Hospitality

One of the things I love about Chile is the hospitality of their womenfolk. As far as I can tell, each Saturday and Sunday, most women spend a long time carefully preparing lunch for their immediate or extended family, presenting everything cheerfully and attractively. The meal is eaten slowly, with lots of chatting during and at the end. Often, but not always, during the meal the women will be quietly bustling around making sure everyone has enough to drink and dispatching with the washing up. Of course it can all get ugly if the men never lend a hand, the women never get to rest, and if it's done out of a self-pitying matyrdom. But done well, it's a lovely thing.