering with the international police or trying to get my ID (several times). I have also done some "touristy" things, including going to La Moneda, The Museum of Memory and Human Rights, a Cinema Museum, and most recently, the Natural History Museum (which is absolutely awesome). There's a picture on my host mom's camera of us at the Natural History Museum that is an action shot of a little kid slipping right as he walked into frame. I'll add that when I get it.

La Moneda (Presidential Palace) with my host parents. I think this is in here somewhere else, too.

Yesterday I went with my Canadian friend and her host parents to Isla Negra. This is where the prominent poet Pablo Neruda had one of his three houses. It is protected from the Pacific by a rocky coast just below the house. Neruda designed his house to have a ship-like feel about it, which it certainly does. This atmosphere is enhanced by all of the marine artwork (including about a dozen figureheads). I was not allowed to take photos at the house, unfortunately.

After touring the house, we went to a few beaches in the area. Although it was relatively warm yesterday, it is still winter here, so we did not get a chance to go into the ocean, although we did get our feet wet. The beaches are beautiful and the Pacific is stunning and humbling. I really felt like I could sit and stare at it all day and never get bored.

This and the next photo were taken from outside Pablo Neruda's house in Isla Negra

A beach near Quisco, Chile

San Alfonso del Mar: a huge private resort with the world's largest swimming pool. The pool contains 66 million gallons of water. It is over a kilometer long and covers 20 acres. It is 115 feet deep at the deepest point. It cost 2 billion USD to build in 2005/2006 and costs 4 million USD yearly to maintain.

Pelicans all over the place

I know there will be a lot more adventures to come. I will be spending four or five days later this week at the beach. And I plan to go to Patagonia next month, if things go according to plan. I'm excited for the future.

Also, I feel obligated to prove to my parents that I can maintain a clean room:

My room after having been lived in for three weeks