The avocado

As I mentioned earlier I never knew there were some many types and potential uses for the avocado. After staring in bewilderment at the bins of avocados today at the grocery store, today's research project was to learn about the avocado in Chile. Here are some of the facts that I learned:

The word 'avocado' comes from the Spanish 'aguacate' which in turn comes from the Nahuatl word ahuácatl (testicle, a reference to the shape of the fruit). Avocados were known by the Aztecs as 'the fertility fruit'. [I promise to minimize Rob's consumption - that's all we need now ;-) ]

Instead it is called "palta" here and in Argentina which is from one of the native indian languages in South America, Quechua. It looks like there are five main varieties here but I think that many more are produced. 67% produced are Haas (the one we most often see in the US), 8% Fuerte, 7% Negra la Cruz, 4% Bacon, 3% Edranol and then a bunch of others (this is actual old data but I couldn't find more recent data). The supermarkets have both domestic and imported bins of avocados. The obvious question is why do they have both at the same time. Now that I have identified them I will have to go back and taste them and write about the differences but I might wait until they are all in season here.

Bacon

Fuerte

Negro la cruz (apparently very mild)

Edranol

Haas

So - as I mentioned Chileans do everything with their avocados. They eat them mushed and spread on bread for breakfast or snack, slipped into almost every type of sandwich, mashed up and used as a topping on hot dogs to make a "completo" with mayo and tomatoes as well, stuffed with different things but most often a kind of chicken salad (palta reina) and many, many other uses.

palta reina

Completo

Chileans reading this - anything to add on palta??

My life

So at least my Mom is curious about what I do all day so here it goes:

The kids have to be at school at 7:45 at the latest so I usually drive them up there about 7:10 because if I leave later the traffic at the school is crazy.  It is next to two other schools that all start at the same time and the traffic is insane. If I get there early enough I can usually find street parking otherwise I just park on the sidewalk the way Chileans do.  We drop Rob off at the metro on the way up.

J. and R. usually walk to their classroom but I walk with Elisa to her's to get her settled in for the day.  Then I am off!

I am trying to volunteer at the Centro del Padres (loosely the PTO) bookstore at least once a week, usually on Friday because they have challah in addition to the coffee/tea and cookies those mornings.  I have to talk just in Spanish for two hours so it beats paying for more lessons.  I stay there until about 10:00.  I am working towards taking Spanish classes twice a week so on Mondays and Thursdays I drive home through massive traffic in order to get on public transportation to go downtown for my class.  The traffic is crazy near the school because it appears that everybody drives to work because the metro doesn't go up that far and because they can (they own cars....).  It appears that rush hour is between 8-9:30 here in the morning and 6-7:30 at night so I hit it when I don't stay up at school to volunteer.  They also have a lot more parent-teacher conferences here than in the States (or at least South Bend- which last year had none unless you asked for one).  They have four rooms set aside to meet with parents and they always seem to be full.  I have had one so far with each teacher but will probably have more as things settle in.

The other mornings, Tuesday and Wednesday, I head over to the Estadio to do a Pilates or Spinning class with my "friends."  I am getting to know some women here who mostly have a connection outside of Chile - either they lived or are from the States/Canada, Israel, or Argentina.  As would be expected, they are much more welcoming to a transient foreigner having been one themselves.  I have yet to have a coffee after Pilates or Spinning but it will happen.  In fact, I have talked to both the women from the bookstore and those from spinning about going downtown to the veggie/fruit market/shuk to check it out.  An Israeli woman from spinning apparently does her weekly shopping there on Thursdays or Fridays so she knows the best stands.  There is also an outdoor clothing market where one of the women knows the best bargains as well.  All in time.

Then....since our fridge is pretty small by U.S. standards, probably every other day I go shopping usually at one of the big chains, Jumbo or Lider, and sometimes just at a smaller local store if I don't have to buy too much.

