And ever since we found out that we were moving out of Santiago way back in October, the voice that says, "you won't miss this..." or "I hope that Prague has this...", has been chiming in with its two cents worth. Hoping to silence it, I thought I would give the voice a forum and write it all down.
And before anyone gets their panties in a bunch, I have a bunch of disclaimers. Yes, I realize that these are just MY opinions. I also realize that Prague may be plagued with many of the same "won't miss" issues. And they are in no particular order. I am just writing them as I remember them. And I know I am generalizing, but again, these are MY experiences here and others would have an entirely different list. But here goes...
The things I won't miss:
- Not having a garbage disposal (try it for awhile. It sux. And nope...I won't have one in Europe either).
- The horrible air quality. Second only to that in China. Not, not an exaggeration. It is the second worst in the world.
- Not being able to drive out of my driveway on days that the government declares that the smog is too bad.
- Concrete houses that never get warm (no matter how much expensive gas/kerosene you use to heat them.)
- Paying over $6 a gallon for gas. (Europe is not going to fix this but at least this time I have learned to buy a Diesel car).
- The driving! I don't mind if you are an aggressive driver but this is just BAD driving.
- The lack of using car seats or safety belts of any kind for children, and adults. I don't care if the adults do it, they are making an informed decision, but to not buckle your kids in is child abuse. Plain and simple.
- Screens on windows and doors. If you open a window to get fresh air, expect the bugs to come flocking in. And forget about keeping them open at night as you are just inviting neighbor cats, the random raccoon, bees, lizards, you name it, to make themselves cozy inside.
- The lack of customer service. Complain if you will about the four hour window you get in the U.S. when you have someone make a service call but at least they show up in that window. I can wait a week for someone to show up, they will then show up when I am not home and blame it on me.
- The fact that ever time I leave the house I am still afraid that no one will understand me. Yes, my Spanish is pretty fluent and I can get through almost any conversation, but the fear is still there. (Again, I know this will not change in the Czech Republic but more people will speak English there)
- The food. I will not miss that lack of taste...Their national dish is a boiled hot dog, topped with mayo and avocado and wrapped in a bun. Please tell me where the flavor is...Another national dish - a pie made almost entirely of corn! And their spicy doesn't even approach mild.
- In the same vein, under cooked pizza. All pizza needs a minimum of 5 extra minutes in an extra hot oven. Soggy crust and barely melted cheese does not do it for me.
- Restaurants not opening until 8 pm at the very earliest. Most not until 9. I want to be in bed by then, not starting my dinner.
- Driving over my mail. Since there is no mailman as we know it, my letters are brought by hired carriers and just thrown through my gate fence onto my driveway. Even in the rain.
- The smoking! About 90% of the women smoke (a much smaller percentage of the men) and not until last year was smoking banned in restaurants and bars.
- Real aluminum foil. Seriously, it is paper thin and rips constantly.
- Their parking lot logic. There is none. If going left makes sense you will surely be going right.
- I will not miss the marketing that makes no sense (as a marketing professional this one just grates). The mascot for the gas company is a golden retriever, the song used for the sandals commercial is just whatever is popular at the time. And don't get me started on using English in the campaign - the translation is usually wrong and makes no sense, not to mention it is grammatically incorrect most of the time.
- Corn on everything. And I mean everything. It is on pizza, in pasta and even hamburgers at McDonald's. I like corn, I just don't need it daily.
- The fact that hot water can suddenly disappear, then reappear even hotter and then disappear again about 5 times during one shower. And if you are upstairs in the kids bath, forget water pressure if you want warm water. The pressure goes down relative to the heat of the water. When it is finally warm enough for a shower, there isn't enough pressure for it to come up the hose and out the shower head.
- Having options when flying. There are only so many flights to Chile in a day. Miss yours and you are probably stuck until the next day. If you are lucky enough to be re-routed, you probably still won't get home until the next day.
