Talca: a new place to call home

Here in Chile Halloween came and went, it was just another day. The only “trick or treaters” we got were my fellow volunteer Kym and her host family wearing masks and wigs. Halloween is catching on in Chile but the small rural town of Vilches hasn’t really adopted the tradition. Two years ago when I was in Vina del Mar we did have some little kids who came trick or treating and the weeks before Halloween you see costumes and little pumpkin buckets for sale but it’s certainly not as huge of a deal as it is in the States.

On the other hand, November 1st was a big celebration. The day started out with mass in the cemetery at 10:30. Families gathered to decorate the gravesites and enjoy all the stands that had popped up outside the cemetery. There were tons of stands selling food (empanadas, chicken soup, and other traditional foods) as well as stands selling everything from clothing to lotion to toys. I helped out at a stand for a group called “Vilches Without Garbage.” It is a new group that is trying to improve the garbage problem in Vilches (really there is a problem in all of Chile). There aren’t many dumpsters for trash and the ones that they have are pretty beat up. Vilches is a big tourist area because of the national park and many camp grounds and the people who come often leave a mess behind. Part of the work they are doing is educating the people. At the stand we talked to people about composting and handed out brochures with information if people seemed genuinely interested. We also collected food scraps from the stands and had a compost bin for demonstration. During my lunch break I enjoyed fried fish and “helado de nieve.” “Helado de nieve” or snow ice cream is a specialty that they make for the November 1st celebration. It is made in big drums just like you would make homemade ice cream. They use snow from the mountains in the outer tub just like you would normally use ice. The result isn’t really ice cream but more like shaved ice since they only use water, sugar and flavoring. This treat is served with harina tostada or toasted wheat. Personally it like just a little harina tosada on my helado but it appears that most people like their helado with lots and lots of harina tostada.

In the following days I helped transplant plants from the greenhouse into the ground. We transplanted squash, tomatoes and cucumbers. It was really fun and it’s great to see how much things have grown since we first planted them! I also helped Ted with his being keeping a little bit but I’ve decided that working with bees really isn’t for me…

On Thursday I moved into my new home! After moving around so much during the past two months it’s kinda odd to think that this will be my home for the next year! My Chilean family consists of a mom (Marcela), a dad (Luis), a daughter (Evelyn) and a son (Milton). The daughter still lives at home and works at Domodungo (the women’s center I’ll be volunteering at). The son has not lived at home for a couple years now. Unlike in the US, in Chile it is common that kids live at home until they are married so even though my host sister is 30 she still lives with her parents and it is completely normal.

I spent Thursday and Friday at Domodungo hanging out and helping with whatever was needed. This coming week I will start forming a schedule between Domodungo and the orphanage where I’ll work. This weekend was spent with Evelyn’s friends. On Friday night we went over to a friend’s house, had a barbeque, listened to music and chatted until 3 am when the rest of us who live on the other side of town decided it was time to go home. At that hour it took awhile to find a collectivo (like a taxi) so we didn’t get home until almost 4 am. By Chilean standards this is not that late but I was certainly tired! Yesterday was super hot and sunny and we spent the day with the same friends as the night before, just hanging out. Today, in contrast, has been rainy and cool so I’ve spent the day inside catching up on emails and reading. I’ve already been told that tonight we are having sopaipillas (yummy fried dough) which are typical rainy day food :D

Below are pictures of Vilches, helado de nieve and my new home