Living Chile

By far, my favorite thing to do with my Chilean host family is accompany them on their weekly trips to la feria. La feria is the Chilean equivalent of a farmer market. In a typical visit they buy: potatoes, onions, carrots, bell peppers, kiwis, bananas, cilantro, parsley, tomatoes, lettuce, zucchini, zapallo (Chilean winter squash), lemons, apples, oranges, avocados, eggs, aji (Chilean hot peppers), fava beans, pineapple, and seasonal fruits like strawberries, peaches, apricots, pears, or cherimoyas.

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There are some important differences. First of all, the vendors in la feria do not have to be connected to the production of the goods they are selling. Second there are many other products for sale besides vegetables in la feria. One can buy, pots, pans, kitchen sponges, ladies underwear, chewing gum, copies of keys, hair ornaments, and more. Lastly there is no restriction on who can enter la feria. It is common to see stray dogs and cats walking about and looking for scraps. This kitten at La Vega Central, which I will speak of in a moment, is taking a siesta on a cloth covering a large mountain of potatoes.

Las ferias are organized by every communa of Santiago and occur in multiple locations at different times of the week. The price and quality of the  produce vary depending on the wealth of the communa. My host parents prefer to travel out of Providencia to Santiago Central because the produce there is still high quality but much cheaper than it is in wealthy Providencia. Each communa has a group of vendors that attend their ferias. The vendors buy the produce each morning at Vega Central- a huge whole sale market. They then take it in hand carts, bicycle carts, and trucks to the destination of the day’s feria.

I went to expecting to find a center of trade between farmers or packing houses and vendors. Instead what I found was a giant ferias with vendors carrying the same range of products as those in the street only in larger quantities and at lower prices.

I still haven’t figured out where all the produce and other products come from, but I find it interesting that Chileans, who much more in the habit of buying their produce and other goods at out door markets than Americans, miss the important transfer of ideas and values that happen in farmers’ markets. They do not interact with the people that grow their food. They cannot ask when it was harvested, where it is from, or whether or not it was sprayed with pesticides and petroleum based fertilizers. These questions and the farmer-eater interaction are important mechanisms for promoting healthy agricultural systems.

Interestingly, many Chileans complain that only the worst fruit is left in chile- all the good stuff gets exported. I find this hard to believe since I have found some very high quality produce here- as well as crops like cherimoya and miembro that aren’t eaten in countries that import Chilean crops. However, in the states people who are discontent with the selection of produce in their farmer’s market can ask the farmers directly. Understandably, the geography of chile would make it difficult for farmers to participate in a system like American farmers markets (most agricultural areas are several hours away by car from Santiago). But I hope for Chileans that they will one day get a chance to meet their farmers and have a good long talk about export agriculture.

I do realize that farmers markets are not yet wide spread in the states and that only a small fraction of people have access to them. In this respect, Chile is much more advanced in its food distribution system.

One of the first things that an American woman in Santiago will notice is that, when out on the streets, Chilean men are at their liberty to whistle, honk horns, and call out to her. The less acculturated find this to be some combination of annoying, disrespectful, and and degrading. Others take it as a compliment and feel it boosts their self esteem. Whichever the case may be catcalls emphasize the importance of personal appearance in Santiago. Appearance is always important, but as a foreigner in Santiago, learning the new “do’s” and “don’t’s” of fashion has been something of a challenge.

Here are a few that I have learned so far:

– Chilean women never wear shorts: Every now and then you will see a university student or young girl wearing shorts around the city, but most of the time when women in Santiago wear pants, that fall at least below the knee- even while exercising.

– Bright colors are “out there”: This observation might be partially due to the fact that I spend most of my time in Providencia which is a wealthy neighborhood with lots of offices and serious professionals, however it seems that most fabrics are dyed in blacks, browns, grays, whites, and earth tones. A major exception to this is a genera of  women’s fashion that is popular among 20 and 30-somethings. This rebellious style includes harem style pants with a fitted top in vibrant colors- more on this later.

– Sunglasses are in, hats are out: The hole in the ozone layer is located right above southern chile and (it might be psychological) the sun definitely feels stronger and brighter in central chile than in central California. While my host mother will always encourage me to wear sun glasses and use lots of sunscreen, she can hardly stand the sight of my sun hat with out a smile that says “Dios mío, tu eres una tourista!” And it is true, despite the burning sun, only a handful of street vendors and tourists wear hats in Santiago.

