It's not our first major holiday out of the country since we moved 2 months ago, we celebrated Easter here, but it is the first that they don't celebrate here. No day off for us and no great picnics to attend, pools to laze by, or cold beers to drink. I guess we could do it anyway but the whole spirit of the day would be missing. I also think that our neighbors would think it weird if we were sitting by our pool drinking a cold beer today. It is late fall after all and at 60 degrees they would probably start talking about their weird American neighbors. Ok, they probably already talk about the weird American neighbors, but this would really give them something to talk about.
This holiday has brought a bit of a disconnect from the U.S. and our lives there that Easter just didn't bring. The Chilean people celebrate Easter (in a big way) and they celebrate Christmas and New Years, but that is about all the holiday's we will have in common. We will celebrate a type of Memorial Day and we had Labor Day last month but they are not celebrated in the same way and forget Thanksgiving and Fourth of July, much less Halloween, St. Patrick's Day, Cinqo de Mayo... And if the holiday happens to fall on a weekend day, well then you can just wait until it falls on a weekday to get a day off. There is no Friday before or Monday after off business. And no matter what day the holiday falls on the world just ceases to operate outside of the house. Everything is closed. Let me repeat - Everything is closed. Need gas, you can get it tomorrow. Forget something from the store that you need for the BBQ you are having today, sorry. Wanna get away from it all and just go to the zoo on a glorious day off - not a chance. And this happens at every national holiday (And don't get me started on why half of the country is closed on Sundays...)
I think they have the right idea. Think about it - it's not only some people who are deemed lucky enough to work somewhere that allows them to have the day off. It is everyone. They respect their workers enough to treat them all equally (at least in respect to national holidays) and don't expect the ones who happen to work in service industries to be the only people having to go in to work and once again serve when everyone else gets to spend time with family and friends. It's a great idea but selfishly, I would like just one store, one restaurant, one gas station to be open. It is because I am used to 24 hour access to almost anything I need. I have gotten used to instant gratification so I think this will be good for me. It will force me to slow down. It will make me plan ahead on the gas and groceries and it will force me to just enjoy the time off with my family, even if it is no more than a once a month or so.
It won't help with the disconnect. The fact that 99% of the people I know are celebrating a holiday and I am going about my day the same as usual, will probably be a little weird for awhile. I am celebrating in spirit and pretending that my hot tea that is currently keeping me warm is a nice cold beer and that my blanket is a pool towel and I am soaking up some rays. Have a happy and safe day off everyone!!!
(And it is posted a day late because I forgot to hit publish yesterday afternoon after finishing!)
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
If I say I'm right, just go left...
Anyone who has ever driven with me or ridden with me knows one thing, I am terrible at directions. I may have driven the same route a million times and may know the area inside out and backwards, but I can somehow always manage to get lost. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I grew up in a small town (not 2 stoplights small, that was my college years, but surrounded by cornfield small none-the-less). It meant that there weren't as many streets to get lost on, and the highways didn't need to be learned because there really were only two ways to go - out of town, or into it. So I chalk up my lack of a sense of direction to not ever having had to need one. But truth be told I have needed one ever since leaving college (I wasn't kidding about the 2 stop lights). I needed it when living in Milwaukee, in North Carolina (it has an inner and outer beltline - no north, south, east or west), and California (now there is a place you better know your freeway system). I need one, but I just don't have one. If you really want to have fun with me, move me to a foreign country where I cannot ask for directions when lost, the rules of the road are different and Jenny has not been uploaded her Santiago software yet (yes, my GPS is named Jenny - as in Jenny from the Block - since she knows all the blocks). Once there, give me a car and tell me I have to be somewhere in 20 minutes and let the fun begin.
Since I have moved many times in my life you think I would have some tricks of the trade on how to acclimate myself quickly and learn the roads. You would be wrong. I have tried everything. I tried learning which way is actually north and which is west but I still can't read a compass worth a darn. I have tried navigating by street names but by the time I can read the sign I am usually well past the point of being able to turn left, or right. I am a bit better at navigating by landmarks which might be a throwback to my small town days - turn left at the red barn with the American flag painted on it and when you get to the end of that soybean field, turn right. I remember the landmark, but then forget what to do next. Is is a left? Go straight? Pull in and get a coffee and cruller? My mom found this out the hard way while she was here. We were trying to get to the store and we found our landmark at the intersection, just where it was supposed to be. We took a right, and ended up right back at our landmark. Hmmmm, ok so what now. If you are me, you turn right again swearing that they moved the road since last time you did this. It couldn't possibly be that I was wrong. Of course you know what happened - we ended up right back where we started. At this point, the coffee and cruller is looking pretty good instead of trying to find the store, but darn it, we need groceries. So this time I went straight, for a couple of miles. Realizing that my next landmark should have been spotted by now, I make a U-turn and head back. Now I really need that coffee, maybe with an added kick, but it's only 10 am and we still need those groceries. Now, by my astounding powers of deduction, I realize the only way I haven't gone is left. So left it is.
