Recipe: Red Pepper Hummus with Toasted Pita Triangles

After seeing dried garbanzo beans at the grocery store, and impulsively buying them, I had wanted to make hummus. See, here in Chile, it is quite rare to find hummus. You will not find it in the grocery store and I have only seen it in one vegetarian restaurant. I, of course, ordered it the last time I went to that restaurant, and was somewhat disappointed with the lack of flavor. It seems they only mashed up the garbanzo beans and forgot to put in any flavors. So when I was looking for recipes to try my hand at making hummus (for the first time), I knew I wanted one with lots and lots of flavor. I turned to my trusty friend, FoodNetwork, and found Red Pepper Hummus with Toasted Pita Triangles recipe. I had to add a bit to the recipe for the fact that you can’t buy canned chickpeas and I didn’t know where to get tahini, but other than that it was pretty easy to make this recipe in Chile!

Red Pepper Hummus with Toasted Pita Triangles (edited for life in Chile)

4 whole-wheat pita pockets, cut into triangles
Cooking spray
Garlic salt
1 cup dried chickpeas (ie. garbanzo beans)
1 cup sauteed red peppers
1/4 cup tahini (sesame paste, recipe included below)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 to 4 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and ground black pepper
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley leaves (I personally didn’t use this.)

The day before you want to make the hummus, make sure to put 1 cup of dried chickpeas in LOTS of water to soak overnight. After around 8 hours of soaking, boil them until tender. The more tender they are, the easier it will be to blend them.

To make the tahini, you need 2 tablespoons of toasted sesame seeds, 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil (I used olive oil), 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 cup tepid water. I would perhaps double or triple this recipe because it was hard to blend this all together in the 1-2-3 since it was a small amount. First, toast the sesame seeds until golden brown. Let cool off.

You need to put the sesame seeds in a blender or food processor and grind until smooth.

Then add the oil and salt. Process until combined. Add the water very slowly, with the motor running if possible, and blend until smooth. If you can’t add the water with the motor running, just add bits at a time and keep processing until smooth. Mine turned out a bit runny and not as much of a “paste”, but really, it is the flavor that is important here. One interesting thing that I learned about sesame seeds is that they turn rancid quickly so it is important to store them away from light & heat. According to one website that I found, putting your sesame seeds in the fridge will allow them to stay good for up to 3 months. Now that you have your tahini, here is the rest of the hummus recipe:

Cut up and sauté the red peppers in a pan. It is not necessary to put oil or spray or anything, just sauté them up for a bit. Rinse the chickpeas and mix with the red peppers, tahini, garlic, cumin, and lemon juice in a bowl. Place a portion of the mix in a 1-2-3 (the original recipe said blender, but the blenders in Chile are weak and don’t work that well—I found that although the 1-2-3 works much better even though you have to blend a little bit at a time). Blend until smooth, remove the mixture and put in a separate bowl. Continue with the mix until all has been processed. Mix the hummus together to make sure all the flavors and ingredients are distributed evenly. Season to taste with salt and black pepper and top with parsley, if using it. The hummus turns this beautiful, bright orange color thanks to the red peppers.

To make the pita triangles, preheat the oven or electric oven to 400 degrees F. Cut up the pita bread into triangles and place on the baking sheet that corresponds to your oven (I used our electric oven and it worked like a charm). Spray the surface of the triangles with cooking spray. Season the tops with garlic salt. Bake 6 to 8 minutes until golden brown and crisp.

Yay! Now you’re ready to eat your hummus and homemade pita chips!

Reactions to the Election & Letting Freedom Ring

*NOTE*--There may be parts of this long post that are offensive, perhaps like a picture of me giving the bird. This is just a note to forewarn you that if you (a.) get offended by being flipped off then don’t scroll down, (b.) voted yes on Prop 8 or any other gay-marriage-banning-law, (c.) voted for McCain,.....then you might find this offensive. But frankly, I don’t care.

I’ve now had about two days to soak in the mostly wonderful news from the election. I’ve gone over in my head a million times the things I have wanted to write, but I always seemed to come up short for words. Not today though. Today, I will put out there all of my feelings about the election...felicidad, tristeza, esperanza, decepción...and all the thoughts I have regarding certain things I have seen/read/heard since election night.

Orgullosísima and all that it entails
I'm not normally a person who walks around boasting that I am a gringa. In fact, living here in Chile, I much prefer to be seen just like everyone else on the streets than be seen as a gringa. The reasons why I will save for another day, the important thing is that yesterday, today, and probably for a good long while, things are so different. I have wanted to run down the streets of Santiago screaming about how proud I am to be a citizen of the good ol' USA and how proud I am to have Barack Obama as our new President! I wish I could have been in the States on Saturday to see Obama speaking to my hometown of Pueblo. I wish I have been there yesterday today to bask in all the gloriousness that it is to see history forever change. Don’t worry, I still basked in joy all day here in Chile...but being so far away at such an exciting time made me a bit homesick.

Tuesday night, Christian and I went to Melissa’s apartment for an election party with other gringas and their husbands/boyfriends. Being so far from it all, it was nice to join up with my fellow ex-patriots to nervously watch each State turn blue or red and cross our fingers that Obama would kick McCain’s ass (see picture above of us cheering him on). We left a little bit before 1am and I stayed up for a bit longer until the local Chilean TV stations stopped their election coverage, right after McCain’s concession speech. It was all over the internet that Obama had won and it just gave me this warm and peaceful feeling inside, knowing that my country is in good hands.

