Chillin in Chillan

If it looks like this is a container of aloe vera-flavored yogurt, that's because it is. The convo went down a little something like this:
Jessica: My mom packed us some yogurt, you want?
Me: Sure.
(yogurt is exchanged)(Julie reads label with puzzlement)
Me: What is this?
Jessica: It's aloe yogurt. It's not bad!
Me: ...Can you eat it?
Jessica: Yeah! I mean at first, it's kinda like, 'Am I eating lotion?', but then it gets better. [end convo]
I mean, I've eaten worse. In Mexico we had "napales," which is cactus. I tricked myself into thinking it would taste like green beans, and it did not.
Anyway, the aloe yogurt was strangely fragrant, so it was a little bit like eating lotion. But not all bad.

I also died and went to heaven this weekend, as you can see by the picture at right. Yes, that is me inside of a giant guitar. We visited the museum of the pianist Claudio Arrau, and this was part of the "interactive room." Apparently Arrau is a very famous pianist. While he did not compose any music, he was famous for his amazing performances (of Beethoven, Handel, whatever it be.) He is from Chillan, Chile, which is the city we visited this weekend. Minus the long-winded guide, it was a worthwhile visit.
We also saw the famous "mercado" of Chillan,
where they sell all kinds of "artesania," which means arts, crafts, jewelry, etc. (janelle- i have the best gifts for you!)

Had to snap a photo of the Marley hat, as I'd just mentioned it in my last post. the marley hat is actually pretty common in Chile. my sister has one, i dunno.




Not really sure what the Escuela Mexico is, but it was pretty, and the Mexican in me is really aching for its home.

We also got to go out in the evening, the first time for me without professors. We were staying in Chillan with Nataly and her family (an actual student teacher at the school), so she took us out with her friends. We met up with some girls at a bar called "La Louvre" and then went to a dance club. Slightly awkward at first, but I ended up having a lot of fun. We also talked about music a lot. Jessica and I couldn't stop singing Backstreet Boys songs (especially "Everybody,"- remember the video with the Halloween costumes? yes you do.) and the Chilean girls thought it was hilarious and joined in. Here we are, 2 Americans and 5 Chileans, walking down the streets at night singing and dancing the Backstreet Boys, happy as could be. We've also been asked a decent amount if in the U.S., they listen to international music. And I'm always embarrassed to be like, "um, no..not really." Like, no one hardly knows what reggaeton even is, unless you've been to Mexico or have Mexican friends. But in Chile, they listen to American music as well as everything else, so it makes sense to them that the road would go both ways. Not really.

More random pics. check out the name of the middle one!!! (suizo means "swiss")

The bug is quite common in Chile.

At the "feria," which is basically where everyone brings their garage sale crap, and it's one giant garage sale. Only, like the people are serious. These are professional garage salers. It was kinda cool, except that everything was crappy.