Wrapping it up

When I started this blog back in early 2011, we had just moved to Santiago.  I began writing it as a way to document our family's experiences as expats.  I wanted a record, a diary if you must, for our girls to be able to look back on.  Being as they were so little when we moved (and still are), I knew that they would not remember much of their lives in Santiago and I wanted them to have documentation of their years living below the equator.  I wanted them to have first hand accounts, written in the moment, and not told from faulty memories years down the road.  I wanted them to have pictures of what their everyday lives were like and the adventures we went on.  I wanted them to be able to re-live their extraordinary travel experiences.  I did it for them.  I also did it for me.

But, as I mentioned in a previous post, we have come full circle.  After 3 years here in Chile we are off on a new adventure.  One that does not involve living in Latin America, one that does not involve speaking Spanglish.  And I have made the decision that this is the natural place to end this blog.  This is the final post.

But do not fret.  I have not given up blogging.  I just have to start anew. You can now find me over at

Bohemian Rhapsodizing 

Get it?  We now live in Bohemia. Rhapsodizing is to "express oneself in an immoderately enthusiastic manner".   Exactly what I will be doing.  OK, I also thought it was a great play on the famous Queen song...

Thanks for reading Spanglish Accent for these past three years. I would like to say that without you readers it wouldn't have been possible but that isn't true.  I still would have written it, but it wouldn't have been nearly as much fun.  That is the truth.  I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it, and living it.

Here is to continuing to follow wherever life takes us...



"I see my path, but I do not know where it leads.  Not knowing where I am going is what inspires me to travel it."  - Rosalia de Castro

Déjà Vu all Over Again

Our house keys have been turned in.  Our worldly belongings packed tightly into shipping containers, awaiting their voyage across the ocean.  We have said goodbye, or see you soon, to friends that we have known for far too little time.  And we are, once again, living in hotel's for the foreseeable future.  It is exactly what we did three years ago on our way out of California and into this Spanglish life.

We have come full circle.  Sometimes, it seems that nothing has changed.  And yet, everything has.

Three years ago we were staring into a future that was full of anticipation and promise. Our lives were yet to be shaped by all that would happen in the future.  A future that now is our past.  It was our first time living out of the U.S. as a family and we were excited, though a bit apprehensive.  Everything was so new - the language, the rhythm of this huge city, the very streets we walked each day trying to get accustomed.  Each corner turned brought us face to face with the fact that we were strangers in a strange land.  Slowly, but surely things started to become familiar.  I could find my way to Plaza Peru and back again without getting lost.  I could take the girls to the corner Starbucks and order coffee in Spanish (though I couldn't answer or understand if they veered off script).  I couldn't wait until we left the hotel on that last Friday.  Not because I didn't like the hotel, but because I had been living in one hotel or another, and out of suitcases, for 8 weeks by then.  I just wanted normal life to start again.

And for the next three years life was as normal as it can be when you live 6000 miles away from family and friends.  In a country you had never set foot in until you were already in the process of getting a Visa to live there.  Life had handed us an opportunity to explore the new, the old and the amazing.  And for three years we took advantage of it.  We gave our girls extraordinary experiences that I hope they are grateful for.  I know I forever will be.  But life was also very normal.  The girls went to school, they went on play-dates and we all made friends.  We had barbecues, and dinners out and saw a ton of movies.  Perfectly, exceptionally normal.

But we knew it was only a matter of time before it would all change.  That is the nature of the work B does.  So, last week we moved back into the very same hotel we stayed at when we first arrived wide eyed and full of "we-got-this" attitude.  I am, in fact, sitting at the same desk where I created this blog.  I remember setting up camp right here, designing and shaping this blog.  Hoping that somehow I would find the words to adequately express my thoughts.  Last week I started doing the same thing, in the same place,  for the next chapter in our lives.

Full circle, indeed.

The streets I walk down now are very familiar.  Known.  Though now I walk them knowing that each step I take takes me a bit farther away from Santiago and a bit closer to Prague.  I am no longer a new resident of this great country; I am merely another tourist soaking it all in the rest of my time here.  I now walk these streets, not dreaming of what life will be like in South America, but thinking of a future in yet another country, on another continent.  Fittingly, we will again be moving 6000 miles away.