I tell this story because it really is typical of what happens, A LOT, when I move to a new city. I just get turned around and mixed up and it takes me forever to figure it all out. I have lived in places for years and still only know one way to get somewhere. I can't figure out how streets connect to each other. And here in Santiago it is so much worse. There are a million one way streets and the rules of the road aren't even the same, so now instead of using all of my brain power to remember how to get there, I have to use half of it to remember the new rules of the road and try getting there without getting arrested. Each time I pull up to a light I have to remember not only which way to go, but if I can turn right on red (no, not unless a sign is posted stating you can), if I can turn left on green (in some cases yes, in some only if there is an arrow - haven't figured out how I am supposed to know which case it is) or if the street is one way and if it is, does it go the way I want it to? And I must make decisions quickly. I am in South America after all and that means driving fast and very closely to the car next to you and in front of you. It does benefit me in the fact that I can change lanes often without blinkers and by cutting off the guy next to me - he will think of me as assertive not the other ass word. I can create a new lane if I just happen to need to turn right, but there is already someone in the right hand turn lane. And if I really want to, I can head the wrong way down a one way street if it is more convenient for me. But even learning the new rules of the road won't get me to the right place, I still have to know which streets to take to get there.
I am doing ok. I can get to the store, a couple of malls and MadHatter's school without too much thought. Don't ask me to get from the mall to MadHatter's school, or from the store to the mall without having to go home and start from square one but it's not bad for having been here for less than 2 months. I hope to someday be able to head into downtown without having to bring flares with me so B will know where to find me. Good thing I have a sense of adventure or I would never leave the house. I will get it down, probably just in time to move out of here but that is the way it always goes for me. But it's almost better that way. When I do get it figured out I seem to think I am capable of giving people directions, and this is not the case. If I ever give you directions and I SWEAR I know where I am going and have done it a million time and you need to turn right at the next corner, please, for the love of Pete, turn left.
Since I have moved many times in my life you think I would have some tricks of the trade on how to acclimate myself quickly and learn the roads. You would be wrong. I have tried everything. I tried learning which way is actually north and which is west but I still can't read a compass worth a darn. I have tried navigating by street names but by the time I can read the sign I am usually well past the point of being able to turn left, or right. I am a bit better at navigating by landmarks which might be a throwback to my small town days - turn left at the red barn with the American flag painted on it and when you get to the end of that soybean field, turn right. I remember the landmark, but then forget what to do next. Is is a left? Go straight? Pull in and get a coffee and cruller? My mom found this out the hard way while she was here. We were trying to get to the store and we found our landmark at the intersection, just where it was supposed to be. We took a right, and ended up right back at our landmark. Hmmmm, ok so what now. If you are me, you turn right again swearing that they moved the road since last time you did this. It couldn't possibly be that I was wrong. Of course you know what happened - we ended up right back where we started. At this point, the coffee and cruller is looking pretty good instead of trying to find the store, but darn it, we need groceries. So this time I went straight, for a couple of miles. Realizing that my next landmark should have been spotted by now, I make a U-turn and head back. Now I really need that coffee, maybe with an added kick, but it's only 10 am and we still need those groceries. Now, by my astounding powers of deduction, I realize the only way I haven't gone is left. So left it is.
I tell this story because it really is typical of what happens, A LOT, when I move to a new city. I just get turned around and mixed up and it takes me forever to figure it all out. I have lived in places for years and still only know one way to get somewhere. I can't figure out how streets connect to each other. And here in Santiago it is so much worse. There are a million one way streets and the rules of the road aren't even the same, so now instead of using all of my brain power to remember how to get there, I have to use half of it to remember the new rules of the road and try getting there without getting arrested. Each time I pull up to a light I have to remember not only which way to go, but if I can turn right on red (no, not unless a sign is posted stating you can), if I can turn left on green (in some cases yes, in some only if there is an arrow - haven't figured out how I am supposed to know which case it is) or if the street is one way and if it is, does it go the way I want it to? And I must make decisions quickly. I am in South America after all and that means driving fast and very closely to the car next to you and in front of you. It does benefit me in the fact that I can change lanes often without blinkers and by cutting off the guy next to me - he will think of me as assertive not the other ass word. I can create a new lane if I just happen to need to turn right, but there is already someone in the right hand turn lane. And if I really want to, I can head the wrong way down a one way street if it is more convenient for me. But even learning the new rules of the road won't get me to the right place, I still have to know which streets to take to get there.