I have also started to do some work for Notre Dame and, of course, I have homework ;-)  Our Nana comes twice a week so I am also doing a lot of the normal domestic stuff during the day as well.  The washing machine is also about a third of the size of ours at home so I am doing a lot of laundry.  Electricity is really expensive so I am trying not to use the dryer too much but with five people, a small washer, and the weather not so warm yet, I am using it a lot.  Oh yeah, and I blog ;-)

The kids get out of school on MTTh at 4:00, on W at 1:30 (I think for teachers' meetings), and 3:30 on Friday so I usually have to leave the house an hour before to pick them up or else I end up parking blocks away.  I usually take my Kindle with me and just sit around the school reading until they get out.  Elisa usually gets out 10 minutes early and then the others follow.  On TWTh, I take the kids straight to the Estadio for a snack and their activities.  If they had their way they'd buy stuff at the Estadio cafe everyday but I usually just bring a snack.  Last week the kids started trying out an Estadio bus that takes kids on Tuesday and Thursday from school to the Estadio and then I meet them there which will save me an hour those days.  Unfortunately, their activities do not all overlap so I usually stay with whoever isn't doing a sport and do homework with them or just read.  Renee and Jonathan are both doing homeschooling math on the computer so we try to fit it in then.  I have yet to see a Chilean kid at their school or at the Estadio just reading a book for pleasure.  I am starting to appreciate the Read 20 minutes a Day campaign in the states.

So at around 6:30 on TWTh I head home with whomever is done to eat dinner and get ready for bed and then Rob picks up  at 7:45 the remaining kid(s) and heads home.  We haven't quite figured out the logistics yet but the kids, especially Elisa, is so tired that we are trying to get at least her to sleep on the earlier side.  Since the work day is much later here, Rob can just come home from work and go straight to the Estadio rather than come home and then take public transportation back home.  This is all happening during rush hour so it is a pain to drive back and forth to the Estadio which is really just 8 minutes or so from home but can be 35 during rush hour.  I will not miss this part of living in a big city!

So quick dinner, finish homework, go to bed and it starts all over again.  I left out the part when Renee asked if she really has to go to school the next day.  Hopefully this too shall pass ;-)

Did I mention yet how gorgeous the mountains are when the sun is shining? ;-)  Here is the view right now from my window:

First Family Road Trip - Valparaiso and Renaca

First of all, Mom/Dad - we have no incidents to report.  Others - my Dad was mugged when they went to Valparaiso 15 or so years ago and will not (or at least my Mom won't) be setting foot in the city again.

That said - we had our own adventures.  I was really ready to get out of Santiago for the weekend and everybody suggested that Vina del Mar was the place to go.   It is billed as THE resort town to visit (especially in the summertime) but people suggested that we find a place to stay a bit north along the ocean.  Unlike Punta del Este where we go to visit Rob's folks, it appeared to be more of a city on the ocean with a lot of buildings than an exclusive resort town.  Part of the difference is that it is basically a continuation of Valparaiso which is an historical port city.  By the way, for those folks in Indiana/Chicago - it is definitely not called "Valpo" and has five syllables instead of four ;-).  So we stayed at Hotel Neruda Suites in Renaca, the first city/town beyond Vina.  The web site makes it look a lot, I stress A LOT, nicer than it is but the location was definitely better than staying in Vina.


Our hotel was right on the ocean and overlooked a large rock where sea lions hung out in masses.  For anybody who has been around masses of sea lions you can imagine how our evening went.  I was woken up periodically by what I thought was a schoolyard full of croupy kids.  The coast looked a lot like the Northern California coast - we may be able to skip that part of the tour when Rachel and her family comes in December.




Lonely Planet suggested that we couldn't fail by trying out one of the seafood restaurants either in Renaca or farther up the coast.  So we tried one out and Rob decided that the kids had to try an appetizer of mixed "mariscos (seafood)."  Perhaps it was instinct, perhaps it was generations of tradition, but my kids wouldn't try it and Rob ate the whole thing.

He looks happy here but.......

Jonathan, Rob and I all had fish and the girls stuck with chicken - this is important for later......It was a great view and we enjoyed watching the seagulls, Peruvian Pelican (see below) and the sunset.

















In succession, Rob at 1:30 am, J. at 5:30, and me at 7:00, the three of us "felt" the effects of what must have been some bad fish or sauce.  Rob had it the worst and he and I independently came up with the theory that the gods of kashrut struck him down ;-)  Unfortunately, all three of us also had the reineta (Pippin - a very common fish here) with a white tarragon sauce so that may have been the culprit.






