The Castilian Lisp

If I had thought through it more completely it may have been easier for Elisa to have the sabbatical in Madrid where her newly formed lisp would have been an asset.  BTW - she is eating the cazuela (typical Chilean cassarole made of chicken, corn, squash, carrots, celery, potatoes and the kitchen sink.) prepared by the Nana today.

The Raton del Dientes will strike again tonight - BTW - I think that it is a mouse not a rat.

Food shopping

Although I am sure at one point people favored the local corner store it appears that most people get their staples at one of several of the large supermarket chains one of which recently got bought out by Walmart (figures).  For quick things, we do have several "corner stores" where we can get our daily bread and milk etc. as well as a corner "veggie/fruit" place where it appears things are more expensive than the supermarket.  The kids get a kick out of running down there (1 block away) to pick things up for me and encourage me to run out of milk.  There are also random people selling artichokes and oranges in bags on the street as well as some more formal vendor stands in some neighborhoods.

I went shopping at one of the larger stores on Sunday and was pleased to see that there were a lot of people advertising food next to little stands.  I immediately thought "samples!" like Sam's Club.  Unfortunately, they were just holding up the candy bars, coffee, yogurt, etc. to better display them.  Another reason why Chileans aren't as heavy as Americans - they only tease you but don't give you the samples!

A few other things at the grocery store:

1. They sell Diente de Dragon - literally Dragon's tooth but actually bean sprouts.  This was a dish at a Chinese restaurant and we couldn't figure out what it was.
2. I still haven't tried every type of fresh bread that a typical supermarket sells but we are getting there.
3. You have to get your produce and bread weighed before checking out in special weighing areas.  I forgot once and got chastised and was not allowed to purchase the item unless I ran back to the back of the store.
4. There doesn't seem to be any fresh milk.  It is all sold in 1 liter cartons.  For a family that drinks a gallon every 2 days or less it is going to get old fast.
5. Besides classic winter fruits (citrus and apples) they sell a lot of prickly pears (sabras).
6. They have an entire aisle devoted to mayonnaise.  Not sure what that is about but I'll keep an eye out for dishes with a lot of mayo.
7. Half of the cakes incorporate dulce de leche (called manjar here). 
8. You can get empanadas almost anywhere but smaller bakeries seem to have the tastier (and fresher) ones
9. Paper products are much more expensive here - there must be a forestry-based industry here somewhere.
10. There are a lot of Chilean wines to choose from - we are working through the Merlots first.  It will take a lot longer to get through the wine than the bread!

A tale of two Santiagos

So the kids had a spontaneous day off of school today because they had to do some repairs at the school.  We thought that it would be an ideal day to go skiing since none of the other schools have off.  I really dislike skiing and Elisa wasn't that excited so we stayed back to have our own adventure and Rob, Renee and Jonathan took a bus up to the resort  El Colorado.

The Ski Experience (as told by Rob)

There are a number of ski resorts within an hour or so drive from Santiago, and we found a nice bus service to get us to the "family friendly" one, El Colorado.  After a 1.5 hour trip going up over 3000 m (10,000 ft), with lots of tight curves and exactly 40 switchbacks (there are signs on each), we arrived feeling queasy but excited.  The view was stunning, you can see all the way back to Santiago - which was clearly visible in the morning, but hidden by a thick layer of yellowish smog by the early afternoon.  We decided to skip lessons and go straight to slopes.  Despite some anxiety here and there, we all did well and enjoyed the day out.

The City Experience (as told by Sarah)

Elisa and I decided to check out the local museum scene.  I did some research online and found that there was a kids museum, science and technology museum and a natural history museum all in the same park west of downtown.  Google translate failed me this time because it did not highlight the fact that the kids museum was destroyed, the natural history museum is under renovations after receiving earthquake damage last year and the science and technology museum rivals the Curious Kids Museum in St Joseph, Michigan (which is perfect for Elisa but J. and R. would have been bored out of their minds.)

That said, we made it an adventure anyway.  We took the Metro at a little before 10 without realizing that there was a protest planned downtown for 10:00.  The metro was filled with students and teachers carrying banners, blowing whistles, playing drums and jumping around.  Elisa (and I) did not know quite what to make of it all but I put on the "looks-like-they-are-having-a-good-time" face and we carried on.  Later we saw TV clips of what was going on at street level and I am pleased to say that I wisely decided that today was not the day to have lunch at the Mercado Central as was originally planned.  Based on the map and internet the museums (or what we thought were museums) were all in the same park.  What they didn't say was that it was impossible to enter the park except through one entrance hidden on the side of the park (no wonder nobody was there!).  We found it and, once we realized that two of three of them were closed, we headed to the science museum. We explored for 30 minutes and then hunger set in.