The first thing I did when I woke on Wed. morning was to turn on my computer and search for Obama’s victory speech. It brought tears to my eyes to hear and see that speech. I think he is one of the most intelligent, open-minded, and motivated men that exist on the face of this earth, let alone will have lived in the White House. I can finally rest at ease that Bush’s horrible mistakes will start to be taken care of, little by little and most importantly, that we can, as a country, save face in front of the world. Unless you have lived in another country or traveled extensively, you have NO idea how much Bush had ruined our reputation. NO IDEA. Everyone’s reactions here in Chile, and in other countries from what I have seen on the news, has been that YES, the USA is back and will be better than ever. I don’t think there has ever been a time when the entire world was watching our elections with just as much nervousness and excitement as we the citizens were and always do. If you want more info on this topic, click here.

Emily wrote a wrap-up on her election thoughts, and my favorite sentence is that “Obama basically kicked ass.” I also agree with her on the fact that progress is slow and that we need to not put too much pressure on Obama. The man is only human, and although I believe 100% that he will do anything he can to fix what is broken in our country, he’s not perfect, our society is not perfect and trying to change deeply-planted ways is more than difficult. He told us up front, and he reminded us in his victory speech:

"The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there.

I promise you, we as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as president. And we know the government can't solve every problem.

But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And, above all, I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation, the only way it's been done in America for 221 years - block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.”

But there is one thing that I do want to comment further on about Emily’s post. She mentions a huge flaw in McCain’s concession speech:

“One part of his speech really made it difficult for me to focus on the rest though: his comment that this should be a proud moment for the African American community. No, it is a proud moment for all of us. All races got Obama elected; all races but most specifically whites were able to put aside to some extent the racism that has so affected our country throughout its history. If McCain can't see that, maybe he really wouldn't have made a good president in today's diverse society.”

While I completely agree that it is a proud moment for all of us (trust me, I was the girl who cried after watching movies in history class about the civil rights movement in the 10^th grade, not understanding how people could treat others as they did, and sometimes still do), and I agree that McCain should have acknowledged that in his speech...BUT I think African Americans ARE entitled to be especially proud. I can’t even imagine how they feel. I mean, if I have been moved to tears repeatedly after receiving the good news, watching the victory speech, seeing the Chilean news talk about it, there probably aren’t words to describe how they feel. And although Obama never made his campaign about race—something which I think says a lot about him—the fact of the matter is that electing a black man as President says a lot about how far our country has come. Racism and discrimination are definitely not dead, as incorrectly stated by this NY Times article, but we as a country sure did make a huge leap on Tuesday (a great article on this topic can be found here). Just take a look at the following pictures, taken from the NY Times slideshows, which are worth a million times more than a thousand words:

I am personally very excited to see the doors of opportunities open for all minorities across the nation, and hopefully across the world, as they strive to accomplish their dreams and are able look to Obama for inspiration. That is what I think was greatly accomplished on Tuesday night.


Disappointment
Here comes the part that has unfortunately stopped my complete bliss about the results of this year’s elections. Three states banned gay marriage...and two of those states voted Democrat in the Presidential polls. I know the links I posted in my previous post were specifically aimed at California’s Prop. 8, but at the time, I didn’t know that both Arizona and Florida also had similar issues on their ballots. Of course, California passing the law surprises me the most out of all of them as gays have been able to marry freely since May 2008, but in reality, I am equally and deeply disappointed in all three states (article about this here). I can’t for the life of me understand how someone who can vote for Obama, and all the change, optimism, hope, and open-mindedness that goes along with him...could vote yes to ban gay marriage. Have you folks heard of civil rights? And do you know that it doesn’t just apply to racial issues?

A very close friend of mine wrote an amazing letter to another mutual friend of ours because this mutual friend is against gay marriage and my very close friend just happens to be gay. He was not hateful, nor angry, nor spiteful, but poised, intelligent and friendly in asking her to explain her reasoning only as a way to spark conversation and to understand each other a bit better. I didn’t ask him if I could post this, but since he already put it on facebook, I’m assuming this is ok (the bolded & colored text highlights my favorite parts):

“Because most of my friends are already in the "no on prop 8" boat, i was surprised to see that an old friend who I have always thought very highly of, and still do, was on the affirmative side. In an effort to understand i decided to send her a little note just to see how she got to her decision, and see if i could stir up some new thoughts and maybe change her mind. We're down the wire people . . . . I figured i might as well post my questions to see if i can reach anybody else . . . pass it on if you have anybody on the fence . . .

Dear XXXXXX,

So the campaign season has reached its fever pitch and we will soon have an idea of where this country is going. In the spirit of democracy and free speech, I was intrigued by the declarations made on your profile and I wanted to make an effort to keep as open of a mind as I can on all of the issues that will be voted on. Because I feel that I know you well and respect your opinions, I think it would be more poignant to hear what you have to say from a more emotional and realistic point of view that is not offered by impersonal campaign ads and talking points. So, I would like to know why you are in support of proposition 8. Same-sex marriage has now been legal in California since May 2008. Which of your personal freedoms has been encroached upon or threatened since that time?

I had the pleasure of viewing your wedding photos after your nuptials awhile back, so you clearly know how much it means for two people to declare their love and have it recognized by not only their friends and family, but also by the state. For what reasons do you believe that I am not capable of having that same level of love with the person that I end up with? And if you do think that I am capable of those feelings, why do I not deserve the same rights and protections under the law? If marriage is simply a religious institution, then it would have significance only in the church. If that were the case, then all of us would only be able to have civil unions. The government issues marriage licenses, not the church. Why do the proponents of proposition 8 want to take this fundamental right away from so many people that I care about? I know that your religion does not agree with homosexual lifestyles, but weren't you taught that this country was based on ideas meant to propagate tolerance and equality under the law for all of its citizens? That is precisely why you are free to practice whichever religion you desire. I do not agree with your religion's ideals and beliefs, but I respect your freedom to believe them and I would never vote for a referendum that took away that freedom. That has got to be a huge part of who you are. Well, this is a huge part of who I am.

