What's in a drop (of blood)?

Today found us back at Clinica Alemana again. I had to have a checkup - baby all good - and a blood test. While I was in the laboratorio, I had to marvel afresh at the efficiency of the system. 

In Australia, firstly, the blood test places are located separately from the hospitals or medical centres. Which means figuring out where the nearest one is, getting there, finding a parking spot... etc. And then after your test, they send your results not to you, the person taking the test, but to your doctor, as though you can't be trusted with them. And that means another appointment to go back to the doctor and hang around in the waiting room catching germs, to tell you something you had a right to know two weeks ago. 

At the private hospitals in Santiago, everything is so much more streamlined and transparent. Leave the doctor and take the lift down to the laboratorio, give your form in at the counter, pay, have the test and walk out. A couple of hours later, you can access the results online and you can then email them to your doctor (or anyone else for that matter). Because, after all, they are your results.

Anyway...

Az was there for my appointment and also to donate blood. I'd seen a campaign going round for blood donors so I figured I'd rope him in to do it. I used to give blood every year in Australia but az had never been able to because he lived in England between 1980 and 1996. Something to do with mad cow disease. 

Which is a huge shame because he has O- blood, the universal blood donor. He can donate to any blood type (but can only receive O- blood in return). Blood donors of his type are always in hot demand.

The nurse first asked az, Who are you giving blood to? He replied, Err... anyone? And she looked surprised and pleased. A volunteer? Excellente! 

Is it really so unusual to volunteer to give blood in Chile?

Then came the question of countries he'd visited. A rather long list for az. Interestingly, they weren't too worried about possibly mad English germs. But when az wrote down "Latin America", the nurse was concerned. Which countries? she asked. Pretty much all of them, he replied. 

They went through each country, one by one. And came to a sticking point. Honduras. 

Apparently Honduras is a no-go for potential blood donation because malaria is still rampant and there's a possible chance that a person can unwittingly carry the disease without being infected by it. Which means a death sentence for the poor blood recipient. So, Az has a one-year wait before he can opt to give blood again.

By which time, we'll not be in Chile. 

But if you're in need of an emergency blood transfusion and are willing to chance being infected by either mad cow disease or malaria, drop us a line. We've got some well-travelled blood just waiting to go to a good cause. 

A little me time

My sister asked me the other day, "How's the pregnancy going?" and I had to pause for a moment and think. I was then surprised to answer that being pregnant is actually the last thing on my mind. 

When it very probably should be the first.

And it occurred to me that I really need to slow down, take a look around and relish in the relative freedom of having only one child (even though said child morphs into an attention-seeking monster 90% of the time).

It wasn't always like this. I sometimes think of those halcyon days when I was pregnant with Maya in Hanoi. Yes, it was hot and muggy and polluted, and I craved foods like fresh salads and sandwiches, and I had great difficulty rolling my bulk out of the bean bag (which made for a very comfortable seat). But I had all the time in the world to sit in that bean bag with Mr P, our house guest cat, our apartment was lovely and air-conditioned, and if I wanted to shuffle the bean bag over to the tv, I could spend an entire Saturday watching reruns on cable tv.

Mr P keeping our spot warm

Fast forward two and a half years and life isn't quite so sedate.

I mentioned in my last post that we are moving in three weeks. Basically, our lease is up and our landlord decided against helping us out and extending it another three months (thanks, dude), so we have to move. We were really lucky to find another place nearby, with a much nicer landlord, and now we just have to pack and move all the furniture and household stuff. At the same time, we'll send all our things home, so it is taking us a couple of weeks to sort all this out. And we just have to work out what we'll need for the next three months, for ourselves, the new baby, and which of Maya's toys to keep or send home. It's a big job. 

I am also in the midst of my horrible economics class. I just whipped off another essay last week and I didn't completely understand that one either. Az did me up a pretty graph in excel though I'm not sure how he worked out all those figures. Now I just have the exam in two weeks, only worth a measly 60% of the grade. 

Then last week, I finished my second six-week writing course and I have all these ideas and stories I want to work on and no time in which to do it. Which is a little bit frustrating. 

Oh, and Maya was sick for most of the long weekend, then we were both sick two weeks before that. It's taken us both a little while to recover our health.

And said monster child is driving me a bit bananas these days. She's had a long stint out of jardin while my sister was visiting, and then because of her sickness. She reminds me of a bored puppy dog kept indoors too long, discovering its naughty streak and wanting to rip apart all the cushions. On Monday, she'll go back to jardin and hopefully get back into her normal routine. 