I am doing ok. I can get to the store, a couple of malls and MadHatter's school without too much thought. Don't ask me to get from the mall to MadHatter's school, or from the store to the mall without having to go home and start from square one but it's not bad for having been here for less than 2 months. I hope to someday be able to head into downtown without having to bring flares with me so B will know where to find me. Good thing I have a sense of adventure or I would never leave the house. I will get it down, probably just in time to move out of here but that is the way it always goes for me. But it's almost better that way. When I do get it figured out I seem to think I am capable of giving people directions, and this is not the case. If I ever give you directions and I SWEAR I know where I am going and have done it a million time and you need to turn right at the next corner, please, for the love of Pete, turn left.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Unsubscribing from my old life
I get a lot of email. Now don't go getting the idea that I am popular or anything, because I don't mean I get a lot of personal email (unless you count J. Crew as a person). I get a lot of emails from companies I shop with, women's groups I attend and the magazines I subscribe to and I love it. I add myself to email lists so that I can get coupons, the deal of the day, words of wisdom or the latest on what is going on in my MOPS group. I especially love the ones from all the places I shop - kids clothing stores, home decorating stores, daily deals from Groupon, the newspaper, kidsteals etc... If you read my post on bargain hunting you know that I do a lot of research online and these emails keep me up to date on my favorite things - and usually introduce me to my new favorite things. But right now, getting these email updates is just depressing me. I haven't minded an inbox chock full each morning because up until today it has been a fun reminder of home and it's kept me connected to one of my favorite sports (yes, shopping is a sport) and some of my favorite people. But for some reason today it just wasn't fun to be reminded of all the things I don't have anymore and in such a multitude of ways.
It's not just the stores I miss going to (though I do miss wandering through the mall with the girls, letting them play at the play place and catching lunch out). The emails remind me of so many good times chatting with my girlfriends over lunch (the email from Paradise Bakery telling me if I buy a sandwich I can get a drink free) or when I had to find that perfect color pillow cover and I went to about 20 stores looking for it (and yes, this does qualify as a fun in my book) and Pottery Barn just happened to have it in their sale section today. I got the MOPS update and it reminded me about the 12 lovely ladies I call friend that are in the same stage of life I am and how they commiserated with me each week for a couple of hours over hot food that we actually got eat while it was still hot. I got an invitation to an annual picnic we try not to miss and yet this year, we will not be attending. So, it isn't about the shopping or the information in the emails per se but about the memories these emails bring back.
So what is a girl to do? Logic was telling me that when something starts to be more of a hindrance than a help, it is time to let it go. Though sometimes it is the last thing we want to do. I began by downloading all of my emails while the girls were sleeping and I started unsubscribing myself from my old life. I must have gone to 30 different websites and removed myself from their data banks. Each time they asked me if I was sure I wanted to be deleted permanently and I had to pause, because who really wants to be deleted permanently? And then I realized what my hesitation was. It wasn't that I was afraid of letting go but I was more afraid of being let go of. It somehow seemed that if I was erased from the memory banks of their computers, they would also erase all traces of me from the lives of those I had built my memories with. It is one thing to move on and embrace new adventures in life, it is another to become a footnote in the lives of those you hold dear. I just have to have faith that what I built will withstand the time and distance. So, I have officially unsubscribed myself from my old life in California, knowing I will build a new email database here in Chile.
It's not just the stores I miss going to (though I do miss wandering through the mall with the girls, letting them play at the play place and catching lunch out). The emails remind me of so many good times chatting with my girlfriends over lunch (the email from Paradise Bakery telling me if I buy a sandwich I can get a drink free) or when I had to find that perfect color pillow cover and I went to about 20 stores looking for it (and yes, this does qualify as a fun in my book) and Pottery Barn just happened to have it in their sale section today. I got the MOPS update and it reminded me about the 12 lovely ladies I call friend that are in the same stage of life I am and how they commiserated with me each week for a couple of hours over hot food that we actually got eat while it was still hot. I got an invitation to an annual picnic we try not to miss and yet this year, we will not be attending. So, it isn't about the shopping or the information in the emails per se but about the memories these emails bring back.
