Meeting the (Host) Family

After quite an eventful Monday night, Laura and I finally managed to fall asleep just as the hot summer sun started to peak through my very thin curtains.  And even though I didn't have to go to work, the rest of the city did, so traffic started to pick up and get noisy around 7:00 a.m.  I managed to stay in bed until about 9:00 before it just all became too much for me and I had to get up.  I went to the kitchen to make coffee.  Laura was still sleeping soundly when I passed, so I just grabbed my computer and got back in bed with my coffee and surfed the web for a while.  I still had a few things to do for the end of the semester, so I spent a few hours doing that before Laura got up around 11:00. She probably could have slept longer, except that the phone rang.  It was my apartment manager, telling me that he was in the building and would be by with the sheets in 20 minutes or so.

Laura's pain had gone down significantly, but she was still really tired out from fighting it all night (and the nights before).  We'd been invited out to dinner by my previous host family, but we hadn't given a definite answer yet, just to make sure Laura would be up to it.  It was a really nice day out (as far as Santiago goes, at least).  We decided to take advantage of the clear skies and slightly cooler weather to explore a little bit near my apartment.  By the time we got ready and had breakfast, it was more than an hour after the manager had promised to come by with the sheets.  I figured he might have gotten caught up with another tenant, so I gave him a call to remind him.  He told me he wouldn't be able to drop it off for another hour or so.  Laura and I didn't really want to wait that long, so he agreed to leave the sheets with the concierge so that we could pick them up on our way back.

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With high hopes of returning to a bed with sheets, we headed out into town.  We didn't want to venture too far away, just in case Laura's symptoms started to return.  Laura really enjoys architecture, so I tried to think of some places in Santiago that might have some interesting buildings to check out.  I really couldn't think of any, so we just headed towards Santa Lucia Market to scope out some souvenirs/ Christmas gifts.  Our first stop was at London Cafe for some fresh-blended juice.  According to Laura, good juice is hard to come by in Argentina.  Maybe we should have traded places--I could go to Argentina for the coffee and she could come to Chile for the juice!  Though I'm not usually much of a juice fan, there is a lot to be said for fresh-made!  I got strawberry/melon and Laura got mango/strawberry.  They were perfectly sweet, even without any added sugar!

We took a short walk through the stalls at the market, but decided not to buy anything since it was only the first day.  Besides, we were going south the next day, and were looking forward to checking out the hand-made gifts that are famous in that region!  Across the street from the market, Laura pointed out a very beautiful building that I pass by quite often but usually overlook.  She asked what it was, and I told her that it was the National Library.  Even after 9 months living so close to it, I'd never gone inside.  We decided to check it out, and entered through the grand front entrance.

© Laura Morgan

There was a tour group meeting just inside, and we stopped to listen for a while.  They were talking about politics and were apparently waiting for quite a few other people before getting on their way.  We continued past them into a room hidden behind the stairs.  It held an exhibit about Chilean folklore musician Victor Jara.  It was interesting, although a little difficult to follow because the creators assumed that the viewer already knew the history of Jara, and therefore did not give much background information.  We were a little lost, but did enjoy looking at objects from the early 20th century.  The room wound around, even going outside of the main building for a bit.  From there, we were led into the "computer room."

The computer room was quite unique.  All around the outside walls were photos and objects about famous people in Chile's history.  In the center of the room was an elevated platform upon which there were three rows of computers.  To reach the platform, users had to climb a ramp that spiraled around it.  The ramp was surrounded by a translucent wall covered in poetry and music by prominent Chilean artists.  It was really neat to look at, although I'm not sure how I would feel having to work up on a platform with tourists coming in and staring at me all day.  I guess I do have similar experience, though--the lab I worked at in Florida was part of the museum exhibit, so we often felt like zoo animals!  Especially when large school groups went by.  I think I can safely say that I don't really miss that aspect of the job.

