Amy's Birthday

This is the first time that Amy has celebrated a birthday in another country. And this was the first time we have tried to shop for Amy’s birthday in another country. Our friend Samuel spent the day with Amy, teaching her how to make Chilean-style empanadas. We improvised birthday decorations and wrapped up her Mexican food as a present.

We walked all over town looking for the perfect cake. Interesting that vanilla is not too common here in Chile (it’s really common in Mexico). But the kids decided on something unique to Chile—a cake made of manjara—a caramel-like sweet that is used in all kinds of baked goods here.

We were so thankful to have friends for a party. Paulo, Pablo, and Samuel joined us for cake and tea. And we ate the empanadas that Amy made. Yum.

Into the Andes Mtns.

This was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. We rented a car and headed for the mountain, hunting for snow. After a 12-mile drive on a dirt road that took an hour, we ended up at this lake, bordered by steep slopes. So steep that when the kids climbed on the snow, I was thinking of the headline “Clueless Texan Didn’t Know the First Thing About Avalanche Avoidance.” I told Amy I felt like we were at the beginning of a Rescue Heroes video. The kids froze their hands having a snowball fight and we made a snowman too (named “Snowie”).

I was really jealous to see groups of cyclists riding the curved, fun-sloped, empty paved road that led to the dirt road.

Wal-Mart in Chile

The good news is that they don’t have Wal Mart in Chile. I asked my co-worker Ely about it and she had never even heard the name. American business is all over Chile, but I guess not Wal Mart (yet).

The bad news is that they have do Wal Mart in Chile. Well, a store just like it. It’s called Jumbo and what’s worse is that I went there today. I wanted to buy Amy some tortillas and Mexican food stuff for her birthday, and my co-worker Juan told me Jumbo had a Mexican food kiosk.

Sure enough, I found and bought Amy tortillas (white and wheat), canned black beans, and a bag of tortilla chips.

Playgrounds & Children

Chile is full of playgrounds. There must be more playgrounds per capita than anywhere else in the world. In all the parks, of course, but also in any random public space—on the sides of roads—there are playgrounds. Some new plastic ones like in America, and some fun old ones with dangerous stuff like real see-saws and merry-go-rounds. Still others somewhat creative and improvised-looking, with logs stacked up in fun ways. Definitely more variety and creativity than you find in the US. The playground near our house even has this little library booth, so parents can borrow books to read while their kids play. How cool is that?

Chile has a culture that lets kids be kids. Unlike in many/most Latin American countries, children do not work here, selling things in the streets. Some help their parents in their shops after school, but this is far different than some eight-year-old kid sitting on the streets trying to sell trinkets.

Lots of Kissing

Lots of kissing here in Chile. First off, people greet with kisses (women-women and men-women), a simple cheek-to-cheek air kiss. It’s taking a while to get used to, because it feels so intimate for an American. I thought it might just be for friends, but it is for anyone you meet. Even the president of Chile (a woman) and congress members greet each other in this way.

Alexander claims that every day he is getting more kisses from his teacher, and now he is up to about 18 a day. Funny thing is that, since they are kisses on the cheek, he thinks that only cheek kisses are appropriate in Chile, and will not let us kiss him on the lips now.

Also, public display of affection is all over the place here. Teenagers kiss in the parks and streets. And even married older adults (imagine that) hold hands and kiss passionately in public spaces. It’s totally respectful and not inappropriate, but it’s making me feel like a cold American.

"Cheesy" in Spanish

The question of the day is how do you say “cheesy” in Spanish. Not cheesy as in chips and queso, but cheesy as in “Titanic” or Gwen Stefani or Dancing With the Stars. Tonight we visited our friends Pablo and Samuel and we had a great time talking while the kids watched videos. We started talking about funny words, and cheesy came up. It’s such a great word, and so impossible to describe even in English—you just know it when you see it. And especially hard to describe when, based on our earlier conversations, I knew that everything I considered cheesy, one of them would consider cool. And vice versa. I mean, they like American Idol, the Pussycat Dolls, and the above-mentioned Gwen Stefani. And, when I said I liked Enrique Iglesias, they cringed. So, the funny thing is that I looked up cheesy on a website that features discussion boards for words for students of other languages. And there was five pages, over fifty entries, debating the meaning and use of the word in English. Guess we’re not the only ones intrigued by the word. Check it out.

The other funny thing is that billion and the Spanish billion are totally different numbers. And after the four of us tried to discuss which was which--four liberal arts majors talking about math and talking in two different languages--I had pretty much forgotten what exactly a billion in English was, much less a billion in Espanol. Samuel’s brother, a computer engineer who probably could have straightened out atleast the Spanish billion, was drowned out by the more adamant, and more confused, voices. It was fun to be able to let loose and laugh at our inability to communicate on a seemingly simple matter.

