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Redditors be darned, I went to the feria again, now with “exotics”
For reasons that are perhaps only clear to the gods of Reddit themselves, I got some 2500 extra hits on my blog over the course of a couple of days, due to (I guess) someone in Ecuador getting fleeced...
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Hit or Miss: Food and Drink in Santiago, Chile. First Edition
New Horizon in Bellas Artes for Indian food and Kahue in Patronato for Turkish coffee and middle-eastern pastries. Hits are self-explanatory. Misses are places I wouldn’t put at the top of my list....
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The Ultimate Architecture Disrespect, Santiago’s Patrimonial Architecture on...
This morning I woke up thinking many things. Maybe I would finish a blog post on language, or give you a feria report, now that the asparagus, cherries, blueberries and nisperos/loquats are in. I...
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Cranberries and Sweet Potatoes (and a grammar lesson) in Santiago, oh my!
In the before times, it was hard to find sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving in Santiago. You had to go back to the Galpón de Chacareros, in the very northmost part of the Vega. There, on the right side of...
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The anatomy of the caja (cashier’s station) in Chile
I was recently in the Vega (big fruit and veg market), looking at the hot peppers (yes, there really is a stand where they sell only hot peppers, smoked and unsmoked, red and green), and a friend of...
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Hit or Miss, more things to drink, all in Providencia
Back by popular demand (okay, one person asked for it), I’ve got a hit or miss for you. First, a miss, with a qualifier. I was on the fifth comuna of a 5-comuna tour, with meetings and visits and such...
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Button, Button, Who’s Got the Button in Santiago?
I recently stepped on a sweater of mine. And by me telling you this, you now know two things about me. 1. sometimes my clothes are on the floor and 2. I don’t even pretend that that’s not the case, and...
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In which, surprisingly, I am asked if I speak Mandarin Chinese (spoiler: no)
As you may know, I grew up in New York. And my parents were adventurous eaters. I have fond memories of walking through neighborhoods far from home where my father would hold up different food items...
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Be the dog in the red coat. Eyes open in Santiago’s Bio Bio flea market
This freezing Sunday, I felt inspired to go to Bio Bio, the largest flea market in Santiago. Perhaps because that’s where my cellphone, which was stolen, and I recovered on Wednesday night (good story,...
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Where to buy Asian food products in Santiago, Chile
The elusive buckwheat flour, found at E-Mart. In addition to the where do I buy hazelnuts/brown sugar/dried ginger questions of yore, many of which I have answered here, in this post about tostadurias,...
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Feria report, with tomatoes with real tomato taste
There are times when you go to the feria obligado, you go because you have to, because when you open the fridge there is more space than stuff, and when dinnertime comes, you think, “I could eat rice...
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Water water everywhere, but not a drop to drink in much of Santiago
Rain, rain and more rain in Santiago. What’s a city to do? The first year I lived in Chile, I was caught unawares by many a rainstorm. First of all, because rain here seems to have a higher ceiling...
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Street Spellcheck. What the Fock?
When I was living in DC, I worked at a publishing company, writing business-to-business compliance manuals and newsy bits about environmental law. It was a pretty big office, maybe 60-80 people, and...
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Santiago Carnaval Report. Dancers and Cuchiflies and Chaya, oh my!
At any event in Chile, you are sure to find people selling something. Some of these people live mainly outside of the formal economy, selling different things at events and wherever crowds are likely...
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December Newly-Returned-to-Santiago Feria Kvell/Report
There is this piece of Smith family lore, by which I usually mean to introduce something false, which I will later disprove or reframe, except in this case it’s true. It tells of a time when I, fresh...
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On sewing, nostalgia and the challenges of the day
Way back in a recess of my mind I am sitting in the backyard on East 19th Street in Brooklyn and it is early summer. My grandmother is sitting in one of those woven beach chairs with the light...
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Quantifying the unquantifiable, Getting Better after Breakthrough Covid...
A forget me not, which I noticed on a walk far from home. Or cuento corto, “I’m back.” Of all the household tasks, perhaps the most vexing is the putting on of the duvet cover. For those who don’t...
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Redditors be darned, I went to the feria again, now with “exotics”
For reasons that are perhaps only clear to the gods of Reddit themselves, I got some 2500 extra hits on my blog over the course of a couple of days, due to (I guess) someone in Ecuador getting fleeced...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Ultimate Architecture Disrespect, Santiago’s Patrimonial Architecture on...
This morning I woke up thinking many things. Maybe I would finish a blog post on language, or give you a feria report, now that the asparagus, cherries, blueberries and nisperos/loquats are in. I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Button, Button, Who’s Got the Button in Santiago?
I recently stepped on a sweater of mine. And by me telling you this, you now know two things about me. 1. sometimes my clothes are on the floor and 2. I don’t even pretend that that’s not the case, and...
View Article