What we will miss about Chile

Sarah

The mountains
Incredible and inexpensive fruits and vegetables - the ferias!

The Estadio
Family time
Inexpensive, good wine
Dorit
Jessica
Eti
Daniela
Caro
Sandra
Aqua con gas at restaurants
The Nana
Being able to walk everywhere
Dry heat
Salespeople always greeting me with a "Buenos dias"
Inexpensive challah
All three kids at one school
Working in the school book store with Daniza
Time to read
Adult swimming group
Being called Senora Sara by our Nana and "Mi reina" (my queen) by the vendors at the ferias
Having school off for Jewish holidays (we could have that at home too, I guess)
Having something interesting to write in a blog
Ah ya, los montanas!

Rob

Cortados with colleagues

and the ladies who serve the cortados

Daily lunch with colleagues
Estadio - picking up Renee in the evenings
Playing tennis with Jonathan
Hanging out at Lo Saldes with Jonathan
Ironed clothes
The weather
Kuchen and a cortado at the Estadio

Reading on the subway on the commute to work
Stunning view from our apartment
Swimming pool at the apartment

Renee

YU 88 67 (Our license plate)
Naomi Sussely
Naomi Elkayam
Gymnastics at the Estadio
Pink Dog
Bravissimo (ice cream)
An endless supply of Nutella

We actually never bought this but Renee did live on  nutella and waffles all year

Jonathan

Condorito
Friends
Radio Disney Latino (but it is streamed on the web)
Looking at the mountains
Living in an apartment building
Taca taca
Futbol at school
Barros luco
Lomo a la pobre

Completo con Fanta

Mote con huesillo
Our car


Elisa

Tali and Nicole
Estadio
Tzeirei Ami (youth group)
Mote con huesillo
Quique
Mora Claudia

A Collection of Observations #8

This is the last collection, I promise:

1.  There is a fantastic store here, Casa y Ideas,  which is a combination of Crate and Barrel and Pier 1 Imports that I would buy up if only I could fit everything in our bags.  Once fall hit everybody started wearing just black again so it is a joy to walk into this store with all of its colors.  They have opened one store in Florida but I am not holding my breath until it opens in South Bend!  I fear taking photos in stores so here is one I swiped from their web site to give you an idea:

2.  Another sign that it is time to go home.  Rob went to get an estimate to fix some of the bumps and bruises before we sell our car.  When he came back for the estimate this guy was found "purring" on the engine.  Ginger's cousin!

3.  Weighing bags #1 - I have finally given into the fact that the vendors at the feria compulsively put every piece of fruit into the bag but at the supermarket if I have to get a fruit weighed (all fruits and veggies are weighed in the produce section not at the cash register) and it has a peel that will be peeled (like a banana) I don't use a bag.  This drives some people crazy.  A man in line behind me the other day to get our fruit weighed almost started a screaming match with me because I didn't have my mango or bunch of bananas in a plastic bag.  The weigher handled it well and I held back sticking out my tongue at him.

4.  Weighing bags #2 - On the other hand, the other day I had to buy some goodie bags for Elisa's party. There is a mall close by that has many small stores that have been around forever all specializing in something.  I remembered that there was a plastic bag place and went to procure some little colorful bags.  The lady told me they came in packs of 50 and were about $7/kg.  I looked at her in disbelief as she weighed the bag of bags.  It came to all of $2/50 bags - who would have guessed that you weigh them!

5.  I think that I have mentioned that people are forever sweeping the sidewalks here.  Well now that we are in fall they are sweeping the leaves too even if they are in the grass.  I think that I have seen maybe two rakes and probably 100 brooms so far attempting to rake leaves out of the grass.  Not the most efficient but....

6.  Jamon de Pavo - So I kept hearing about kids bringing in jamon y queso sandwiches for snack at school.  Jamon usually means ham so I thought it quite odd given the dietary restrictions at a Jewish school especially when it was in between matza on Passover.  I finally figured out that they usually mean Jamon de Pavo which is like sliced turkey cold cuts in the US.

