Food in Santiago

I have been very satisfied with the food here in Santiago but it’s not extremely different from what I eat in the States. The biggest difference I’ve noticed is the eating times and portions. Here we eat a very small breakfast, huge lunch, a snack for “tea time”, and a light dinner. It’s gotten me awhile to get used to as breakfast and dinner are normally all I eat but it wasn’t too difficult of an adjustment. I definitely have a different experience with food than the other students as I am a vegetarian and Chile’s diet is heavy on meat. My host mom cooks most of my meals for me and is an amazing vegetarian cook so it hasn’t been an issue for me. Although I have noticed that vegetarianism is quite rare here and I have yet to meet another vegetarian (except for another girl from Northeastern). But from what I hear the beef is amazing! The main staples of my diet have been avocado and bread. Avocado is huge here and they seem to put an entire avocado into most dishes, which makes me happy! Bread also seems to be a part of every meal and is often what is served at tea time. My favorite part of my diet in Santiago is that I eat less processed food. This may be because of the preferences of my host family but most of the other students are experiencing the same thing. Generally, the only pre-packaged food I eat is my cornflakes in the morning and the occasional granola bar. My absolute favorite food in Chile is sopapillas (picture below). These fried dough circles are made with pumpkin and are absolutely delicious! People eat them plain but also add everything from honey to ketchup. I prefer them sweet to savory and my personal favorite topping is warm honey. I want to try more of the typical Chilean diet but have found it difficult as most traditional dishes are meat based. But overall the food has been absolutely delicious!