Mean Green Machine

I've had some requests from the fans back home, so here's a little follow up on my biggest purchase in Chile to date. In all reality, my new Merrell hiking shoes that I used to hike in snow the first time I wore them had a much heftier price tag, but that makes talking about my bike even more fun since it was really cheap and such an economically sound investment.

I had been considering buying a bike just as an alternative to taking the Metro all the time since most days I'm already at the 4 trip mark. In addition, on Saturdays I go to class in the morning and them come back home, then leave again for yoga, and then perhaps I leave again to do something social, so the back and forth gets a little repetitive. I love walking but sometimes there just isn't enough time for a 30 minute walk both there and back.

I starting looking online and struck gold within 2 days on a website very similar to Ebay.  The best part was that the bike was here in the Santiago metro area and was owned by a female and even better was actually big enough for me (no one who is 5'10" should even bother looking at a mini-bike, as cute as they are) wasn't too new nor too old, and already had a basket (an obvious slam-dunk.)  She even dropped it off at the house which was a little weird for me since in the US I would just assume that anyone that you made a deal with on Craigslist or a similar site you wouldn't want coming over to you house, but I got the ok from the fam' and it was out front just before the holiday.

The next step was getting it fixed up a bit since the tires looked a little low and the owner mentioned that it had been sitting idle for some time. I was ready to head out to San Diego Street to hit the bike repair shops when Ita mentioned that there was a bicycle repair man right down the street and with that advice she offered to accompany me. If you want someone to visit the bike repair man with you, it's Ita. I have seen her in action at the tire place when someone tried to rip her off and I'm glad that I was on her side.

My favorite part was when she told me not to say a word and to let her do all of the talking or he'd charge me the gringa price. So I stood there obediently while she asked him to check over certain parts of my bike and I said nothing and watched. In the meantime, a stray dog even came by and peed on the basket while it was flipped over and he was inside checking one of the inner tubes. Officially broken in.

My total price, 700 pesos (approx. US $1.50)

This guy seemed really honest, so I gave it another go on Saturday and went back myself this time to have him help me adjust the seat and put a super cool flashing light on the back.  This time he only asked for 500 pesos ($1) and even offered to sell me or any of my gringo friends or students some of his paperback Danielle Steel novels that he had in the back. I heart Chile on days like this.

Flashing light and all

I even made my own little bike parking lot out front in case someone accidentally leaves the front gate open for a few minutes. Rest-assured it is locked to the swing.

You can even see my cheese empanada in the shopping bag in the basket. ;)

My First 18th

I was a bit disappointed this summer watching the World Cup from afar, wanting to be in Chile to join in the festivities in a country that really takes soccer seriously. Although I got up early to watch the games and proudly wore my "I heart Chile futbol" t-shirt, it just wasn't the same. I was patiently waiting for my consolation prize, being here in Chile for the Bicentennial celebration.
Dieciocho is a big word around here, meaning the 18th of September, the Fiestas Patrias, and this year, the Bicentenario, or the 200th anniversary of Chile's independence from Spain. In fact, it's not just an independence day around here, as indicated by the signage, it's a whole month of celebrating!

Bad picture, but you get the idea

Now that's a big flag

Even la casita has been properly adorned

Celebrating the 18th means that the whole country was on holiday pretty much from Thursday afternoon until this morning. Everything is closed, so you have to stock up in advance for your barbecues and all of your beverage needs.  I think about what the supermarkets are like on the 3rd of July, now imagine them all shut down from Friday afternoon until Tuesday morning!  Thankfully yesterday I was able to sneak into a botilleria that was open to grab some more wine. :) It was actually quite peaceful (I use that word lightly) at certain times in Santiago, mainly because there is less traffic due to all the people who take advantage of this time to leave the city to head out of town to visit family or head over to the beach. What can't be described as peaceful is heading out to any public places, whether to see a parade, go to a fonda, or see the light show, "Pura energia, Pura Chile."

The crowd at Parque O'Higgins gathering before the military parade

A fonda, or what in the US is similar to a summer festival with many individual booths to buy food and drinks

Don't forget your llama...

Or to eat before you leave the house if you don't like meat...

Or your game face...

Fortunately, I was able to try some food other than giant pieces of meat that I really enjoyed, like mote con huesillos and pastel de choclo.

Serving up the mote con huesillos, a sweet drink made from peaches, sugar, cinnamon, and husked wheat

Pastel de choclo, usually made with a layer of meat, boiled egg, olives, potatoes, onion, with a mashed kind of sticky corn cover that sticks to your teeth.  This one was veggie and had mushrooms instead of meat.

And just because I was a little homesick this week, I also celebrated with some good old NFL football (can't believe the Bears are 2-0!), a burrito the size of my head, and a pitcher of beer 

It was a fun week, and since I have been here in Chile I certainly cannot be accused of working too much!