– A scarf improves every outfit: this is less true since the weather has been in the 30’s Celsius (high 80’s-90’s Fahrenheit) but even still, scarves are a favorite accessory of Chileans. If you left yours at home there are lots of street vendors that offer a large selection of colors and styles. The excellent example below shows how a worn out olive green waffle henley and dirty jeans can be transformed into a fashion masterpiece with the simple addition of a scarf.

Now about the Harem pants… that might be the wrong word to describe them but basically they are loose pants with drawstrings at the waist and ankles and pockets. Most of the time they are in plain colors but they also come in alarming rainbows of stripes and technicolored checks. Some are sewn from roughly woven cotton and others are done with soft jersey knits. The length and thickness also varies. Below is an example of a woman who nicely stopped for me to take a picture of her (And understood what I was asking her for in Spanish!). I will try to update this post with a few more examples if I can collect them.

My theory with the harem pants is that they are a fun, a little bit rebellious, and  cool (not as cool as a skirt but much cooler than jeans) in an otherwise conservative fashion climate.

Also of interests for anyone interested in Chilean fashion is El Museo de la Moda. Located in a beautiful Frank Loyd Right Inspired home in Los Condes, the collection includes museum works to connect its extensive collection of garments and accessories from around the world to Chile and Chilean fashion past and present.

This post is dedicated to Maricarmen and Annie with many thanks for introducing me to fashion beyond functionality.

In Chile it is easy enough to take public transportation from door to door  and settle into a diet of completos (hot dogs topped avocado and mayonaise), empanadas, sopapillas (fried dough rounds), and alfajores (dulce de leche sandwich cookies).

That being said, there are also lots of fabulous opportunities to exercise. Below are a list of enjoyable exercise opportunities that I have found during my time here.

Walking: The city is very walkable with lots of parks and tree lined streets. I prefer walking to taking the metro for several reasons including the increased opportunity to see Chileans doing daily activities (watering their lawns, walking the dog, grocery shopping, taking their kids to school, etc.) and that the metro is absolutely packed during rush hour.

Gym Equipment in the Park: Several parks have gym equipment available to visitors. These machines to work arms, abs and legs as well as basic pull up bars and benches designed for situps. On weekend afternoons these machines are often occupied by young children who have found clever ways to turn them into swings, and jumping platforms. However most weekdays and mornings they are only lightly used, with plenty of space for drop-in visitors.

Dancing: I haven’t explored the Santiago night scene very much, but dancing (Salsa, Merengue, Reggaeton, etc.)  seems to be an important part of Chilean socializing. There are also free dance classes on the weekends in certain parks in Providencia. These classes are mostly salsa but have a zumba feel to them. More information about locations and times can be found under “servicios” on this website http://www.providencia.cl.

Running: While running on the city streets can be challenging, there are lots of long and skinny parks with trails that occupy the medians of main thoroughfares like O’Higgens. There are also lots of races in Santiago. More information can be found at http://www.corre.cl/ .

California Cantina is the only bar in Santiago known to screen American college football. Its walls sport sun pictures of palm trees lined SoCal beaches and its food menu includes hamburgers, sabors de Mexíco, and a warm brownie with ice cream. Most of the waitresses speak English and the door is adorned with an outline of the California grizzly bear.

This Saturday night, it was crammed full of gringos including 16 Stanford students all rooting for their team in what many of the more hard-core fans said was “the most important game of the season.” Several of us prefer label the next games the most important game of the season BEAT CAL! but in terms of national rankings, this one was pretty important. Stanford V. Oregon occupied one of the three TV’s behind the bar. The other two were airing a bloody boxing tournament and the Hooters 15th Annual International Swimsuit Contest. The evening went something like this.

Oregon kicks off.  After a minute of Stanford playing the ball goes back to Oregon.

Boxers weigh in and are looked over by an official wearing latex gloves before entering the ring.

The men in the bar cheer as a sleazy man and sleek blonde welcome everyone to the Hooters Swimsuit Contest.

Ball Back to Stanford, 4 downs end in a punt with no return. Ball back to Oregon on 47 yard line.

Boxers circles the ring galloping sideways on their tiptoes, fists ready.