7.  Instituto Nacional de Deporte - At the Estadio they have signs all over the place of kids doing various types of sports with the logo of the Instituto Nacional de Deporte and a sidebar saying that this is part of Ley del Deporte (Ley Nº 19.712 de 2001).  It turns out that it is a government agency that wants to increase public participation in sports by promotes sports, allocates resources to develop programs, and oversees the organized sports.  I am not sure if that included private teams.  It looks like they also sponsor elite athletes perhaps on their way to international competitions?

8.  There is a kids clothing store here called Colloky.  The clothing looks cute but based on the name and having survived Renee's first six months of life I could never set foot in that store!  Who thought this stuff up????

None of these kids look like a typical Chilean (dark hair, dark eyes and darker skin)!!!  That's very typical for advertising here.

9.  Estadio Israelita Macabee Gimnasia - Both girls spent a lot of time practicing gymnastics at the Estadio.  They may not have been the best team out there but the teachers were very loving and the kids had a great time.

Renee got third in her level and age group at Club Manquehue

Elisa's first meet (she's got those lovely hyper-extended elbows that will, unfortunately, prevent her from becoming an Olympic athlete ;-) )

10.  Kissing - I don't think that I ever covered this but there is a lot of social kissing here.  We Americans definitely seem cold to Chileans (or any Latin American!).  When you enter a room for a social engagement you kiss everybody on the cheek.  When you leave, same deal.  When you see somebody you know walking down the hallway at school - kiss.  Mom drops off kid for playdate - kiss when Mom comes, kiss when Mom leaves.  When you visit your husband at work and see a colleague in the hall or at his desk - kiss.  When you greet a teacher - kiss.  When you see somebody you know at the grocery store - kiss.  When you see the Director of school at school or anywhere else - kiss.  Nana shows up for work - kiss.  Mom drops off kid at birthday party - kiss.  Mom picks up kid at birthday party - kiss.  Its a wonder we haven't gotten sick more often ;-)

When people know that I am a gringa (if savvy enough they know at first glance!) they often hesitate to see whether or not I'll go for the kiss.  Now I usually do but I'll preface it with a look saying "I know what this is about."  Hoosiers - if I lunge for your cheek when I first see you I apologize ;-)

What we are most looking forward to going home

As we wind up our year in Chile, I have been putting together a series of blogs about: what we are most looking forward to going home, what we will miss about Chile, and what we won't miss about Chile.  Here's the first one:

Sarah

Getting a dog
Sending the kids to the neighbors to play
A big backyard (but not looking forward to its maintenance)
Lunch (or is it now breakfast?) with Jen, Jean and Tammy
Mahj with Ilana, Carey, Jodi, Naomi, Emily, etc.
Speaking English
Kiddush luncheon at Sinai
Cuddling with Ginger
The school bus
Girl Scout cookies
A big refrigerator
Front loading washer and dryer with capacity to deal with five people
Driving a minivan (I never thought that I'd say that!)
The Sunday New York Times


Rob

Having a desktop computer
Having own office

Renee

Ari
Zoe
Olivia
Aubren
Danny
School
Our house
Not being in a crowded city all the time
English
Our car
Stairs
Attic
Baritone
Piano
Tornado warnings
Jumping in leaves
Playing in snow
Girl Scout cookies
Watching netflix videos on our TV
Having sleepovers with my friends
Camp Tavor
Bader Ave.
302 Esther
My blue squooshy pillow
My white fluffy chair
Playing at McKinley Park
Big backyard
School being easy to get to
Biking
Hebrew school

Jonathan

Getting a dog

Elisa

Addison
Sarah
Ally
Swimming at the YMCA

Feliz Cumpleanos Elisa!

She's been looking and acting like a seven year old for some time but her birthday is finally today!

Punta del Este

This year has been incredible for Elisa, our social butterfly.  We placed her a year ahead in school and she jumped in both socially and academically without any problem.  As we hoped, Elisa has taken the biggest leap in language development and sounds like a true Chilena complete with all of the slang.  We hope that there is some way to keep her going!

South of Argentina

She has had two visits from the tooth fairy, eight visits from the raton del dientes, has mastered hand clapping games in Spanish, developed a love and aptitude for swimming, continued with gymnastics, broken one bone, had one trip to the ER in the middle of the night for asthma, started to read in both English and Spanish, does homework without being nagged, was involved in Tzeirei Ami (the youth group), babbled away for hours in Spanish, and made more friends than we can count.

