Skiing in August

After making our way back from our trip to the sweat box of Texas, we've settled back into winter... and by settled back into, I mean we are surviving.  (I really am not a big fan of the cold in general).

Being neighbors to the great Andes comes with a certain feeling of obligation to take advantage of the things that come with living next door to giant mountains.  When some friends organized a day ski trip to El Colorado, we jumped at the chance to tag along.

A skier I am not.  In case I had forgotten just how "not a skier" I was, I was reminded in the first 4 seconds of the first run down the easiest hill when I fell, lost my ski, and then couldn't get it back on without taking the other one off and walking back up the hill to flatter ground.  Meanwhile, 2 foot children were racing down the adjacent hill, proving that adulthood sometimes just means you have further to fall and a heightened sense of how unfun it is to suck at something.  Regardless, I skied between falling and rolling down the mountain.  At some point during the first run and  the give or take 20 times I found my self horizontal in the snow, the camera that was in my pocket was in there no longer--- sacrificed to the Andes along with all the pictures from 2013 in Chile.  I clung to some hope as we rode to the top and walked down scanning the hill, but realized pretty soon that finding a silver camera in the snow was a pretty hopeless endeavor.  Admittedly, I allowed myself to sulk in the tragedy as we hiked back up the hill (turns out you can't ride the chairlift sans skis), but then got some perspective, realized we were in a place so pretty it hurt, and that the day could be salvaged even if the camera was a goner.  

By the end of the day, I was beginning to get the hang of being on skis, as in only falling 2-5 times per run.  Once I fell into one of those temporary fence things and knocked it over, and then decided that I would just go under it instead of trying to maneuver myself around it.. Because... Please.  A skier I am not, but I certainly earned the beer at the end of the day.

When we left, we put our name on a list of lost items... Just incase you find them.. Call me... With about 25 other people from that day who had lost phones, cameras, wallets, etc.  When the snow melts, I feel like El Colorado is a technology graveyard.

Luckily, some friends were kind enough to snap some pictures and smart enough (unlike this fool) to keep tabs on their cameras.  Stolen photos.  Thanks guys!!

¡Cumpleaños Feliz!

It is a distant memory what it was like to have an August birthday not spent sweating through Summer Band or preparing for school to start.  This year I turned another year older on a random, unspecial, middle of the semester, cold Tuesday (although Martes trece is bad luck... But other than that).  Leave it to Chile to surprise me.

Birthdays are a big deal here.  I've realized little by little how big of a deal.  Chileans have an uncanny ability for making you feel special for just being born.  Everyone makes a grand gesture out of "saludando-ing" and if they forget and accidentally say "good morning" before "happy birthday" complete with hugs and kisses and wishes for all of your dreams to come true, they apologize profusely and feel guilty.  My co-workers brought a muffin with candles along with tons of little gifts, everyone asking how I was going to celebrate.  The kids all raced to hug and kiss me first.  The 4th grade girls drew a giant cake on the whiteboard that I was to "consume". By slowly erasing it... Obviously.

After school, I went with Valentina and her mom to her house for our weekly private lesson. At some point, she whispered that it was my birthday and the mother stopped to pick up a cake on the way.  She then made Vale sing happy birthday (in English of course).

Gifts from my co-workers have continued to appear on my desk for a week.  Then today, my sneaky 8th grade class threw a late surprise party for me complete with homemade cakes (by the girls) and Eminem--- yes the rapper (by the boys).  

Overall, I have to say "Bien Hecho Chile" for making 27 an adventure and my first week of 28 so special.  Also... Thanks for the long weekend... That was awesome too.

Foreign Concepts

I honestly don't know why it took so long, but the other day I was riding the metro, music in ears, faced with yet another bad Chilean haircut in front of me and it hit me:  I am a Foreigner.I know, I know... it seems weird that it took 10 months for me have this brilliant realization.  It isn't that I haven't had plenty of moments before this one where I felt out of place (wearing heels on the metro and being able to see over every single head all the way to the end), but the succinctness of the statement: "I am a Foreigner" escaped me until now.

Here's the thing.  I live here.  I was no longer visiting when I passed about 3 months and certainly was no longer a visitor when I became employed.  I live here, but I am still foreign, and no matter how comfortable I become, nothing will change that.

Admittedly, I am a foreigner in a country that accepts me.  A table of gringas speaking English is greeted with a cheerful "Bienvenidos Extranjeras" instead of nasty passersby shouting "You're in Chile! #$)(*ing learn Spanish!!".  It isn't all that easy... I'm talking to you salesguy who sees me coming and practically darts the other way rather than have to deal with having a conversation where I might have to ask him to repeat something  OR lady who works at the Registro Civil and lets me stand in the non-line for five minutes before I finally turn to ask if I am in the right place and she replies with a simple no... with  no explanation of where I need to go (I'm getting ahead of myself).  Anyway, for the most part, Chileans don't appear to be angry that I have chosen to live in their country, and for that I am thankful.

Foreign Concepts.  This phrase has an entire new meaning to me.  I now truly understand where it comes from.