So we somewhat changed our plans for the day and after a late start just stayed close to bathrooms.  Actually we drove into Valparaiso and up one of the more touristy hills and just walked around a bit, bought some very fresh bread and empanadas and then headed back home.  The bakery "Dimbo" was what all bakeries must have been in Chile at one point - a hole in the wall with amazing bread.




We stopped at a restaurant on the way home where they billed themselves out as having typical chilean food which they did but three of us stayed clear of most of the dishes.  They had some packaged pastries that are made by Dona Elisa so we had to get some.  Basically many different versions of manjar (dulce de leche) and meringue.



They also were playing typical Chilean music and Elisa recognized one of the songs because she is doing a dance to it at school.  Each of the kids has one period of gym a week devoted to learning Chilean folk dances.  I think that this is in anticipation of Fiestas Patrias (what I think is like July 4th).  Renee and Jonathan are less than thrilled about learning these dances both because they are supposed to get dressed up in typical Chilean costumes and because they have to dance with partners.  C'est la vie.

This entry is dedicated to my brother because I finally got some pictures in there!

Oh yeah - forgot to mention - we only lasted until midnight at the La Catolica event on Friday night so I didn't get to dance with Rob ;-)  It was a really nice event though - yummy food, interesting company, and a lot of funny presentations that I just didn't get.

Dia de San Agustin

INVITACIÓN CENA SAN AGUSTÍN 2011   

Juan Carlos de la LLera, decano de la Facultad de Ingeniería de la   

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, saluda atentamente a usted   

y acompañante, y tiene el agrado de invitarlos a la Cena Anual de   

la Escuela de Ingeniería, la que con motivo de la celebración del   

día de San Agustín, tendrá lugar en Casa Bustamante (Av. General   

Bustamante 1007, Comuna de Providencia) el viernes 26 de agosto, a   

las 21:00 horas. 

The patron saint of the School of Engineering at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile - Who knew?  http://www.ing.puc.cl/esp/infgeneral/ingenieria_uc/san_agustin.html

The days leading up to San Agustin's Day (August 28th in case you didn't know) are days of celebration at in the engineering school.  This includes a mass, some special lunches and talks and also a dinner and dance for faculty (and spouses) this evening.  Rob was invited and I said "why not?"  At the time I didn't realize that it included a dance - I resisted buying a short dress for the occasion when I was shopping with Renee - I'll go with some American J.Jill staples.  It is apparently an event similar to Notre Dame's Presidents Dinner when faculty achievements and honors are presented (except the dancing part - I am not sure that I want to see Father Jenkins do the hustle).

The clincher is that it is called for 9:00 pm and probably doesn't really start until 9:30.  This is very typical of evening events that include dinner here including dinner at people's houses.  My understanding is that it may go until 2:00 but that we can somewhat politely bow out at midnight.  This is a case of "when in Rome just be yourself or else suffer the next day."  Since we probably won't leave home until 9:00 (past Elisa's bedtime) and since the other two are securely in the apartment we are going to attempt to have Renee as the babysitter.  We'll see how it goes but will have a cell phone ready.....

Banging of pots and pans again

So up in our cushie world to the east of downtown not much has been different today except for the pot and pan banging going on.  But around the city there have been marches, clashes with police and sit-ins.  The buses ended up running but people were really nervous and those who didn't have to go downtown didn't.  Elisa was supposed to have a field trip that was just in our area of town and it was cancelled and all activities at the Estadio were cancelled.  The streets are more deserted than normal but folks are on their balconies banging away at the pots and pans!  Just to share with you how bizarre this sounds check out;

http://www.3tv.cl/index.php?m=video&v=19584

Update:  The latest on the local paper's website:

11:30 -  Un grupo de mujeres, que se identificó como prostitutas, se pliega a la convocatoria.  


I'll let you translate that one - what is the world coming to????

Daylight Savings Time

So, as far as we can figure it, in order to save energy the Chileans have switched to daylight savings time in the middle of winter so now we are one hour ahead of the east coast and now we leave the house when it is pitch dark.  Doesn't help much with the mood in the morning.....but, without fail, the days do get longer in spring!

