Valpo

Before I left for Valpo, I was watching some Chilean hipsters film a music video by the pool. There was actually a guy wearing a purple scrunchy. Apparently Chile did not receive the memo that scrunchies are no longer acceptable coiffure attire. The youth culture here cracks me up. They have a whole group of kids called "pokemonos" that are probably much like you would imagine them. Colorful, androgyneous and a little provocative. They like to hang out in the park and make out with each other. In fact, Chileans are no strangers to public displays of affection. On the subway, in the elevator, in the restaurants...people here like to make sure that everyone knows who their girlfriend/boyfriend is. Also, as many of my friends know I am a HUGE advocate for the fanny pack. They are very popular and prolific here. I have yet to buy one, but it might be a good investment seeing as petty crime is about as common as palta (avocados) here. We got to Valpo in the evening and picked up some wine and I also bought a 40 oz. of "Becker" cerveza. We were all starving so Shannon (who studied here in college) took me to the most famous restaurant to get "chorillana" which is a typical Chilean dish. For starters, Jota Cruz takes kitsch to an entirely different level. Everyone leaves notes, pictures, knick knacks and what-have-yous all over the restaurant. They serve the chorillana on one big dish and you eat it family style. It is a plate of the most delicious french fries topped with eggs, onions, cheese and meat. It is similar to moco loco but perhaps the best hangover cure I have yet to come across. We made the trek up about 1000 stairs to get to Mario's for the asado (BBQ).
In Valparaiso, the city sits on steep hills and the streets are all cobblestone. It is a very famous destination for New Year's where they set off a massive display of fireworks. It is like any port town, but some of the architecure is beautiful. The people that live here are referred to as "portenos" because of their residence in a port city. Notoriously, they have beautiful legs from all the hills, steps and maneuvering they have to do to get home or anywhere else for that matter. This city is also full of stray dogs which I have to fight the urge to want to cuddle with. The asado started late and included as much meat as any one person could eat in a sitting. I think that being surrounded by Chileans has been good for my Spanish. I learned two phrases while in Valpo that I will never forget. The first one is "saca la chucha" which means to fall on your ass which is quite possible considering the dangerous combination of terrain and number of piscolas consumed. My other favorite phrase is "mete la pata" which is to stick your foot in your mouth. We capped the night off at a nearby hostel that is owned by a friend of Mario's where we had a dance party to kick-ass oldies like "Kung Fu Fighting". The night ended at about 4am which by Chilean standards is early. The next day, Mario took us around the city. We rode the ascensors (elevators) and went down to the Pier where Patrick (a gringo from Colorado) had his backpack stolen as we were having some beers. It was the most inconspicuous lift I have ever seen. In fact, I never even saw the kid come up to the table. This is the second time in 2 weeks that this poor guy has been robbed. We headed back to Santiago around 8pm and today I had lunch at a delicious vegetarian restaurant with Amy (who leaves in t-minus 1 hour). The next couple days are down time before our trip to Buenos Aires. I can't wait. Oye, huevon!