Another one! October 8, 2012

Zach was able to write TWICE on his first P-day in Chile, so for those of us who can't get enough: 

October 8, 2012, Part II

It is really cold in Chile right now-- it has been raining a lot, and I always just feel cold. Getting out of bed is really hard in the mornings because our linoleum floor is freezing. And I am on the top bunk AGAIN. When I am senior comp, I am definitely always going to take the bottom.

They have a lot of different food here at the stores-- they have this weird meat thing in a wrapping that is like spread. Tastes like refried beans. Not bad. They also eat a lot of manjar-- like dulce de leche. They also use a lot of weird words. ‘Al tiro’ is a really common expression. They add ‘po’ to a lot of stuff, don’t pronounce ‘s’ or ‘t’ very much, and they have funny phrases. We played a game with some cute little investigator girls, one that looks just like Sam Jacob as a kid, with black hair, where instead of ‘cookies from the cookie jar’ it was ‘who stole the sombrero of the maestro.’ Funny.

Everyone here likes to try and speak English with you-- they are all really pretty bad, but you just compliment them and tell them they speak very well and they get very excited and love you. It works. Ironically, I think that’s what they have all been doing with me and my Spanish.

The Chilenos are very, very friendly-- it is very easy to contact because you just say ‘Hola’ and people will say ‘hola’ back and it is easy to start talking. A lot of rejection, but we often meet people who want to learn more. We have had a few really rude people, or agnostic students, but they are definitely the exception.

There are a lot of good things to eat in Chile. So far the best thing we have had is some good pot roast-- but they always have good chicken, or pork once. Some good soup—really good bread but all the elders say don’t eat it. Rule of thumb in Conce mission-- if you don’t eat a lot of bread and don’t eat a lot at night after getting home, you will lose weight. If you do eat at night, you will stay the same. If you eat a lot of bread, you will get fat.

I'm really glad I have a native comp-- he understands everyone. It would be harder if he were a gringo and didn't understand everyone. He has only been in Talca for one cambio though. I think I will have at least two cambios here-- he thinks more. It would be great to spend my first six months in Talca Centro. The other areas around us are Cancha Rayada, La Florida, Jardin de Valle, Constitucion, San Javier, San Clemente, etc. But lots of people say Talca has been their favorite zone. It’s a bummer though-- I don’t like the bikes. I’d rather walk, talk with more people, and not get as muddy from the wheels and all that. We pay a less active lady from the ward to wash our clothes and then teach her -- win win!

Ciao!