Different, Disgusting, Dangerous

So my head continues to be stuffed full of Spanish and people continue to stare at me. However, I managed to catch the train into town and the bus back again by myself which was super scary but satisfying as well. Thanks for all the lovely helpful and encouraging emails and posts, I'm loving it!

Different: I read that on first meeting someone new, Chilean men will shake hands with a woman and a woman will hug you. This was wrong. Everybody gives you a one-armed hug and bumps cheeks with you while kissing past you. I'm mostly used to this now! Also different, hardly anyone say "please". If they want to be polite then you use the conditional ie "would you", could you" but never add please on the end. It's a little disconcerting having a two year old order you around! I always want to say, 'and what's the magic word?' but I don't think they'd get that at all. New word: "cachai" means "do you understand" and is specific to Chile. They also kind of use it like "right". We would say, " so I walked down the street right, and there was this guy who stared at me the whole way". They use "cachai" in these circumstances as well. (sorry for the language lesson!)

Disgusting: Probably most disgusting thing so far is their toilet system. Apparently the pipes are really thin so all toilet paper and "ladies rubbish" goes in a little bin beside the toilet. VERY unpleasant. I was also made to try "mate". It's a kind of tea which is drunk out of a communal pot through a communal straw (but the straw is metal). It's a very social drink and tastes awful. Sorry to any Chileans or Argentinians reading this but it is truly disgusting.

Dangerous: Well apart from being white my only real danger is the Chilean Recluse Spider. Now, I knew about this before I came but have discovered that it is a real threat not just a perceived one. They are the most venomous of the recluse spiders and their bites are generally not noticed until about 7 hours after being bitten. By which time you could be dead. They are particularly dangerous for kids but can cause severe scars etc in adults and occasionally, death. Therefore, I go through a petrifying ritual every night where I check my bed for this spider and before I put clothes on. Every week you spray into corners and closets etc where it might be hiding as well. So, now I have an actual reason to fear spiders!


On a lighter note here are some pictures!

This is Plaza de Armes one of the centres of town. The building in the background is the oldest Catholic church in the city

This is pastel de choclo which has nothing to do with chocolate! It's kind of like shepherds pie but with mashed corn on top and this one had a mixture of beef and chicken inside. It was okay, I couldn't eat all of it!! Way too much.