La Comida Chilena

Just watched Anthony Bourdain's episode in Chile. Wow! The lomito and the seafood dishes are definitely on the list of foods I must taste.


It was interesting to see the Chilean variation of foods I'm familiar with, such as chitterlings (pig intestines). I don't care for them, but some in my family eat them boiled and then maybe pan fried. In Chile they are deep fried--still not appetizing to me. And I'll pass on the cow hoof stew too.


While the restaurant food looks good, I'm really interested to taste the meals that are prepared in a Chilean home. I'm curious to find out what meals are popular to cook in the average household. And perhaps I'll have the opportunity to cook a meal for my host family too. Food is one of the strongest identifiers of culture, and sharing it always brings people closer together.

Now that the trip to Chile is less than a week away, the romanticized notions I had of studying abroad are slowly giving way to the reality that I'm about to spend 3 weeks as a FOREIGNER in a foreign land. Yikes! I'm both excited and nervous about the adventure ahead.

I have a decent understanding of Spanish (by no means fluent), but it seems that Chilean Spanish is a bit distinct from other countries. It will be a challenge adjusting to the language, and I hope the process is more fun than frustrating.  I'm sure I'll be overwhelmed at first, so I'm reminding myself now to take things slowly and to have no expectations other than living in the moment and enjoying this awesome experience.