I pray, that someday I may find someone that I love so much that I want to spend the rest of my life married to him. I would however, not get married simply because I can, I would only go down that aisle if in my heart I believed that I would be with this person forever. In what ways will my marriage and my respect for the privilege of marriage make yours less valuable? I just want to get an idea of how you came to your decision to favor proposition 8 and what is driving your support, because in all honesty, I do not understand.

I know I asked a few questions, and it's really down to the wire at this point. So if you can only answer one, what I really want to know is, how will the passing of this proposition, which will drastically change my future, even affect your life at all?

I hope to hear from you soon.”

Unfortunately, he has not heard from this mutual friend. I think she at least owes him the respect, and for the sake of their friendship, to acknowledge the email and give it her best shot at responding...but honestly, I don’t think shes know how to. It is such a shame that people are still so close-minded in this day and age.

I am not gay, nor am I from Cali, Arizona or Florida. But I have had many (and still do!) gay friends. And most importantly, I believe that all people, no matter what their sexual preference may be, should be allowed to get married to the person they truly love. So in the honor of all my past, current, and future gay friends & family...I give you this picture:

Yes, that is me telling every single person who voted yes to ban gay marriage to F* OFF.

I got the idea from Offbeat Bride’s “Let Freedom Ring” post, which originally came from Eating Out Loud’s “Prop 8: Let Freedom Ring!”. Allen, Eating Out Loud’s author, states (bold text from original author):

“So, I awoke this morning to learn that my relationship with my partner is no longer valid. It’s no longer legal. It’s somehow sub-par, not equivalent, not worthy of protection. And you know what? I’m pissed and tired of holding it in.

I decided to snap a photo of my wedding band placed on a slightly different finger than normal to express exactly how I feel toward every single person who voted Yes on Prop 8. It’s my personal version of ‘let freedom ring’. The battle for equality changes course but it’s very far from over.

I’m sure some of you will believe in Prop 8 and that’s your right. Please make sure to update your reader to remove my blog and to delete any bookmarks to my site. I won’t take it personally but as for Prop 8 and your intrusion on my life … I take it very personally.

I welcome supporters of gay rights to snap your own photo showing your wedding ring on your middle finger. Spread the word that this fight isn’t over. Whether you’re gay, straight, bi, white, blue or tan — show your support by letting freedom ring on your blog! Please forward this page to any friends and family who may find it of interest.”

So there you have it--my thoughts on all you close-minded discriminators--for those of you who support gay marriage, take your own picture, hell even if you aren’t even married pick up any old ring, snap a pic and spread the word. Then after you have posted your picture on a blog, on facebook, myspace, fotolog, or wherever it may be--put the link on the Diary of a Modern Matriarch's blog which is keeping track of all the posts. Here’s another one, just in case you didn’t get the message the first time.

Get up and go VOTE!!!

Today is such an important day in our country’s future and I just wanted to take a minute and encourage all of you to go vote. It doesn’t matter if it takes all afternoon, look at it like a partial free day from work. It doesn’t matter if you are sick, perhaps they will let you cut in line. It doesn’t even matter if you are voting for McCain (which I hope you’re not). The important thing is that you exercise your RIGHT.

It honestly drives me nuts when people say that their vote doesn’t matter. Well if that were the case, then what is the point of having a democratic society? Why not just let a dictator take over and make the decisions for you? Your vote DOES matter….yes, you are one person, but paired with peers and fellow patriots, your opinions are grandioso. Just think of how amazing it is to be able to openly voice your opinion against the popular belief without having to fear sever repercussions as others do in not-so-free-countries.

I’m not one who is big on politics. Never really have been. The one time I remember actually keeping up on topics was during my junior year in high school when I took a U.S. Government class with Mr. Bailey. Although I have mostly long forgotten what I knew then, the one thing that did stick with me was just how important it is to vote. I remember turning 18 two weeks after the 2002 local elections and being so bummed that, finally I was into the whole thing, I couldn’t vote that year. The last presidential elections were a blow for me too as I didn’t like either Bush or Kerry. But not this year. I may not be living in Gringolandia right now, but I know my vote matters, and I know how important it is for our country to see a great change. And that is why I voted absentee style. So if I can do it, all the way from Chile, you sure as hell can take 30 minutes, or heck even a few hours from your day, and GO VOTE!!!

One other topic that I’d like to touch on is this Prop. 8 in California that would ban gay marriage. I’m not from California. In fact, I’ve spent a whole whopping 3 days in the state before….but I think it is a SUPREMELY important that those in Cali vote NO on Prop. 8. Whether you agree with being gay or not, this is not about that--this is about everyone in our country having the same right to marry the person they love. The following two links both eloquently and matter-of-factly describe why it should not be passed and I totally agree with them, so please check 'em out for more info on SAYING NO TO PROP 8:

A Practical Wedding’s “Say No to Prop 8”
Don’t Call Me Gringa’s “Write to Marry Day”

I forgot to mention one other thing: Many people think that the race has already been one (by the Obamanator, of course) and so they don't feel the need to go add another vote for him--WRONG. The race is NOT over, and EVERY SINGLE vote STILL matters...so please, please, please get out there and vote!!!!

Halloween Horror Nights 2008

Some "lovely" pictures from our Halloween here in Chile. Thanks to Emma for hosting the fiesta at her place!!!

The zombie finger cookies that Christian made, complete with

strawberry-tasting blood on each end!

I have been obsessed with Phantom of the Opera since the 3rd grade

and I finally was able to be Christine!!!

Heather & Vuko starring in Kill Bill.....except we should have re-named it "Kill Vuko". Hahahaha...oh right, and Vuko is dressed up as a Chilean soccer player.

Emma as a pokemona (one of the most popular Chilean tribu urbanos)

Diego as The Crow. Christian painted his face and event though it was

a last-minute costume, it turned out really well!!!

**All images provided by the hubbs**

Significant Other Brag Tag

This was originally called the "Husband Brag Tag" but I wanted to tag some people who aren't yet married, therefore I changed the name to "Significant Other" :)

I was tagged by Stephanie, so here goes a bit about my hubs.

