There are certain things that one just should not do - ever - and one of them is getting a car inspected for registration on the last day of the month. About a month ago we purchased a used SVU but could not get it registered since we did not have the proper paperwork. Today, we received everything and set out to have the car inspected.
I've seen grass grow faster.
There were at least 6 lines of cars waiting to drive into a huge warehouse for inspection. We waited 3 1/2 hours, literally parked in line with no way out, in a very questionable part of town. My biggest amusement was playing with the radio, studying Spanish verb conjugations, and watching a herd of horses run by down the main street. For a city that is booming with cars, I'm surprised that there isn't a quicker, more economical way to complete the process.
And no, the SVU didn't pass inspection. One of the parking lights was burned out, but at least we have a 15 day grace period.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
Security!
(Sorry no posts lately; we've been moving into our house.)
Just going shopping down here can be frightening with all of the security, until I realized that it's just part of the culture. For example: go to any grocery store (Jumbo is my favorite) or shopping mall and there are security guards at every entrance. There are security guards on bikes in the parking lots, at the malls - even in the hardware stores. I am just getting used to it.
Then there's the security in the neighborhoods. I found a house for rent at the base of the Andes and while the neighborhood is peaceful and appears safe, every lot seems like a compound, surrounded by high walls and some with electric fences. We have a 6ft.+ tall brick wall topped by very sharp - but delicately pretty - iron spikes. There's also a house alarm (which the owner said he never used) and a neighborhood "watch" security guy that drives around the neighborhood. I feel like I'm waiting for Armageddon. That said, it's a pretty safe city from what I hear, as far as big cities go (knock on wood.)
Detail of the day: Instead of 911 for everything, there are 3 different numbers. The police (carabineros, not policia) are one number, the firemen (bomberos) another and the ambulance still another.
Just going shopping down here can be frightening with all of the security, until I realized that it's just part of the culture. For example: go to any grocery store (Jumbo is my favorite) or shopping mall and there are security guards at every entrance. There are security guards on bikes in the parking lots, at the malls - even in the hardware stores. I am just getting used to it.
Then there's the security in the neighborhoods. I found a house for rent at the base of the Andes and while the neighborhood is peaceful and appears safe, every lot seems like a compound, surrounded by high walls and some with electric fences. We have a 6ft.+ tall brick wall topped by very sharp - but delicately pretty - iron spikes. There's also a house alarm (which the owner said he never used) and a neighborhood "watch" security guy that drives around the neighborhood. I feel like I'm waiting for Armageddon. That said, it's a pretty safe city from what I hear, as far as big cities go (knock on wood.)
Detail of the day: Instead of 911 for everything, there are 3 different numbers. The police (carabineros, not policia) are one number, the firemen (bomberos) another and the ambulance still another.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
How Chileans Celebrate Good News
This barely made a blip on the news back in Dallas but here all the news channels were broadcasting all afternoon: 33 Chilean miners have been stuck 700m underground for several weeks, and today we learned that ALL of them are alive. Since I'm used to CNN and other major news, I thought it sort of odd -but very comforting - that so much time was devoted to this event. The announcement came about 2:30 pm and at about 2:45 pm something wonderful happened: nonstop cars honking. It sounded like a well-orchestrated symphony.
Our temporary living quarters are at an enormously busy intersection, and since it was a nice day, I opened the doors and windows facing the street. Cars drove by honking constantly in celebration of the miners being alive. Dave told me that after some of the matches during the World Cup (when Chile won), ALL the cars would be honking - sort of the Chilean way of cheering and feeling proud. It is such a passionate, heartwarming way to demonstrate love for country and humanity.
Our temporary living quarters are at an enormously busy intersection, and since it was a nice day, I opened the doors and windows facing the street. Cars drove by honking constantly in celebration of the miners being alive. Dave told me that after some of the matches during the World Cup (when Chile won), ALL the cars would be honking - sort of the Chilean way of cheering and feeling proud. It is such a passionate, heartwarming way to demonstrate love for country and humanity.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Driving
Now I've lived in big cities (D.C. and Los Angeles) and visited far more, so I'm very familiar with city driving. However, I've never quite experienced "city driving" like I have in Santiago. First of all, it's nearly impossible to make left-hand turns; it's just not allowed (unless there's an adequate turn lane.) Traffic lights and stop signs? Mere formalities. I've seen people run red lights, stop signs, yield signs, etc. It's not uncommon for two or even three lanes to make right hand turns. In our short time here, we've been broadsided by a big Dodge truck and had a bicyclist run into the back of our SUV (he's fine, although there's a big dent in the door.)
