But, hey, I guess this is what life is all about. Learning how to conserve your money and keep on truckin’ on. However, even though I am struggling on the money front, I have been having as much fun as I possibly can (obbbbviously). The other weekend I went to an “asado” with a group of friends that I met here in Santiago. An “asado” is essentially a barbeque,” however, here in Chile…there is a special art to how the asado is done, and below I will explain.
After receiving a call from a good friend, Leo, we decided to meet at the “Los Heroes” metro stop on the red line (about 6 stops from my metro stop, Salvador) at 8pm. Of course, I arrive at around 8:10 panicking that I would be late. HA-HA-HA. Forgetting that I was dealing with Chileans, the tardiest group of people ever. Finally, at around 8:45, Leo and I jumped on another metro followed by a micro, to finally arrive at our destination in Independencia, an area outside of Santiago. When we got there…the hosts of the party were still lounging around and casually talking about the evening. (Polar opposite of what you would see in the US… which is people running around preparing days in advance for an event like this).
After chatting for a while, the boys decided that they would go to the grocery store and get the meat and alcohol for the asado. As the girls, we were able to stay back and relax (yahoo). About an hour later, the boys came back with all of the goods and we were set. However, what comes next is the process of preparing the grill…which takes about a full hour, sometimes even longer. But it is during this time where everyone cracks open their first beer, and starts to relax.
Asado's can last a longgggg time, like, sometimes 6-8 hours. While the meat is cooking everyone is socializing. When one piece of meat is finished cooking, it is cut up into small pieces, and then handed out on an appetizer-like platter. This continues all night until the meat is finished. On this particular night we were eating various types of meat and drinking different drinks until 6:30 in the morning. It was a blast with lots of laughing, singing, and dancing. That Sunday I slept all day, but it was totally worth it! And the best part about it all...it costed me only about 5 USD for everything ;)
Just yesterday I had a surprise visit from my best friend, Felipe, from Iquique. He was stopping by Santiago just for a day before traveling south to see his family in Concepcion. It was so nice to see him! My favorite part about Felipe is that we can just hang out all day without having any plans. We drank coffee, ate lunch, caught up, shared old stories, played music and later went to the park where we people watched and laid in the grass.
Today I have no plans. I have to give an English lesson at 7pm tonight but after I want to return home, lay down in the beanbag in our living room, and watch a movie. I am trying to lay low for the week before I start work. Meaning, eating healthy, sleeping well, not going out, etc.
I have gotten emails from a few people and I cannot tell you how much I appreciate the updates!!! I will be getting back to you all soon!
Happy Be-lated Valentine's Day! (I thought by moving to another country I would be graced with a Valentine this year...nope. I didn't even get chocolates from Mom. Wahhhh)
***PS*** I have been asked by multiple people about my love situation. It is non-existent. There will be no Chilean weddings anytime soon---sorry everyone, you'll have to come up with another reason to visit me!
Here are a few pictures of my day with Felipe. My friend Kaye, also a gringa (North American), just bought a camera and thought it would be fun to document the day. Where I found it slightly annoying... at least now I have pictures to share!