So what is a girl to do? Logic was telling me that when something starts to be more of a hindrance than a help, it is time to let it go. Though sometimes it is the last thing we want to do. I began by downloading all of my emails while the girls were sleeping and I started unsubscribing myself from my old life. I must have gone to 30 different websites and removed myself from their data banks. Each time they asked me if I was sure I wanted to be deleted permanently and I had to pause, because who really wants to be deleted permanently? And then I realized what my hesitation was. It wasn't that I was afraid of letting go but I was more afraid of being let go of. It somehow seemed that if I was erased from the memory banks of their computers, they would also erase all traces of me from the lives of those I had built my memories with. It is one thing to move on and embrace new adventures in life, it is another to become a footnote in the lives of those you hold dear. I just have to have faith that what I built will withstand the time and distance. So, I have officially unsubscribed myself from my old life in California, knowing I will build a new email database here in Chile.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Yo estudio...sort of
It's Sunday and I am doing homework. Well, I'm taking a break from homework because obviously my blog does not count as Spanish homework. Unless I wrote it in Spanish. That will not be happening today, or even next month, so a break from homework it is. And since I am a stupendous procrastinator, it may just turn into finishing the blog entry, taking a run on the treadmill, feeding the girls their dinner, eating dinner, showering and then - and only then - finishing my homework that is due tomorrow.
For those of you who went to school with me, you know that I just don't study well. And on a Sunday, I just wouldn't have studied at all. Don't get me wrong, I have always been good student and I have always gotten what I considered to be good grades. They could have been better, if I had only had the inclination to study. I did what I had to do to get by and nothing more. See, I was a great A/B student all through school, but I was also a procrastinator and a crammer. Test on Monday, Sunday night would find me in front of a textbook. Homework on Wednesday afternoon, Wednesday morning would do just fine to finish that up. It got me through college and even got me on the Dean's list once or twice but the problem I have found is that it works in the short term. I do very well on the homework, the test, the final and then the information just deletes itself from my hard drive. The hard part for me right now is that I can't really do that when learning a new language. I can't cram the information into my head, and then forget it almost immediately. I actually have to learn it. And by learn it I mean backwards, forwards, inside out and upside down. And I am finding that is harder to do as I get older and have more responsibilities. So it means homework on a beautiful, sunny fall day (don't get me started on the fact that it is fall in May...) and B is out running with the puppy, the littles are sleeping and I am sitting in a very small office with almost no outside light, at a desk, conjugating verbs. Which I never liked doing in English and the same can be said for doing it in Spanish. Actually, I like it even less in Spanish because I didn't really learn to do it in English (see cramming, above). I know I did it in high school, and at some point in life I knew what a modifier was and what a reflexive verb was but that time is far behind me. Now I feel like I am learning it all from scratch and it is frustrating at times. Not because I can't learn it, or that it is so very difficult but because I could have saved myself a lot of time and effort by just paying attention and really learning it the first time. Wish I could talk to my 16 year old self and tell her to just study already so she could make it easier on me today. Then again, if I could talk to my 16 year old self there are probably more important things we would need to discuss - like the attitude and the self importance and even the hair. Especially the hair.
All right, procrastinating over. I do have to answer to my teacher tomorrow (and by answer, I mean answer. Probably 100 questions asked of me in Spanish in which I have to answer correctly in Spanish, right verb tense and all) so I better get back to it. But maybe just a quick run first...
