Since eating is probably my favorite activity in the world, I feel like a journal entry dedicated to la comida chilena is absolutely mandatory.

To be honest, I was scared to death of chilean food when I was reading my Lonely Planet guidebook pre-embarkment. It ranted of the horrible Nescafé (which really is absolutely vile, but I´ve learned to stomach it a little bit as long as it has heaps of sugar) and heavy, greasy meals.

Now, Chilean food is not the stereotypical spicy, four-alarm cuisine of our Central American counterparts. It´s mild, a bit flavorless and nothing too special, but I´ve learned it has a beautiful simplicity to it. Every meal has basic staples... meat, starch, vegetable, bread. No surprises, ever.

But there are a few things that anyone that visits Chile must try:
1. Onces. Direct translation: elevenses, and I can´t even tell you why. En serio, if you do nothing else in this country eat onces, onces and more onces. Onces is kind of a late afternoon tea and bread affair. In the household it typically consists of pancito (these little breads served at pretty much every meal) that have palta (avocado), mantequilla (butter) or manjar (dulce de-mostamazingthingever- leche). Dining out, onces typically consist of a té or café cortado with milk, cookies, a tiny cup of mineral water, a sandwich or empanada and a postre (my favorite being panqueques with manjar).
2. Palta. The avocado here is like butter.
3. Manjar. Think caramel. It´s a bit too sweet for my liking, but you will have no regrets trying it. I´m bringing three big jars back to the states.
4. Wine. Chile is known for it´s impressive range of whites and reds. Caramenere is pretty swanky here, and I like the sauvigon blancs as well. My first morning in Chile my program took our group wine tasting at Casablanca Viñamar at 9:30 in the morning. That was probably the best "bienvenido a Chile" we could have asked for. For those who enjoy mulled wine or sangria, navegado is a must. It is red wine heated with citrus juices, cinnamon and other spices, very typical for Chilean winters.
5. Kunstmann. If you´re more of a beer drinker, this German brew from southern Chile is to die for. I like to think of it as a beer that even women can enjoy. It´s sweet and golden and fantastic. If you fancy a heftier cerveza, try Negra.
6. Pan, pan, pan. If I could take a suitcase full of bread home, I would do it. It is absolutely fantastic and a staple of the Chilean diet.
7. Sopaipillas. My friend´s host mother told her sopaipillas are what Chileans eat when it rains, which turns out to be true. They are a rich, buttery frybread that taste absolutely divine when warm.
8. Empanadas. I´m not a big fan, but this snack can be found in any minimarket for something around 40-50 cents in US prices. You can find one filled with anything... shrimp, apple, ham and cheese, scallops...
9. Mayonesa. I hate mayonnaise, but this is different and Chileans are completely addicted to it. My teacher at the language school explained that historically mayonesa used to be a luxury food, and now that the common person has access to it everyone eats it. It can´t even be compared to that jiggly Best Foods imitation we have at home. Chilean mayonesa is mild, creamy and amazing.
10. Completos. Think of a hot dog drowning in mayonesa, palta and tomato. It´s the equivalent of Pita Pit (or Munchy´z hot dogs for those who hail from WSU) for college students in the U.S.

*NOTE: There is only one word used to describe food here: rico. If something is really good, you can tag a "súper" on the beginning of that.