In the South of Chile

Somehow all the rage in second grade at her school is Monster High collectible stickers.  I don't think that any of the kids really know what the characters are about but they are having fun collected and trading cards to fill up their sticker book.  We have justified her involvement by the fact that at least the sticker book is in Spanish ;-)  For her birthday she asked for a "lifetime supply" of cards.  We got her enough to amuse her for a few weeks.

Elisa has been a real trooper this year going with the flow as we try out new things and travel all over.  It hasn't been easy being in the back seat in the middle on all the long trips and listening to long Harry Potter books.  I don't think that we've made a Harry Potter fan of her but she's been a good sport.  Elisa - we hope that your good humor and easygoing personality help you as you continue to explore your world!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Día de las Glorias Navales and public holidays that we will miss

One of the problems with going to a foreign country for just 11 months instead of a year is you miss out on some of the national holidays.  Our last one was on Monday - Dia de las Glorias Navale that commemerates the Battle of Iquique on May 21, 1879 during the War of the Pacific against Bolivia and Peru in which Bolivia lost its coast.  The Chilean commandor Arturo Prat who died in the battle is honored on the day.  It also is the traditional day for the President's State of the Nation address.   People get dressing up in traditional Chilean clothing and kids dress up like sailors.   There are big parades in Iquique and Valparaiso and apparently a smaller one in Santiago.  


We skipped those but did what, based on the crowds, many people did - hit the public parks - this time back to Parque Bicentenario in Vitacura (last visited in super hot weather on New Year's Day).  This time the fall colors were in full display (although not so much in my photos!)  The nice thing about being in a place where there is not a lot of rain but that still has defined seasons is that the fall leaves stay on the trees for months so you can enjoy the color changes for a long time.

Then..

and now.

A special request video from the kids:

There are two other national holidays that we will/did miss:

San Pedro y San Pablo (June 29th)  - Apparently it was reestablished in 1985 - not enough Catholic holidays on the calendar?
Virgen del Carmen (July 16th) - They do seem to have quite a few holidays to celebrate the virgin!  Wasn't there just one key virgin? ;-)

Parilla/Quinchos

Before we moved to Chile we actually moved into a new (for us) house with a huge backyard.  We ave many ideas of what to do with the yard, besides mow it, including building an Argentine style grill in the backyard to roast vegetables (just kidding).

Given that, I have been paying particular attention to quincho (or the actual appartus) design that goes from basic to pretty fancy.  This may be a fun project for this summer or next.  Perhaps Renee's Bat Mitzvah can be an asado?!

It looks like there are some places in the states that make the basic metal parts so we may be on our way. Now all we need is those slabs of Argentine beef - oy!

Jonathan's Birthday Celebrations

On Jonathan's actual birthday, at his request, we went out as a family to a typical Chilean restaurant - Tip y Tap - where he ordered a lomo a la pobre and ate the whole adult-size portion.  I guess he is growing?

What he was allowed to drink based on his age (Chilean drink a lot of fruit juices - this was just strawberry)

What he really wanted to drink (my Pisco Sour)

Lomo a la Pobre - he ate it all!

Jonathan's party was the next day and was definitely more low-key than Elisa's.  We had it at the Estadio and invited the boys from his class and a few other friends.  As promised, I made a vehicle cake but it ended up being much more difficult than I imagined.  I didn't realize that I would be breaking cultural barriers by doing it.   The challenge given to me was to replicate our Hyundai Accent complete with all the bumps and bruises it has received from our pushing it into four-wheel drive territory.  The main challenge was to find something to write the letters and numbers on the license plate.

The real thing

Not one of my masterpieces but it did include all of the dents that we have made and some hot chocolate mix to emphasize the joy of owning a white car in a city with little rain and a lot of dust!

Renee's contribution - the license plate!

I thought that it would be fun to visit a cake decorating supply store downtown.  Everybody recommended Cherry so off I went on an adventure.  The web site made it sound much bigger than it is - it is basically a hole-in-the-wall with every piece of the wall covered in product.  I told them, in Spanish, that I needed something to write in black on a cake.  They replied "Is it a cake with meringue on top or fondant?"  I wasn't prepared with the word for icing or frosting so we stared at each other until he said "frosting?"  "Ya," I answered to which he replied, in Spanish, "then you must be making cupcakes."  We went back and forth on the subject for a while as I tried to explain that frosting could be used for cakes too but he wasn't willing to give in so I finally just told him I needed it to write on cupcakes.  In the end, he didn't have anything but sold me some black food-coloring and I made a tip out of a plastic bag.  These type of occurrences remind me how set we all are in our ways!