All of Santiago is covered in graffiti.   In our neighborhood it is somewhat intermittent but it covered everything where we were today. I assume that most of it is political (including the occasional swastika) and have challenged myself to at least learn enough local Spanish to translate those that I can read (Dad - I am hoping for some help in October - I am sure that it will still be there).  The kids are intrigued more with the mess of it all than the fact that it is a form of expression.  Interestingly, unlike in the States, somehow the subway lines aren't covered in the graffiti.

So we asked the folks at the museum (there were at least five of them hanging out and we were the only two people in the museum) where we could eat locally and they suggested a restaurant next to a church nearby.  We passed a lot of half torn down houses, graffiti, stray dogs and cats, and finally got to the recommendation.  It was perfect.  A complete hole in the wall with Chilean workers having their afternoon meal.  There was a handwritten menu on the wall and an old lady in a little box where you placed your order.  You had to pay 100 CP ($0.25) to use the bathroom or at least to get the toilet paper.  I ordered a toasted cheese sandwich for Elisa and a papaya soda (we keep seeing it so it was time to give it a try - Elisa loved it but it was just sweet to me) and I ordered a cafe con leche (which they proceeded to make with Nescafe) and an avocado sandwich (when in Rome!).  As we were waiting we watched the TV scenes of the protest  (they estimated that 60,000 people were there) and I realized that we'd be heading straight home after lunch rather than have the full adventure.  We didn't see much on the way back and that was fine by me.

BTW - The darn pots and pans are at it again!  (and car horns and whistles and .....)

The Honeymoon is over

First of all some good news, this is the first day that I have willingly opened all of the balcony doors and let the air come in.  It is supposed to eventually get to the mid 60s today and the sun is shining!  The school has to close tomorrow for some repair work so Rob, Renee and Jonathan are heading up to the mountains to do some skiing.  Elisa said she'd rather not and I really don't enjoy it so we'll explore some kids museums or something else in Santiago.  I'd rather just look at the mountains from afar.

As was bound to happen, there were some sadness and tears this weekend.  Renee went to the Bat Mitzvah but I have since learned that it was the Bat Mitzvah of a girl from one of the wealthier families in town.  The dance party went until 1:30 but Renee called at 9:30 to say that she was tired and wasn't fitting in.  Put together the situation, a new country, her age etc. and I was even impressed that she went to it.   The girls were all wearing teenie-weenie dresses (as were many of their mothers!). The synagogue where it was held is called the "Mercaz" or the central synagogue and apparently acts as the center of the community and has over 1000 families (reminded me of Beth El in Highland Park but a bit glitzier).  That said, I learned this morning while volunteering at the school that there are at least three other much smaller synagogues including one where Renee was invited for a Bar Mitzvah this weekend (with just a kiddush and no dance party!).  I may go with her and stay this time to check it out.

There are several "T'nuot" or youth groups that gather on Saturday afternoons and we just happened on one of the bigger ones at the "Mercaz" when I dropped off Renee.  Jonathan found his age group and decided to stay for it.  It appears that up until high school this youth group is split into boy and girl mini groups for each class.  I guess that it is big enough to do that and the activities can then be geared to each gender.  So far I have seen a huge difference in how the genders are treated.  Perhaps because of who we have for friends and where we have chosen to live I have not really dealt with so many stereotypes and had my children challenge them.  This is most apparent with Renee who really just wants to climb and run around as much as the boys.  The girls apparently don't really participate in gym class and when they do it is with minimal effort.  This has been disappointing for Renee but she is doing gymnastics three times a week.  There are several other t'nuot to check out including a Shomer Ha'tzair which traditional is a secular leftist group.  I looked on their Facebook page and they were out there marching with the students last week.  I bet they keep girls and boys together!  They wear the same traditional shirt that they wear in Habonim (the movement of Renee's camp) and emphasize some of the same values so it might be a good contrast to the Bat Mitzvah scene for Renee!  Of course, when I mention it at school everybody looks at me like I am crazy - can't win at everything.

Yesterday, we went to the Dia del Nino event at the Estadio and saw a greater cross-section of the community including the orthodox community.  It is always funny to enter that type of room and think that except for fate all of the people could have been growing up in Chicago instead.  People were friendly and Rob made a connection with somebody to play tennis this weekend.  The events were mostly for younger children so we didn't last long.  There were kids around Renee's age just hanging out but that will take some time before it feels comfortable.  The girls Elisa's age were all focused on the "spa" events - getting their nails done, up-dos and the like.  Elisa was intrigued but was just as happy with a cotton candy ;-)

So to deal with homesickness the kids have been skyping a lot, I bought a waffle maker and am actually having a waffle making marathon as I type to stock up on them, we are spending a lot of time just hanging out as a family and we've let computer-time slip a little ;-)  Elisa had her first skype with a friend yesterday and they spent the whole time making funny facing at each other - I guess that counts as a "play date?"