Library de Santiago

We went looking for kids books, and headed to the grandious National Library close to our house. It was like the Library of Congress, with a formal reading room and a process to obtain a book. No kid books there. So, they sent us to another library, which ended up being modern and beautiful and filled with a colorful and fun kids section. It had a great collection of books in Spanish, and the most pitiful collection of English books you can imagine—about a dozen old, obscure, poorly-written, publisher-reject picture books. Fortunately, Jacob could read the Spanish books, and Amy and I just translated the Spanish picture books for Alexander. We stayed there for three or four hours and the kids were so happy. We were happy to learn that we could get a library card, but the system is not so easy as the US. You have to pay $8 for the card, and you can only check out one book for the first two visits. Then, if you’ve been a good library patron, you can check out a whopping three books. This will take some getting used to, considering in Houston it’s our habit to check out about 25 books at a time, and the limit at the Houston library is something like 100 books. Here’s our friend Edwin in front of the library.

Micro-enterprise for Refugees

“Microenterprise” is a fancy word for teeny-tiny business. I think it’s great to see the streets of Santiago lined with individuals selling everything from snacks to clothing to toys to more and more snacks. But as a refugee client told me, it isn’t so great. It’s only because people can’t find regular stable jobs that they are driven to have to invent something to scrape out a living. This client prepares peanuts with flavors that are a bit exotic in Santiago, such as coconut (remember Santiago is not tropical), and sesame seed (from Asia, I believe). Because the government does not allow you to officially own a business until you have been in Chile for two years, newly-arrived refugees can’t have their own food kiosk. So, instead, this client supplies his products to others, who sell them on the streets. Each small packet costs him 15 cents to make, and he sells them for 25 cents. He averages 100 sold a day, for a total of about $10/day.

I went today with the FASIC caseworker to this refugee’s home and to see his workspace. It was a modest home, just one room, but he had worked hard to turn an empty room into a gleaming, clean work area. It was great to see where a family lives, see some kids, and to see the ambition of this family. He is an eloquent speaker and loves to share the story of his family, and the many other Colombian refugees in Chile. He gave me permission to publish and share his photo with others. And, he gave me two packs of peanuts!

Military Parade

Yesterday for the Indepence Day celebration, our friend Paola invited us to her house out in Grecia (Greece). Her family lives in a house, and they were cooking out, much like we would do in the US for the 4^th of July. Amy counted seven different kinds of meat. I didn’t count, but I ate plenty. Paola’s nephew was there, three years old, and so it was good for the kids to have someone to play with. The family was so nice, generous, and helpful—traits that we have found throughout Chile.

Today, we went to the annual military parade at Parque O’Higgins (named for the general who liberated Chile from Spain—whose name was O’Higgens—go figure). It was a long parade, with soldiers of all the different forces marching in grand, slow lines—in full regalia and armed with weapons. The highlights were the special mountain forces unit (with skis, ice-climbing helmets, and sub-machine guns), the snow rescue unit (with St. Bernards wearing mini-barrels on their collars), and flyovers from F-16 and Mirage fighter jets.

We came home tired and thinking we have certainly done everything to celebrate Chile independence day. And, to compare, Chile celebrates their independence much more (and longer) and flies many more flags, than we do in the good ol’ USA.

Seeing the President

Imagine a country that is peaceful, confident, and secure. Imagine an event attended by all the political elite of a country—congressmen, supreme court judges, generals from all the military services, and the president herself. Then, imagine that this event has less security at the door than a Houston Astros baseball game. Imagine that I, a foreigner, could simply walk up with a paper invitation, enter without going through a metal detector, pat-down, or bag check, sit on the second row, and as the not-so-popular president walks within three feet of me, reach into my pocket to pull out a camera and shoot this picture.

Today I attended the Te Deum Ecumenico, an ecumenical church service held annually on this, the Independence Day for Chile. I received an invitation last week at an Ecumenical Luncheon, and I wasn’t sure what it was. But then Claudio from FASIC told me I should go, and our Chilean friends were shocked that I had an invite. So, of course I had to go. The service was held in the huge, ancient Cathedral in the Plaza de Armas close to our apartment. I was seated with other guests—church people, school directors, etc—on the second row on benches that faced the center, where a red carpet led to the altar. Dignitaries filed in, important-looking people in fine suites, and religious garb, smiling and getting their pictures taken. It made me wish I had a friend next to me to explain to me who everyone was. The military leaders were the most impressive, their old Prussian-style uniforms bearing gleaming medallions, insignia and with sabers at their sides. Then, of course, there was the president, Michelle Bachelet, who rode to the ceremony in an open convertible that passed slowly through the streets of Santiago. When she entered, she received a standing ovation.

