PIsco Sour-the national drink of Chile

Americans, I want to introduce you to pisco. Pisco is made from a grape called the Quebranta which produces a pure, highly potent, aromatic brandy. One of the traditional drinks here in Chile is 'pisco', mixed with egg white, lemon juice and sugar to make a 'pisco sour.' These tastes somewhat similiar to a tart margarita but with a much more powerful punch. You have to be careful with these. They can leave you down and out the next day. Foreigners often find this out the hard way and don´t head the Chileans caution. A ¨schop¨ is a draft beer. My spanish teacher in Santiago introduced us to the FanSchop. This is draft beer mixed with Fanta (orange soda). I know is sounds ridiculous but it isn´t that bad at all. Chileans guzzle ¨bebidas¨ (soft drinks) like it is going out of style. Coca-Cola rules the market down here. They also drink a lot of Sprite, or the country's own Biltz and Pap brand. My family ALWAYS drinks juice(aka Koolaid) or soda at meals. I bring my Nalgene bottle with water to the table and they ask me if I want a drink. I tell them no thanks, I have water and they tell me, No, do you want a drink? It is as if they don´t consider water as something you would consume as a beverage...strange!