Foreign Concept 1:  After 4 months in my new school, I think I know and/or understand about half of the day to day things I should be doing.  Instead of telling you things proactively, the way is just to learn as you go.  I'll admit, this has been super difficult to get used to. I mean, seriously guys, more planning, less problems, but since I am the foreigner it is my job to adjust, not the other way around.  Today at an end of the semester meeting for a class, I learned that about 4 kids have basically the Chilean version of an IEP.  Nice guys.

Foreign Concept 2: I have almost adjusted to little or no customer service.  The normal rate for a tip is 10 percent, regardless of the level of work, so there is just a lack of incentive to work any harder.  Michael and I gave an excellent waiter a 5000 peso tip one evening and he seriously did not understand what we were doing.  After a few minutes of ... no this part is for you... he smiled a Cheshire Cat smile and presumably went to tell all his waiter friends how dumb the gringos were.  :)

Foreign Concept 3:  Living legally.  Reapplying for the Visa.  Dear.   GOD!!!  What a frustrating ordeal.  I can tell you that I completely understand why people choose to live illegally... what a pain in the ass it is to be a foreigner.  My only experience with this has been in Chile and I have jumped through so many hoops in the last few weeks just to get the paperwork I need to SEND to START the process.  Strangest part of all is that the average Chilean is just like... "yeah, that's how it is."  They accept that you have to stand in line at 7 different places between the hours of 9 and 2 to do anything.

Foreign Concept 4: Smog... I'm never getting used to that filth. 

There's so many more, but maybe that it for another time.  For now, I am looking forward to a visit to Texas where I'm not the foreign one, if only for a little while.

Homeruns and Rainy Days

The last  few weeks have been spent enjoying our normal settled life in Santiago.  No traveling, just staying put in our little world enjoying the bipolar weather and day to day city life.  

I have been taking Spanish lessons with the wonderful Profesor Andres along with my friend Annie once a week.  Tea and conectores and discussions of politics and the like... all in Spanish.  

We just wrapped up our Fall Season with the AMCHAM (American Chamber of Commerce...although I don't think anyone on our team actually worked for the chamber) softball team with a record of 1 and errrrr...   The team was different every time we played (as is the trend with anything mostly made up of EXPATS), but we had a great time.  Season highlights include an in the park home-run by Michael, a game ending outfield catch on the "warning track" by yours truly and an out at home made by one of the Chilean brothers playing catcher (who caught a ball thrown from centerfield by Michael... really the miracle was that he CAUGHT the ball.  Baseball... not a Chilean sport).  In the true American spirit, we celebrated our 1 win season with an afternoon of burgers and beer at the California Cantina on a Sunday afternoon.  I should also mention that the baseball field at the International school included a backdrop of mountains and afternoon reggaeton blasting from the neighborhood.  

There are leaves... big ones... on the street.  I have never seen this before, and it makes me so happy.  

Although for the last week we have enjoyed basically verano, the week before included 2 straight days of rain which caused Santiago to collapse.  I got dropped off at a bus stop near my school after I finished teaching one of my private classes and after standing and watching 15 buses drive by the huddled mass waiting at the bus stop, I decided that walking in the rain was better than standing in the rain.  Head down, hood up, I started on the trek to the metro, eventually being dowsed with water from passing cars from every direction.  By the time I made it home, there wasn't one dry centimeter on me.  It was like something out of the movies, with sad music playing in the background as the character walks along the sidewalk only to be showered with the grime of the city.  Honestly, it was all pretty comical.  When I got home, Michael was going across the street to the clinic because a street dog bit his leg while he was riding his bike home.  (He was fine, but you have to be careful with that nonsense).  Soon, I got a call letting me know that classes were cancelled the following day for all schools in Santiago.  A Rain Day.  Who knew this existed.  I spent the following day continuing to thaw out.  

Those are the big highlights.  Other things include Michael going on field trips with his exchange kids, me venturing to Calle Bandera downtown to battle the crowds in the used clothing store Mecca, nights out with friends and getting excited about visiting Texas in July.  

Unintentional Sick Day

Everything is an adventure.  That is the positive way to word and look at all of the crazy things you learn unintentionally when trying to live in a country that isn't your own.  A country with a sistema all its own... oh yes... an adventure.

We will take this story in reverse.  I went to work this morning and was immediately informed (ok, not immediately, first they asked me lots of questions stemming from clear confusion as to why I was there in the first place) to go home.  It was apparently illegal for me to be at work today.  After a few "buts" and "are you for reals", I put on my coat and did my commute in reverse, as if in rewind.

I was sick.  Nothing dramatic, your typical virus of this time a year, magnified by foreign germs and foreign ninos in close proximity.  I made the decision on Tuesday that I would have to, after 8 months, try to navigate the health care system.  I called and made an appointment (yay me... because Spanish on the phone is a whole different language) and set off for what I (even knowing better) hoped would be a somewhat painless experience.  What I mean by knowing better is that nothing... absolutely nothing... is easy here.  Every time I think that I have all the information, that I have prepared adequately for a task, I am slapped across the face by the giant hand of Chile (te acuerdas donde estas weona?)... yeah... si... Chile... lo siento... te cacho.  Needless to say,  there was something with my insurance ( has pagado 3 meses... no yo creo que he pagado por dos meses... ahhhh si, entonces no lo tienes... no entiendo, por que?... SLAP duh es CHILE biatch)  Eventually our conversation led to me saying... ok, can I just pay you to see a doctor, like with cash?  Fifty bucks later (that is without insurance people... my co-pay was that much), I saw a doctor and she gave me 3 days licencia... which translates to 3 days off of work.