A word (or two) on the kids

Rob and I are astounded by how well the kids are doing.  We both agree that if our parents had moved us for a year to a foreign country we would have probably stayed in the apartment all day and moped (Gilly/Alberto - is this how it was?).  Here's how the kids have been doing after only seven days of school;

Renee has gone over to two friends' houses after school, been invited to two Bat Mitvahs and one Bar Mitzvah, borrowed a dress (with spaghetti straps) from the tallest girl in the class and actually worn it in public (see below - removed at the request of the subject), gone to a Bat Mitzvah (she is there right now), been approached to join a few different youth groups and is actually excited to try them out, received and responded to an e-mail in Spanish, and joined the gymnastics team at the Estadio.

Jonathan has been elected Vice President of his class, has made at least one soccer goal during recess (the long recess is after lunch and he keeps skipping lunch so that he can get on the soccer field faster), joined a tennis class even though it had been going on for half a year, tried out taekwondo, went to a youth group event without knowing anybody, and checked out every type of public transportation available in Santiago (I'll have him write a review at some point).

Elisa, who has probably had the most difficult adjustment, has been dropped off at her class without crying, made friends with the one girl who can speak English but apparently knows some others, taken gymnastics and swimming classes, spent 45 minutes playing with the girls from her swim lesson afterwards in the pool in absolute ecstasy (we need to get her in the pool more often), walks for blocks without complaining now, developed a lisp (I guess that would have happened where ever she lost her top front tooth;-)), and she keeps throwing in Spanish phrases in her daily speech.

Needless to say - we are amazed at how well they are all adapting!  We know that there are going to be bumps (and there have been - J. is longing to be invited over to a friend's house, E. cries and gets frustrated in class, R. is navigating the "girly" scene here) but overall they are really, really doing well.

Who are you?

OK.  I have been getting about 50 hits a day and today I got 21 hits in an hour (probably right after people read the front cover of the paper or listened to news)  I saw Chile was on the front page of the NYTimes.  Wow!

I actually can tell that 18 people are following it.  So do my father and mother account for the other 32?  Just curious.  Rob's big fear is that I will offend somebody who may be reading this but I guess that is the nature of blogging.

BTW - there are still gorgeous mountains outside of my office window!

Cacerolazo

This one is great although I am not sure what it is all about.  As we were putting the kids to sleep, out of every house and apartment building it sounded like people were banging on pots.  I wish that I could upload an MP3 somehow. At first I thought that somebody won a soccer game and then Rob told me that people with watering eyes were gathered in the Metro (tear gas). Google to the rescue!

A cacerolazo or cacerolada is a form of popular protest practised in certain Spanish-speaking countries – in particular Argentina and Chile– which consists in a group of people creating noise by banging pots, pans, and other utensils in order to call for attention. What is peculiar about this type of demonstration is that the people protest from their own homes, thus achieving a high level of support and participation.

The word comes from Spanish cacerola, which means "stew pot". The derivative suffix -azo denotes a hitting (punching or striking) action, and has been extended metaphorically to any sort of shock demonstration.

The next question is "what are they protesting?  There have been a lot of protests about the education system which was probably what was going on downtown near the metro.  Again, google to the rescue:

Through his Twitter account, the president of the DATE, Camila Vallejos, called today to make a "cacerozalo against repression" at 21:00 hours.

The student leader reaffirmed the call for the march at 18:30 in the Plaza Italia, despite the refusal of the authorities.  (probably the tear gas - confirmed on a blog "18.17  The protesters moved onto the streets surrounding the sector, while access to the metro Baquedano are closed.)

Then this morning the students who tried to demonstrate in Santiago were brutally repressed by police, leaving about 200 detainees, the student representative of the University of Chile strongly criticized the repression of the authorities.

"The scenario has led to today makes it seem much like a state of siege," said Camila Vallejos, adding that "the government has tried to separate from our dark past that many remember, you do not want to repeat, but today day we make many allusions to that, as our country was thirty years ago and even though today it is said that a new form of government, seems a very stale, dictatorial, that repeats the same as those authors and protagonists of these acts of repression. "

We don't get this kind of action in South Bend!

Oh - and I just found the Jewish angle.  The Minister of the Interior is an orthodox Jew.  

SANTIAGO .- Multiple rejection reactions in both the Chilean and Jewish community at the Embassy of Israel generated this afternoon said the president of Teachers College, Jaime Gajardo, who referred to the Jewish origin of the interior minister, Rodrigo Hinzpeter, to question the actions of the authorities to the student demonstrations.

"The methods that are applied today to the movement for public education methods reminiscent of the apartheid Zionist (...) and we want to say that Hinzpeter have any training in any school in Israel because here we are repeating the same methods, "said the representative of the Magisterium. 

More here  if you have any interest.  They are still banging away and now car horns have joined in. This is the stuff of memories???? ;-)