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.

 

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...

A Bohemian Life

Hace Dos Anos

{This is my first bi-lingual post.  It will be in Spanish first.  A small nod to the fact that we have now been in Chile for two years, as of today.  It is a small glimpse into what I have learned - both about this country, about myself and about this language.  When I consider that I did not speak more than a couple of words of Spanish two years ago (really, couldn't conjugate a single verb) I realize I have come a long way.  But I also know that being here for two years is a blink of an eye and that I still have so much to learn.  In more than just the language department.  It has been a journey.  Not always easy and it has not always been fun, but it has been an adventure.

The Spanish part of this post has been written off the top of my head, as are most of my posts.  I did not us a dictionary.  I did not go to Google translate. It is nothing more than my own words in Spanish.  I have not had anyone proof it so there will be mistakes.  It comes with the territory.  When I write in English I write the way I talk.  I cannot do that in Spanish because I do not know nearly as many words and my slang doesn't translate.  It wasn't easy writing this in a foreign language.  But it was much easier than trying to speak in that same language because I had all the time in the world to find the right words.  The right conjugations   And I could go back and proof it myself - not at all how it works when you are face to face in a conversation.  So don't let this bit of written prose give you the impression that my Spanish is great, or even good...

The English part is what I hope the Spanish part says. There will be some mistakes in my Spanish, so be it...there are probably a lot of mistakes in the English too...}

Hace dos años comenzamos un viaje. No fue sólo un cambia de distancia, pero un cambio de un estilo de vida. Un cambio de ubicación, seguro, pero también un cambio de actitud. Un cambio en la forma en que vivimos nuestras vidas y cómo nos relacionamos con el mundo. Empezamos una nueva vida, como una familia, en un lugar fuera de nuestra zona de confort y sabíamos que sería duro. Y luego, un poco más fácil. Y luego sería nuestra normal. Y lo ha hecho. Hemos pasado dos años y, a veces, aún parece que fue ayer.

A veces, miro atrás y lo parece como si estuviéramos sentados en nuestra casa en California, hablando de si esto sería lo mejor para nosotros, o si sería tirar todo fuera de nuestro control. (Sí, lo haría). Estábamos sentados en California, acercado de los amigos mejor, pero nos sentíamos tan solos. Debido a que la decisión de moverse más de 6000 kilómetros de su familia y amigos, la nuestra estaba solo. Nadie puede decidir por nosotros si sería mejor para mover todo y empezar de nuevo. No se movían por todo el país, sino en todo un hemisferio. Era mucho para considerar.  Había listas. Habia pros y contras. Había noches sin dormiendo. Pero al final, como todos ustedes saben, hemos tomado la decisión de moverse. Hemos convertido nuestras vidas al revés. Había razones positivas que hacer y los unicos aspectos negativos que encontramos eran nuestros propios miedos. Al final decidimos que el pro ha superado la contras. Queríamos pasar para que nuestros niños pudieran experimentar la vida en el mundo. Era hora de que mis hijas tener una idea de una vida fuera de los EE.UU. Una vida fuera del privilegio que hubiera crecido con en California. Ya era hora de que me acuerde de lo que era demasiado.

No ha sido difícil. Pero no ha sido fácil. Vivimos una vida privilegiada aquí. (lo conocemos).  Sin embargo, todavía no ha sido fácil. Nuestra vida es aumentar aqui pero, realmente, no compró más que cosas. Pone un techo sobre nuestro cabezas, la comida sobre nuestra mesa y permitir las vacaciones en nuestro calendario. Pero no puede hacerme sentir como en mi hogar. No se puede compensar el hecho de que la mayoría de la gente que quiero y confío en que somos un continente de distancia. No se puede escuchar a mí cuando me siento triste. No se puede aprender un idioma nuevo para mí.

Todavía me siento como un extraño aquí (pero creo que podría vivir aquí el resto de mi vida y todavía siente como un extraño) y, sin embargo, me siento muy bien acogidos. Es una captura 22.  He hecho buenos amigos, se despidió de algunos de ellos, y luego hizo más. Me mudé aquí con una guagua (o bebe fuera de Chile) y una hija pequeña. Me mudé con mucha aprensión y nervios como cuerdas ensartadas banjo (ok, that I had to look up in Google translate!). Pero he ajustado. He enviado mis dos hijas a la escuela. Y he visto como han aprendido dos idiomas.  Fluidez. Y he visto a adaptarse, mejor de lo que hubiera pensado, a una cultura totalmente nueva.

He aprendido como de hacer las compras en el supermercado, las reglas de la carretera y la forma de hacer las cosas consumado. He tenido muchos golpes y contusiónes en mi viajes aqui, pero creo que he aprendido mucho sobre mí mismo y lo fuerte que puede ser en la cara de un desafío. He aprendido que hay cosas que nunca se utilizan para acá - la falta de servicio al cliente, el hecho de que no se puede manejar en una pista en cada momento y el tamaño de mi lavadora (muy pequenita). Pero también, he aprendido que algunas de las cosas que pensé que no podría vivir sin - platos de papel, un triturador de basura, una puerta de garaje - son todas las cosas que llegan a ser insignificante con el tiempo.

Soy mejor porque he mudado aquí. Mi familia es mejor por han mudado aquí.  Estamos prosperando cuando yo no sabía si se podría sobrevivir. Estamos contentos, estamos muy agradecidos y estamos viviendo neustra vida neuva.   Porque como empezamos nuestro tercer año en Chile, no sabemos si vamos a llegar a nuestro cuarto. Y no estamos listos para decir adiós... por el momento.