The autopistas - the freeways - usually have a speed limit of 110 km/hr, but that's also a mere formality. The BMWs and Audis have no problem flying by me - and I'm usually going the speed limit or a little over. It reminds of driving in Germany. On the neighborhood streets, there are speed bumps ("resaltos") everywhere, and people just pound over them without breaking. No school zone speed limits, people driving over curbs, lanes that disappear without warning, and people just drive really, really fast. A good friend of mine said my driving scares her anyway. She probably won't want to drive with me now - I'm becoming very accustomed to the rules of the road here. It takes intense concentration and a lot of patience, but it certainly moves.
The autopistas - the freeways - usually have a speed limit of 110 km/hr, but that's also a mere formality. The BMWs and Audis have no problem flying by me - and I'm usually going the speed limit or a little over. It reminds of driving in Germany. On the neighborhood streets, there are speed bumps ("resaltos") everywhere, and people just pound over them without breaking. No school zone speed limits, people driving over curbs, lanes that disappear without warning, and people just drive really, really fast. A good friend of mine said my driving scares her anyway. She probably won't want to drive with me now - I'm becoming very accustomed to the rules of the road here. It takes intense concentration and a lot of patience, but it certainly moves.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Banking and other Financial Details
I have never seen so many ATMs in one city, and they are constantly being used by people. I attempted to pull some money at the mall on Sunday, and the machine said it only had bills of 2,000 pesos (roughly about $4 US, so it would have meant a whole lot of bills if I tried to withdraw $200 US.) Now granted we're temporarily residing in the financial district of Santiago until we get a house, but after we opened up a bank account today, I learned that only about 10% of Chilean citizens actually have bank accounts. This seems odd given all the banks around. Talk about old school - a lot is done on a cash basis, which could explain why the Chilean economy is doing so well.
Everyone here has to have a "rut" (route) number, too - it's sort of like a Social Security number, but not nearly as protected. Apparently there are very difficult to get if you aren't a citizen, so Dave has been pretty lucky to secure one for the business.
Some things are just ridiculously expensive: gas is about $6 US per gallon, but a whole bag of fresh bread is about $1 US. A good bottle of Eucerin lotion cost me about $14 US the other day, but Dave and I stocked up on some excellent 2004 wine at about $4 US a bottle.
Everyone here has to have a "rut" (route) number, too - it's sort of like a Social Security number, but not nearly as protected. Apparently there are very difficult to get if you aren't a citizen, so Dave has been pretty lucky to secure one for the business.
Some things are just ridiculously expensive: gas is about $6 US per gallon, but a whole bag of fresh bread is about $1 US. A good bottle of Eucerin lotion cost me about $14 US the other day, but Dave and I stocked up on some excellent 2004 wine at about $4 US a bottle.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Schools and Apartments, Part II
Sigh... after 18 years in the same house, I forgot how difficult it is to search for a place to live, let alone a school where I know my kids will be happy. Note to anyone moving to a new place: maps and a little Internet research are your best friends. I knew before moving what where the top spots are to live, but acquiring a map when I got to Santiago proved difficult (I finally found a good city map in a small little bookstore, only to find it doesn't have my "potential new neighborhood" on it.)
Anyway, the kids "sit" for a placement examination on Tuesday and could start school as early as later next week. We've narrowed down on the "barrio" we want but we just need to get in touch with the right "broker" (realtor.)
Details: There is no MLS listing here, so hiring a realtor/broker and having her search for a house is very difficult. I've done most of the research myself via Internet or through the newspaper - good practice for reading Spanish. The actual driving to look at the houses I've found needs to be part of a separate blog!
Anyway, the kids "sit" for a placement examination on Tuesday and could start school as early as later next week. We've narrowed down on the "barrio" we want but we just need to get in touch with the right "broker" (realtor.)