For those of you who went to school with me, you know that I just don't study well. And on a Sunday, I just wouldn't have studied at all. Don't get me wrong, I have always been good student and I have always gotten what I considered to be good grades. They could have been better, if I had only had the inclination to study. I did what I had to do to get by and nothing more. See, I was a great A/B student all through school, but I was also a procrastinator and a crammer. Test on Monday, Sunday night would find me in front of a textbook. Homework on Wednesday afternoon, Wednesday morning would do just fine to finish that up. It got me through college and even got me on the Dean's list once or twice but the problem I have found is that it works in the short term. I do very well on the homework, the test, the final and then the information just deletes itself from my hard drive. The hard part for me right now is that I can't really do that when learning a new language. I can't cram the information into my head, and then forget it almost immediately. I actually have to learn it. And by learn it I mean backwards, forwards, inside out and upside down. And I am finding that is harder to do as I get older and have more responsibilities. So it means homework on a beautiful, sunny fall day (don't get me started on the fact that it is fall in May...) and B is out running with the puppy, the littles are sleeping and I am sitting in a very small office with almost no outside light, at a desk, conjugating verbs. Which I never liked doing in English and the same can be said for doing it in Spanish. Actually, I like it even less in Spanish because I didn't really learn to do it in English (see cramming, above). I know I did it in high school, and at some point in life I knew what a modifier was and what a reflexive verb was but that time is far behind me. Now I feel like I am learning it all from scratch and it is frustrating at times. Not because I can't learn it, or that it is so very difficult but because I could have saved myself a lot of time and effort by just paying attention and really learning it the first time. Wish I could talk to my 16 year old self and tell her to just study already so she could make it easier on me today. Then again, if I could talk to my 16 year old self there are probably more important things we would need to discuss - like the attitude and the self importance and even the hair. Especially the hair.
 |
| That's me, 2nd from left. Yes, those bangs are about all the hair I had. And yes, I remember being able to see through them. |
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Carpe Diem
I was going to write a post about how you never realize how much you need to learn and keep learning, until you start to study something you thought you had an understanding of. And then a casual friend of mine posted on her facebook wall that her husband had lost his fight with leukemia today. After a bone marrow transplant, remission and then a relapse, his body finally gave up the fight. My struggle to learn a new language just seemed insignificant after reading that. But my initial thought still remains true, just in a different context. You don't realize how much you need to love and learn and live until you are once again reminded that life is fragile and could be taken from us at any time. We all say we understand this but it is so hard to remember it in the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives. And when things like this hit close to home, we all hold those dear to us a bit closer and we spend the next couple of days, or weeks, making "quality" time for all those important to us in our lives...but then we seem to slip back into our mode of work, kids, errands and school (kids or our own) and we start to take things for granted again. I don't mean to speak for everyone, but mostly for myself. So, speaking for myself, I hope that this time when I pledge to live my life grandly, and appreciate all I have and not complain about what I wish I had, and when I say that I am going to spend more quality time with my family, that I can keep it up and not slip back into my routine of taking it all for granted. This is what I hope I have learned today, and I hope to keep learning. Even though I have always thougth that I had a pretty good understanding on how to live life to the fullest, I know I can do better!
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Did I actually hear English spoken or am I just dreaming?
Before I begin - Happy Mother's Day to all Mother's out there, and all Father's who are single Father's, or Grandmother's who are raising their grandchildren. In other words, to anyone who is raising a child and shaping who they are to become, I applaud your devotion and wish you nothing but happiness this Mother's Day!
Now to our previously scheduled post :
I had been in Chile for only about 10 days or so when my mom and I took the kids to the grocery store to stock the freezer and fridge. Any time you move more than a couple of hundred miles, you end up having to start basically from scratch with things that need to be refrigerated or frozen. When you move 6000 miles, you have to even begin again with pantry items. Needless to say, the first shopping trip is usually a two cart ordeal and can be quite time consuming, not to mention expensive. So, it was not a trip I was particularly looking forward too. But it turned out to be an opportune trip, since I ran into what could potentially be a new friend.
As my mom and I were standing in the refrigerated section trying to find all beef hot dogs (still haven't found them), we hear a voice behind us say "Boy is it nice to hear English being spoken". I turned around and saw a woman of about my age, with a boy about MadHatter's age, and decided instantly that she was right - it was nice to hear English spoken. We talked for a bit and after bumping into each other a couple more times on our expedition around the store, decided to exchange numbers. I didn't think much else about it for a week or two, as we were so busy with family being here and settling in to the house. Then last Monday, while I was shopping, my phone rang. It was K. and I didn't realize how glad I was that she had not forgotten me until I heard her voice. After a few missed play dates we finally got together yesterday for a bar-b-que at their house. And I am so glad we did. Our kids played together fabulously, and so did our husbands. I see more playdates in our future and for once I am thankful that my English is better than my Spanish. Because I was just hitting the point of getting lonely.