1. Where did you meet? We met on the second floor of Café Journal in Viña del Mar, Chile.

2. How long did you date before you were married? We started dating Aug. 13, 2006 and got married on March 25, 2008...so 1 year and 7.5 months.

3. How long have you been married? 7 months as of Oct. 25th.

4. What is one thing he does that surprises you? Hmmm, I’d say how he constantly is thinking about me and if I am ok, happy, etc. He’ll do just about anything to make me happy. I guess I’m still not used to that (although I sure do like it!).

5. What is your favorite feature about him? Physically, his hair. Personality-wise, his humor & intelligence.

6. What is your favorite quality about him? That he’s not afraid to show his emotions nor talk about them.

7. Does he have a nickname for you? Yes, but those are to stay between him and me.

8. What's his favorite color? He has three—blue, yellow and red.

9. What's his favorite food? My chicken enchiladas and desayuno gringo (eggs, potatoes, bacon, orange juice, toast).

10. What's his favorite sport? Futbol (soccer for those of you non-Spanish speakers)

11. Who said, "I love you" first? I did, when we were in the bus on our way back from Mendoza, Argentina on Oct. 9, 2006. It just slipped out in the middle of a conversation...

12. When and where was your first kiss? Aug. 13, 2006 in the VTP Miss Reef party in Valpo.

13. What's your favorite thing to do as a couple? Eat a delicious meal and travel to new places.

14. Do you have kids? No and we aren’t going to have any for at least 6 more years, so let’s not bring up this topic until then. :)

15. What's a hidden talent of his? He can sew (check out his Halloween costume for proof).

16. How old is he? He just turned 28.

17. What do you admire most about him? I admire that he treats me like a princess, that family is important to him, and that he can solve just about any problem or challenge that comes his way without becoming overly stressed.

18. What's his favorite past time? Taking pictures and playing with his camera.

19. What's his favorite type of music? Reggeaton, but he likes a wide variety.

20. Do you think he'll read this? No, but if he does, it’ll be good practice for his English!

I TAG: Heather, Lydia, Amanda, and Tamsin.

Unfocused

Do you ever have those days where concentration just escapes you? Today has been one of those days. No matter how hard I’ve tried to focus on the task at hand, my mind continues to wander to unrelated topics. This turns out to be somewhat of a problem when I have 300 + pages of contracts to read and analyze at work.

First I was really tired this morning and thought about having a cup of Ceylon tea. But then I was worried that in order to wake up, I am starting to need little bits of caffeine. So I decided to research Ceylon tea and its caffeine contents. Turns out, it is pretty low (especially when compared to coffee and pop) and they said it would take about 8-10 cups of tea per day to reach what is considered to be the maximum amount of caffeine a person should safely consume. So I decided that my daily cup of tea was just fine. Plus tea has a ton of antioxidants and really, our bodies can’t get enough of those little guys.

Then my mind started to wander onto the topic of my birthday, which happens to be in about 3 weeks. I want to have a birthday party, but I have yet to find the perfect spot. This whole topic got started because I received an email that was promoting two fancy restaurants here in Santiago, Zanzibar and Lamu Lounge. While I would L.O.V.E. to go to either of these places, I’m thinking they are a bit *too* much for a birthday gathering of 15-20ish people. Ideally, I am looking for a bar/restaurant with buena onda, a space to call our own, yummy food (even just the appetizers), great drinks and good music (and perhaps the possibility to dance, although not a requirement). My birthday is on a Friday, so I was thinking starting the fiesta around 9ish, or earlier if we can make a happy hour. Lamu Lounge looks as if it could fulfill that list, but in the reviews I have read, the crowd seems to be 40ish nerds and women on the lookout for young men. Did I mention that it is pricey? Right….so not exactly the best place for a 24th birthday party. At least I don’t think so…any opinions to the contrary are welcome. In fact, any recommendations to places in Providencia, Las Condes, el Centro, and Bellavista are openly sought. I’ve received a few recommendations for places, and visited some of them, but have not found *the* place yet. Here’s a quick rundown of those places:

• Basic Bar-while the parmesan & garlic French fries might be to die for, a sports bar is definitely not the environment I am looking for.
• Bar Ecléctico-great sangria I must say, decent goyosas, and a fun little spot, but waaaayyy too small and smoke-filled for the likes of me (recommended by Katina as well)
• Playback (Pedro de Valdivia)-stopped by this place for someone else’s birthday; it is a karaoke bar and was actually really lively and fun. Happy hour was 2 for 1and the French fries were tasty too. Karaoke book was filled with both Spanish and English songs so there is definitely a variety and the crowd seems to be amusing—lots of all girl groups out for happy hour and not afraid to sing. This is a possibility, but I’m not sure how well the karaoke thing will go over with everyone…and if the rest of the crowd is a miss that evening, it could result as not too fun.
• Barcelona-a Spanish restaurant recommended to me by Katina. Haven’t been there yet, but I’m thinking it is a bit too restaurant-y for what I am looking for. I am def interested in going there, just don’t know when.

I just had an idea, salsa dancing might be fun. Anyone know a good place?

There are a ton of cuico bars in Vitacura that might fit the bill, but I was just hoping to keep the celebration close to where everyone lives. Although one of the micros definitely makes its way up to Vitacura, and was at least running at 1am when we left a different bday party a while back.