{ok - time for the English version...}

Two years ago we began a journey.  Not just a change in miles but a change in lifestyle.  A change in location, sure, but also a change in attitude.  A change in the way we lived our lives and how we interacted with the world.  We started a new life, as a family, in a place outside of our comfort zone and expected it to be hard.  And then a bit easier.  And then to become our normal.  And it has.  It has been two years and at times it still seems like just yesterday.

Sometimes, I look back and it stills seems like we were sitting in our house in California, talking about whether this would be what was best for us, or if it would throw everything out of our control.  (Yes, it would).  We were sitting in California, surrounded by great friends, but felt so alone.  Because the decision to move over 6000 miles from family and friends, was ours alone.  No one could decide for us if it would be best to pick it all up and start all over.  We weren't moving across the country, but across an entire hemisphere.  It was a lot to take in.  There were lists.  There were pro's and con's.  There were sleepless nights.  But in the end, as you all know, we made the choice to move.  We turned our lives inside out and upside down.  There were so many positive reasons to do so and the only negatives we could find were our own fears seeping through.  In the end we decided that the pro's outweighed the con's.  We wanted to move so that our children could experience living in the world.  It was time for both of my daughters to get a feel for a life outside of the U.S.  A life outside of the privilege they would have grown up with in California. It was time for me to remember what it was like too.

I hasn't been hard.  But it hasn't been easy.  I know I live a privileged life here.  But it still hasn't been easy.  Money really doesn't buy you more than things. It puts a roof over my head, food on my table and vacations on my calendar.  But it can't make me feel at home.   It cannot compensate for the fact that the majority of the people I love and count on are a continent away.  It cannot listen to me when I am feeling sad.  It cannot learn a new language for me.

I still  feel like an outsider here (but I think I could live here for the rest of my life and still feel like an outsider) and yet, I feel very welcomed.  It's a catch 22.  I have made good friends, said goodbye to some of them, and then made a few more.  I moved down here with a baby and a toddler.  I moved with a lot of apprehension and nerves strung like banjo strings.  But I have adjusted.  I have sent both of my progeny off to school.  And I have watched as they learned two languages.  Fluently.  And I have watched them adapt, better than I would have ever thought, to a whole new culture.

I have learned the ins and outs of grocery shopping, the rules of the road, and how to get things accomplished.  I have had a lot of bumps and bruises along the way, but I think I have learned a lot about myself and how strong I can be in the face of a challenge.  I have learned that there are things I will never get used to here - the lack of customer service, the fact that no one can drive in one lane at any given time and the size of my washing machine (very small).  But I have also learned that some of the things that I thought I couldn't live without - paper plates, a garbage disposal, a garage door - are all things that become insignificant with time.

I am better because I have moved here.  My family is better for having moved here.  We are thriving when I didn't know if we could even survive.  We are happy, we are grateful and we are soaking it all in.  Because as we begin our third year in Chile, we don't know if we will make it to our fourth.  And we aren't ready to say goodbye just yet.

The New House - A Year Later

February 2nd.  Nothing unusual for us about the day.  Except for the past two years.  For the past two years I have been packing up my entire house and moving it to a new location.  Yep, twice in two years.  To the day.  What are the odds?  

This year I started holding my breath about November.  I was wasn't looking for a moving hat trick.  I just wanted to make it through a full year in one location.  Without having to find a new place and pack up the old one.  Nothing is guaranteed when you work for the company we work for.  And even though we have a 3 year lease on this house, we had one on the last one too.  Look how well that worked out for us.

So, I am glad to say, the day has dawned and with nary a cardboard box in sight.  And I can breathe again.  

I know we will move again.  Sooner, later.  I will be ready for it when it does happen, I just didn't want February 2nd to be moving day in our house every year.  Maybe every other year would be fine...

I haven't posted any pictures of our new house.  Mostly because I didn't want to jinx it...Last time I posted the pics, the house was sold out from underneath us.  Then the second time, they pulled our lease.  Hopefully the third time is the charm.

Welcome, friends and family, to our casa...

The entry way...Please, follow me down this hall  on the right hand side of your picture.  First, coat closet is on your left. Second door is the guest bathroom.  And then you enter the kitchen. 

Very typical kitchen.  Nothing much to see here...head through that wooden door into the dining room please.

Dining room into...

the family room...

Which leads out this back door onto the patio where we eat most dinners for about 6 moths of the year...

That patio can see most of the backyard.  Great place for us all to sit and play on a summer night.  But if there is more serious relaxing to be done, we head even farther back...

To the lounge furniture and back patio.

Back inside to the front hall...

And the office.  That is the door on the right.  This is the house that loves two of everything, right next to each other.
The door on the far left is our bedroom.  I have left this off of our tour...But lets go up stairs...

Round and round we go.  I HATE these stairs.  See that last angled one on your right?  My foot is bigger than it is at it's largest.  Makes for a lot of fun to navigate them in the middle of the night when a child cries.

The Family room.  Upstairs.

Another view...off the right of my desk is the hallway to the girls wing. 

Said hallway.

The girls bathrooms and the girls bedrooms.  Right across the hall from each other and right next to one another.  Like I said, this house likes things in twos.  

I have left out the guest bedroom, our bedroom and the girls rooms.  Private spaces.  But that is the general essence of our house in Chile.  Since I am just getting really settled in, I hope we may get to stay awhile!