When this morning came and I was feeling better, silly me, I went to work.  I didn't see the reason to miss another day of work if I didn't need to, but the Chilean government thinks otherwise, and thus my unintentional sick day.

In other news, I earned my "Hair cut in Chile" merit badge today (thanks to my free day). You guys, I have been mentally preparing myself for that for weeks.  I told the nice ladies at the salon that I had been afraid, and so they joked with me by motioning that I wanted my hair cut above my ears... jajajajajajaja.  Not cool ladies.  Not cool.  Michael started working a little while back in an intercambio department of a University (a job he is enjoying immensely), and we also managed FINALLY to secure a fully functioning Chilean Bank Account each... so this past pay check, I didn't have to transport my entire salary in 10,000 peso bills from school to the drawer beside my bed.  The bank account debacle was just like anything else in Chile, regardless of my preparation, and included a trip to one place to sign the papers, a trip to another place to pick up my card, which included a line of 100 ish people, that I found out AFTER I waited in it, I didn't actually need to wait in it, but actually another line that as soon as I got in that line, the girl went on her hourly texting break and I ended up back in the original line just the same.  (run on city you guys..).  Also, we are playing softball in a league of mostly gringos, but some desperate to understand the rules of baseball Chileans.  It is very entertaining.

Also, it is freaking cold, and it isn't even winter.  My school is in the mountains and there is no heat, so I will be spending the winter months playing the role of a Popsicle.  Luckily, winter vacay here means a trip to visit the good ole US of A during summer.  I can taste Rosa's already!

 

Oh, Hey Fall!

The weather is changing.  The leaves are changing.  We are entering our first fall since 2011.

Santiago got a bath the other day in the form of a day of rain, clearing the smog away, making the air almost sweet to breathe at least for a few hours. From my school, you could actually see the city.  There were suddenly more Andes than I had ever seen in the other direction.  The cordillera is now sprinkled with snow, which admittedly caused me to become almost giddy.

We have also reached another milestone since moving to Santiago, and that is the feeling of actually being settled.  In our first 6ish months, we were guests in someone else's home, travelling and at least I was constantly over stimulated.  The small act of a conversation or going to the grocery store was both a little daunting and exhausting.  Now, we have settled.  We have NORMAL days.  Days where not much other than going to work, making dinner, and going to bed happen.  We have fun days that  feel normal exploring our new area of the city.  I can go to the "Veggie tienda" (as I have named it) around the corner and function just fine, even if I have a question. The public transit that seemed so new is now every day.  We are settled, and it feels nice.

Today, we took our Sunday afternoon, rode our bikes and enjoyed the sunshine and people watching at the park.  On our way back, we stopped at the grocery store for the makings of a Cinco de Mayo feasty feast where all of Santiago seemed to be.  (Note to self... Sunday afternoon... Jumbo... NO!!)  Side note: I definitely sarcastically  permiso-ed the crap out of this young Chilean couple that thought the packed to the brim supermarket was the place to stop in the middle of the aisle for a more than PG 13 rated make out session.  Yeah... though I said permiso... I said it with more of a tone of ... Get out of the (#*&$@(#& way!
Needless to say, Spring Fever exists in all seasons here... wallering capital of the world.

Regardless, Fall is in the air.  Days are shorter.  It is without a doubt getting colder.  Cinco de Mayo in Fall.... That's new.  :)

Grape Stompin' at Casa Marin

A couple of weeks ago, we headed out to Casa Marin with the SHHH (our running group) for the second annual (I think) winery hash.  We loaded buses in the morning with plenty of familiar faces and even more strangers for a day of fun complete with smog free air and wine.

Running through a vineyard.... check.  Picking or cutting grapes.... check.  Plenty of other debauchery... double check.  

Hills... omg... hills....

Preparing to start our labor of love... somehow we PAID to work... not sure how they managed that.

After about 10 minutes... "Wait... we REALLY have to fill this thing up?"

Michael sporting his fancy scissors

We are being watched...

Picking... eating... Picking...

After we picked grapes which will be used to make a fancy wine that will be out sometime next year, they gave us a tasting before our typical Hash nonsense.  Was this a good idea?  It was a delicious idea.

These grapes in these buckets are covered with Raid to keep the bees away and stinky man feet... Just guessing, but Stinky Raid wine probably doesn't jump of the shelves, even in Chile where wine is cheap and everywhere.  

The circle was a nightmare... but it was a nightmare in an idyllic location.

"Yeah... you want to stomp grapes?"... "Umm we should stomp grapes"

Greatest and most bizarre and disgusting feeling ever, all at the same time.  Sometimes being here definitely opens doors to bizarre and fun things.