We are not sure what to make of the national strike but it sounds like the bus system, all government offices, the airports, taxis, and who knows what else are closed and a whole lot of marches are planned around the city.  We were bracing for a cacophony of pots and pans this evening but were spared in our neighborhood (too many upper class living here?).  Rob will probably stay home for work and I will brace myself for more traffic than usual - I keep muttering under my breathe how nice it will be to go back to "taco"-less South Bend!

Loverly.....Security Message from the US Embassy in Santiago

American Citizen Services Unit U.S. Embassy Santiago   Emergency Message for U.S. Citizens

American Citizen Services Unit

U.S. Embassy Santiago

 

Message for U.S. Citizens

To: U.S. Citizens in Chile 

From: Mark Leoni, Consul General 
Date:  August 22, 2011 
Subject:  Security Notice

The U.S. Embassy in Santiago alerts U.S. citizens traveling to and residing in Chile of the likelihood of continuing disturbances in Santiago and other urban centers in connection with the student protest movement.  A planned national strike and the anniversary of the 1973 military coup also present opportunities for unrest.   The U.S. Embassy urges American Citizens to avoid the areas of demonstrations and to exercise caution if within the vicinity of any protests.

Student Demonstrations

Since June, there have been mass demonstrations in Santiago and regional capitals calling for improvements in Chile’s educational system.  While the majority of the protests have been peaceful, in some cases masked protesters have destroyed property and clashed with authorities.  Several demonstrations have drawn over 100,000 supporters to the streets of central Santiago.  The protests have closed a number of Chile's universities and high schools, but to date have had minimal impact on travel and business.  The protests have been well publicized and announced several days in advance.

Nation Wide Strike Planned for August 24 and 25

A leading umbrella labor organization, the Unitary Central for Workers (CUT) has called for a “Paro Nacional” (national strike) to take place Aug. 24 and 25, and a number of other unions, including those representing public sector employees, have announced that they will join the strike.  According to proponents, the strike is to push for changes to advance democracy and social justice.  One union official has stated “this will be the biggest national strike of the last decade;” others have threatened to block roads (including those to the airport).  Given the experience of past strikes, large-scale marches are likely on these days.  U.S. citizens are urged to avoid public transportation and city centers/known demonstration areas.

Small Explosions

On August 14 and 16, noise bombs were detonated near the U.S. Embassy -- though there are no indications that the embassy was the target.  The noise bombs were similar to those seen in Santiago in the past; a fire extinguisher filled with black powder.  These explosions caused little damage and no injuries.  Local authorities believe this is likely the work of anarchist groups demonstrating their capabilities to the Government of Chile.  Use common sense and avoid untended fire extinguishers and suspicious canisters in public places.

Allende’s Funeral and the Anniversary of Chile’s 1973 Military Coup

September 11 marks the anniversary of Chile’s 1973 military coup against the government of Salvador Allende.  Each year the anniversary is marked by demonstrations and marches, especially in urban areas near government buildings.  As these demonstrations can turn violent, American citizens should monitor the media for the latest information and avoid those areas.  Disturbances could affect transportation services in some areas.   In addition, September 4 has been chosen as the date for the public funeral of Salvador Allende, which could possibly lead to additional demonstrations and marches.

There are no indications that foreigners or Americans are being threatened or targeted, but U.S. citizens are urged to remain alert to local security developments and to be vigilant regarding their personal security by monitoring media, knowing the locations of police stations, hospitals, and the U.S. Embassy. The Department of State strongly urges U.S. citizens to avoid all demonstrations, as even peaceful ones can quickly become unruly and a foreigner could become a target of harassment or worse. If you are in immediate danger, call the police at 133.

Talla Extra-L

I was warned - but the reality hurt a bit after losing 25 pounds last year.

Renee and I (and Elisa) finally went shopping to get Renee some outfits to wear to the Bat Mitzvahs.   So I imagine that in some of the wealthier communities in the States there are girls (and Moms) that dress the way they do here for the Bat Mitzvahs but Renee was just not goin' there.  I went to do some reconnaissance at a mall that favored little boutiques over the big name-brand stores (Apumanque).  Renee said that she'd wear a tunic and leggings but not anything else so I found five stores that could work and about 14 others that had "not-appropriate-for-a-pre-pubescent-girl-because-they-have-nothing-to-hold-it-up-but-they-wear-them-anyway" dresses just in case we ended up going that route.

