Booze Hound

Sorry I haven't been quite writing legitimate blog posts lately. I've been struck by a particularly nasty and virulent bout of hay fever (tip-o'-the-hat to Santiago pollution) which climaxed rather attractively yesterday in the middle of class when I projectile snot-rocketed all over the front of my brand new dress. I assure you, my professor "cool" cred just keeps rising.

When I'm not busy shoving my face into a roll of Confort, I've been combatting another Santiago kryptonite - my stifling top-floor apartment. It's the only place you'll ever find me trotting around in a bikini or voluntarily submerging myself in a vat of ice water (wag-o'-the-finger to cantankerous calefonts).

But, determined to get SOME sort of color this summer, I've been trying to beat the heat in some cheap excursion-ey ways. And there is no better way of doing that than with an ice cold beer.

Like any good group of 20-somethings, I think I could fairly say that the majority of the gringos I've met here self-medicate in various degrees with alcohol (not to say any of us are alcoholics or budding alcoholics in the least bit, but I for one certainly have been drinking more). Although we all have adjusted really well to the daily stressors of living in a foreign culture, it certainly is harder to say "no" to that tempting fourth shot of pisco, letting our hair down, and dancing like a fool when the weekend finally hits.

I've had a few conversations with other gringos concerned about the "responsible adult" dilemma we face as we get older and still are gettin' frat-house shitty. We had a surprising number of birthdays in October and November and so we partied pretty hard. But every year the canhas get more severe and our tolerance lowers (on the plus side, making me even more of a cheap date). And we feel more uncomfortable about having one too many...or four too many. "I just kind of feel like, well, I'm 25, and I should grow up. I should have the self-control to limit myself at this point," a troubled friend confided to me on Skype.

A lot of it is probably the attitude surrounding us. Sometimes it feels like we're back in college, or on this ultimate vacation from real life; the rules do not apply. Two of my friends joke that they "left their dignity at the airport" when they entered Santiago and "will pick it up on the way back home." Funny, seeing as my position here is the most respectful job I've ever held, and that a lot rides on our being responsible adults.

With this in mind, I've set out on an initiative to temper my drinking, or to appreciate it in finer ways. DUOC's no-fear policy to poppin' some bub allowed me my first opportunity: an artisanal maridaje at Tosh's campus (which literally looks like a French Hogwarts) last Friday afternoon. Seven mom and pop breweries strutted their stout in the indoor courtyard, and culinary students tastefully whipped up some accompanying h'ors d'oeurves. Well-known contenders like Mestra proved, as always, to be a crowd pleaser with their mouth-watering amber and bitterly-brilliant scotch ales. But it was a newcomer that had me wanting to rent a car just to drive to retreive a few 24 packs: Kobold brewing company, located on some breathtaking acerage in Vina del Mar, will leave you foaming at the mouth. One of the brewers even told us in English the tale behind the company's trademark labels: it seems a bunch of mischeivous German dwarf booze hounds won't let you or your household rest in peace until you offer them to kick back and klink.

But the best part of the whole thing (besides the free beer and sushi) was learning about the small start-up beer companies. Schop is incredibly popular in Chile, with almost every bar offering their own particular brew or contracting out to small businesses such as these. Since the majority are brewed without preservative or chemical additives, their carbonation lasts almost a lifetime once the bottle is sealed. And, for those of you not quite ready to grow up yet, artisanal beers tend to have at least double the alcohol content of their mass-produced contenders.

But I'll let you read the rest for yourself: Saludos a todos!

Terms in italics defined:

A brand of toilet paper

Hangovers

"In gastronomy, the technique or art that determines the adequate combination of wine and food in a manner that compliments or contrasts flavors, with the intent of heightening the consumers' experience." (From the flyer given to us before the beer tasting at DUOC. Translation mine.)

Water heaters

Artisanal beer

Cheers, everyone!

Danger! Danger! High Voltage!

Teaching my kids about permission, warnings, obligations, and prohibitions at work:

TGIF!!! A Look at Friday Happenings in Santiago Centro

The opning of an art gallery a few buildings away from me prompted an old-time band (complete with smart straw hats, striped red dress shirts and white trousers) to start up with some rag time:



(Bad view of the band due to the tree, but nice 180 view from my balcony.)

The Roof, The Roof, The Roof is on Fire...

I melted all over the taxi's backseat on Monday afternoon. Bits of me dribbled onto the floor mats, dripped over the plush valour seats, and formed a little puddle that could have previously been my exhausted, sweat-shimmering arms draped limply over bags and bags of our luggage. I was in the process of moving everything to my new apartment, which is in a tiny corredor closer to Plaza de Armas and Mercado Central, but still rests on the edge of Parque Forestal.

In a liquidy haze I overheard the driver animatedly telling me about the "storm" Santiago had a week ago (by storm, I mean it maybe rained lightly for two hours). "Last one of the year, I believe, though you never can tell," he told my limp, lifeless body.

Santiago could give SoCal a run for its money in terms of sunny days. The shift from freezing wet winter to hot arid summer was so immediate I barely had a chance to blink my eyes. Here it was: a golden land of stagnant summer smog and parks full of pirouetting pollen. Definitivamente me estoy derretiendo.

Coming from temperate Connecticut, I've never had to worry much about fire danger. Smokey the Bear was often confusesd with Yogi Bear. Every summer I've vaguely watched massive forest fires rage across the West Coast on tiny t.v. screens, disinterested by the massive power of nature unfolding 3,000 miles away.

But yesterday night my ignorance literally exploded in my face. I lie tossing and turning, a pool of slowly desolidifying flesh in my hot hot bedroom, when the sound of literally dozens upon dozens of fire engines rose up from below. Peeking out of my window with my half-deliquesced eye, I saw this:



The heat from the flames was so strong I could literally feel it on my face through the glass. Buildings popped and fizzed like popcorn on a stove, sending up epic flares of fresh flame and cinders. Men scrambled on rooftops, shielding their faces from the smoke and the light, desperately looking for a way to get down. The whole of Santiago Centro lit up with the blue, red, and green of ambulances, fire engines and cop cars. The initial fire was actually MUCH bigger than what I caught on film - at least three times this size. I stayed awake, awkwardly got dressed, and remained with a blanket and water bottle by my side in case an evacuation was called.

But, perplexingly, there has been NO NEWS on this fire. I've Googled in both English and Spanish, scoped out electronic versions of El Mercurio and The Santiago Times, and I've seen no reports on last night's scary and awesome events. Brittaney, who lives a few blocks down from me, said that none of the people in her building had heard of anything last night. She slept soundly, although I text-messaged both her and Tosh to warn them, as all of us live very very close to where the fire occurred.

So, this prompts me to very eloquently ask: WTF, Santiago?!?!?!?

I've been trying to Google fire precautions and safety measures that Santiago takes in the case of a firestorm like last night, but haven't come up with anything. I'm going to interview my Duoc colleagues tonight and re-edit this post based on the information I get.

For right now, it seems odd that santiaguinos aren't fuming over more effective fire-safety measures. I don't know what caused the flames, but I sure hope to find out that there's something in place to deal with occasions like these, and to inform the public when they occur.

CIEE people: has anyone seen or heard anything about this? I'd be interested to have more information.