Details: There is no MLS listing here, so hiring a realtor/broker and having her search for a house is very difficult. I've done most of the research myself via Internet or through the newspaper - good practice for reading Spanish. The actual driving to look at the houses I've found needs to be part of a separate blog!
Monday, August 9, 2010
Schools and Apartments
Typical Monday in Santiago today: lots of work. I spent a lot of the day on the Internet researching schools and housing. There are at least 75+ private schools in the Santiago area, a lot of them Catholic or Christian, a few where you "pick your own religion class" (I think) and many of them are either all-boys or all-girls. Needless to say, the kids are NOT thrilled at the idea of same-sex schools.
Apartment/house hunting is a little more difficult. A house might be nice, but the apartments here are huge, mostly with enormous balconies (called loggias) and small servants quarters. The kitchens are usually very small though, since nearly everyone has cooks/maids, and in a lot of the wealthier areas, some of the maids and nannies live with the families.
Important detail: In regards to communication, email seems to be the equivalent of postal mail; people just do not respond as quickly as I'm used to. I just received an email from a property lady at 10:30 tonight! Phone calls seem to be the best way to go, except if you're trying to learn Spanish and reading and writing is much easier.
Apartment/house hunting is a little more difficult. A house might be nice, but the apartments here are huge, mostly with enormous balconies (called loggias) and small servants quarters. The kitchens are usually very small though, since nearly everyone has cooks/maids, and in a lot of the wealthier areas, some of the maids and nannies live with the families.
Important detail: In regards to communication, email seems to be the equivalent of postal mail; people just do not respond as quickly as I'm used to. I just received an email from a property lady at 10:30 tonight! Phone calls seem to be the best way to go, except if you're trying to learn Spanish and reading and writing is much easier.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Mercado Central, the "Fish Market"
Dave and I ventured out on more than one Metro line today (red, green AND yellow) to go to Mercado Central, a huge fish market located in the downtown Santiago. Now normally the Metro is pretty easy to navigate, but today was "Dia de los Ninos" and families were out in droves. Dave compares the Metro to an ant farm; everyone is moving very quickly around each other and it's just packed.
Back to the Mercado Central. Enormous and fantastic. At least 20+ "pescadarias" (fish shops) selling octopus (pulpo), salmon, erizos (sea urchins - really!), calamar (squid), flounder, lots of camarones (shrimp) and percebes (barnacles.) The barnacles have little animals that live inside and the claws reach out. How you cook all of this I have no idea, but I will buy an "erizo" or two and let you know how it tastes. We ate empanadas and ceviche at one of the many tiny restaurants and walked back to the Metro through Santiago Central, stopping to look inside the enormous and ornate cathedral (a jaw-dropping experience, rivaling the churches in Italy.)
Fishy Details: I only saw two pescadarias that sold crab, but some places sold cuts of octopus meat that were at least two feet wide. The octopus looks like large pieces of shiny white plastic, but apparently it's a very popular dish since nearly all the fish sellers sold it.
Back to the Mercado Central. Enormous and fantastic. At least 20+ "pescadarias" (fish shops) selling octopus (pulpo), salmon, erizos (sea urchins - really!), calamar (squid), flounder, lots of camarones (shrimp) and percebes (barnacles.) The barnacles have little animals that live inside and the claws reach out. How you cook all of this I have no idea, but I will buy an "erizo" or two and let you know how it tastes. We ate empanadas and ceviche at one of the many tiny restaurants and walked back to the Metro through Santiago Central, stopping to look inside the enormous and ornate cathedral (a jaw-dropping experience, rivaling the churches in Italy.)
Fishy Details: I only saw two pescadarias that sold crab, but some places sold cuts of octopus meat that were at least two feet wide. The octopus looks like large pieces of shiny white plastic, but apparently it's a very popular dish since nearly all the fish sellers sold it.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Meltdown
Sigh... Considering we've been here a week, it's about time I start feeling a little freaked out. I had a guy tell me today, "Look, just talk to me in English because I can't understand your Spanish." I told him it was important for me to speak Spanish whenever possible, but he was some young guy who didn't seem to care. I got teary-eyed the entire way back home on the Metro. So much for feeling masterful today.