As of yet, we hadn't actually found any books, which we found slightly odd given that we were inside a library.  The library is three stories tall, so we figured that the books must be hiding up near the top.  We exited the computer room through a cafe (which had a large book on display behind a case, but still nothing for reading).  There were elegant staircases to either side, but one was blocked off.  That left us only one choice, so we climbed up to the second floor. There was a great view off a balcony to the cafe below and some more computers, but no books.  On the other side of the hallway was a large study room filled with beautiful wooden tables and benches.  There were actually quite a few people inside working, although most were using computers or other electronics.  Only one had a real book!

© Laura Morgan

Becoming even more concerned by the lack of books in the library, we continued our quest up to the third floor.  It wasn't blocked off, but there also weren't any lights in the narrow corridor we came upon at the top of the stairs.  Most of the rooms were locked off, but we did find an interesting ancient relic--an IBM 9370 Mainframe computer!  Of course we had to take a photo--when else might we have a chance to be around such a historic artifact!  We actually didn't know what it was when we were there, but luckily Mauricio works for IBM and had some insider information to help us identify it.  We were pretty excited about our discovery, but beginning to wonder if there were actually any books in this so-called "library!"  Just as we were about to give up, we walked past a class-enclosed room that was about the size of my bedroom.  It was filled with very old books, and there was a sign on the door stating that an appointment needed to be made to see any of them.  Of course, office hours were very short and during most inconvenient times.  But at least the books existed!

© Laura Morgan

Satisfied that we had completed our quest, we left the library in search of other adventures.  We found it on Santa Lucia Hill.  The hill is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city, and has quite a history of its own.  It was known to the native Mapuche people as "Huelen," a mapudungun word meaning "pain, melancholy, or sadness."  I couldn't find any explanation of why it was given such a somber name.  The hill was conquered by Spanish conquistador Pedro de Valdivia on December 13, 1541, and christened with its current name, Santa Lucia.  It was used for many years as a lookout and point of reconnaissance.  Later, in 1816, two forts were built on the north and south sides of the hill to be used by the Spanish in defense against the Mapuche.  The other side of the hill was used as a "cemetery for dissidents" for non-Catholics.  

By the late 19th century, most of the indigenous population had been pushed out of the city, and such strong defenses were no longer needed.  In 1872, Chilean politican Benjamin Vicuña Mackenna proposed a city-wide improvement program, part of which included an extensive remodeling of Santa Lucia Hill.  He built a chapel at the top of the hill, along with a road leading to it.  The rest of the hill was fitted with decorative gardens, fountains, and outlooks.  He also created an advanced irrigation system that is still in use today, as well as the famous yellow facade that is the modern day icon of the hill.  Traditionally, a cannon is shot every day to mark midday.  The practice was paused for a while after the cannon was damaged in the 2010 earthquake, but has recently been reinstated (although it's still only up to once a week or so).   

Laura and I climbed the winding stairs most of the way to the top of the hill.  We found a lookout and tried to see if we could spot my apartment.  Unfortunately, my sense of direction isn't the best and Laura wasn't really in the mindset to be paying attention to where things were when I brought her to my house the night before.  We looked in the general direction and saw some tall buildings that may or may not have been my apartment.  All the hiking made us thirsty, so we stopped at a stand to grab a traditional Chilean drink--mote con huesillo.  It's peach juice with dried peaches and barley.  I love it, and find it the perfect refreshing drink/ snack on a hot day!  I may even go so far as to say that it's my favorite Chilean food.  Laura wasn't quite as enthusiastic as me, though.  She bravely took a taste, but I was left with the majority after she decided that it most closely resembled "soggy brains."

Beneath the hill there is a small indigenous artisan market, so we stopped in for a quick peek.  Laura was momentarily excited to see a range of imported foodstuffs, but it turned out to be mostly quinoa products.  I guess we would have to continue our search for sweet corn flour elsewhere.  We did end up talking to a Aymara man from the north of Chile.  He was selling handmade ocarinas that he designed himself using traditional indigenous symbols.  He gave us a short lesson, and in no time Laura was an expert!  She even drew a small crowd as she performed Bach on a green and yellow ocarina.  I was more interested in the cultural and historical aspects of the instrument, and the man gave me several flyers explaining them.  I even bought one (with Packers colors) to give to Gaven for Christmas!

