I am not starving

For those of you that know me you are aware that I am a picky eater.  One of the most difficult things for me in traveling to other countries is my navigation of the available food.  You will all be happy to know that I am not staving here in Chile, actually I am probably a bit on the other side.

We have gotten into pretty much a routine with our meals here.  We eat breakfast at the apartment in the morning.  We have cereal (with shelf stable milk), yogurt, and toast.  For lunch we go out to eat at one of the restaurants near campus.  We have tried a few different ones and everyone seems to find something to eat with which they are satisfied.  In the evening we take turns cooking in the apartment.  We have had fancy meals such as spaghetti, grilled cheese sandwiches, and ravioli.

It is interesting because Chileans eat differently than Americans.  They eat breakfast, have a big lunch, and have just some sort of small snack for dinner.   I did try something the other day that I saw in a bakery while walking down the street.  Nicole and I each ate our first "pan de leche."  It is like a cream puff made with sweet bread.  Even better, this gigantic treat cost just 180 pesos (about 38 cents).

At the apartment I figured out how to make popcorn just on the stove.  It made for a good late night snack.  However, I had bought what I thought was butter to put on it but it may have been lard.  I decided to give it a try anyway and the results were wonderful.
I also tried to get some lunch at McDonald's one day.  I was by myself so I thought I would give communicating (with my complete lack of Spanish) a shot.  I started off by telling the woman at the counter that I did not speak Spanish.  I then proceeded to point to pictures of what I wanted to eat: a hamburger, fries, and diet coke (Coca Cola Light).  We seemed to be doing pretty well until my order came.  I ended up with fries, coke, and a sundae.  Oh well.

Today I gave McDonlad's another shot and this time I ordered a combo meal.  A picture of me with my lunch is below.

One thing there seems to be plenty of access to here in Chile is ice cream.  It seems a bit silly to eat a cold treat when it is cold outside.  However, I just can't pass it up all of the time.