El 18 de Septiembre

---

"Preparate", prepare yourself, they said. As I got home this morning at almost noon, I felt like I had been hit by a bus, my entire body sore. It was then that I understood that Chileans are not kidding! This was my first time celebrating the infamous 18th of September, Chilean Independence Day, or should I say Independence week? I am so excited to finally be here during this time! I've always wanted to do this and I've heard tons about how much fun it is. I haven't been disappointed!

These last 3 days have been a whirlwind of cookout after cookout in various places. I was fed so much meat that I had to change into stretch pants! Chilean flags soared high and there were fireworks in the night sky. This was followed by fondas in both Valparaiso and Vina. Fondas are huge parties/meat and drink fests with a Black Friday sized crowd. I literally couldn't walk in a straight line, but had to weave and squeeze through people. I felt akin to a giant fruit cake as I mashed and melded into complete strangers. They have rides too, similar to ones at the State Fair. I rode a magic carpet ride, screaming "Aladdin, salvame!" (Aladdin, save me!) at the top of my lungs. I couldn't resist. I also couldn't resist the manjar filled churros with powered sugar on top. Delicious!

Let's not even talk about the drinks. "Terremotos", ice-cream submerged in rum flowed. Cheers to the chicha, another Chilean trago especially popular around this time. It was ALL good. Music roared, people danced. Most also played entertaining games at booths. But to top things off, last night when the fonda closed at 2 A.M., we went to a discoteca until 5 A.M., then we had the nerve to go to an after party! And when I finally got home at darn near noon, I showered and got ready to go to another cookout at the host grandparent's house. It has been AMAZING and exhausting! Never again will I underestimate when a Chilean tells me "!Preparate!"

---

Photos

First discoteca of the night :-)
We were apparently just getting started... :0

Anticucho
Joke of the day:
My host dad asked me if I knew what an "anticucho" was. "Of course", I responded. "It's a person who talks all the time and never listens." Anti-EScucho. My host d.ad burst out laughing! "You're so logical. That actually makes perfect since. However, no. It's meat on a stick." Haha

Consome
It's like a really good chicken soup sans chicken pieces.