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?

Sunday, March 20, 2011

We no speak Americano

Lauren: "Oh my gosh! I just realized I wrote this entire postcard to my sister in Spanish!"
Angela: "Well, does she know Spanish?"
Lauren: "No!" bahahaha
Angela and Lauren on the challenges on traveling in Spanish-speaking countries and forgetting how to speak proper English...we no speak americano.

Our last day in the city, here's to making the most of it!

Me and Lauren did a brief tour of the hotels in Santiago. All of the major branded hotels are in the Las Condes district, the most wealthy area in Santiago. First stop: Ritz-Carlton!

Then, the W...

Then, the Intercontinental

South America's tallest building-to-be:


Then we wandered through th sculpture park. Luckily we went in the morning before all the couples come out and start macking on the grass...




We climbed up Santa Lucia hill to the top! Beautiful view. Then we had to hurry down to make our lunch reservation.

We enjoyed our last meal at Ana Maria, a Chilean restaurant. The front door of this restaurant is locked. You have to ring the doorbell and bang on the door at this place to get in!

Then, it's time to fly home...Saucy loves LAN Airlines!


I would love to stay a bit longer, but it's time to go back to reality. Santiago has been a great experience in broadening my perspectives, but (unfortunately) also in broadening my figure...goodbye Chile, hello seafood-and-pisco rehab!

Abrazos y adios!
Angela
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