Being lonely is always one of the harder parts of moving. It usually sets in about 4-6 weeks after you settle in. The newness of your new home, the excitement about being somewhere new has faded and the boxes are all mostly unpacked. You still have a few errands to run but you are dragging them out because you know that when you are done with them, there is nothing else to keep you occupied, and few excuses to force yourself to go out of the house. It is easier with kids as they force you to do things but it is still not easy. You now have time to realize that you don't have any friends, that your kids don't have any playmates and if your husband travels like mine, you don't even have anyone to talk to. When you are in a country where 99% of the population doesn't speak a word of English (and I mean not even hello), it multiplies that loneliness by 10. When I moved before I at least could go shopping and talk to the checkout cashier and count that as a conversation I had that day...Here, I can't even talk to my own Nani enough in a day to count it as a conversation. For those that know me, you know I must be ready to explode...So when you hear English being spoken, and someone friendly enough to have a conversation with you, you speak back and you make play dates and hope that you have enough in common other than both speaking English to keep a friendship going. Otherwise, that lonliness can overwhelm you. I am happy to say, I have averted lonely for the little while I have been here and a large part of that is I have a great network of people to count on. I have playdates scheduled and nights out planned and I think I may just try to skip lonely while we are here in Chile!
Now to our previously scheduled post :
I had been in Chile for only about 10 days or so when my mom and I took the kids to the grocery store to stock the freezer and fridge. Any time you move more than a couple of hundred miles, you end up having to start basically from scratch with things that need to be refrigerated or frozen. When you move 6000 miles, you have to even begin again with pantry items. Needless to say, the first shopping trip is usually a two cart ordeal and can be quite time consuming, not to mention expensive. So, it was not a trip I was particularly looking forward too. But it turned out to be an opportune trip, since I ran into what could potentially be a new friend.
As my mom and I were standing in the refrigerated section trying to find all beef hot dogs (still haven't found them), we hear a voice behind us say "Boy is it nice to hear English being spoken". I turned around and saw a woman of about my age, with a boy about MadHatter's age, and decided instantly that she was right - it was nice to hear English spoken. We talked for a bit and after bumping into each other a couple more times on our expedition around the store, decided to exchange numbers. I didn't think much else about it for a week or two, as we were so busy with family being here and settling in to the house. Then last Monday, while I was shopping, my phone rang. It was K. and I didn't realize how glad I was that she had not forgotten me until I heard her voice. After a few missed play dates we finally got together yesterday for a bar-b-que at their house. And I am so glad we did. Our kids played together fabulously, and so did our husbands. I see more playdates in our future and for once I am thankful that my English is better than my Spanish. Because I was just hitting the point of getting lonely.
Being lonely is always one of the harder parts of moving. It usually sets in about 4-6 weeks after you settle in. The newness of your new home, the excitement about being somewhere new has faded and the boxes are all mostly unpacked. You still have a few errands to run but you are dragging them out because you know that when you are done with them, there is nothing else to keep you occupied, and few excuses to force yourself to go out of the house. It is easier with kids as they force you to do things but it is still not easy. You now have time to realize that you don't have any friends, that your kids don't have any playmates and if your husband travels like mine, you don't even have anyone to talk to. When you are in a country where 99% of the population doesn't speak a word of English (and I mean not even hello), it multiplies that loneliness by 10. When I moved before I at least could go shopping and talk to the checkout cashier and count that as a conversation I had that day...Here, I can't even talk to my own Nani enough in a day to count it as a conversation. For those that know me, you know I must be ready to explode...So when you hear English being spoken, and someone friendly enough to have a conversation with you, you speak back and you make play dates and hope that you have enough in common other than both speaking English to keep a friendship going. Otherwise, that lonliness can overwhelm you. I am happy to say, I have averted lonely for the little while I have been here and a large part of that is I have a great network of people to count on. I have playdates scheduled and nights out planned and I think I may just try to skip lonely while we are here in Chile!
Thursday, May 5, 2011
The end of bargain hunting
I am a bargain shopper. I don't clip coupons (I used to clip them and then forget about them until they expired and then throw them away, so I just skip the step of clipping them and just throw them away), but I definitely know how to find a bargain. When I need to buy something, and I mean anything from a new book for the girls to a new car, I will research. And research. And then do it again. And I do it quickly - my time is usually the hour or two that I have while the girls are napping so I have learned to move fast and make quick decisions. I will google the brands, I will read the reviews, I will even read other reviews of the people who gave something a negative review to see if they are chronic negative reviewers. I will then get as many prices from different stores as I can and go to the online coupon code sites to get a discount code if there is one (instant, no clipping necessary and it doesn't clutter my purse - exactly my type of discount). And I usually end up paying less and getting exactly what I am looking for. My friends know this about me. They know that I usually know the best place to get something, the price you should pay and if it is worth paying extra for the name brand or if you can get by with the generic. But that all ends now and it is the one thing I am having a hard time adjusting to here in Chile.