Less Isn't Always More

Living in a city without a car means whatever you want to take with you must be carried around, sometimes for the whole day. I have really tried to minimize the load in my book bag and only take exactly what I need for each class. At home I always considered myself to be extra prepared for everything, with one of everything carefully reserved in my car "just in case." I always say that I owe this learned preparedness to my 8 years of coaching Track and Field in the Midwest.  Weather forecasts mean nothing, and if it rains all day always have an extra pair of socks and a big trash bag to keep your belongings in!
Unfortunately, this concept should not be applied to hiking trips in the mountains of Chile, especially not in September. I believe when I requested weather and packing information from my friend Struan, his exact words were, "Don't go arctic..."

Really?

Struan did tell us to pack for wind and rain, so I was prepared with my lovely Patagonia H2no jacket and he was kind enough to lend me his spare pair of wool socks.  You can also click here to read his take on things..:)
Our adventure began with a plan to head all the way up to Banos Morales, the furthest point you can reach in the Cajon de Maipo river valley area, and it's also an easy and convenient way to get near the Andes on a bus from Santiago.

Some Argentinos singing away to the guitar on the bus

Heading into the park, we were advised to only go as far as the Aguas Panimavidas due to deteriorating weather conditions

Still enough rocks in this area to make it appear like a hike

Now this is why I came to Chile...

In case we weren't sure what we were doing here

I think this is when we knew the "hike" was over

The Aguas, or that little muddy blob of water that you see in the background

Our "picnic" lunch and when we realized that we needed to get down to lower ground before we all got frostbite!

Check out these before and after shots, thank goodness for this place, the Residencial Los Chicos Malos and their awesome chocolate and the estufa that saved our lives. I'm not sure how much she appreciated us taking off our hiking shoes and laying them out to dry on the estufa, but Scott and I did help clear some lunch dishes to help her out.

Before the hike

And after...

And in case you couldn't tell how much it was actually snowing, here is one more shot from the bus ride home

So the moral of the story is, when you are worried about carrying around a heavy backpack all day, remember that extra socks and gloves do not a heavy backpack make! Thank you friends for a memorable adventure, and I look forward to our return in early November for a hike all the way to the glacier!

Minor Issues

Earlier I wrote about the positive things that were making my adjustment to life in Chile a lot easier. Now that I've been here a little over a month, I think it's fair to mention some of the things that have made my transition here a little more difficult. Overall, I think I was more than prepared for my stay here thanks to the wealth of information made available by all of the bloggers in Chile!

1. Smog
I still do a double take some days when I gaze out at the Andes at how close they are to the city. It's a shame that they are blanketed in a cloudy layer of smog. My contact lenses and my complexion can also attest to the fact that this is no exaggeration. I'm already 2/3 of the way though a bottle of contact re-wetting drops and my skin hasn't looked this bad since I was 19.

2. Homeless animals
If you have pets or love animals, it's just difficult to get used to seeing the animals out there fending for themselves, especially when I think about my kitty back home all nice and warm cuddled up on the dog's bed.

3. Food
There will be a separate post about this, but I made the mistake of going to the supermarket hungry the first few times that I went, not realizing that I was going to have to be a lot more prepared if I wanted to survive here. No more grabbing a box of Morningstar Farm, a container of hummus, and a bag of baby carrots to have on hand.  Time to start soaking those beans and scrubbing the carrots...

4. The Metro
Don't get me wrong, I wanted to live in a "modern" city with access to good public transportation, but the life of an English teacher takes you out and about a lot, and by the 4th time on the subway in the same day, both my wallet and my personal space are wishing for an alternate form of transportation, which is why I'm currently searching for a used bike.

5. Staring at the tall gringa
It takes awhile to get used to the fact that at any given time you can look up and make eye contact with 5 people who happen to be looking at you.  I think every gringo/a has a feature that gives them away, and for me it's my height. It's kind of creepy sometimes, but I'm beginning to adjust to the fact that I'm pretty damn tall in this city and people are going to look at me. Remember my nickname, girafa? :)

6. Teaching resources
I'm a teacher by trade and was fortunate enough to work at a school with many great resources and excellent technology. It's been a bit more difficult planning lessons when some days it's just downright challenging to find paper to make 8 copies. Paper is really expensive here, so I've gotten a lot of mileage out of my one whiteboard marker.

7. Having to be on guard all of the time
Before I moved here I was living in a town where I could accidentally leave my garage door open overnight and wake up the next morning and say "oops, it's a good thing I live where I do!" Now I walk around like every single person on the street or on the metro is trying to get their hand into my purse.  Maybe I'm a little over cautious, but better safe than sorry I guess.

Overall, I feel like each week I'm able to mark a certain milestone and feel more comfortable about my situation.  It's all about putting yourself out there and learning new things!

A Visit to Valparaiso

For a Midwestern gringa like me, a trip to Valparaiso means visiting "Valpo," a small town of about 30,000 people in Porter County, Indiana. This has a special significance to me since a large part of my family grew up near there, and it's also well known for Valparaiso University, a small private school of about 4000 students.

