Cooking for the first time in Chile!

Week 3 in Santiago went by so fast! I can’t believe I’m heading home in less than two weeks. After we headed home from Valparaiso (the coast), we spent this week learning more about Chilean culture, including both its religious and culinary scene. On Tuesday, we went to Museo San Francisco, where we learned more about famous Chilean poet, Gabriela Mistral, Spanish colonial architecture in the oldest convent in Santiago, and the life of Saint Francis. There, we saw figures of Saint Francis, one of which featured a real preserved human tongue!

The Church also had a beautiful fountain and garden in the center, where peacocks roamed, turtles waddled, and koi fish swam. One of the peacocks ended up hitting me with its feathers, but that’s ok! 

On Thursday, we took a Chilean cooking class. Our professor took us to a gated indigenous community where we were able to cook sopaipillas (fried dough usually served as an appetizer in Chilean restaurants) and make fresh pebre (similar to what we know as pico de gallo, a mixture of diced veggies and seasonings). It was almost as if we’d traveled to another country, where every house was built with straw and dirt. A kind Chilean woman who lived there led us through the process, providing us with yeast, flour, salt, and water to create our sopaipillas.

After we were done frying them up, we were able to enjoy them with a view of the Andes up close! Overall, the experience was amazing and now I get to return back to the US with some Chilean cooking techniques. Later that night, my friends and I ended up going out to explore more of the Santiago nightlife, where we found this amazing club that was filled with bubbles and a very cool dj booth. Excited to see what’s to come in these last few weeks here!