We actually found two outfits, one a tunic with leggings and one.......a dress that is a take on a flapper dress and looks great on her.  The dress was not in one of THE stores, had straps, and looked like dancing worms so it worked (pictures later if she lets me).  So the first outfit had a huge discount if you bought three items so I decided to buy something for myself.  This is where I had to grin and bear it.  The lady looked at me and said "Talla L?"  I tried "L" and it just was not built for a 5'11" body so she searched and searched and found two things (hidden away) in "Talla Extra-L."  Not a lot of northern European genetic stock in this country!!!  I was warned.....

P.S.  I'm not going anywhere near the ladies shoe department!

What a mes! - caption care of Rob

mes=month for those non-Spanish speakers

1 month down 10 to go!  Amazing what we have accomplished in a month!

Communication Issues and the ups and downs of an international move

So the past two days have been a fine example of the difficulties in communicating not just because of the language barrier but because of a cultural barrier.  Renee has been doing gymnastics at the Estadio for the past three weeks and they were hosting their annual meet this weekend.  Renee had been practicing their Level 2 and, although she had not gotten everything down well, she was planning to compete today.  Practice was canceled Thursday evening because of the "snowstorm" so one of the coaches who is also a gym teacher at school told her that they would have another practice Friday at 5:00 so that she could work just on the routines.  I dropped her off at 5:00 and she called me 15 minutes later to tell me that there wasn't anybody there.  They had our numbers and e-mails and just hadn't let us know it wasn't happening - an hour of driving around in rush hour lost and a lot of frustration.

Then this morning as Renee was warming up they told her that she would be competing at Level 1 even though she didn't know the routines.  She tried to learn them fast but ended up, as would be expected, not remembering them and just feeling rotten.  After the meet (and a lot of tears - gymnastics was the one thing she was starting to feel OK about!), one of the coaches explained that they needed more girls at Level 1 in order to compete at that level.  In this case, a little compassion might have gone a long way.  If I were her I would have run out and said that I'd never come back but, again, it is the one thing that she knows and usually likes but it was just really poor communication.  The parents said to me that she must be nervous and that was why she was forgetting the routines - it was because she never learned them.  Hard to watch and navigate as a Mama!  But here she is in her team leotard (malla):




We came home and had lunch and relaxed before trying out one of the Saturday afternoon youth groups.  Given the morning fiasco, we decided to try out something that Renee might like, Shomer Ha'tzair, the lefty-secular-zionist group.  I mentioned it in an earlier blog as a place where Renee would probably feel more comfortable and I was right.  It was the first time that she really seemed at ease.  The girls her age all had a bit of "edge" to them and were definitely not part of the fashionistas that she has met so far.  The group met at a house in an "Evanstony" section of town closer to the downtown.  The house was pretty trashed and had years of murals on the walls and old mattresses on the floor.  It reminded me of a PZC (Progressive Zionist Caucus) house near Penn.  Like every home we have seen, the windows had no screens on them (I guess that they don't get bugs in summer).  The kids were using the windows as doors (on the 1st floor) and Renee loved that and just the mellowness of the kids and counselors.  She was really pumped up when we got home - whew.........

The other kids liked it as well but we will try out a few others to see where they will best fit in.

We also decided this weekend that we are ready to start exploring life outside of the city so stay tuned to the "vineyards and beaches near Santiago" segment next weekend!

Hats off to the gardening gals at the Community Garden!  I miss you guys and I am dreaming of summer produce.....

The view from our apartment after the snow"storm" of 2011

We had heard that the sky clears up after a rain/snow - indeed it did.

Fabuloso!

From my office

From the Master Bedroom

I just can't get enough of these mountains - how are the corn and soybean fields folks? ;-)  

Don't worry, I'll be back for next season......

On Thursday the Nana made....

Charquican but with chicken and not dried llama meat.  She also prepared a pie de limon.   All while cleaning the apartment but luckily she did the sheets on Tuesday.  I could get used to this.....The good thing is that I am forced to speak to her in Spanish.  After I finish with my Spanish classes, she suggested that we go together to the equivalent of a shuk in downtown Santiago - La Vega - more after I visit it.  I am up for it but it might be better when more things are in season!




Good night, Stephanie ;-)

The Chileans are Snow Wimps!

