My Ms America friend had sent me a link to her American in Chile's blog site I posted it at the left- it's a good site- and in taking a look I was thrilled- yes thrilled to find she had put directions to Cerro La Campana on them (sans vehicle). This is the one day hiking trip I've been talking about doing for 2 months now, but finding directions for anything here is virtually impossible - I usually get this: I think you can take a micro, then a collectivo- then the next person I ask says, Micro then micro! or Metro then micro, but the metro doesnt start until later and you have to be at Cerro by 9 to finish the climb. So this information alone was enough to make my day... But then I heard the buzzer and a package had arrived for me...
I have a confession to make: yesterday at Renaca I got off the bus which happened to be across the street from a McDonald's and having to pee, I went in. But I did more than pee, I patronized. In NYC there is a McDonald's around the corner from my apartment, the last time I ate there was 2 years ago when my friend and neighbor Jenna got milkshakes, Big Macs and fries and brought them over. We had thought this would be like the ultimate indulgence but we finished our meals and immediately realized it was a mistake. Like most liberal Americans with a food conscious I read Fast Food Nation, In Defense of Food (shout out for Michael Pollan) and saw Supersize Me since then I've never really considered fast food, food, just like anything else that when reading the ingredients you read more chemicals and food dyes than things that grow in the ground and are considered "natural" - I've often considered it maybe like a cigarette- like putting something in your mouth and starting it on fire- one time isn't going to kill you- but when you really think about it, gross.
I remember happy meals with chicken nuggets being incredibly satisfying as a kid, I LOVED chicken nuggets from McDonald's, but yesterday I was headed to the beach and got a caramel (manjar) sundae. My first bite brought me back to my best friend from Appleton- Char, we met in kindergarten, she lived a few blocks away and I was a bridesmaid in her wedding last April. Char also loved chicken nuggets but what she really loved was caramel sundaes and so eating that caramel sundae was like being 14 again and listening to her talk about whether they had put enough caramel, too much or just enough- she was like that- she would analyze her food to the extent you wondered if she could actually enjoy the experience. But it felt like she was there with me and we were 14 again...
I may have mentioned service in Valpo is along the lines of non-existent- last Friday Sylvain and I went out for a drink and we watched as the bartender and server sat at the bar chatting for yes 25 minutes before even making our drink... When Ms America and I were at the Jardin Botanical on Saturday I asked her what she found most annoying here after 2 years... Her immediate reaction was: " the service sucks". But what was fascinating to me was the service at McDonald's was like the service in a McDonald's commercial - helpful, immediate and all with a smile. Sylvain loves McDonald's and would often stop by there after boxing to get food- but after a few weeks he came home and said, "Wad the hell! that girl at McDonald's is so rude, I'm not going there anymore". He had been complaining about the service for a while, but I guess this had been the final straw the teenage teller was texting or on her cell and ignored him to the extent that even Sylvain went on strike...
What can I say, fast food restaurants have a place in the American landscape- on road trips, it's a great place to pee, in foreign countries, it's still a great place to pee, and if you feel like you're missing home, you can always get a greasy meal and within minutes realize your mistake and carry on enjoying your holiday... after the gas and bloating subside of course.
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