Which will be great as it's getting harder and harder to physically pick her up and restrain her from tearing apart the cushions. Or drawing with highlighter on the walls. Or climbing onto the washing basket, grabbing a toothbrush (usually az's) and sticking it in her mouth and/or using it to clean the floor. Or any number of the sneaky things she's getting up to these days.

All in all, I've been quite busy and distracted. What's that... I'm pregnant? Really? 

Apparently so. It's a point worth remembering. And at 32 weeks, I should be putting my feet up. And enjoying a few things...

1. Sleep. Once she's actually down to sleep (oh, blessed relief), Maya sleeps a solid 12 hours at night and another two during the day. I'm relishing in a good night's rest and the occasional afternoon nap. 

2. Jenny. If there's something more wonderful than a lovely, energetic lady who looks after your monster and mops the floors, I don't know what it is.

3. The 10% of time in which Maya is not acting like a devil child, and there's lots of cuddles, pretend cooking followed by pretend food, dancing, singing, and surprisingly articulate and entertaining conversations. 

4. Me time. Time in which to think, go for walks, play online scrabble, read, cook, get my hair cut, have a massage, meet a friend for lunch. All on my own, completely child-free. 

It may be a while before such freedom comes my way again. But isn't that what the joy of having little munchkins is all about? Well, something like that.

Parque Inez de Suarez

It's the tail-end of a five-day weekend here in Chile though our weekend seemed longer than usual. Maya was sick for most of it and it was only yesterday that she really started to seem like her old self.

On Wednesday last week, we put Maya back in jardin after a month's absence and she promptly picked up some serious germs. I don't blame the jardin but rather those parents who put sick children into daycare; when you live in a wealthy suburb of Santiago, there's really no excuse not to keep them home. In most families here both parents don't work, they have full time nanas, they have family and friends nearby, or, if all else fails, for the princely sum of about $20/day, they can hire a nana to look after a sick child at home. Instead, a coughing, sneezing, sickly toddler is sent off to jardin to infect everyone else. It really makes me cranky.

On Friday, at her Dieciocho celebrations, she didn't seem herself and by Friday night, she had a fever. Then she stopped eating (but was still drinking lots), started waking in the night and became very cranky during the day, plus various other ickinesses. Finally, on Sunday afternoon, she was so listless, feverish and completely not herself, that we took her to the ER to get checked out.

Because it was Dieciocho, the usual army of doctors was somewhat depleted so we had an uncharacteristically long wait. They did various checks and finally, wanted to do a urine test to make sure she didn't have a urinary tract infection. Try getting a toddler to pee in a cup. That was a fun two hours. Finally, we did it the hard way, though Maya was as good as gold, the results were fine and we could go home. We eventually got her to bed about 10pm. 

By Tuesday, Maya was on the mend but az and I were exhausted. At the same time, he was sorting and packing and doing an inventory of the apartment and all our things. Did I mention we have to move house in three weeks? And I was (and still am) trying to write an economics essay, due Friday. 

But it is Dieciocho and we were going to celebrate with the rest of the country, dammit. So, we dragged our cheery selves out of the house and over to Parque Inez de Suarez in Providencia. Santiago has numerous Dieciocho fondas (fairs) all over the city that run the whole weekend and are great fun. Some are bigger and more elaborate than others with performances and airshows and horse rodeos. This one was relatively small with lots of free things for the little ones.

It was a cold and overcast day and working around Maya's nap schedule meant we got there at 11am, the Chilean equivalent of about 7am after a big night out. Things were technically 'open' but most stallholders were still setting up and (to az's disappointment) the coffee cart had no coffee.

It also meant no queues, no crowds and plenty of free parking though. 

11am and Maya is the only child in the ball pit

Tough gig for the carabineros (police)... settling ball pit disputes, etc

Another nice thing for little kids were the farm animals on display. Cows, sheep, pigs, horses, ducks, chickens, turkeys and rabbits.

They also had all the usual stalls of homemade goodies, cheese, chocolate, bread and handicrafts from Chile and beyond. 

The downside to arriving so early was that there wasn't much food on offer - I was hoping for at least a completo (hotdog) stand but the only thing available were sugary sweets. 

Dulce de leche (sugary caramel made with milk)

Toffee apples and chocolate-covered strawberries and icecream

At 12.30, the BBQs were just being lit

So, with cold hands and rumbling bellies, we headed home to leftovers, a welcome three-hour nap for Maya and much productivity for az and I. 

Dieciocho at jardin

For someone who loves looking at photos of herself, it is surprisingly difficult to get Maya to actually pose for one. That's what I was thinking this morning as I tried in vain to 'capture the moment' of Maya's first Dieciocho celebration at jardin.

