Saturday at the Market!

Today, Scott and I walked over to the produce market! It was amazing :-) It is across the street from Mercado Central which is the fish and meat market we went to a couple of weeks ago. It was a little chilly today, but the walk is a pretty easy walk, probably about 20 minutes. There are tons of vendors in the market, so you can walk between them and see who has the best produce or prices and choose what you want from each vendor. There are even places with spices and a lot of legumes.

Keep in mind 450 CLP is equivalent to about 1 USD.
Lechuga: 500
Dos pimentos roja: 300
Seis cebollas: 500
Cauliflower: 800
Cinco naranjas: 400
Seis tomates: 400
Ocho limons: 200
Uvas: 1000
Siete Paltas: 800
Brussel Sprouts (dos bolsas): 1000
Clementinas: 600


We spent a total of 6500 Chilean pesos :-) I can't wait for berry season! The market will be even better then.

Todas las pequeñas cosas

All the small things..

My mom requested that I start writing down all the little things that I'm noticing about Chile, so here it goes:

I have been searching all throughout the stores for Women's shaving cream. Finally, I mustered the courage today to play charades with the lady at PreUnic and discovered they don't sell Women's shaving cream… but they do sell women's razors!

The other day, I had a tummy ache and just wanted some ginger ale. I walk across the street to the mini-mart and reached into the refrigerator case to pick up a bottle. All of their bottle sizes are different, but I see a 2.5 Liter bottle with a price in front of it, so I place it on the counter. The lady begins speaking to me in Spanish telling me tons of things I can't understand but all I got out of it was: Despite that fact that the soda was priced and in the refrigerator case with everything else you can buy, I cannot buy that bottle. At the grocery store they sell litros of beer, but you have to pay for the bottle…

Everything comes in plastic packages: spices, mayonnaise, ketchup, pasta sauce, olives… you name it!

They do not have milk like we are used to in the states. Milk and cream are all in those cartons and they are warm… like when you buy soy milk or almond milk. We haven't tried it yet!

Produce is ridiculously cheap. You feel like you are stealing from the grocery store. We bought 4 apples for less than $1 (USD). 7-8 kiwis are less than 40 cents (USD)! And there are lots of produce stands and markets, which are an even cheaper way to buy produce. I've been told, during the berry season, you can buy more berries than you can eat for 1,000 CLP (2 USD).

The malls are very similar, but McDonald's is expensive fast food here… No Dollar Menu! And TacoBell/KFC/Pizza Hut have CocaCola products. At home they're Pepsi.

When you order a soda, you don't always get ice with it… some fast-food places (like at the mall) don't even have ice available.

The buses and metros are amazing! I've never waited more than 5 minutes for either one, and they are very user friendly. Once you get the hang of the bus map, it's really easy! When waiting in the line for the bus, people actually form a line. It's nice to see such civilization. But then, when you're walking on the street or in the mall, men and women alike will plow you over and not say, "pardon" (which apparently, is what you say when you bump into someone). They could be walking 4 people wide on the sidewalk, and they don't move for the oncoming walkers. Very interesting.

Natural peanut butter is not sold down here: You can choose chunky or creamy, but they all have azucar (Bummer!). Jelly was extremely difficult! At the grocery store you can only find marmalade with azucar as the number one ingredient! When I went to a slightly nicer grocery store I found preserves, but they were still marked as marmalade.

I am still waiting to hear back about a job I really want, so the next blog will be about my OFFICIAL CHILEAN ID! and hopefully my new job :-)

Miss everyone mucho!

Semana Uno: Terminado

So, we are one week into our adventure down here in Santiago, and an adventure it has been! I’ve said “No hablo espanol, lo siento,” or “No se” more times than I can count on my fingers AND toes! But beware, Scott and I will be amazing at charades by the time we get home.

Food: The food here varies, just like at home. Hot dogs are huge down here… especially completos italianas… which is basically a hot dog covered in avocado (palta), mayo, tomatoes, and who knows what else. So far, all of the fish meals I have eaten out were delicious and inexpensive…usually 5,000-6,000 Chilean pesos (CLP) which is about $10-$12 USD! We went to Mercado Central on Sunday which is a huge fish market, and I was going to buy some fish, but I don’t know if I’m ready for something that intense yet..

Our Apartment: For the first two days we were here, we were sharing an apt with Francesca and Scott, that was wayyyy too small for 4 people, but we quickly found a new apartment, which is pretty great. It’s in the Bohemian part of town, with Patio BellaVista right by us… it’s an enclosed block with tons of security and about 15 restaurants, all with outdoor seating (which people use year round). So, we have a one-bedroom apartment with a small kitchen, living room, balcony, bedroom, walk-in closet, and bathroom. It was fully furnished, but Scott let me put some personal touches on the place like a new comforter, and rug

Climate/Scenery: So… it’s winter here! But in the middle of the day it feels like Fall. But, in the morning and at night it feels like Winter! You need to layer your clothing, because when the sun isn’t out, it’s very very cold… but when the sun is out, it’s very very nice. We took a hike near our apartment with a group of people on Sunday. It was beautiful, but there’s a lot of smog! It was a very steep, but short hike, so we were up and back in less than 2 hours. When you take the metro further away from downtown it goes above ground and it’s really good to have the mountains as your scenery!

Well… that is all for now, more updates will come along with pictures! I miss everyone tons!

Less than 24 hours...

So, I'm trying my hand at blogging...

A lot of people have been asking why I'm going to Chile, and how long I will be there, so my first post will tell the story of how Scott and I got to this point:

After three years in the same school, and seven years in Maryland, I wanted to do something different. Scott and I began talking about moving overseas for a year at some point, and me teaching English while he began his own company.  All of our plans were for further down the road, until his friend Scott B. heard about Startup Chile.  The Chilean government was offering grants to 100 teams to start their own internet/technology based company in Santiago, Chile.  Scott and Scott B. applied, and became one of the 100 teams accepted into the program.  I, of course, could not pass up this opportunity to join him in Santiago.  We leave on July 11, and have a Visa that is good for up to 1 year.  As of now, our plan is to stay for a little over 6 months (his program is 24 weeks).  I found a couple of contacts down there, and plan on teaching English--because I don't know Spanish..yet!

At the moment... I have my two suitcases filled, a carry-on suitcase... and part of Scott's suitcase filled! We will arrive during Winter, but be there for Winter, Spring, and Summer... how is a girl supposed to pack for all those seasons??  I tried using those space bags, but the travel version because you don't need a vacuum.  They do save some space, but weight is the bigger issue.

The process to prepare for Chile has been very long, but I feel quite accomplished when I get to cross things off my list.  Getting a visa was the hardest.  I needed: A letter of good health from the doctor, two passport photos, an HIV test, my passport (which I had to apply for and expedite in order to begin the visa process), two visa forms, and my bank statements.  Once we applied, it only took 5 days (including the weekend) to get out visas.  Our one hole so far (at least my hole) is a cell phone... if you have any thoughts or know of the best way to go about obtaining a cell phone, or unlocking my iphone, I am all ears!  Then there was getting a bank account without international fees, giving my parents Power of Attorney, getting my international drivers license AND moving out of my apartment and either selling furniture or taking it to my parents.

Ok... so I may not be the best blogger, but hopefully when we start to do more exciting things down in Chile the material can wow you without needing good writing skills to make it look good.  It's time to finish packing, and get ready for my parents to get here so we can do the "last supper" with both of our families at Matchbox...yum!