The party was a mix of different types of sports - Jonathan making a save.

Hot dogs with all of the fixings (mayo, tomato, avocado)

This was before they egged him on to do a "tortasso," basically smashing your face into your cake.  Lovely tradition.

Tommy, Jonathan's buddy

Miguel, another buddy (with Ben on the left)  Notice the La U (Universidad de Chile) futbol shirt

Happy 10th Birthday Jonathan!

What a year it has been for Jonathan!!!  Of all the kids he is the one this year who has always been ready to explore the next town, taste something new, or check out what looks interesting around the corner.  He definitely has an appreciation for living in a big city (with the accompanying public transportation), understanding other cultures, and for the mistakes and frustrations that happen when you just really don't know what is going on.

Jonathan has also taken to listening to pop songs in Spanish and Portuguese (we got him his top-25 songs of the year on itunes for a gift) and has started to learn a Brazilian percussion style (and drum set on the side - yikes!).

He also learned how to play tennis on a clay court and conquered his complete dislike of swimming (mostly because he realized that he could never be a safe boater unless he learned to swim).

He also has learned that if you are a boy in Latin American you have to have an allegiance to a futbol team.  He chose La U (Universidad to Chile).

I hope that this doesn't offend Juan Pablo

On top of all that he got a 6.8/7.0 average on his last report card!!  That all said, I think that he is ready to get back to kids who like to read, design motorcycles, and build vehicles out of legos.

We love you Mr. Double-Digits.  May you make it to triple-digits and learn five languages and visit 200 countries along the way!  Maybe you can get a hair cut along the way as well ;-)

(Pictures later of his birthday dinner and party at the Estadio tomorrow.)

Sopaipillas Pasadas

As promised, Marcela showed me how to make sopaipillas pasada.  Apparently, they are best consumed on a rainy cold day in winter but we, hopefully, will not be staying long enough to enjoy one of those days!

The sauce was made from chancaca, lemon rind, and a cinnamon stick boiled together until quite fragrant and then some corn starch was added to thicken it up.  The sopaipillas were made with pureed pumpkin, flour, baking powder, and butter.  They are then cut into circles and fried.

Con azucar flor

The video makes it look more like a witches brew than it is ;-)  I giggle every time that I watch it!

Marcela revolviendo la sopaipillas pasadas

Listos para pebre o otra salsas saladas

She made enough sopaipillas to last a while so we will probably freeze some.  They are sort of like a doughnut - I bet that the kids will gobble them up.

P.S.  Today I hit 10,000 page views.  Not a lot in the blogosphere but it sure sounds like a lot to me!  Thanks for continuing to read.

Birthday Parties - Elisa's

Renee's birthday was over the summer and most girls (Jewish ones) when they turn 12 down here are having their Bat Mitzvah so she took a pass on the party this year.

Enter the month of May and my two May birthday kids - Jonathan (5/15) and Elisa (5/24).  I have been observing birthday parties from afar mostly at the Estadio and was hoping to be as low-key as possible.

Luckily, Elisa's friend Tali's Mom, Daniela, suggested that they have a party together.  The girls chose an ice-skating party.   They invited all the girls in their class and then a few special friends from other activites. There is an ice skating rink in the basement of one of the big malls not far from our house.  It is pretty small and pretty unkept.  I am not sure that they import Zambonis here because the ice was really rough - better for learning and for making snow balls.

Tali - the other birthday girl

Renee giving snowball making lessons

They had a "snack" of cheeseburgers and fries at the midpoint

The one thing that I have noticed is that most people buy made-to-order cakes with intricate fondant designs.  Tali's Mom ordered one for each of the girls - Tali's was a gymnastics theme and Elisa's skating.  They ended up costing about as much as our wedding cake but were really pretty.  I will be making one of my homemade vehicle cakes for Jonathan's party next week - stay tuned!