The ceremony itself was so beautiful. The music, a mix of earthy, indigenous sounds and European high church, was dramatic and moving. Prayers and words were shared Protestant, Orthodox, and Catholic leaders (with the Catholics of course getting the most airtime). There was also a prayer by Muslim and Jewish leaders. The theme of the prayers and sermons was on the importance of unity, brotherhood, and progress for the country. It’s just the kind of thing you would hear in any country at such a service. But considering this is a country, and a church community, that was divided by the “us and them” ethic of a dictator not so long ago—these words have profound meaning. My favorite part of the ceremony was when about twelve pairs of people brought forward flowers for the altar. Each group represented a different group of Chileans, from the urban modern folks, to farm workers, to several different groups of indigenous people. It was really moving.

The whole ceremony was shown on live TV. And though there were cameras circling the whole time, the only time that Amy and the kids saw me on the TV set was after the ceremony when the press were interviewing politicians out front of the cathedral, and I was walking around trying to see who these famous guys were.

Independence Day Celebration

Today we got to see a traditional festival for the Fiestas Patrias. We went with Samuel and Pablo to Renca, a poor suburb where Pablo grew up. There was a big mountain that is a park, and there the people gathered to celebrate. The dusty dirt road was lined with booths with families selling traditional food, kites, and other wares. At the end of the road was a rodeo ring, and then the mountain itself covered in footpaths.

Pablo’s family had a booth, and his brother had a loud speaker and microphone to attract customers for their churipan. When we showed up to meet them, and bought some churipan, he even announced, “These people came all the way from the US to try our churipan.” Then, we climbed the mountain, and got a great view—it was probably higher than Cerro San Cristobal (from yesterday).

Here are the Chilean traditions for Fiestas Patrias:

1. Food:
• Empanadas de Pino. Like a Hot Pocket filled with ground beef, onions, olives and hard-boiled eggs
• Churipan. Big sausage—churizco—in bread, almost like a sausage dog
• Asado. Like barbeque, any kind of grilled meat (pork, beef, chicken)
2. Activities We Saw
• Kites. People make or buy kites made in a square with tissue paper and light wood. The kids fly them, and even try to break the strings of other kites with their own
• Kite Catching. Kids tape long sticks together, with a multi-pronged branch on the end, reaching to 15 feet. Then, when a kite gets close to them, either because it flew too low, or because the string gets caught, flocks of kids try to capture the kite with their pole. It’s a contest to see who can get the most kites without tearing or destroying them.
• Other. We didn’t see this, but other traditional activities are three-legged race and top spinning.

Cerro San Cristobal

Cerro is the Spanish word for hill. And, of course, Santiago being so close to the Andes, has its share of cerros. Cerro San Cristobal was one of the first sites we saw in Santiago, a hill visible during our dark-of-night taxi ride because of the lit statue of Mary on the peak. Alexander reported that “Jesus’ mother” was visible from the window at his school, and is easily seen from our neigborhood.

So, it was great to go up the hill today, especially because of the way we went up. A funincular is not so fun if you are afraid of heights or steepness or death in general. It is basically a train car pulled up a 30 degree hill (seriously) by a single cable. With no signs of an emergency brake. The way up was scary. The way down was better once I saw a plaque that Pope John Paul had ridden in this funincular car on his way up the mountain for mass back I the 80s. Safe to assume that he prayed for the car before heading up. Here's a view up the tracks.

On top of San Cristobal is the statue of Mary, a church, an amphitheater, and food booths. From there, you take a teleferico (gondola) across to another peak, high across the wooded mountain (picture left). The whole mountain is a park with two moutaintop pools (closed for winter), a Japanese garden, and steep roads full of cyclists of all kinds. My first thought, seeing the cyclists, was that I could never climb up this hill. But after a while, of course, it looked like fun and made me want to find a bike to ride. We headed to a great playground where the kids played for hours, ate some snacks, and headed home.

MIM Children's Museum

El Museo Interactiva Mirado is a science museum for kids. It has much of the typical kids stuff, prisms and bubble play, but the layout and implementation was far above that of any museum we have in Houston—every interactive exhibit was like a work of art. And the architecture of the building was stunning, a combination of curved wood paneling and concrete that was just mesmerizing. The kids, of course, had a blast. I got to lay on a bed of nails. Here's a picture of me inside a mirror box.