I also became somewhat obsessed with what I was going to eat for lunch for some strange reason. Normally I have either brought lunch or already have plans. Today I had neither. I had a craving for kebabs, but I didn’t find any Arab restaurants close to my work. Then I thought about going to Pizza Sí, which I have heard has really yummy pizzas. At as I was trying to think of even more ideas, a light bulb went off—“I’ll go to Unimarc (the grocery store close to my work) and get things for a sandwich. It’ll be much cheaper than buying the same ham & cheese sandwich from any type of convenience store and I’ll get to buy chips if I want.” So me and my genius self went to the grocery store. Low and behold, I am not the only person who thought it would be a good idea to head to Unimarc for lunch. The place was packed. It took me a whole 30 minutes to pick up less than $3.000 (US$6) of food—bread, two slices of turkey breast, two slices of cheese, cracker/chip-like things, Tifany’s candies and a Gatorade. And although much cheaper than a typical lunch in the Tobalaba/El Golf neighborhood, it definitely wasn’t as satisfying as a kebab or pizza would have been.

Throughout the afternoon my focus got a bit better, but not much. The carb overload from lunch took a toll with some sleepiness and that mixed with contracts does not equal fun. But I made it through the day and I still feel as scatterbrained as before....ugf.

Democracy in Chile

Considering that elections were just yesterday here in Chile, I thought I’d try to shed some light on the political parties in here and the voting procedures that are different from that of the States. I was very surprised to find out certain facts, such as voting takes place on a Sunday.

As far as political parties go in this country, there seem to be many more than in the States. However, I by no means claim to be an expert or knowledgeable about either country’s political parties. In the States, the big players are the Republicans and Democrats. I believe there are a handful of independent parties, but mostly the R&Ds rule the scene. Having been brought up to think these two are worlds apart, I have continually been confused by the number of political parties in Chile. Taken from the State.gov website, this is the clearest explanation of the situation here in English that I could find:

“Political parties: Major parties are grouped into two large coalitions:

1) the center-left "Concertacion", which includes the Christian Democrat Party, the Socialist Party, the Party for Democracy, and the Radical Social Democratic Party; and

2) the center-right "Alliance for Chile", which includes the National Renewal Party and the Independent Democratic Union.

The Communist Party joined the Humanistic Party and a number of smaller parties to form the "Together We Can" coalition in 2004, but none of these leftist parties have recently elected congressional representatives. A new center-left party, "Chile-First," was established in October 2007.”

According to what the US government publishes, there are 2 main divisions in Chile among the political parties, but some of the other sites that I found said that there are normally three clear divisions among the right, center and left. It is common to hear terms like socialism, communism, the right, the left, thrown around and every time I would ask what the party stood for, I normally received a very complicated answer. Sorry for my ignorance, but I never really know what socialism and communism meant. I now have a much better idea, but I was so surprised to find out that Democrats & Republicans really aren’t that different when put into the gamut of Chilean political parties. From what I understand, they both sit on center-right side, but never arrive at that right extreme. That was like revolutionary for me.

But what I find much more interesting about the Chilean democracy than its political parties is its voting system. Here are a few facts that I learned about this weekend:

• Voting takes place on Sundays
  
• Men and women must vote in separate places (we are talking completely separate buildings—I was not allowed inside the men’s voting location).
  
• Speaking of men voting, we saw two cross-dressers with a ton of people filming them as they went to the men’s location to vote. Later in the day there was a news bit about it on the TV, because certain cross-dressers want to be able to vote in the women’s location.
  
• Although it is voluntary to register to vote in Chile, if you do register, it is an obligation to actually go and vote. If you do not, the government will fine you.
  
• There is no such thing as absentee ballots. You must go to the location that is assigned to you, wherever it is. If you registered in your hometown and the moved away, you may re-register or change your location but otherwise you would be required to vote at that hometown location.
  
• The people who work at each location to give ballots, take names, etc. are randomly chosen to perform this service, similar to how we are chosen for jury duty in the States. Supposedly you’re only supposed to have to do it once, but my sister-in-law has done it like 3 times. Call time to be at the location is between 7am and 8am and each mesa (table, as they are called here) must be open for 8 hours straight. Then after they close the table, they must stay and count the votes.
  
• If the people who are assigned to the mesas do not show up, the first person who arrives to vote is forced by law to replace the missing person and stay the whole day. Apparently there are a few exceptions of how to get out of this if you happen to really not be able to stay.

Group Blog Topic-Racism & Classism in Chile

I find this topic really hard to write about. Although Chile could be considered the capital of classism, there are so many aspects that come into play that I think it would take me several months to be able to write a piece of work that I was happy with. It is a topic I would love to learn more about and I would want to do research to figure out why it is the way it is. Here in Chile, social classes are divided by multiple variables—your last name, in what sector of the city you live, the way you talk, the way you dress, down to in what university you study. All of these characteristics mix together to give a person a status and that status—be it high or low—is assumed as “correct” for that person. If you are born into a poor family, it is typically assumed that that is the way life is and all you can do is live with it. It is not too typical to hear stories about people who are trying to better their situation and change the future of their family. It is not too typical because in Chile, it is extremely difficult economically to better one’s situation. Here, the country’s wealth is one of the most unequally distributed of the world.

I took a Cultural Anthropology class in 2006 at La Católica in Valparaíso and it was one of my favorite classes that I have ever taken. We talked quite a bit about the distribution of wealth and I have never forgotten this one graph that my teacher showed to the class:

In this graph, which is from 2000, the Chilean population is divided into 10 parts (deciles). The top 10% of the population controls approx. 44% of the wealth. The next richest 10% only control 15% of the wealth.......uh, that is a HUGE change. For any of the populations that are not in these last two deciles, it is very easy to slip from middle-class to poor, or from poor to indigent. It is also much easier to slip downwards that increase your wealth. I’m not sure how the statistics are today, but you can bet that they are probably not too different. However, I have seen this before. Well granted, I have seen the fruits of them rising from a poor-class family to a middle-class one, but I was not here in the past 50-something years to see that change happen. All I know is that they worked extremely hard, saved all they could and put all five children through the University.

