Georgia-style Fried Merkén Chicken

Posted on September 25, 2013 by Dr. Lisa R. Brown

Learning Castellano Spanish, cooking Merkén Chicken, and teaching English. All in a days work of La Erudita Visitando.

So today marked the beginning of another phase of my Visiting Scholar experience at the Universidad Católica del Maule. I met with Profesora Pilar Vivar of la Escuela de Lengua Castellana y Comunicación (the School of Catellano Language and Communication). As I am going to be assisting her in English, while also learning the Chilean form of Spanish (Castellano). I think I mentioned it before, if not here certainly on Facebook, and that is the Chilean form of Spanish is among the most difficult to learn. In part because 1) Chileans speak very rapidly, and 2) there are so many common words and phrases you never learn in traditional US college courses in Spanish.

Castilian Spanish is a term related to the Spanish language, but its exact meaning can vary even in that language. The Spanish language term Castellano (Castilian) may refer to the Spanish language as a whole, to the dialects spoken in central and northern Spain, or to the medieval language which was a predecessor to modern Spanish (Castilian Spanish, n.d.). Thanks Wikipedia!🙂 So I’m really excited about starting this aspect of my scholarly experienced on this Friday.

Also, I wanted to post a picture of my lovely dinner tonight (see above picture). I have finally become more familiar with where things are in the grocery store so a sistah got her “cook-on” this evening. The flavor of Merkén comes from a Chilean style smoked chili pepper and is among one of my favorite seasonings that I discovered when initially arriving to Chile. Above is a picture of my dinner and the “Georgia-style Fried Merkén Chicken”© I prepared. My recipe doesn’t really have copyright. I just wanted to use the symbol as I wish had time to legally claim this as my original creation. 😉 Nevertheless, it was delish!!

Finally, I must mention that some bad habits have followed me all the way down here to Chile. Most of my professors know that I typically leave coffee mugs (and other valuables) all over campus (particularly in their offices) like the story of “Hansel & Gretel” and their breadcrumb trail. Well yesterday was the first and last day of ownership for my preliminary new coffee mug. I brought it to campus with me on yesterday and have no idea where I lost it. Somewhere between my office and my Body Attack class that evening (I can only imagine). Nevertheless, I found this beauty (pictured below) today and please notice the lovely UGA colors. I am going to try very hard to make this particular mug stick around a lot longer than its predecessor.

Chau!

Castilian Spanish. (n.d.). Retrieved September 25, 2013 from the Castilian Spanish Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castilian_Spanish

Friday, September 27th

My first day in Spin Class after not having attending a class for about 2 years. I sacrificed bike riding class for more Zumba and Body Pump courses. I know I’m going to be sore tomorrow.

My makeshift cushion (sweater) that I used to protect my “bum” during Spin Class today.

Today also was my first day assisting Profesora Pilar Andrea Vivar Vivar in her Castellana Language and Communications Course. We both noticed very quickly that she was a little bit shorter than me. 😉

It’s kinda cold outside today. Yikes!

Posted on September 12, 2013 by Dr. Lisa R. Brown

It's kinda cold today.

I mentioned to my friends on Facebook yesterday how cold it had gotten here (37F degrees last night). I have a great leather and faux fir hooded jacket but my hostess Carmen offered me this lovely scarf to wear to insure my warmth. She knitted it herself and I found it a lovely accompaniment to my outfit today. 🙂

Here is a closer look at the lovely scarf. It’s really very warming. I also received an invitation to attend Misa Fiestas Patrias 2013 in celebration of the Chilean upcoming Independence Day (September 18th) tomorrow. The University will have a reduced workday on Friday and everything will be closed in the city of Talca for two days. This includes La Universidad Católica del Maule, that will close for a week beginning Friday afternoon. I am excited about the fact that following the Misa (Mass) tomorrow, there will be dancing and Empanadas. Yum! 🙂

This evening also marked a very special occurrence. A group of young men where riding passed me on bicycles as I walked home from the library and one of them yelled out “Hola!“. Now that might not seem like such a big thing without some context. Chile and Talca, Maule, Chile in particular is a very racially homogeneous place. I’ve seen virtually no North Americans here and very few who look like myself. I thought I saw a guy yesterday afternoon but the closer I got to him he appeared perhaps to be a member of either an indigenous indian group or actually from India. The fact that he adverted his eyes when walking passed me suggested to me he was likely the former.

In short, there appears not to be any racial or ethnic groups outside of native Chileans in Talca. I digress, I did see one asian man on campus Monday and awaited attentively to see if he spoke fluent Spanish. Alas, I didn’t get to hear him conversing with anyone. I’ve only seen two black people (in Santiago I might add) and that was during my bus ride to Talca. When I walk to the University, sometimes it seems like many of the people I encounter don’t know what to do with themselves or say. Nevetheless, most of the time when I initiate an “Hola” or “Buenos días“, people respond in kind and some even go further to ask me, “Como estás?”

I’ve only just started getting used to the one-sided air kiss thing to the cheek as I initially made the mistake of doing the italian two-sided cheek kiss (Ha ha). My daughter will testify that I am typically a “respect my invisible personal space bubble” kinda person. However, the new context and new people have required that I learn and adjust to new ways of being in this community. So in short, having received my first unsolicited “Hola” from a group of ciudadanos de Talca, I have to admit it was pretty nice. 🙂

Misa Fiestas Patrias 2013 Universidad Católica del Maule. 9.13.13

Semana una completé como una Erudita Visitando del Universidad de Georgia

Posted on September 9, 2013 by Dr. Lisa R. Brown

Week 1 as a Visiting Scholar from the University of Georgia

First week in Chile, South America completed on 9.8.13, it has been sheer bliss. 🙂

I had a very lovely meeting today with Sr. Patrick Matzler, who is Swiss and speaks English. Dr. Matzler is a professor on the faculty of the Instituto de Estudios Generales at UCMaule. We discussed my dissertation research and how I could assist with other scholarly activities there at UCM. Following out meeting he invited me to attend a Tertulias universitarias estudiantiles 2013.

In the tertulia students and faculty came together to discuss el tema de “Educación: Calidad y Gratuidad, ¿son compatibles?” There appears to be some concerns being raised about the quality of education from the standpoint of it being free. This is an interesting debate, as many people are of the position that if an offering is free, it may not be of good quality. Such ideas may also create conflict as some people believe that an education is a human right and therefore should be offered as a free opportunity for all. This is a fascinating and complex subject to explore, particularly in light of reduced resources and issues of debt associated with the pursuit of higher education in Chile specifically and the global community generally.

The Chilean Chronicles Blog (The US Return Extended Version)

Proverbs 4:7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.

Category Archives: Visiting Scholar

Georgia-style Fried Merkén Chicken

It’s kinda cold outside today. Yikes!

Semana una completé como una Erudita Visitando del Universidad de Georgia