My bread turned out really well! I think that making it from scratch might become another one of my hobbies while I'm here in Chile. I ate too much bread yesterday actually... I can't really think about it in the same positive light for a while. I went to bed feeling so stuffed and gross that I've decided I'm not going to eat any bread for a week. I am writing this here so that my goal becomes official and I actually take it seriously. I would safely call bread the national food of Chile, after all the average Chilean consumes a little over 200 pounds of bread annually, the second highest rate in the world after Germany (I did some rudimentary research on that). The Chilean government actually decided to begin fortifying the bread flour with folic acid, since it was a surefire method to ensure that the population was properly nutrified, and yes I am aware that I invented that word. Chileans consume a lot of sugar too, between all the fake fruit juice, heaping spoons of sugar in tea, and German treats like kuchen, strudel, and homemade fruit preserves it's hard to say no to sweets. Instead of my typical breakfast this morning of bread, homemade jam, and tea with sugar, I opted for a healthier green tea and substituted out my bread...for cookies...My mom had just made them and they were sitting right in front of me at the table...what was I supposed to do, ignore them?? And that my friends, is why my pants did not fit me at the end of the semester last year and why I decided to adopt a healthier lifestyle in Argentina. It was really easy to get into shape in Buenos Aires because it was so hot and I was really active. Also, in Buenos Aires there is an anorexia problem, so whenever I walked out the door I was constantly reminded of the overwhelming desire to be thin and attractive by any means possible. Plus, my program there did not include three course lunches as it does here in Chile. Food is such a personal and cultural experience here in Valdivia that I don't want to miss out on anything and therefore leave the table filled to the brim. I need to find a balance though.