As for racism, I will just briefly touch upon the subject. There is a very similar tension here in Chile between Chileans and Peruvians as there is in the States between Gringos and Mexicans. In general (very general terms), the Peruvians are not looked upon as equals. People joke a lot about when you go to the Plaza de Armas, you go to Peru, because many illegal and legal Peruvian immigrants hang out there, waiting for work as nanas or perhaps in construction. They come to Chile with the hopes to look for a better life just as Mexican families risk their life to cross the border and do the same with their life. I find it very unfortunate that any culture is looked upon is such a way.

If you would like to read other POVs on Racism & Classism in Chile (or other countries), check out the following links:

Clare
Cachorrita
Lydia
Kathleen
Abby

Tip-Toeing To Work

It has now happened to me twice (you think I would have learned the first time)—the stub of my heels has fallen off on the way to work. This first happened about two and a half months ago and I didn’t notice it until I heard a strange clanking sound. Yes, that was the sound of the metal part of the heel hitting the pavement as I was strutting my stuff in my favorite hot pink heels. Then today, as I was walking inside the metro station, I kept slipping more with my left foot. Once I got to a point where I could take a look at my shoe without being trampled by human traffic, I saw that I was in the same boat again. This time the stub didn’t fall off, no not at all…what really happened is that it wore down to the metal part! Yes, that is what happens to heels here in Chile—sidewalks kill them!

Luckily there are a ton of shoe repair places in Chile. I’m sure that is because demand has not died down thanks to the perpetual shoe homicides. In the States, I can’t recall ever even seeing a shoe repair place like the ones here…maybe just in the movies. The first time I had to take my shoes to the repair man, I had to leave them there for 3 days or so. I’m sure there are places that do immediate work, but the whopping $3 they charged me to fix them was worth the wait. I’ll have to take these heels there too, but obviously not today or I won’t have shoes to walk home in!

So what is a gal to do when her heel stub falls off? My advice is to take a taxi cab to wherever you need to go in order to avoid walking on the sidewalk, BUT if you can’t avoid walking, then try to walk on your tip toes more than anything. For example, the shoes I’m wearing today have a very low heel so it is easy to get away with tip-toeing. Plus it is a good calf workout too!

Time Has Stopped

Why is it that when we really need time to “pass” quickly, or at least seem like it is, it never does? But of course, when we want to savor each moment, time beats the speed of light?

The very thing happened to me at work today. First of all, I am sick. Yuck. A cold and no fun right when summer is starting. And since my symptoms just started today, I have felt progressively worse. In the morning, my throat felt a bit funny but I tried to chalk it up to allergies (after all they have been crazy strong this year). The morning flew by quickly and I was able to read a good chunk of the 160 page contract I am currently analyzing. However, during the day, the funny feeling turned into pain, my body started to feel strange and weak, and my concentration started to fly out the door as sleepiness entered the picture. Then, at around 4:45pm, it seemed as if the time stopped. I would try to read as much as I could in the contract before getting confused, perhaps get up and walk around a bit, drink some water, or call my husband, and then look at the clock—and not even 10 minutes had passed. That made the rest of the work day hard to get through because I had visions of my bed and a hot bowl of soup dancing through my head.

What I wouldn’t give if time:

*Would speed up when: we are sick, work/school is boring, we are crammed on the hot subway or stuck in traffic, we are traveling to see loved ones, and bad things happen.

*Would slow down when: we spend time with loved ones, you meet the love of your life, moments like your wedding day or child’s birth happen, you eat a good meal, and we are having fun and laughing.

The other fome thing about feeling sick is that I had planned on going to the gym…but considering I barely had enough energy to get home in Transantiago, I don’t think going to the gym would be a good idea. Thus I have resorted to taking care of some blogging/email/wedding loose ends and go to bed early.

What are the times in your life you wish time would fly/crawl by?

"Please Sarah" video

Youtube video really worth watching that I got from Amanda's blog.

I just voted!!!

I just placed my Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot in the mail about 20 minutes with my vote for US President! Go Obama!!!

You should vote too! If you haven't received your offical ballot and you're living abroad check out Vote From Abroad and send in you Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (which is totally valid)!
The FWAB is a back-up ballot that you can vote TODAY. If you subsequently receive your state ballot, vote that, too. The FWAB is only counted if your state ballot is not received by your state by the ballot return deadline. It is SUPER easy and totally worth it!

I sent my ballot via Correos Chile with 72 hours priority, costing only $1.200 (or $3.40USD). The 72 hour international priority means that the letter will leave Chile within that time frame, and from there will reach its destination within 2 weeks....but we all know the US mail is pretty fast so I doubt it will take 2 weeks! (And even if it did, my ballot should get there before Nov. 4th!)

*VOTE*VOTE*VOTE*VOTE*VOTE*VOTE*VOTE*VOTE*VOTE*VOTE*VOTE*

Some Interesting Articles Thanks to the NY Times

I've been wanting to get these links up for a while now....

A Debilitating Disease That Is Often Unknown - Celiac disease is a somewhat silent and overly-missed-diagnosed disease. It is an extreme gluten intolerance that leaves a person without the ability to even share a sip of water from another person just because that person might have eaten something with gluten hours earlier and drank from the same glass. I would find it impossible to live in Chile with this disease.

The Push to ‘Otherize’ Obama -I found this article on Amanda's blog, and it is great at busting some of the most popular myths against Obama.

Girl Power at School, but Not at the Office -An ESPECIALLY important article for those of us type-A personality, straight-A's all our life, perfectionist-type women who want to kick ass in the real world.

Connecticut Ruling Overturns Ban on Same-Sex Marriage -Congrats Connecticut! It's only the 3rd state to allow same-sex marriage, so we've got a ways to go, but at least it's a step in the right direction.

Cancer Vaccine Used by 25% of Girls 13 to 17 -Article about the Gardisil vaccine used to fight against cervical cancer.

Job Hunting Is, and Isn’t, What It Used to Be -Do you remember looking for a job before everything was on the internet?