Now when learning Spanish, I screw up on a daily basis, get very embarrassed and turn bright red, but I plow through a conversation and try my best. Still, I've got to try and speak as much as possible and mostly people are very, very helpful. The kids are making fun of me because I'm trying so hard, but I'm determined to become fluent as soon as I can. Dave and I talk nearly 75% in Spanish at dinner and I insist on speaking mostly Spanish with him on the telephone. The google.cl translation website is a permanent fixture on my computer.
Details... Santiago boasts the tallest building in South America - the Titanium. It's only about 72 stories high, and there's another skyscraper being built a few blocks away. We can see both of them from our (temporary) apartment. Since the earthquake in February, no one wants to live on a very high floor in an apartment; sounds like we might be able to get a penthouse pretty cheap.
Now when learning Spanish, I screw up on a daily basis, get very embarrassed and turn bright red, but I plow through a conversation and try my best. Still, I've got to try and speak as much as possible and mostly people are very, very helpful. The kids are making fun of me because I'm trying so hard, but I'm determined to become fluent as soon as I can. Dave and I talk nearly 75% in Spanish at dinner and I insist on speaking mostly Spanish with him on the telephone. The google.cl translation website is a permanent fixture on my computer.
Details... Santiago boasts the tallest building in South America - the Titanium. It's only about 72 stories high, and there's another skyscraper being built a few blocks away. We can see both of them from our (temporary) apartment. Since the earthquake in February, no one wants to live on a very high floor in an apartment; sounds like we might be able to get a penthouse pretty cheap.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Skiing & Shopping
For someone used to very hot summers, snow skiing yesterday was quite strange. The whole family rented equipment and a van drove us and a bunch of other skiers up to El Colorado, one of the gentlest mountains in Colorado. The ride itself wasn't too gentle; the hairpin curves were numbered by signs (I think the last one I counted was 45.) Great day of skiing: amazing view of the city and the other mountains, and Molly already skis faster than either of her parents - and it was her very first time.
I've taken over the shopping, which is always an adventure when trying to conduct business in another language AND make the correct change. I screw up on a daily basis, but I'm getting better at speaking and understanding Spanish. I buy bread and wine on a daily basis (what else is there to live on?) and I'm amazed that more people don't reuse bags. I brought my Central Market and Jimmy's Food Store bags from home and the cashiers are always shocked I supply my own.
Detail #1: The fire department here is run strictly by volunteers, and all of the fire trucks are imported! Just this week, we've seen trucks from Germany, England and the USA. It's always interesting to listen to the different sirens.
Detail #2: The cab drivers here are very particular about their money. Some won't take "old bills" and others won't take bills without serial numbers. Every time we have taken a cab there has been a problem with payment; we haven't quite figured this out yet.
I've taken over the shopping, which is always an adventure when trying to conduct business in another language AND make the correct change. I screw up on a daily basis, but I'm getting better at speaking and understanding Spanish. I buy bread and wine on a daily basis (what else is there to live on?) and I'm amazed that more people don't reuse bags. I brought my Central Market and Jimmy's Food Store bags from home and the cashiers are always shocked I supply my own.
Detail #1: The fire department here is run strictly by volunteers, and all of the fire trucks are imported! Just this week, we've seen trucks from Germany, England and the USA. It's always interesting to listen to the different sirens.
Detail #2: The cab drivers here are very particular about their money. Some won't take "old bills" and others won't take bills without serial numbers. Every time we have taken a cab there has been a problem with payment; we haven't quite figured this out yet.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Spanish Only Today
Dave had to work and the kids were exhausted, so I headed out on my own to find us a place to live. The Metro is super-easy to navigate and with a map, it's pretty simple to find my way around the city. I walked for about 4 straight hours and listened to, spoke and read only Spanish. When Dave called me this afternoon, I insisted on speaking only Spanish. Tiring, but very important.
Details of the day: Proper greeting is an air "kiss" on one cheek. Also, some food items are sold in heavy plastic bags: mayo, yogurt, tomato sauce - even milk. Makes just want to step on them like a little ketchup packet.
Details of the day: Proper greeting is an air "kiss" on one cheek. Also, some food items are sold in heavy plastic bags: mayo, yogurt, tomato sauce - even milk. Makes just want to step on them like a little ketchup packet.
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