Full circle.

I am ready to go.  Not because I don't like the hotel or I have been in Santiago for too long, but because it is time.  I have made my peace with leaving Chile and I am ready to begin the next chapter.  I am excited and apprehensive about a future that will shape our lives into something new once again.  We are once again full of "we-got-this" attitude.

We have come full circle.  Sometimes it seems nothing has changed.  And yet, everything has.

 

Family Pictures

Sometime last year I realized that we didn't have any "formal" pictures of the whole family.  Yes, I know, we have a million and one pictures of the kids.  And a bunch of the dog, and B, and the kids.  We even have a few with me in them.  And yes, I also know that we have a Christmas Card picture taken every year.  But that is taken by me, or a friend, if there is one proficient with a camera.  That isn't the same thing.  The last time we hired someone to take our pictures was back when MadHatter was 6 months old.  Seeing as she was pushing 6 years old, I thought it was about time.   And we thought it would be nice to have some pictures taken in Santiago, in a place we loved and overlooked the city, to remember our time there. 

Now I just needed to find a photographer.  And not just a friend with a camera, a real photographer.  

I came across a few in my research and I went to each web page and checked each one out.  I wanted to see whose style and vibe would work best with what we were going for.  Which was casual, candid and carefree.  I was getting a bit discouraged and then I found Kyle.  Instantly, I knew I had found the right person.  I was just hoping that she would do family sessions as she is a wedding photographer.  And, if she would do them, would she actually be in the country sometime in 2013.  After a bunch of back and forth emails we had a date - just 2 1/2 weeks away!  I had to get moving on clothing choices...

Shopping in Chile is challenging enough, trying to get 4 outfit coordinated and yet not matchy-matchy, that would compliment each individual and their personality, was going to be interesting.  Luckily, I stumbled on the perfect dress for MadHatter in the first place I went to and built the rest of our looks around it.   And I finished just in the nick of time the day of the shoot literally picking up my belt with only hours to spare.

The afternoon of the photo shoot I was patiently waiting for MadHatter to get home from school so that I could start getting ready.  I like to do my hair and makeup last minute because it only lasts so long.  Especially my hair.  I had the timing down perfectly - MadHatter home at 3:00, shower and get ready, girls started at 4 and out the door at 4:20.  

Of course, that was the day that MadHatter went missing.

As I waited and waited and waited for her bus to bring her home I started getting nervous.  Not because I was running out of time to get ready, but because my 5 year old was over half an hour late coming home.  I called my girlfriend M and asked if her kids were home.  Yep.  All of them were and MadHatter was not on the bus. (I found out later they split them up that day).  A bit of panic sets in.  I call the school and get a 12 year old answering the elementary school receptionists phone.  She has no idea where the receptionist is but if I need to talk to the bus people, here is their phone number.  Now annoyed and panicked.

I call the bus line and no one answers.  I call again.  And again.  Finally I call the security guard at the school.  He doesn't speak English and I am now annoyed, panicked and angry, and my Spanish seems to be leaving my memory at a rapid rate.  We finally get to understanding each other and what has happened and he is getting all of her information.  When we get to the part that she is just 5 and missing, he gasps.  And works a bit faster.  He finally has all of her information and is about to put out a bulletin when my doorbell rings.  

MadHatter is home.  And she is only an hour late.

So what happened?  They had a teacher/staff/security appreciation day and they were all enjoying a party.  That is why no one was answering any phones.  But it also meant that the whole school was let out at the same time, instead of their usual staggered release.  Which meant that the buses all had at least twice as many kids on them to drop off.  Hence her being late.

Long story long,  I was just relieved she was home. But was now in a huge rush to get everyone ready and be at our location in time.  Being late wouldn't be a problem except we were doing sunset pictures and if the sun set, we would have to reschedule.  And with Kyle travelling so much, we probably couldn't do it before the end of the year.  

Who's idea was this anyway???

We got in the car just a few minutes past the time we should have left, made it down the hill into Santiago, and promptly stopped in traffic.  We had all forgotten there was a very important soccer match that Chile was playing today which meant everyone was leaving work early to catch it.  Rush hour started much earlier and was much more congested than normal.  What should have taken us 20 minutes, took us 45.  Ugh.  Who needs family pictures?