Group Blog Topic: Hardest Custom to Adjust to in Chile

After pondering upon this topic for a few days, I finally realized that I was able to become accustomed to many of the Chilean traditions, but those which I either refuse to adapt to or find it hard to, are all related to the kitchen.

One thing that I’m not a fan of here is the fact most Chilean households wash their dishes in cold water with little-to-no soap at all. I don’t know how many times I’ve witnessed “washing” a spoon to be just rinsing it off in cold water, no soap, no nothing…just cold water. Hmmm….right, that doesn’t seem like it will kill the germs to me. And just think about when you’re dealing with raw meat. Yuck.

Now, the thing I absolutely detest and cannot handle is that fact that they do not refrigerate meat (cooked or otherwise) much in this country. I remember when I finally started picking up on this living with my host family. I started noticing that when we ate left-overs, my host mom would take them out of the oven. And no, she wasn’t reheating it up in the oven because she always proceeded to put the food in the microwave. I began realizing that she used our oven as storage for food that she cooked 8 hours prior, or the day before, etc. I might understand this habit if we had not had a working refrigerator, but we most certainly did. And there was space to squeeze in the food. My suegra does the same thing. I can’t eat her empanadas except for right after she makes them because they always sit out on the counter for days until they are eaten.

It is very typical here to use any space you have as storage…and with good reason since most apartments and houses are tiny. BUT, if you have space in your fridge, you should store your food there instead of inside the oven. Perhaps they do it because people aren’t used to having a fridge (speaking to the older generations), or perhaps because they find it too hard to heat up cold meat without a microwave. That too could be a valid reason, but I’d rather eat a cold empanada than one that has been sitting out for a day and a half. And just for the record, I don’t have a microwave in my house so I deal with reheating food issues all of the time.

Back when I was studying abroad, I would come up with reasons as to why I wasn’t hungry or didn’t want to eat. Or sometimes, I just bit the bullet, put the thoughts out of my head and eat the food. Obviously I didn’t die, and I can’t really recall ever getting super sick…but I also had a very different mindset back then. Everything was an adventure on study abroad and I figured, “what the hell, if it doesn’t kill me it’ll make for a good story.” That mindset lasted for about 6 months until things started to calm down, nothing really seemed new anymore, and living here became normal life. That is when the food issues started surfacing as I was eating at home more instead of going out with friends, and I was becoming more and more grossed out with meat as time went on. Plus I remember horror stories from other study abroaders who got horribly sick thanks to an empanada they bought at some random place.

From what I understand, cooked meat will not go bad as quickly as leaving raw meat out. But I think more than a time span of lunch-to-dinner is too much time out of the fridge. I just can’t handle that one. I’m too picky of a meat eater and too much of a germ-a-phob when it comes to food to give in on this topic. Luckily now that I am living in my own house with my husband, I can put everything in the fridge if I want too. And I do.

Enjoy the other bloggers' entries about the same topic!:

Sara
Heather
Abby
Rita (Colombia)
Lydia
Clare
Amanda
Kathleen (Ecuador)
Lori (Brazil)
Renee
Shannon
Carlos
Katina
Emily
Jessica
Kyle

Group Blog Topic: What Chileans Think of Gringos—My POV

So I´m about 2 weeks behind on this topic thanks to two things: 1. lack of time and 2. lack of inspiration. I have even refrained from reading everyone else’s posts on this topic because I figured that I’d get around to writing it one day. But the lack of inspiration for such a topic is an important one and so I had to wait until it came. And it did: on Sunday night when my husband took me out to dinner at Ruby Tuesday.

We arrived at the restaurant at about 7:30pm and surprisingly there were a lot of people. Most of them gringos, sitting at the bar, drinking beer and eating food from the all-you-can-eat buffet. We ended up sitting in a booth right next to the bar, and therefore next to the gringos. All of them were older, white business men, some with less hair, others with more...and from the accents I could pick up--all from the States.

Now, my objective during this evening was not to ease drop on what these guys were doing or talking about, but there was one particular old fart who made it IMPOSSIBLE for me not to pay some attention to what was going on. Obviously I didn’t talk to them...I played Chilean, but my half of my hearing was definitely dedicated to listening to the absurdities of this man and unfortunately, my fellow compatriots.

So what do I think that Chileans (and probably any other foreigner) thinks of people from the U.S.*, they think we’re loud, cold, selfish, rude, ignorant, self-absorbed, rich and exaggerated. Wow, why such harsh words? Because I’m just stating the facts here people. This is what they think of all of us (according to my point of view)....and why would that be? Because of the type of people who travel around the world who are like that old man in Ruby Tuesdays.

Let’s take a look at a few examples. This man, let’s call him Bob, seemed to come from Texas and liked his beer. It was only 7:30 and the huevon was already slurring his words. We were at the restaurant for about an hour in total...and Bob introduced himself to the same 5 men, three times (exaggerated)! At one point, he asked another guy for his business card, who then said that he didn’t have any with him. Bob said “Oh, ok, well I’m sure I’ll see you here tomorrow or Tuesday.” WHAT?!—I thought to myself, this man comes here SO frequently...that is not normal. Then Bob started talking politics, and the other men simply stared into space or drank their beers. And then he started telling everyone his “story”, even though none of the other five gringos was really paying much attention to him (self-absorbed). At one point, the men decided they wanted to watch NFL football on TV and they began discussing what channel the games would be on. Bob felt the impulse to repeat ESPN about 10 times....and yelling it....for absolutely no reason. Right......So the men told the bartender to change the channel. And no, they didn’t tell her in Spanish they yelled at her in English...trying to make the poor thing understand. And when she was flipping through the channels and none of the games showed up (because the cable didn’t include ESPN), Bob kept yelling louder “No, keep going, No go back, No, No No!” (rude, cold, loud, ignorant, exaggerated). I felt so bad for the poor bartender who had so patiently been waiting upon these jacka#@es the whole evening. The huevones even made the comment that “Oh my god, a woman is going to change the channel for us!” (selfish). What made most of the interaction between the gringos and the bartender so bad is that none of them spoke Spanish....not even a little (ignorant). Ok, really, Spanish is NOT that hard to learn...you could at least take a freaking dictionary with you to help communicate. It would be a different story if we were in Asia where the languages do not look anything alike! Bob actually made the comment that all of his work is in English, the functional currency of his business (at Merrill Lynch) in US Dollars, “so he never wants to learn that stupid language” (ignorant, ignorant, IGNORANT). At this point I was ready to throw my dinner knife towards Bob's head. Ugf, I’ll keep in mind that this huevon works at ML so that I NEVER apply for a job at the same company....I cannot stand people like Bob. They travel to foreign countries and don’t even try to 1. learn the language, 2. learn anything about the culture, 3. learn the social norms so they don’t look like idiots, etc.

