Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr and reading

We were warned that it would be cold here but based on the average temperature it was hard to believe how cold it would actually be.  Rob's Chilean graduate student (Juan Pablo) and his wife (Anita) warned us that the difference is that Chileans for whatever reason (cost, lack of insulation, tradition?) lack heating inside.

Every morning it has been around freezing but by the late afternoon it warms up to the high 40s or even as high as mid-60s.  You just have to make it until the late afternoon!  This morning I decided to try out a cafe near our apartment after I dropped off the kids.  I took my Kindle and hoped to get a coffee and media luna (basically a sweeter version of a croissant) for breakfast.  They had indoor and outdoor seating and I right away chose the indoor.  After reading for 30 minutes while wearing my winter coat and sweater and losing feeling in my fingers (hard to read a Kindle that way) and toes, I realized that I should have chosen outside because at least there would be the heat of the sun.

Although we brought some heavy fleeces for the kids in the school (and what appears to be national) color, black, it is not enough for the kids at school.  Elisa and Jonathan haven't remarked yet that their winter coat is the wrong color nor have they been reprimanded for it.  Renee, on the other hand, as would be developmentally appropriate, is feeling a great need to conform so she refuses to wear her light blue Lands End coat and is absolutely freezing in the morning.  If anybody has a spare "correct" down black North Face coat in size 14 or 16 that everybody else is wearing please let me know!!!!  ;-)  I'll be searching for some end-of-season bargains here but apparently it stays cold in the morning and night well through the spring.

So we brought two Nooks (one old, one new) and one Kindle here to make sure that we have easy accessibility to English-language books.  For Elisa it has been great because our library in South Bend now loans e-books and they have the complete Magic Tree House series which she can almost read.  Renee brought down a few Isaac Asimov books ((The Robot Series) so we may be buying some e-books for her next.  Any suggestions for her?  J. seems to be happy with the library selection so far.

And I have a New Yorker subscription!!!  It will take some getting used to on the Kindle but is a savior for me.  I read Bossypants on the plane on the way down and just a few days ago finally had time to sit down to start going through the "pile" of New Yorkers.  So glad that we are doing in this in 2011 when everything is so accessible!