Dozens of well endowed women in sequin take the stage with the sleazy announcer. By the time he finished making a speech we couldn’t hear their talking their overworked smile muscle must have been aching.

A blonde in a corset style halter top turns to receive a juicy smooch from her boyfriend at the bar.

TOUCHDOWN OREGON! A high-pitched squeal of rage comes from one of the more inebriated Stanford fans who dramatically presses a hand with red-painted fingernails over her eyes.

Kick! Punch! Elbow in the side! Man down with a blow across the face.

The ladies are back in their swimsuits each one only covering the bare minimum. They are all bikinis and most of them include rhinestones, sequins and/or shiny fabric.

The cardinal fights to score before the end of the first quarter but closes with a score of 0-8.

A mountain of cheesy nachos passes by on its way out to the patio.

In a graphic closeup shot, a coach applies pressure with a cotton swab to a gash in his boxers eyelid. Blood gurgles out but the stoic boxer doesn’t flinch. He spits blood out of his unnaturally red moth.

A cheer goes up for a pouting hooters waitress from Florida as she poses at the end of the catwalk in a teal bikini designed to show equal amounts of cleavage on either side of each rectangular top piece. The bottom piece looks like a cross between a thong and a world-class wedgy.

TOUCHDOWN STANFORD! “What does the band do if they don’t make the field goal? Do they just keep playing ‘All Right Now’ or do the let it die down?”

Back in the ring the bloody eyed contender seems to be loosing as blows rain down from his opponent.

The bar tender gets booed out by the men of the bar when he tries to change the hooters channel to a soccer match.

TOUCHDOWN OREGON! Eyebrows furrow as the field goal soars through the posts.

Slow motion replay of the bloody eyed man’s nose and jaw being rattled by a fierce blow from his opponent.

The scene flashes away from the catwalk to one of the contestants jogging along a beach in her minimalist bikini.

A stream of young women with bits of ribbon and party decorations in their hair come through the bar on their way out after a birthday party in a private upstairs room.

Glasses as drained as spirits are boosted by a Stanford field goal.

The coach presses gauze against a fresh wound in the bloody eyed boxers face while another trainer wields another cotton swab against the older wound.

TOUCHDOWN OREGON- calls for fresh pitcher of beer at the bar.

TOUCHDOWN STANFORD- foam slops over the edge of raised glasses.

A foxy Chilean woman tips her head back and blows a plume of cigarette smoke straight up into the already smoky air.

The bloody eyed boxer seems to be making a comeback  and deals his opponent a matching wound.

A single hooters contestant presents a swimsuit selection that looks closer to Macy’s underwear than Victoria’s Secret langiere.

TOUCHDOWN OREGON- “If you aren’t rooting for Stanford you don’t exist to me right now.” says the most die-hard, inebriated Stanford fan to a man cheering for Oregon.

The camera zooms in on the straining leg muscles of the boxers locked in combat.

The hooters contestants are now doing group interviews wearing their tight work uniforms.

TOUCHDOWN OREGON- a small group of Stanford fans leaves, unwilling to watch their team lose.

A man who has just finished watching the Notre Dame game tries to explain that the reason we are such unenthusiastic fans is that our team is loosing and smart kids don’t have experience facing adversity.

A trainer wipes the sheen of sweat and blood from his boxer’s heaving chest.

TOUCHDOWN STANFORD! 23-36, a comeback is possible.

Now in matching blue sparkle bikinis the contestants are getting ready to hear the judge’s remarks.

TOUCHDOWN OREGON- our second wind is dampened.

Back in the bar a glass shatters but attracts little attention from the noisy clientel.

TOUCHDOWN STANFORD! A few fans in the doorway return to their seats.

Too bloodied now to be told apart the boxers are rolling on the floor with one’s legs wrapped around the others’ waist.

The contestants all maintain forced smiles and applaud while the finalists are called forward by the sleazy announcer.

The boxers are separated by a referee and to those of us only half watching, it is unclear whether or not there was a winner.

TOUCHDOWN OREGON! Game over but it is too close to the end to leave now.

The die-hard Stanford fan gets in a shouting match with a Chilean who doesn’t care much about the game but choose to root for Oregon. Shouting turns to shoving and she leaves crying escorted by the rest of the disappointed and now embarrassed group.