There are a couple of things going against me in the shopping department to begin with. I don't have a Target, a Toy's R Us, a Costco, a JoAnns, or a Home Depot. In fact about the only stores we have here in Chile that are imported from the U.S. are bad chain restaurants (I can find a Dominos, McD's or Applebees on almost every major street). This means I don't even know where to start shopping. And the internet is not a lot of help since I don't read Spanish (though I read it better than I speak it). Before you think to yourself - then just have the page translated, it's that little button in the upper right hand corner, very simple - try it yourself sometime. Their translations are awful. I have an easier time trying to read it in spanish than trying to understand what they mean once they have it in English. It really is that bad. Then, if by some miracle I can find the same product in two different stores, I have to figure out where the stores are located. Are they even in the vicinity of Santiago, or are they going to send me to Punta Arenas to save $3000 pesos (about a four hour flight and $6 respectively)? And let's not talk about conversions of pesos to dollars...I may tackle that some other day but for now let's just say that I live in Chile so I deal in pesos. No sense making yourself crazy with how much it costs in dollars, since for the next couple of years that is a moot point. Let's just say it will be expensive.
Where is this all going you ask? I had to find a high chair and I needed it quick. We donated Stinkerbell's high chair to a friend before we left the states. Our thinking was that since she is nearing her 2nd birthday, we wouldn't need a high chair and she could use the booster chair MadHatter no longer needs. Little did we know that the built in table in our kitchen has banquette seats that are too far from the table and the table top too high for Stinkerbell to even attempt to sit, kneel, or even kneel in her booster. Hence, she was standing and walking around in the seat for all of her meals. NEED a high chair. I found one at the mall - they had a baby store and it had all of 4 models to choose from. In my broken Spanglish I had a conversation that entailed a lot of hand gestures, some misunderstandings, and a few laughs. The sales lady was terrific and in the end I got what I needed. But I know I paid more than I should have since I could not figure out another place to even look at another high chair. In the end, I got what I needed and that is what counts. We are all much happier now that Stinkerbell can sit down and eat with us.
If this is the worst thing I deal with in Chile, then I have it pretty good. It is a bit of an inconvenience, but I will get better at knowing where things are and where to shop and perhaps I will also get better at asking others for their advice, instead of always being the one that is asked. Probably not, but anything is possible.
There are a couple of things going against me in the shopping department to begin with. I don't have a Target, a Toy's R Us, a Costco, a JoAnns, or a Home Depot. In fact about the only stores we have here in Chile that are imported from the U.S. are bad chain restaurants (I can find a Dominos, McD's or Applebees on almost every major street). This means I don't even know where to start shopping. And the internet is not a lot of help since I don't read Spanish (though I read it better than I speak it). Before you think to yourself - then just have the page translated, it's that little button in the upper right hand corner, very simple - try it yourself sometime. Their translations are awful. I have an easier time trying to read it in spanish than trying to understand what they mean once they have it in English. It really is that bad. Then, if by some miracle I can find the same product in two different stores, I have to figure out where the stores are located. Are they even in the vicinity of Santiago, or are they going to send me to Punta Arenas to save $3000 pesos (about a four hour flight and $6 respectively)? And let's not talk about conversions of pesos to dollars...I may tackle that some other day but for now let's just say that I live in Chile so I deal in pesos. No sense making yourself crazy with how much it costs in dollars, since for the next couple of years that is a moot point. Let's just say it will be expensive.
Where is this all going you ask? I had to find a high chair and I needed it quick. We donated Stinkerbell's high chair to a friend before we left the states. Our thinking was that since she is nearing her 2nd birthday, we wouldn't need a high chair and she could use the booster chair MadHatter no longer needs. Little did we know that the built in table in our kitchen has banquette seats that are too far from the table and the table top too high for Stinkerbell to even attempt to sit, kneel, or even kneel in her booster. Hence, she was standing and walking around in the seat for all of her meals. NEED a high chair. I found one at the mall - they had a baby store and it had all of 4 models to choose from. In my broken Spanglish I had a conversation that entailed a lot of hand gestures, some misunderstandings, and a few laughs. The sales lady was terrific and in the end I got what I needed. But I know I paid more than I should have since I could not figure out another place to even look at another high chair. In the end, I got what I needed and that is what counts. We are all much happier now that Stinkerbell can sit down and eat with us.