If you're not in Chile, I should explain that Dieciocho (eighteen) refers to September 18th, the Chilean national day. I love the patriotism that comes out in full force to celebrate here. The city is blanketed in flags - hanging from balconies, street lamps and building sites, waving from cars, in every neighbourhood, rich and poor. The flagpole outside our apartment building (which I'd never noticed before) was freshly painted last week and now sports a big and extra bright flag. You can see my photos from last year for more flag spirit.

This year, we'll also be in Santiago. Most of the city empties out with people going to the coast, Buenos Aires, Pucon (in the south), or to wherever their families come from. The Santiguans stay in town and celebrate with family dinners lasting well into the wee hours and at fondas (fairs with booze) at all the big parks. There are fireworks and a big military parade through the city and all the way up to Escuela Militar (the Military Academy), near our place, so I will take Maya down to watch. 

I like Santiago devoid of half its population. It's peaceful, relaxed and easy to drive around. The weather has also been great and the five day weekend looks set to be beautiful. I'll have the camera at the ready. 

And in the nationalistic spirit, everyone gets in on the act. Today, all us parents took our little darlings to jardin in traditional dress as little Chilenitos and Chilenitas. We crowded into their sala cuna (nursery room) and sat on little chairs, cameras at the ready. They did a dance, waved some pom poms and we all cheered. 

 The dress rehearsal at home - outfit procured by Jenny

Two little Chilenitas

Maya's lovely tia, Francesca

After the dance, we were all served juice and alfajores (a dulce de leche (sweetened caramel) sandwich cookie with icing sugar). Before I could think of declining on Maya's behalf, she had stuffed half of one into her mouth. I just hope it's only a special occasion treat. 

"How often do you think they eat these things?", I said to az. 

"Everyday", he replied. 

Ha ha. Big help. Maya doesn't eat any sugary food, if I can help it, and when she does, she goes hyper. As in, we can kiss her nap goodbye. A cranky toddler coming off a sugar high is not fun for Mummy post-jardin. 

"Por favor, no mas azucar para Maya", I said to the tia (aunt). Please, no more sugar for Maya. "Claro", she replied. Of course.

Hmmm, we'll see.

Maya wolfing down an alfajore. She was then forcibly removed from reach of the biscuit tray by az

Recipe: Middle Eastern orange cake

Today is September 11, anniversary of the 1973 Allende-Pinochet coup. There are marches and protests on today; most Chileans despise Pinochet and that whole period of darkness but he still has his supporters. Either way, it is a date of great significance for Chile. 

And I don't mean to trivialise it by posting a recipe of an orange cake. But since I am neither a Chilean nor a marcher/protester (and most people say to stay well away from downtown today and tonight), nor a soccer fan (and there are three big matches on tonight), I thought I'd share with you instead a fabulous orange cake recipe I made yesterday. Before it all disappears. 

I've never made an orange cake so I wasn't expecting great things. But I had a sudden urge for one and since we always have fresh oranges in the house, I only needed a couple of other things. Az conveniently happened to be at La Vega markets so he bought more free range eggs and some almonds. 

The cake is adapted from this recipe and it turned out absolutely delicious. Moist and tasty with a slightly crumbly texture from the almonds. Should I try it again, I probably would not get it this good. Beginner's luck, perhaps. 

2 oranges
3 eggs
250g raw sugar
250g almond meal (ground almonds)
1/4 teas baking powder
cream to serve

Fill a saucepan with cold water and the two oranges and bring to the boil, covered. Once boiling, turn the heat to medium and cook for 15 minutes. Drain and refill with cold water and repeat process. This helps to remove the bitterness of the oranges. 

Remove from heat and chop oranges into quarters. They should be quite soft by now. Remove any seeds or white bits but leave the skin on. Puree in a food processor.

Preheat oven to 180C. Grease a round cake tin and (optional) line with baking paper.

In an electric mixer, beat raw sugar and eggs on a low setting for about 10 minutes. Add the almonds and baking powder, then fold in the orange pulp. 

Pour into the cake tin and cook for an hour or until an inserted knife comes out clean. Cool in the tin and serve with fresh cream. 

Verdict: This was really delicious and a big hit with everyone. We also tried it with vanilla ice cream but a simple fresh cream works best.

Cristina y Alvaro por fin juntos!

The morning tv news program is much the same in Australia as it is in Chile - loud, artificially cheerful and hosted by chirpy presenters who repeat the same 'news' stories with great gusto ad nauseam. The difference is that in Chile the hosts vy for the camera's attention by shouting over the top of each other. It's a circus.

The reason I now know this is not because I'm an avid fan of Chilean television. In fact, we don't watch tv here at all. Chilean soapies, news programs (much like teledramas themselves) and reruns of Friends and Dawson's Creek aren't my idea of entertainment. So we never hooked up the tv. It must make for boring nights in for Jenny though, when she babysits. 

