The entire month of September has basically been devoted to Fiestas Patrias: Chilean Independence. Dieciocho de Septiembre de 1810 (September 18 1810) was when Chile gained independence from Spain. 202 years later Chile still knows how to celebrate. I had heard about this holiday when I first arrived in Chile and was excited to have a few days off from school. A few weeks ago, I found out I had not just a few days but the WHOLE WEEK off from teaching! I was THRILLED. Everyone was starting to get ready for the week off. Almost every house, store, school, etc. has had a flag displayed the entire month. In fact, when Pinochet ruled, if you didn't put up your flag during dieciocho, you would be fined a pretty hefty amount. During one of the weekly ferias I bought a Chilean flag to feel patriotic. Chileans are proud of their heritage and I am proud to be part of this cultural event.
A week before the break I was invited to go to Pelluhue, a beach town in the south. I immediately wanted to seize the opportunity to go with Chileans who knew how to celebrate their independence. Seven of us (3 "gringos" and 4 Chileans) left on Saturday to drive down to the beach. Normally a 4 hour drive turned into a 7 hour drive because of "TACOS" (traffic jams) and getting lost. We stopped for lunch and I began a 7-day streak of eating nothing but meat, meat, more meat and carbs. We arrived to Pelluhue and unpacked our stuff in 2 wonderful cabins on a hill looking over the Pacific Ocean. It was perfect. Then we began the first of SEVERAL asados on the parrillas to grill meat and empanadas. Then our Chilean friends tried (key word "tried") to teach the gringos La Cueca: The Chilean National Dance.
The next day we slept in and let me tell you it was great to sleep outside of Santiago because the only noise I heard were roosters instead of car alarms, drunk people, quiltros (dogs), trucks, etc. We drove to Curanipe, the next town over from Pelluhue. We walked along the beach, saw Huasos and Caballos (Chilean cowboys and horses), ate Fried Cheese Empanadas and drank Chicha and Terremotos, and took a nap on the beach. We scoped out the "Fonda" (Festival) that we would be going to that night and enjoyed the sunshine and the beautiful day. We had another asado with more meat (Choripan, Chicken) salad and rice and exchanged Chilean and American drinking games. Then we went to the Fonda and danced to Chilean music and watched people dance Cueca. It was a fun second day of celebrations :)
The next day was the day before Independence Day so we decided to take it easy and just relax in Pelluhue, go to the beach, and eat more empanadas and meat. We played some old school games such as Mash and Chilean games that predicted love (1313). We called it an "earlier" night and went to bed to prepare for the big day. On Tuesday (September 18!) we woke up to a beautiful day with lots of sunshine. We walked toward the beach and saw mini-Huasos (mini Chilean cowboys). We indulged in some Queso Macha (Cheese and Clam) empanadas and began to drive to Chanco to go to the "rodeo." While it wasn't a real rodeo, we still saw horses and Huasos doing a show and tricks to entertain the crowd. It was super "campo" which made me feel like I was authentically in the Chilean countryside. Then we went to the Fonda and played some games, ate Anticuchos (meat and veggies on a stick), and shot a BB-gun at a Pisco Bottle. What better way to celebrate Chilean Independence than another asado! We grilled some more meat (chorizo and ribs) and ate some salad and fries. To finish off the night, we went back to the Fonda and danced until 4 in the morning. We slept in the next day and drove back to Santiago in 4 hours instead of 7.
The 5-day vacation to the beach away from Santiago was just what I needed. I was so relaxed and happy to be with friends and in a new place. I was glad to get back to Santiago and see some of my other friends who I didn't see during the break. I went to Parque Bustamante (The workout park that has multipurpose machines to do exercises) and went to a salsa club. I went to the Feria on Friday with Holly and we bought Reineta fish and vegetables and her Chilean roommate made the DELICIOUS fish with garlic, cheese, onions, tomatoes, lemon and rice. The next day I went to an asado on the rooftop to celebrate Chadd's birthday. He ordered a keg, grilled LOTS of meat and veggies, and we were able to use his pool and dip our feet in as the weather was GORGEOUS. We came back to our apartment to continue the celebration and had a fun night. Today was the last day of break even though I do NOT want it to end. Holly, Trisha and I went to the Feria and bought Reineta Fish again and fried it and made potatoes and a fresh cucumber, tomato and pepper salad. This break is what I consider to be the "spring break" of Chile (as it is Spring down here and I did get a whole week off from school! Although multiple Chileans have told me that it is SUPER rare to have a whole week off for Dieciocho so I guess we just got lucky!) I hung out with great people, ate DELICIOUS food, and went to some wonderful places :) Feliz Fiestas Patrias CHI-CHI-CHI-LE-LE-LE!
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