Where has all the pepper gone?

There are certain aspects of studying abroad that I knew that I was ready to adjust to: language barriers, missing family and friends, and meeting new people. But what I didn’t think would be so difficult would be adjusting to parts of life I assumed would be the same. One of the rumors I had heard was that Chilean food was bad, but I thought, “How bad could it be? I’ll adjust.” Had I only known.After six months of suffering, I’ve discovered that I miss the creativity of flavors accompanied by a welcoming ambiance.

To hide the bland food, salt and sugar are two flavor enhancers ubiquitously recognized in Chile (that’s if you do not consider mayonnaise a garnish). This is where the Chilean salt obsession begins. No matter how much salt may already be in a dish, the Chilean habit is to grab a salt shaker before you even pick up a fork and douse it with a thick coat of salt. This usage of salt frightens me the same way as a snail might feel after he has witnessed the foamy death of his unsuspecting brother.

The singularity of salt is evident as soon as you enter any restaurant. I found myself reaching at the end of the table for pepper to realize that salt’s best friend wasn’t there! Where has all the pepper gone?! Instead of pepper as its duo, salt’s best friend has been replaced with the “other white spice”.SUGAR! You may find this in abundance in your coffee, juice, tomato sauce, jam and desserts. Perhaps a strategy to hide the high sugar contents of their desserts is to dissolve them into tiny, dry bits. Just to digest the Chilean overly sweet brownie you must resort to vacuum sucking the disassembled bits out of the palm of your hand.

Chileans also seem to love the convenience of powdered drinks. For example: powdered juice, powdered milk and the highest crime among crimes.instant coffee. Yuck! That bitter excuse for coffee is served in every coffee shop in Chile. Unfortunately, one of the few places that serves ground coffee is what I like to call the Gringo Headquarters, a.k.a. Starbucks. Perhaps it isn’t so much the instant coffee that I abhor, but the ambiance typically associated with an American coffee shop that I miss most.

The Chilean coffee shop is lit just enough so that you must strain to read anything, and that’s only if you’re lucky enough to have found a coffee shop that has comfortable chairs instead of bar stools. This is because coffee is usually just a side business to their kiosk, bar or ice- cream shop. For your added convenience, cafes generally open around 10 in the morning, just in time to miss the morning rush.

Even with these few examples you see you have to adjust to ways of life you never thought would require adjusting. It’s all a part of the cultural exchange. While I may think a coffee shop is a good place to meet, to study, or to relax, I have learned that those sorts of activities in Chile are done at home with family and friends instead. And while I also may think that the furious downpour of salt is a little excessive, Chileans are probably thinking that I have an uncanny desire for pepper.