These are the type of people who give all us gringos such a bad name. I don’t know how many times people have been shocked here in Chile, Peru or Argentina that I am a gringa because “gringos are so cold and you, well you are practically latina”. I take pride in the fact that I have worked by a@# off to become fluent in Spanish (although I’m not saying everyone should do the same), but for god’s sake, if you live in another country that speaks a different language—you should learn at least enough to get by (meaning going to the grocery story by yourself, etc.). None of this “I’ve lived here for 20+ years and still don’t understand Spanish.” Now that is IGNORANT. And rude. Do not move to another country (that is presumably not considered “developed”) and try to live like it is the U.S.—that is just not going to happen and it is like taking a dump upon the culture of the country where you are at. The least people can do is *try* to assimilate and learn the accepted behaviors in the places they visit. I mean, you have to be just stupid not to, because doing so actually helps you keep much safer.

As you can see, this topic infuriates me and I could probably go on forever. But I won’t. I’m done...I’ve vented about stupid Bob and all the bad gringos that give us good gringos a bad rep. And just to tie it all up: I think the impressions most people keep are negative ones because I feel like they make such a big impact on a person (especially if it is the 1st impression). Plus I feel like more ignorant gringos travel than ones who are open-minded and ready to welcome new cultures....and that is exactly why I think Chileans and other foreigners think we gringos are all alike (and not in a good way).

*I say “people from the U.S.” because I don’t like the term “Americans”. That word does not just related to gringos from the States, but to EVERYONE who lives in North, Central and South America. I don’t know where we gringos got off thinking that just we are Americans, when really everyone is. So to me, when someone asks you where you are from and you say you’re American and they too are from some part of the Americas, you just made yourself look stupid.

And now, here are the links to everyone else who participated in this group blogging post:

Carlos
Flo
Clare
Sara
Abby
Katina
Emily
Amanda
Renee
Kathleen
Lydia
Shannon
Emma
Heather
Gus
Kyle

Help Someone Else by Helping Yourself

One of my new gringa friends, Kyle, and her Chilean husband are up to something AWESOME. They have decided to give the gift of knowledge to a less fortunate person here in Santiago who has worked his butt off to get where he's at....Unfortunately, now he has hit a plateau all because he lacks a higher education which is the requirement for any type of decent salary in this country. Kyle and her hubby have decided to fund this young man's 2.5 year degree in order to help him get ahead in life.

Now, don't jump to conclusions here....Kyle nor her counterpart are rich, old people--they are both under-30 hard-working young adults. S. (Kyle's hubby) works in construction, which in Chile means like 6 days a week, and 10-12 hour days--no joke. Kyle works long days as well between being a professional blogger and a super-star up-and-coming photographer. In fact, her photography is what is going to help pay for this other young man's education.

Kyle has decided that any sales she has in photography prints and postcards between today and Nov. 6th will ALL, 100%, go towards funding the first, second, and how every many more semesters the money can stretch....and if print sales aren't enough...these two generous people are going to foot the bill with their normal salaries!

Right, so how can you help someone else by helping yourself? Well check out Kyle's pictures and postcards and BUY them! The more we all buy, the more money will be raised for this young kid's education. The best part about it for those of you in Gringolandia (USA) is that shipping is FREE. For those of us in Chile....well I don't really know how shipping works, but Kyle explains it all here on her blog. So by buying yourself something, you are taking part of changing someone's life.

All I can say is:
1. If you want to read more about Kyle and her hubby's decision and the selected young man's story, check this out.
2. If you want to buy some photography prints to spruce up your house or give as a gift, check this out.
3. If you want to send some awesome Chile postcards around the world, check this out.

Feliz Cumple Christian!!!

Esto sólo es un shout-out para mi lindo esposo, quien está de cumpleaños hoy día!!!

¡¡TE AMO MUCHO!!

A Saturday Afternoon Outing

This past Saturday, my hubby and I decided to go exploring Bellavista, which is an artsy barrio fairly close to where we live. It’s on the base and side of Cerro San Cristobal. It’s famous for its variety of restaurants and its nightlife. It is also where one of Pablo Neruda’s house-now-turned-museum is located (La Chascona, check it out here) and where you can take the funicular (tram) up the cerro (hill) to get to the Virgin located up top.

We walked around quite a bit, making our way to La Chascona (although not entering) and heading back towards the Patio Bellavista, which is the cute little patio area which is very touristy. It has a feria artesania (equivalent of craft shops), but let me say it again—it is very touristy....so in case you aren’t picking up on my point = it is much more expensive to buy a pícaro indio in the Patio Bellavista than it would be at a normal feria artesania. It also has quite a few little restaurants, and that was exactly what we were more interested it. Figures, huh?

We ate some yummy-licious pizza that was definitely not on our post-dieciocho diet. But it was the weekend so what-the-hay?! It was nice to spend alone time together, outdoors in the sun, and forgetting about work or any other stress-related topics. We also spent the afternoon taking pictures. Christian took most of them, but I took a few. Here are the best of the bunch from both of us: