Lauren: Wanting to meet other English-speaking natives, Aneya and I recently ventured up to a cantina in Providencia called the California Bar. Aneya: I heard about the California Bar before I moved to Chile. Daniela had raved about it, when we were in Long Beach, and from the moment we stepped off the plane it was our plan to one day go to the infamous Anglo hangout.
Lauren: The California Bar is like a watering hole for expat Americans, Brits, and other English speaker. Started by two guys from Barstow (not really what you think of when you think California), California Bar seems to employee most of it's waitresses from the 760, too. For the first time in two months we saw people of very different ethnicities, and they worked at the California Bar.
Aneya: We'd been on the lookout for this place forever, but we couldn't find it. One day Lauren and I went looking for it in Providencia, and no one knew what the hell we were talking about. When we finally found it, it was like coming home. Football on TV, rowdy frat boys yelling at the screen, bitchy California waitresses (one, we were told, was just out of high school!) and lots and lots of beer. Ahhh it felt nice.
Lauren: The food was Mexican and burgers, and it may be the only place in Santiago that sells ranch, but I'm not sure. The waitresses were bitchy. One got angry that she didn't understand our order, and mistakenly brought us two of the same dish and it felt like home.
Aneya: It also had guacamole and sour cream, two things that are impossible to find here. It's so weird hearing American voices after weeks and weeks of Spanish. It was hilarious how the one waitress was confused when we tried to speak to her in Spanish. We are in Chile, woman! Get with the program!
-- Aneya & Lauren
When did you guys go?
ReplyDeleteWe haven't been in a while, actually.
ReplyDelete