Chinese food in Chile

Real Chinese food is impossible to come across. Sure, there are Chinese restaurants every 2 blocks scattered throughout Santiago, but all the food is severely lacking. Egg rolls taste like thick fried dough with salty cabbage pieces. Fried rice is white, dry, and crumbly. Mongolian beef does not have the salty-sweetness of soy sauce and sugar. Chow mein looks like stir-fried ramen noodles. You get the point. Sigh. The last time I had a real Chinese meal was from Momma Wu back in the US. :'( That was more than 2 months ago...

Until today.

I've talked about my Chinese-Chilean friend whose parents own 2 Chinese restaurants here. Her dad's restaurant is super close to my university campus, so after getting the address from her, I went there after class. I was greeted by a cute Chinese girl (Hua=Flower)and I explained to her I was a friend of Cui Xia's and I wanted to order something to go.

Me: What's good on this menu? I want authentic Chinese food.
Hua: If you want authentic Chinese, it'll probably be more authentic in the seafood section.
Me: (looking at how everything costs about $10...yikes.) How's the siu-mai?
Hua: Don't get it. It's really bad.
Me: Hmm (studies the menu for a long time).
Hua: If you want, you can eat lunch with us. The boss (Cui Xia's dad) will be coming in to cook for us in half an hour. He'll cook something authentic then.

An offer for authentic Chinese food?!?!? How can I refuse?

I took Hua up on her offer. I studied in the restaurant and waited for Cui Xia's dad to arrive. While waiting, I got to chat with a lot of the Chinese workers in the restaurant. One arrived in Chile just a few months ago so he barely knew any Spanish at all. I also chatted with one of the Chilean worker's 4-year-old daughter, who spoke "Barney" Spanish (as Lily Han calls it. Props to her, haha) so I understood everything she said! Haha!

Lunchtime was spent with Chinese people while the restaurant was closed for the afternoon! :) I ate with chopsticks and rice bowls. On the menu was tomato + egg stir fry, pork, and stir fried lettuce (which I believe would've been better with Napa cabbage, but I ain't gonna complain!). I was so excited to be eating this food I ate two bowls of white rice...pang tze indeed. My stomach and heart are extremely happy.

During lunch, they commented on how well I spoke Mandarin despite being American. They also commented on how I hold chopsticks incorrectly and offered me a fork :( I asked them about why they came to Chile, what it is like to own a business, being Hakka Chinese (a dialect my dad's side speaks, but I don't), and of course: Mao Tze Tung-- a crucial part of the Chinese imagination, regardless of whether one sees him as evil or good for China. They were surprised I knew about him cuz I'm so American, but I have Daddy and Mommy Wu to thank for drilling in my mind that he was an evil, repressive, Commie dictator.

They even invited me to hang out with their family during Fiestas Patrias, Chile's Independence Day (and the only day of the year they don't work...)! Furthermore, they said anytime I want to eat Chinese food, to just come to the restaurant during the afternoon and I can have an authentic Chinese lunch with them. I feel bad though for others who want real Chinese food but can't get it because they don't have the Chinese restaurant hookups. I feel like I have Chinese aunties and uncles here now. I should get them some fruits to thank them :)

Being Asian in Chile

Chileans are some of the most culturally-ignorant people I have ever met. Being from California, you would think that being exposed to all kinds of people makes you open-minded, but I believe in my case it’s quite the opposite. I feel so sheltered because I assumed that the rest of the world was as knowledgeable about other cultures, when it reality it is not this way at all. I’ve compiled a mental list of the most outrageous comments people have made towards me for being Asian. Some are so racist and stupid it’s actually kind of funny…

Here goes:
Buying sopaipillas from a street food vendor w/ Natali:
Food vendor man: (First sees Natali. Latina. Whatever. Sees me. China!) Hey!!! Do you like pollo mandarin?
Me: Um. I don’t know what pollo mandarin is, I’m sorry.
Food vendor man: (Insistent that I must know what it is because I’m Chinese) They’re

these fried little triangle things! They’re so good!

Buying a heavy jug of water from a minimart. I couldn’t reach it because it was too high so a store worker came to help me get it.
Store worker: (sees me and smiles excitedly) China?
Me: (thinking he’s asking me “cena,” [dinner], as in if I’m going to use this water to cook dinner) What? Cena?
Store worker: No, China? Japanese?

At a grocery store.
Old man: Excuse me, can you help me read the prices of these hamburger patties? I didn’t bring my glasses and I can’t see anything.
Me: Sure thing. (Proceed to read him the prices)
Old man: (after a while notices I’m not Chilean) Oooh, where are you from?
Me: (thinking here we go again…) United States.
Old man: Ohhh, but how can that be with those little eyes of yours? China? Japan?

In some boony town’s tourism office to find out more info about the boony town. With 2 blondes and a Mexican-American and Andrew Yang from EAP.
Tourism office woman: Where are you all from?
Us: United States.
Tourism office woman: Oh…but those two in the back (points to me and Andrew) where are they from?

Using my Chilean mom’s Japanese knives.
Me: These knives are Japanese made.
Chilean mom: Oh, so if I use them, they’ll make me look like this! (Does slanty eye motion)

Outside metro station. Some flaites (Word of the day! Flaites=Chilean lower-class, ghetto people) are begging passerbys for money. Sees me.
Flaites: EYYYY!!! CHINITA!!!!! GIMME MONEY!!! (Laugh raucously).

Getting directions from Chilean policemen with Natali.
Po-po: So where are you guys from?
Us: United States.
Po-po: Oh. I would’ve thought you were in charge of the Beijing Olympics or something.

At Chilean birthday party. Meeting new people.
New person: So you’re a U.S. exchange student? Where are your parents from?
Me: Taiwan.
New person: Where’s that?
Me: It’s a small island on the side of China.
New person: I’m sorry. Us Chileans are really ignorant of other cultures.

This is what I deal with on a daily basis living in Chile. I don't care to tell people my ethnicity anymore (Taiwanese) unless I trust them to be open-minded people and won't say something off-the-wall. I just don't feel like having everyone who asks assume that all Asians are from China. I just like to keep them in suspense and say, "I'm from the U.S." and not elaborate further about where my parents are from (unless they insist on knowing, which is most of the time anyway...) At first I thought I would be extremely offended having to deal with this all the time, but slowly I’m getting used to it and it doesn’t faze me much anymore. In fact, some of the above incidents are really funny to me because of the sheer ignorance of it all. The last incident is so true and that’s what keeps me sane—simply knowing that the people here really don’t know better about other cultures, which is why they say the things they say. It’s so obvious they wouldn’t know any better; on the metro, on the buses, in my classes, on the street, in restaurants, in my own apartment complex, I don’t see anyone that looks like me. I stick out like a sore thumb, which is something so odd to me because Asians are the norm for me at UCSD (50% Asian population!) and San Gabriel Valley (also known as Little Taipei!). It really makes me wonder though—where are the Asian Chileans other than working in stores and restaurant? Why are they not out and about?