Valparaiso, Chile, is an important seaport located about 75 miles northwest of Santiago. It's an easy day trip and a great way to see beautiful clear blue skies and breathe in some fresh ocean air.  I only began to scratch the surface since my friend A. and I spent most of the day in the 20% of Valparaiso that is flat. Future trips will take me up higher into the Cerros of Valparaiso and into the neighboring Vina del Mar and also to Pablo Neruda's Isla Negra. For now I will share some pictures of my first outing and assure you that the "Valpo" of Chile is a much more desirable place to visit. (Sorry family!)

These higher shots were just taken from a little foot bridge

It's possible to take hundreds of photos of the murals and graffiti

If you look at the background you can see the ascensor, or one of the 15 lifts that takes you up to the higher areas of the city

Notice the graffiti and the Bresler ice cream sign that is now just a cement wall

The plaza was empty since there was a crew there filming something and diverting people around.  A. and I have become so accustomed to ignoring men here that we didn't notice the very official looking man in the bright orange vest trying to divert us around.  I think it took us about 3 "Senoritas!" and 3 "Miss, do you speak English?" before we even looked up at him!

Proof that they were actually filming something. Seeing this alone made the whole day worthwhile!

September and Sun

It's amazing the difference a week makes.  Last week it was cold, cloudy, and rainy and I was sick and pretty cranky. This weekend it was officially September and with the turn of the calendar page comes a whole new mood around Santiago. The Chilean flags have been hung and one can't leave the house without noticing the signage for the upcoming celebration of September 18th and the Fiestas Patrias.  I'm especially fortunate to be here this year for the bicentennial and to also have some vacation time (already!) to do some extra traveling and celebrating.
It was a beautiful morning and I started the day with an invitation from my family next door to accompany them to Cerro La Cruz for my first asado (barbecue). Asados are a big deal in Chile, and they are also a big deal for someone like me who tends to shy away from the meat products in general.  It was a great day overall and generally I don't tend to turn down someone else cooking for me. Many people here find it humorous when you turn down meat, in fact, I was reprimanded when someone tried to hand me a forkful of something and I questioned its contents. 

Preparing the fire. At first I didn't understand what we were going to do with the wine, but it was only to wrap the paper around the bottle!

Here it begins to come together

Teaching the boys to play Uno while the grill warms up

Delicious pebre, which is a lot like pico de gallo and eaten on meats and breads

The view from a rock that I climbed up on

 A post-barbecue hike

A nice break from the city smog

Not bad for sticking my arm out the car window on the ride home!

***Also noted, I was awarded a new nick-name this weekend by a 6 year-old...girafa.

Things I Like

I've only been here for 2 1/2 weeks, so please note that these are pretty simple-minded observations.  I'm not going to speak here about any kind of earth shattering cultural differences, just my own personal preferences. I promise, I'm really not as shallow and simple-minded as I might come across on my blog sometimes. Please notice that in an effort to be positive, I'm posting the "Likes" list first, but don't worry, the "Dislikes" are coming soon...

1. Walking everywhere
I like to walk for exercise so walking around a city everywhere to get from Point A to Point B is like killing two birds with one stone.  Bus?  Nah, unless it's 4am or raining, I'll take the walk any day.

2. My living situation
I have the best of both worlds.  There is a family right outside my door if I want to be with people, speak Spanish, or drink some wine or have a cafecito. Otherwise I have my own place with as much independence and privacy as I desire. I also live with a roommate who is gone a lot on the weekends, so I even get a few days completely to myself each week. She's a great roommate but it's nice since I was so accustomed to living on my own.

3. Orange Crush Light
I'm not a huge soda drinker, but I am a fan of the occasional diet beverage, and the tinier the glass bottle the better. There is just something better about these "Light" drinks since I really do prefer Coca Light over Diet Coke.

4. Ice Cream, bakeries, and manjar
There is certainly no shortage of ice cream or delicious baked goods in this city.  In fact, the McDonald's even has a separate counter in the front just for ice cream sales.I'm not ready for ice cream yet due to the temperatures, but sometimes I have to force myself to exit a metro station in a different direction just to avoid the bakery smells.  Don't even get me started on the manjar, which is the Chilean version of dulce de leche. In other words, creamy caramel deliciousness.

5. Having a different schedule everyday
Yes, the schedule of an English teacher is nothing to dream about, but when you come from a life where you do the exact same thing at the exact same time for 180 days straight, there is something to be said about breaking up this monotony a bit.  Yes, that does mean that I have to work at night, but it also means that I don't jump out of bed at 5:45 every morning, drink my coffee at the same time, eat a snack at the same time, run to the bathroom during the only 5 minute window that I can find.  Teachers back home, you know what I'm talking about.

6. Using Spanish outside of the classroom
Teaching a language often compartmentalizes ones vocabulary. It's nice to be able to use some real Spanish and go beyond explaining why you need to use the subjunctive with certain conjunctions.

7. Not using a credit card to pay for everything
I think this one speaks for itself.  I wasn't one to charge a $1.29, 22 ounce Diet Dr. Pepper or a coffee at the local quickie mart, but it's nice to be operating on a cash only basis, which is kind of ironic, since I just got my first paycheck here yesterday. It's not that I can't use my foreign credit card, it's just easier not to sometimes.

8. The random things that one stumbles upon in other countries...