So while finishing up my class today I get a call from Renee that school is closed.  During my class the teacher kept looking out the window because it was precipitating something in between snow and rain.  Given that the kids' school was "up" the hill I had a feeling that they got some snow.  It was about 0.8 cm of snow according to Renee (and a lesson in how many millimeters make up a centimeter for J. and E.).  Apparently, they all freaked out and closed school.  It took me 1:45 to get there because I took the metro to a bus (but the buses were so packed that I waited for 15 minutes and then gave up) to my car to a horrible traffic jam (taco).  Meanwhile at school, they were somehow able to form snowballs.  My kids sat on the sidelines wondering what was so exciting!  Apparently this is a once in ten year event and we were here to enjoy it.  Estadio is closed and school may be tomorrow.  You never know how long clean-up will be ;-)

This is about how much snow there was (from the local newspaper)

Got a car!

A colleague of Rob's at La Catolica sold us his car and now, in theory, things will get easier. I am going to miss the taxistas and all of the commotion on the buses.   It is an automatic 2005 Hyundai Accent and has a little over 100,000 km on it.  Hopefully it has enough power to get us around for our summer trip to Uruguay (including going over the Andes) and who knows where else.  We have actually had it for two weeks to try it out and I have found that I still take the buses and metro when it makes sense but it does make dropping off the kids a lot easier.  We will really learn to appreciate our minivan as the kids make their imaginary lines down the back seat ;-)



In two weeks, besides having to learn to drive like a Santiguino (including making right turns from the middle lane, the optional use of the turn signal, and the use of the sidewalks as parking spaces - the kids are always impressed when I get this little car over the big curb), I have been most amused by the street activities surrounding cars.  There must be some sort of juggling fad in town because every other intersection (especially downtown) has somebody juggling for money in front of stopped traffic.  It varies from balls, to bowling pins, to knives, to fire (the later freaked me out a bit when I only saw the smoke and no juggler).  They also sell whatever the whiny kid in the back seat might be craving, as well as whatever fruit/veggie is in season (a lot of artichokes and oranges right now).  Then there is the random surplus Chinese made toy that somebody picked up in bulk that week.  Finally, there are cuchufli  - a tubular, wafer-thin pastry filled with manjar - that are sold on the street or in fancy shops covered in chocolate.










P.S.  It rained today and the white car is now filthy - the joys of rain in a smoggy city - ick!

Time for me to go to school

I finally had time to set up some Spanish classes for myself.  There are a lot of schools to choose from but after researching and visiting a few I decided to go to Tandem Santiago.  There were definitely some less expensive ones but they were not as convenient to the Metro nor were they smoke free (another difference between countries).

I am going to start with 3 hours/3 days a week for two weeks and see where that leads me.  I decided on private lessons mostly because I don't feel like going five days a week and I can have a more targeted lesson.  I had my first lesson this morning and it was perfect.  Although I did five levels of Rosetta Stone before coming and I have listened to over 11 years of Rob talking to the kids, I still can't conjugate a verb or always remember when to use ser vs. estar.  So the teacher figured out where I was pretty fast and we did a quick review of basics and then plunged into the holes in my grammar.  She kept asking if it was too much grammar and I kept saying it was a relief after the grammar-less Rosetta Stone (as well as the fact that as an engineer I love the mathematical nature of grammar).

On top of all that Elisa's has gone through, she got a stomach flu or food poisoning last night so I stayed up with her last night and she stayed home with Rob today.  He was planning on teaching a colleague's class while he was away at a conference, but apparently there was a student strike at the University so he was unsure if students would even show up.  Not ideal for anybody but it looks like Elisa is doing fine today.

Off to do some homework!

Asuncion de la Virgen

Everything seems to be fine with Elisa so back to our regularly scheduled adventures....


"The feast day of the Assumption of Mary, also known as Assumption Day, is the principal feast day of the Virgin Mother Mary, according to Christian tradition. It is celebrated annually on or around August 15 although some countries celebrate the day at other times of the year."