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We actually ended up doing a lot more than we had initially intended to, and were starting to get tired out.  Laura was still feeling pretty good, so I called Mauricio to let him know that we could make it to dinner later that evening.  We headed back towards the apartment to rest up a little before dinner.  We hadn't eaten much since breakfast and still had a ways to go for dinner, so we stopped at a neighborhood shop for some empanadas to tide us over.  We went for the traditional "pino" (meat and onions) flavored, but with a twist, "aji" (chili pepper).  They were the perfect snack, and even Laura conceded that the one food that Chile does better than Argentina is the empanada.  At least that gives us something to brag about!  When we arrived back at the apartment, we pleasantly surprised with a new set of sheets waiting for us at the concierge desk!  We made up the bed and both settled down for a quick nap before going out again with my old host family.  

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Around 8:00, Mauricio called to let us know they were on their way to pick us up.  Laura and I quickly made ourselves presentable and threw on some sweaters to guard against the cool spring evening air.  We got downstairs just in time to see Mauricio pull up in his new SUV, the rest of the family in tow.  We did some quick introductions as we piled into the car, and everyone commented on how great (albeit Argentinian) Laura's accent was.  We drove towards the "nice" side of town while deciding where to go eat.  We ended up going for "Tip y Tap," a home-style restaurant that I was first introduced to by my host family when my "real" family came to visit me in 2007.  Dad will never forget that experience--first, he tried to give me a piggy-back ride which ended with us both down on our butts in the middle of the parking lot and second, we all got to try raw beef (crudito) "cooked" in lemon juice.

We went to a different location than that made famous by the appearance of the Hoefert clan.  That one was stand-alone, but this time we went to one inside of an upscale mall on the northside of the city.  It was nice to be able to drive through the nice neighborhoods and see all the sights as we did.  Mauricio has spent quite a bit of time in Buenos Aires for his job, so he and Laura compared notes about life there.  She had a little bit of trouble understanding him at first, but once he toned down the Chilean slang she caught on pretty fast.  Having had only a few days experience in (a very touristy area of) Argentina, I was completely lost in their conversation.

Instead, I talked with Chabe about some of my wedding plans.  I invited their family to come to the wedding, and I really hope they can make it!  It's been so nice to have someone helping me out and showing me around during my time in Chile; I hope I can repay some of that to them if they can make the trip.  I also learned that their oldest daughter, who is 15, is about to go on a three-month exchange program to Germany in January.  The two girls study at a German school in Santiago, so are quite proficient in German.  They've also been studying English, and I hear from others that they are very good, although I still haven't managed to convince them to speak to me in English.  I'm hoping to be able to go visit her for a weekend while she's in Germany, so maybe I can convince her then.  Don't hold your breath, though!

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When we finally figured out how to actually get to the restaurant (the layout of the mall isn't the most straight-forward), we went up to the second floor to get a better view.  We sat for a few minutes but no servers came to our table.  We called one over, who told us that they had to serve the other big table upstairs before they could help us (which even included giving us menus, apparently).  We waited a couple more minutes, but eventually just decided to forgo the view and go downstairs to see if we could get some service.  It was much faster down there!  I was still pretty full from my empanada, but I wanted to take advantage of all the good Chilean food I could before I left.  I ordered a salad with fresh tuna and avocados--what could be more Chilean than that?  Laura ordered salmon with sauteed mushrooms, and Mauricio once again ordered the famed raw beef.  Chabe and the girls shared some sandwiches and french fries.  

We chatted and caught up while we enjoyed our food.  We talked about future plans.  I gave some advice for being an exchange student, while Mauricio and Chabe gave me some advice about how to be a married woman.  And of course, we all had to make a little fun of each other!  It was really nice to get together again, even though all of us were a little tired and had to get to school/ work the next day.  We stayed out until around 10:00, and then headed back towards home.  We took the scenic route so that Laura could see a little more of the city (and so more marital advice could be dispensed).  By the time we arrived back at my apartment, we were more than ready to say good-bye and settle into bed.