- It taking all day to do a load of laundry. Washing is an hour. Drying will take up to two hours. All day to finish 3 loads.
- Hearing what we have dubbed the "Chilean National Anthem" every five minutes and for 10 minutes at a time. "Chilean National Anthem" = house alarm loudly blaring.
- Having very limited flight options. Have your flight cancelled or delayed and you are stuck for another day because it is usually the only flight of the day.
- The Chilean run preschool that my girls go (went) to. Those women love my girls (and every child in their care) as if they were their own. I don't think we will ever find a group of people that will take care of them the way Goldfish took care of them for the past 3 years.
- The neighbors. Sure, she is Canadian but has lived here for over 20 years so, to me, she is Chilean. She and her husband have been great friends. First when we lived on the right side of them, and then when we moved and lived on the left. They are one of a kind and we will miss them desperately.
- Empanadas. Chilean empanadas win, hands down. Some of the best in the world.
- Pisco Sours and Wine. Again, some of the best in the world.
- The garbage men pick up my garbage 4 days a week (you have to when you have no garbage disposal) but it really is nice.
- My perfect gardener (Don Jose, you will be missed).
- The neighborhood park and trail and the workers who keep it clean. They are out there every day, all day making sure that my kids have a safe place to play. And they have exercise equipment along the whole 10K trail. It is fabulous and they are in almost every comuna in Santiago.
- Fresh Palta (avocados), Frutilla (strawberries), Naranja (oranges) and Uva (grapes). They are grown right in our backyard here and taste so much better here because they pick them when ripe, not days or weeks in advance, because they don't have to ship them.
- Eating out. Unlike in the U.S., where they book you a table and then expect to turn it over in an hour, when you book a table here, it is yours for the night. No one rushes you through dinner, no one makes you feel as if you are squatting...you are expected to sit, sip and enjoy.
- Heading out early (9-10 am) and being the only one there. You can guarantee if you are at a location within 3 hours of it opening you will have it to yourself because no one will be showing up until at least 1 pm.
- Not needing a prescription at the pharmacy, for some things. I can walk in, tell them the dose of my thyroid meds and walk out with it. Same for the time my daughter had pink eye. And the prescription doesn't expire - at least not in my experience. I have been refilling the same scrip for the past 3 years with the exact same piece of dirty, worn out paper.
- Free gift wrapping everywhere. Every. Where. The grocery store will wrap anything you just purchased and even put a bow on it. Free.
- My Spanish teacher, Jessica. She wasn't just my teacher, she was my friend. One that sat and listened to me for 2 hours a day, twice a week, while most of what I said sounded like a two year old grammatically. And for teaching me enough those first two years to be able to have real coversations this last one.
- The gas attendant. You do not pump your own gas anywhere. I will really miss this. Especially on rainy and snowy days.
- 80's music playing everywhere you go. In English.
- The office that supports my husband in his work and me in my life. They are priceless.
- No censoring. Yep, you would probably think that this would go under things I wouldn't miss but I have the opposite view on this one. I will miss the fact that my kids aren't completely sheltered from real life. We hear swear words on the radio, we hear them on local TV. And that doesn't bother me, it just allows ME to control what my kids see and hear and not someone else. It allows me to teach them right from wrong and not rely on someone else's views on the subject. I understand that others would put this under their won't miss list but I really will.
- Assigned seating in the movie theatre. You pay for your ticket and at the same time choose open seats from a screen. Every ticket has a seat number assigned. It keeps you from having to show up super early to get a preferred seat at the newest blockbuster.
- My girls thinking they are Chilean. Yep, they are both so completely immersed in the culture that they think they never lived anywhere else. I WILL miss that they may no longer think that and have an identity crisis when we get to Prague.
- My pool. I throw my girls in the pool ever single second that it isn't frozen over.
I know this list is not all inclusive. I bet any one of my friends could add to it. I could probably add to it if I sat here longer. But I have packers in my house and if I don't get back to it, the dog will probably end up bubble wrapped and in a box...