But on Thursday morning I found myself at Clinica Alemana's laboratorio (where you go for blood tests etc), for my 30-week blood glucose test. I had to fast, then first thing in the morning have a blood test, followed by a super sweet glucose drink, a two-hour wait, then another blood test.

I'd brought along something to read in the two-hour wait but it wasn't an option. I was put into a special waiting room with lots of comfy chairs and a blaring tv. It was all I could do to ignore my hunger, the nausea of the glucose drink (very much like Peru's Inka Cola, if you've been so lucky as to try that concoction), and now the loud and persistent tinny of the tv. I didn't have much choice but to watch it. 

Terremotos provocados? shouted the headline. Which literally translates as 'earthquake caused?' In reference to the Costa Rica 7.6 earthquake from Wednesday night. 

It wasn't the only shouting going on; that fellow in the picture was the earthquake expert, I presumed, from his vigorous whiteboard drawings of circles and arrows. He competed with another fellow, equally belligerent and vociferous, and the main host, a lady who'd been nipped and tucked and made up within an inch of her life. 

This went on for at least 40 minutes and I can only assume they were debating the finer points of why and how earthquakes happen, complete with squiggle drawings. 

Obviously feeling the need for some lighter entertainment, the earthquake debate was succeeded by highlights of a star-studded award ceremony for Chilean teledrama actors. There was footage of the actors flashing smiles and gazing meanfully into the cameras. The awards were announced interspersed with the actors' winning scenes, most of which involved passionate shouting, sobbing or making out in hotel rooms. Maybe I'll start watching Chilean teledramas after all.

Then it was onto another hard news story.

It was the police raid and arrest of a woman on sexual abuse charges in a school. There's been a wave of investigations into alleged sexual abuse in schools across Santiago.

Actual news over, and it was back to the glam of Chilewood. Two of the star actors from the awards ceremony were in the studio! How exciting. But wait, there's more. We also got to see the final episode of the drama in which they star as Cristina y Alvaro. There were scenes of dramatic public fist fights, people chasing each other down the street, heartbreak and tears. This show has it all. 

Then finally, por fin juntos! (together at last), Alvaro rescues Cristina from a shipping container in which she's been trapped with a cat, about to be loaded onto a ship and lost forever. Don't ask how she came to be in the container, that's one of the glory moments of a team of talented writers.

You'll just have to watch it for yourself. 

Santiago restaurants: La Mar

I was surprised to realise I hadn't reviewed La Mar as I've been several times. Saying that, I wouldn't call it a favourite but rather a popular place to take visitors and friends. 

La Mar is a chain of restaurants throughout Latin America and the US. Their success, in Santiago at least, lies in a winning combination of hip decor and fashionable Peruvian seafood cuisine. Dining out for the growing number of Santiguians with disposable incomes, and the (much smaller but increasing) expat crowd and business travellers, has always been popular but restaurants are now moving beyond the traditional Chilean style and becoming more sophisticated and worldly. Anything with a brand name and some trendy furniture is bound to make a splash. 

We recently went with friends to the American Chinese food chain, PF Changs (which I'd never heard of but about which my American friends were very excited), that had opened at Parque Arauco. And even on a weekday night, it was packed, mostly with locals, keen to try the new American restaurant. It wasn't bad, though expensive for Chinese food, we thought. And they hadn't gotten their liquor license sorted yet (and won't have for three months) so we all missed a nice cold beer with our food.

Back to La Mar. Here are a couple of photos of the general decor found online that are much better than I would take...

We came a couple of weeks ago with my sister. First up, they didn't have our reservation (an occurrence that happens in Santiago a little too often for my liking) but as we were there early (8pm), we got a table anyhow.

La Mar has a huge menu which isn't great for someone like me who agonises over all the choices. And then I always seem to pick the wrong main.

We started with shared entrees of ceviche (thin slices of raw fish marinated in lemon) and causa (mashed Peruvian yellow potatoes with different fish) and they are always a hit.

And all the mains were very good though I wasn't really feeling the love with mine - but maybe it's a pregnancy thing. We certainly all enjoyed our glasses of wine from the decent sized wine list by the glass, particularly Krish and her Limari valley Sauvignon Blanc.

 Fried rice with seafood for me

 Mero (Patagonian toothfish) for az

And a paella for Krish

And for dessert, there's only one thing I need to see on the menu - chocolate. 

Chocolate souffle with banana ice cream - heaven

La Mar is at Avenida Nueva Costanera 3922, Vitacura. Open for lunch and dinner. Bookings advised: 02 206 7839.