But then we got there.  And Kyle was so light and fun and friendly that the girls warmed up to her instantly.  And so did I.  The stress of the day just flew away and we spent the next hour or so taking a ton of fun pics.  All in all, the stress of the day was worth it when you see the beautiful images she captured.  

But I still don't think I will do it again for awhile.  Maybe when we are leaving Prague?

We are Officially Homeless

Last Monday, our packers arrived with about a rain-forest full of cardboard and enough tape to make the World's Largest Tape Ball (which, by the way, weighed in at over 2000 lbs and was almost 13 ft. high).  They worked fast and sped through the girls playroom, the 3 upstairs bedrooms and the dining and living rooms in the first day.  I made arrangements to be staying at a friends house by Wednesday night because at this rate I would be living on the street by then.  I should have known better.  When they assessed the house and our belongings back in December, they had told us it would take five days.  And five days it would take as it all came to a halt the next day.  They slowed down so much that it took them 3 more days to finish packing the kitchen, laundry room, office and our bedroom.  Yep, 3 days to pack 4 rooms.  Mind you, rooms with a lot of little things, but I think my four year old could have done it faster.  But that is a whole other post...I cancelled our reservations at A and G's house because by the time Wednesday rolled around, it was clear that there was no reason we couldn't sleep at our own home until Friday.

Friday came and everything was wrapped, boxed and crated within an inch of its life.  All that was left was to load our 301(!) boxes onto the two freight containers they had painstakingly parked in front of our house (save for the tree branch that was knocked off, there were no casualties).  It took 4 days to pack it all, and it took all of 4 hours for it all to be loaded.  They were efficient, careful and working double time to get out of there.

And all of a sudden it was lunchtime and B and I were staring at an empty house.  We ate.  We talked.  We took care of some e-mails.  I finished packing up the 3 boxes of things we had left in the pantry because nothing food related can be taken with you (one of the things I hate most is that you have to start from scratch when you move - no spices, no pasta, no cake mix...nothing can go with you).  We were both procrastinating; avoiding having to clean and scrub.   But clean and scrub we did.  Until the house was more than "Chilean Clean" (they call our expectations of cleanliness "American Clean" so "Chilean Clean" is just under those standards).   I left B to turn in the keys and deal with the landlord as I went to deal with my children that had been farmed out to summer school and friends houses all week.

I said goodbye to a house I never loved and walked away.  And I turned around to face a new future.  One that wouldn't really start until 4 weeks from now.  One that leaves all of us in limbo until we can pick up the keys to our new home and sign off on the delivery receipt for our worldly possessions.  One that holds new lessons and adventures and promise.

But until then we are homeless.  We are tourists in a city we once called home. We have hit that in-between stage where we belong neither here nor there.  And we will embrace it, like we do all other stages in this crazy adventure we call life.  But we also must acknowledge its trials along the way.

This will not be fun.  When is living out of 8 suitcases and a duffle bag, with two children, in three countries, over the course of 10 weeks, ever fun?  But it is something to remember.  And it is some what of an adventure.  And it is something we can say we did together.  As a family.  As we do everything.

Things I will miss. And a few more that I won't.

Every time we move (and we do that a bit) a switch in my brain is activated and I somehow start keeping a mental list of all of the things that I will miss, and won't miss, about wherever it is we are leaving.  I will be driving through traffic and someone will turn right in front of me without signaling and I think, I won't miss this about CityX.  I am waiting in line at the grocery store and someone sees that I only have 2 things to purchase and they let me go ahead and I think, chalk that up to something I will miss when we leave CityY.  I see the forecast and think, I really won't miss winter in CityZ...ever.

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.

But before you tell me that I am horrible for saying these things, let me list the things I will really and truly miss about Chile:

• 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...

A day in Prague

The title is a bit misleading, since we spent the better part of 5 days in Prague, but since we were there to work and not play, we really did only get one full day to explore the city.  We did cover some good ground and we hit a few of the most visible landmarks but I know we have only touched the surface of this beautiful city.  I only snapped a few pictures because the day was really gray and rainy but not to worry.  We will be back again next month, and will be staying a few years.  I don't think anyone will be deprived of photos...

Until next time...