!Hola Providencia!

I am enjoying the second really quiet day since moving out of Oveja and actually feeling a bit lonely. Living alone for 7 years in Seattle was great and I never thought I could stand to have roommates again, let alone 21 who I never met before and who I’d be working with as well, but I guess I’ve been hungry for more socializing. I should have predicted it, given how long it always took me to break away from slumber parties at Samara and Mike’s - - bad TV, greasy breakfasts and shit-talking is always better with some company (yes, I shit-talked while alone in my place, but I think Luci might have been listening). Anywho, I am quite glad I didn’t opt to get a place on my own because I’ve reverted back to my social butterfly days and how sad would I be without even a cat to talk to at home???
Saturday afternoon, I took to wandering the streets of Providencia (my new hood) without much purpose except to find a grocery store and the closest bus/metro stops. Luckily it was a day off because I actually got lost for a bit. I was laughing too hard. . . “where do I live?”. Unfortunately that’s not something that any passerby could have helped me with, so I just wandered and wandered until I happened back onto Avineda Holanda and was glad that I only bought a small (and light) amount of groceries. I’ve since memorized the address (quick thinking, eh?) and know other neighboring streets really well so I shouldn’t be caught in the same jam again. After my search mission, I enjoyed a nap in the new double bed (good hell, I can’t tell you how AMAZING it is to sleep in a real bed!!!!) with the window open and some fresh, non-downtown air floating in and was slightly “disturbed” by noises unidentifiable in my half asleep/ half awake state, when I realized it was birds chirping! I was suddenly excited and surprised by said excitement until I realized that I hadn’t heard birds chirping in a VERY long time. Downtown life is fun and all, but I need me some trees and peace from traffic noise. Hola Providencia!
On Saturday night, some fellow-teachers had a house warming party and I stayed out until 7 on Sunday morning (something I thought impossible a month ago, but I haven’t lost my stamina!) so I slept away the better part of Sunday morning to early afternoon- a little embarrassing as a first impression to my new roomies but I remind myself that the Chilean social scene generally tends to be nocturnal so no worries. They are both easy going and I had a good long chat with Elsa. Rafael is always missing in action, though I’d rather that than a messy couch potato roomy. I’m also pleased to report that I moved in with the two people in Santiago who recycle, what a relief. I’ve been continuing a green effort here myself, with public transit/walking, line-drying clothes, short and cold showers (though not always by choice) and buying local produce, but there was NO WHERE to recycle anything at Oveja and certainly no compost bins, so garbage garbage garbage and it hurt a little.
Elsa was disappointed with my lack of experimentation with “real” Chilean food, pointing out that ‘completos’ (hotdogs or grilled pork/beef sandwiches with tomatoes, sauerkraut, mayo and other unidentifiable yet delicious ingredients), ‘italianos’ (sandwiches with grilled meat, avocado, tomatoes and HEEEAAPS of mayo) papas mayo, papas fritas are, in fact, not Chilean cuisine. What??? They are really abundant and cheap but not the best for your cholesterol. The sandwiches could be healthy, but for some reason mayo is a staple here and people apply it to recipes in disgusting quantities. Every time I have an italiano, I end up with at least 2-3 tablespoons of excess mayo scraped off the edge of the roll. Papas mayo is one of my favorites- I’ve consumed more potatoes in the last month than in the last 10 years. Seriously. Alejandra makes the best papas mayo for almuerzo at the Oveja. I balanced my massive potato salad consumption with giant heaps of tomato/cucumber/carrot infused spinach salad. Now it’s on to healthier home-cooked meals since I actually have access to a kitchen. Elsa told me where to get good seafood so I can try making some real Chilean food- seems that any nice seafood places in Santiago are ridiculously expensive, and I’d rather cook it my way anyhow. I can’t believe how much I miss cooking with a month of limited access to a kitchen. I already have plans for Persian BBQ night as well as a paella party and if I can find some ****ing coconut milk and curry paste, or ingredients to make from scratch, we’ll be having a spicy Thai fest too. As I expected, ethnic food is not easily found in Santiago, but the search will continue and for now a couple of great sushi finds are getting me by. Cooking healthy at home is economically advantageous too. Ironically processed junk food is more expensive than produce and fresh bread. So, I’ve been eating the crap out of tomatoes, avocados (paltas) and freshly baked baguettes.
So one last little note for all of you reading who go back with me to California. . . I found out one of the women in my group came from LANCASTER. How crazy is that?? Not as crazy as the fact that she moved there from New Orleans. How the hell does that happen? We had a laugh about it, because she gave the same answer to me that I always give people (especially non-Californians) when asked about where I’m from: “oh, some small town northeast of LA in the valley- you won’t know where it is”. Too funny, because I did know where it was and ALL about it. We get to share some inside, white-trash jokes now.
Now, I’m off to go explore the neighborhood with better navigation and shop for closet essentials- all my slacks are becoming more wrinkled by the minute and I need need need to not be living out of a suitcase.
P.S. To all my Seattle animal-loving homies, I’m pleased to report that little Luci is doing stupendously well at her new home and is currently going by the name of Mao Mao Chan in the spirit of being part of the family! Jeanne warned me to save some of my travel funds for kitty psychiatric care and a custody battle upon my return. . . I think I can hang with limited, supervised visits though.