The long awaited national holiday is today and, in honor of Mary, on Sunday we went to Cerro San Cristobal  (you can always use Google translate - it works wonders!) which is the second highest peak in Santiago and is a huge municipal park.  Elisa and I took a funicular up the mountain while Rob, Renee, and Jonathan decided to walk up it.  In theory, it isn't a long walk but it sounded like they took some detours onto a llama or goat path and got more than they bargained for.  At the top is a huge statue of Mary that you can see from many parts of the city.   You also have an incredible view of the city that was only partially blocked by the smog!  Apparently, today there was a Mass at noon at the top of the mountain.  Based on energy levels and time we all took the funicular down.

Up the path

View from top

With the Virgin

Looking down the funicular

Watching others go up

Before we went up, we had gotten a few recommendations from Rob's Chilean student's wife, Anita, of some interesting neighborhoods.  We went to Barrio Lastarria which is both close to downtown and to the main campus of the Catholic University.  Indeed it was a cute neighborhood perhaps best to be explored later in the afternoon and without cranky children.  Although we went on the early side we were able to have a light lunch at a cafe.  We finished the day with a tea at a friend of Rob's family's house in Lo Barnechea.  We have gone to their house before and they have two kids around Jonathan and Elisa's ages.  The woman's mother was visiting (who is friends with my in-laws) so we had a quick chat with them.  I'll hold off on describing Chilean apartments/houses for another day as I continue to gather information.

An adventure not to be repeated

So......Elisa has had asthma that usually occurs when she gets a cold since she was 9 months old.  We spent quite a bit of time with our Dr. in South Bend making sure that we had a plan and all of the equipment and medicine to deal with it here knowing that she would get sick and for all we know the extra bonus of the smog might exacerbate the condition.

Enter 3:15 a.m. this morning.   She was starting to get a cold over the past two days as we all were so we were on alert.  At 3:15 she entered our room gasping for breathe and crying.  After two breathing treatments over 20 minutes nothing changed (for those with asthmatic kids - she was registering nothing on her peak flow meter) so panic set in and we tried to figure out what to do.  We knew that there are two hospitals that are the best in the city that are both close to our house (Clinica Las Condes and Clinica Alemana) so we called the second because it was somehow affiliated with the kids' school's insurance and we thought that might help with billing later.

So I think what happened (Rob made the call) is that he told them what was happening and their protocol was to send out an ambulance to check out the kid at home first.  So at 4:00 or so three paramedics showed up (after getting lost on the way) and tried to help her out.  They gave her a lot of some medicine and it helped but they thought it best to bring her to the Clinic to be evaluated.  So off we went on the ambulance stretcher that was left at the elevator entrance (she laid down on me) through Santiago without the siren.  The care was definitely equivalent to a good hospital in the US so that was reassuring.  After some breathing treatment, steroids, and x-rays (and a nice credit card bill) we got back around 6:20.  She is fine - has some more prescriptions and we definitely need to make contact with (not just have names for) a pediatrician soon.

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She Will Survive!

So one of the reasons that we chose this year to go on sabbatical was because Renee will have her Bat Mitzvah when she is 13, the year we return.  I wrongly assumed that we would also miss the "scene" down here.  How wrong I was.  It turns out that the social scene for 6th (and 7th) graders completely evolves around Bar and Bat Mitzvahs (girls at 12 years old and boys at 13 years old) .  The younger kids spend Saturday afternoons at their youth groups and the 6th and 7th grade girls spend them getting "prepped" for these events.

I spoke to Renee's teacher and the head of the primary school about how important it really is for her to attend these functions.  They both agreed that it would be the best way for her to be integrated into the class.  Because it is a relatively small school and because these kids are together for probably 16 years (including pre-K and K) they really become an extended family and this is one of those family events that you grin and bear.  My parents also reminded me what an awkward 13 year old I was at these parties and that somehow I survived.

That said, I suggested that Renee try just to go to the ones of kids in her class, not grade, for a start unless she personally knows somebody in the other class.  There are 25 kids in her class (vs about 80 in the grade) so hopefully they won't happen that often.  So last night was a Bar Mitzvah of a kid in her class who happens to live in the building across the street.  I think that he repeated a grade so that he was the first 13 year old (age of a Bar Mitzvah) in the group.  I bravely asked if it was OK for me to attend as well for moral support and the Mom was extremely welcoming.  What I didn't realize was that I was going to see two other Moms there that I have met through a pilates class at the Estadio that would be my morale support!