If this is the worst thing I deal with in Chile, then I have it pretty good. It is a bit of an inconvenience, but I will get better at knowing where things are and where to shop and perhaps I will also get better at asking others for their advice, instead of always being the one that is asked. Probably not, but anything is possible.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Who's up for a game of Charades?
There is actually a Competitive Charades Tournament. It is held in Austin, Texas and the next time I go see my parents, I may just make sure that the visit coincides with the competition. You think I jest...I would have thought so too a couple of weeks ago. But in the past five weeks (exactly the amount of time I have been in Chile), I have gotten so good at playing charades that I might have a shot at the title. Wanna be my partner? No one here seems to want to play with me on a regular basis, except Nani, and I suspect that is only because she lives in my house and hasn't found a way to escape yet.
It wouldn't be so bad if my Spanglish was more Span than glish. We will work on that. In the meantime it does provide for some funny moments, and some embarassing, but I have always been able to laugh at myself so really it is mostly just funny. Like the other afternoon - I needed to get out of the house and I decide to take the girls with me. People seem to be more forgiving of my attempts at communication when there are 2 little girls that alternate between looking confused and laughing when Mama's hands are flying around and pointing at things and generally just making a fool of herself. We had gotten our errands done after having to mime the words "I need concrete nails" and "where do I find the dog nail clippers" and it was nearing lunch time. As a treat, I decide that I am going to pick up some Burger King for the girls on the way home. I can handle the drive through, I think. I did the drive through at McDonald's just fine when my parents were here. So, I pull up to the box and the man on the other end asks me what I would like, at least I think that is what he is asking. In the U.S. they sound like the teacher from Peanuts...waah wahhh wa wahhh wah. It is a whole other level of not understanding when you are talking in a foreign language. I listen as hard as I can...and I freeze. I suddenly realize that I am not at McDonald's where I can order a "Cajita Feliz". You simply cannot order a Happy Meal at Burger King. That would be like going to In N Out and ordering a Big Mac...you can do it but you aren't getting it. So now I am stuck and I can hear every spanish word I do know giggling as they fly right out of my brain. I quickly try to search for the equivalent of a happy meal or a kids menu on the board in front of me, but there is just nothing there that I can make sense of. I do the only thing I can do and pull through to the window and try to enlist the order taker in a game of charades. Nothing doing. He either wasn't in the mood for the Gringa with the hands flying or he just doesn't know good charades playing when he sees it. What is left for me to do? I say a hasty Adios and high tail it to McD's (or Mr. Donalds according to my oldest) and order "Dos Cajita Feliz con Nuggets, papas fritas y jugo naranja". There are some places that charades just doesn't work and the drive through is one of them.
It wouldn't be so bad if my Spanglish was more Span than glish. We will work on that. In the meantime it does provide for some funny moments, and some embarassing, but I have always been able to laugh at myself so really it is mostly just funny. Like the other afternoon - I needed to get out of the house and I decide to take the girls with me. People seem to be more forgiving of my attempts at communication when there are 2 little girls that alternate between looking confused and laughing when Mama's hands are flying around and pointing at things and generally just making a fool of herself. We had gotten our errands done after having to mime the words "I need concrete nails" and "where do I find the dog nail clippers" and it was nearing lunch time. As a treat, I decide that I am going to pick up some Burger King for the girls on the way home. I can handle the drive through, I think. I did the drive through at McDonald's just fine when my parents were here. So, I pull up to the box and the man on the other end asks me what I would like, at least I think that is what he is asking. In the U.S. they sound like the teacher from Peanuts...waah wahhh wa wahhh wah. It is a whole other level of not understanding when you are talking in a foreign language. I listen as hard as I can...and I freeze. I suddenly realize that I am not at McDonald's where I can order a "Cajita Feliz". You simply cannot order a Happy Meal at Burger King. That would be like going to In N Out and ordering a Big Mac...you can do it but you aren't getting it. So now I am stuck and I can hear every spanish word I do know giggling as they fly right out of my brain. I quickly try to search for the equivalent of a happy meal or a kids menu on the board in front of me, but there is just nothing there that I can make sense of. I do the only thing I can do and pull through to the window and try to enlist the order taker in a game of charades. Nothing doing. He either wasn't in the mood for the Gringa with the hands flying or he just doesn't know good charades playing when he sees it. What is left for me to do? I say a hasty Adios and high tail it to McD's (or Mr. Donalds according to my oldest) and order "Dos Cajita Feliz con Nuggets, papas fritas y jugo naranja". There are some places that charades just doesn't work and the drive through is one of them.
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