I think one of the novelties of being in a foreign country is that I feel twice removed from my Chinese heritage. It is very a surreal and disorienting "out of body" "out of character" "out of comfort" state. It puts into perspective for me what it means to be Chinese. What it means to be the child of immigrant parents. What it means to be the child of Taiwanese-born Chinese parents. What it means to be American-born Chinese. What it means to be an American in a foreign country. A Chinese-American in a foreign country. A tri-lingual Chinese-American in a foreign country. And it makes me wonder how much or how little the people in that place understand this layered identity. How do they process me? All the nuances, the politics, the prejudices, the social constructs, my multi-cultural values, the pieces of my heritage that I choose to wear and the other pieces I've chosen to shed-- They can't they possibly understand any of that, but what do they see instead?

Monday, March 14, 2011

Andando por los Andes!

"Does that sign say that the bridge is in bad condition?"- Luigi, as we're driving down the Andes passing a sign which read, "La puente está mal estado."

Kicking off the day with a breakfast buffet. There is an entire 8-foot table devoted to fruits! And fresh juices. A mí me encanta!


Had a fantastic meeting with the Ministry of Tourism in the morning. Lots of questions answered, plus Lauren met her future husband--she'd let him tour her infrastructures...if you know what I mean ;)

Chile has some unconventional hot dog toppings...Went to Doggis to have a taste! Guacamole, tomatoes, & cheese sauce on a hot dog:



Then it's off to the Andes. It was a long drive up and a long drive down, our brakes started smoking on the way down, we crossed a bridge that was marked as dysfunctional, the bus driver was booking it on those sharp turns--we were basically scared for our lives in general...but the view was spectacular!




After a long day, we headed back to Bellavista for a late dinner at El Galindo. We got parradilla, which is a Chilean barbeque feast of several cuts of various meats and sausages (chicken, pork, beef, etc.). yummm


Abrazos y los Andes,
Angela
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