This one was held at a much smaller synagogue with much less pomp and it looked like only the invitees attend the service.  The girls were all dressed in very fancy dresses and the boys worn jeans, sneakers, and sweatshirts or t-shirts (this seems to be a theme).  Renee chose to wear her own outfit of a tunic and leggings.  She was complemented on her "dress."  I guess that a tunic that just covers your tush can count as a dress here!  I think she looked beautiful and a lot more appropriate than the other girls!!

 Many of the Bar/t Mitzvahs are held on Saturday afternoon here vs. Saturday morning in the States.  I have figured out at least a few reasons.  Traditionally, the main service that people attend is on Friday nights so you probably wouldn't get enough people on a Saturday morning.  The reading from the Torah that the kid has to do is much shorter in the afternoon, there is no haftorah, and there is much less service both to lead and to learn.  It is much shorter - probably closer to 1.5 hours with all of the Bar Mitzvah family stuff compared to 2.5 hrs or longer in the morning.  Finally, they end with Havdalah (a really nice set of prayers/songs to finish Shabbat and start the new week) and all of the kids and family get all cozy before the party starts.

So I had planned to go to the service with Renee and then read my Kindle in the hall until she was ready to leave.  The Mom really encouraged me to stay (there were only 70 people total there which was manageable).  They started off with a hora and lifting the family members in chairs - if I had closed my eyes I could have been anywhere.  It was on a much smaller and less extravagant scale from the one Renee attended last weekend.   The rest of the time (besides hors d'oeuvres, a slide show, and food) it was basically a dance party with a mix of American "classics" and Chilean dance songs. As would be expected at this age, mostly the girls danced (bounced around) together and the boys jumped on top of each other and wrestled.  From the point of view of a 44 year old Mom it was hilarious, from an 11.5 year old girl it must have been overwhelming.  To her credit, Renee danced with the girls at times, joined them in the bathroom to do whatever they do, hung out with me AND when they realized that she knew the basic dance steps to the "Cha Cha Slide" they started to follow her.  It was a moment of triumph and absolute embarrassment but she survived.  I have since looked at a youtube video to remember what the Charlie Brown is!

Meanwhile, I hung out with two Moms one who is Israeli and one who's Hebrew is better than her English so we spoke Hebrew together.  The Israeli has lived here for 1.5 years so she had some great insights.  We were all placed at a table with the two Nanas.  I thought that was interesting in itself - I guess if the Nanas have raised your children they should be invited to this big event.  They seemed pretty comfortable.  The women, Fanny and Dorit, also introduced me to the Chilean drink the Pisco Sour.  I had had a few when I was here 14.5 years ago with my friend Ellen but I don't remember quite the same headache that I have today after having just one!  I danced, chatted, and was a "fly on the wall" watching the 6th grade scene.  In the anthem of my Bar/Bat Mitzvah days "She will survive!"

The buses

So I can't seem to convince Jonathan to write about the buses so I'll do it myself.

Apparently, a few years ago Santiago consolidated its transit system to allow for a single payment system across local and regional buses and the Metro. The result is a pretty efficient system. The local buses are color-coded based on the area that they serve and are typically much smaller that the regional buses and much older. Our area has mostly orange buses but some yellow ones are on the fringe. On Tuesday, when Elisa and I went to a different area of town I was a bit at a loss because the small buses were blue! The regional buses usually go across the city and are much larger. They often have the accordion middle and the kids keep waiting to see them fold in half.  In just three weeks, I feel pretty comfortable navigating the bus/metro system which is quite intuitive but then again I really like maps and transit systems. There are signs on the front of each bus that indicate its route based on major streets and metro stops. They come pretty frequently and are jammed-packed during rush hour.  One nice benefit is that about a third of the time, especially on the local buses, you can be serenaded by local musicians (or tempted by a guy selling candy).

Lastly, there are school buses that probably hold 15 kids or so.  They seem to be mostly for grade school kids as we have seen high school kids on the city buses.  These buses are all private and you need to hire them based on your school and your neighborhood.  We were given three names of drivers that come through our neighborhood for Instituto Hebreo but since I am not working full time and there is no Nana to greet the kids I just plan to drop off and pick up the kids.  It is actually about $400/month for three kids which sounds like a lot - perhaps that is one of the reasons why the South Bend Community School Corporation  is having a hard time balancing the budget!