Ice Cream

Ice Cream is my comfort food (that and pizza with ranch dressing…). But it seems as if it is also the national dessert of Chile.

I really like ice cream (helado in Spanish). Everyone knows that when they hang out with my family (the birth one), we’re probably going to eat ice cream. And it’s a big deal for us to eat ice cream. Even if we eat it a lot…I still get excited each time I eat it. It’s that good.

…Which is why I’ve dedicated an entire blog to this topic alone.

I expected to eat ice cream while in Chile, but I didn’t expect to be surrounded by the like-minded so frequently. The ice cream here is good, really good and it’s cheap, which means I get to eat it more often…that equals a happy kid. And everyone eats it. I’m not sure if it is just because it’s so hot all the time…or if it’s a cultural thing. They sell ice cream on the bus. After school, it seems as if everyone is walking home with an ice cream in their hand. One time I got on the bus with my host parents, and everyone was eating ice cream (no joke).

The ice cream here is much lighter---it’s not gelato, but it looks like it. I like when I get to eat ice cream by the scoop. But the ice cream in the individual packages aren’t bad either. I really like this raspberry mix with vanilla ice cream covered in chocolate.

When my host mom found out that I had an obsession with ice cream and learned that I had ice cream (by the scoop) at one of her favorite places—our relationship was solidified. I had to do an interview for one of my classes and we made a “deal” that I could interview her if I bought her ice cream…I liked the deal because I got ice cream too.

A week ago I told Ale that I was going to buy some ice cream for us to eat after dinner. Our relationship and routine is more natural and we’re understanding each other more—so this conversation wasn’t difficult to have. She told me what flavor she likes.

So after I went to an internet cafe, I went to the store to pick up ice cream. There were so many choices—but I picked up the one with fruit, because Ale had explained how she has had bad experiences with non-fruit flavors. I checked out, paid the cashier, and walked home ice cream in hand.

When I walked in, I immediately showed Ale the ice cream I had bought—she didn’t seem as enthusiastic as I did---and I was a bit confused. A family friend’s daughter was over for dinner. We had dinner and then I got the ice cream out.

Brought the bowls, spoons, and container of ice cream to the table. As I dished the ice cream out I began to understand why Ale’s reaction wasn’t exactly enthusiastic. As they tasted the ice cream, Ale and her family friend waited for me to try it…YUCK! It was horrible. I said it tasted like water with artificial fruit flavor..it was a weird texture of ice. Basically, I had bought the cheapest and worst brand of ice cream. (She might look happy here eating it…but she most definitely was not.)

The ice cream might have been bad…but we all laughed so much. And it’s definitely the common story for Ale share with others.

Oh well…at least I’ve found the good places to buy ice cream and now I know what not to buy at the grocery story.