Sometimes you want a manual–to operate that new piece of technology, sure–but what about how to work your new Chilean oven? I’d be fine with words to translate, but last night I wasn’t sure I could de-code these symbols in time to bake some nice gluten-free potatoes for dinner. Fortunately, the Internet can be the best manual out there, so thanks to a quick Google Image search on “odd oven symbols” I stumbled upon a few other expat bloggers who turned to online forums for help with these interesting codes (Sweden has a similar symbol issue, for instance, and I’ll take my solidarity where I can get it).

Here’s a sampling of what we’ve got going on:

 

Knob on the left points to “bake,” or at least I think it does (quick sneak peak: potatoes turned out great, so whatever it means, it worked!). Knob on the right indicates degrees in Celcius, so 350F is 177C (And, no, I’m not whipping out Fahrenheit/Celsius conversions that easily; I keep a handy Post-it on the fridge). But this above pic illustrates all she wrote when it comes to oven language. I think my mom’s back home has something like 25 buttons and various words like “off” and “on.” (I know, probably not that helpful 🙂

 

These Chilean oven knobs are symbolic (pun intended) because it’s not just about translating language down here (though I have various other Post-its up around the house). It’s about decoding an entire culture, one that I will never gain full access to, no matter how long we live in Chile. I will always be from California, I will always have learned Spanish AFTER I moved to a Spanish-speaking country, and Ryan and I will always be skirting around (together at least) on the outside of things, with occasional peeks at the inner circle. That’s fine, of course. I didn’t come here to pass, but there is a sense of accomplishment in breaking a code or two.

Now, decode this!

 

Trick question. All that symbol means is that the heat comes from the top of the oven. Now, switch back to “bake” and follow this recipe for the perfect baked potatoes. I managed to and they were delish! We added freshly chopped green onion, grated cheese, black beans, sour cream, and crispy bacon (don’t worry, alongside a fresh green salad). YUM!

Happy baking, everyone!