We’ve been to children’s museums in Costa Rica, Zacatecas Mexico, Boston, Fort Worth and San Antonio. And I have to say that though we’ve had some fun times at our own Houston Children’s Museum, it ranks below all of these in terms of quality, use of space, educational elements, and general enjoyment. Maybe the folks there need to do a little world tour and learn from others.

Zander's School Dance

The kids started school at a great time, because this—the second day of school—was a fiesta. They celebrated the Fiesta Patria, their independence day with a short presentation and then a feast of traditional foods. Amy and I were able to attend the presentation. Two groups danced traditional dances: the fourth grade and the Pre-K.

Yes, this is Alexander’s class, and believe it or not, he danced the cueca--the traditional Chilean dance! They dressed him in a Chilean hat, gave him a hankerchief to twirl and he danced with a girl partner. It was so cute. Alexander did great, and the girl also did a good job of leading him around. Here's a photo, and an 8-second video of Zander.

Kids' First Day of School

Today the kids started school, at a school named “Country of Paraguay” (weird, I know). We were very nervous about how it would go, though the kids weren’t nervous at all. They were actually really excited about the school hours, which are from 2pm-6:30pm. As is common in other countries, they have some students come in the morning, and others in the afternoon, in order to serve more kids in a single school. Their uniforms are like track suits.

After work, I met Amy at the front of the school to wait for the kids to be released. First came Alexander, walking in the line of his class. When he saw us, he started smiling a big, happy, half-shy grin, like he was trying to play cool while he was showing off. When he came out, he was so happy and proud to be in the big school. While we waited for Jacob to come out, he wasted no time in chasing some girls from his class around the patio area.

Jacob came out just as happy. He kept telling us how all the kids circled around him and kept asking him over and over if he really spoke English. Jacob was telling the story like he was annoyed, but you could tell it was really fun for him to be the center of attention. He said he had no trouble understanding the teachers’ Spanish (which surprised us), and he was top of the class on a reading test (which didn’t really surprise us), but that the hardest part was that the teacher wrote in cursive—which of course is no longer taught in the Houston schools.

El Once de Septiembre

Today, el once de septiembre, is the anniversary of the coup d’etat in Chile, where General Pinochet overthrew the democratically-elected government in 1973. Over the next seventeen years, Pinochet reigned as a ruthless dictator, squashing dissent, torturing and killing political prisoners, and causing thousands to “disappear.” It is interesting to compare this reign of terror with the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. In both, about 3,000 people are confirmed dead (while in Chile there are another 3,500 "disappeared"). And while our September 11 was a devastatingly sudden tragedy captured on live TV, theirs was a drawn out series of little acts of terror conducted under cover of night. I don’t know which is worse.

It is incredible to be here at this time. They are expecting demonstrations in the streets, and so the office closed early so that everyone could get home early. There is some concern that a few of the thousands of demonstrators could become unruly; last year, some threw Malatov cocktails at the government building, La Moneda. So, all the good Chileans here recommended that we get home early and stay inside today. I left the office at five instead of six, and couldn’t resist heading home via La Alameda, where the demonstrations are expected. I saw plenty of police, but nothing alarming. It was really quite calm.

It’s an emotional day for Chile, for FASIC, and for all those who lived through the experience of the coup d’etat and the dictatorship that followed. During the morning, we were invited into FASIC’s conference room for what appeared to me an impromptu meeting. They played a CD recording of the final message of President Salvador Allende—a message he transmitted over the radio while under siege in La Moneda on September 11 (listen here). You can hear chaos in the background, the fighter planes overhead, and the somber tone of voice as he says that he will give his life for the cause, but that manana, Chile should awake to retake the country. A few hours later, after trying to defend La Moneda from Pinochet’s troops with a rifle given to him by Fidel Castro, President Allende was dead.

I’ve only been here five days, and I am certainly not informed enough to draw real conclusions about modern Chilean society. It is obvious that el once de septiembre is a day of great sorrow. But, I dare say, it may also be a day of somber celebration; celebration that finally Chile is a country where demonstrations and a fierce free speech can take place in the public arena. More to the point, I told Claudio, the Director of FASIC, I don’t have the words to say anything about this day—not in Spanish, and not even in English.

Parque Forestal

Santiago is a beautiful city. Today we went to Parque Forestal, a park that runs along the river and has walking areas, various statues, playgrounds, and tons of people. We played soccer, the kids climbed on a statue, and we walked. I’ve never been in a park so full and full of life.

The plaza behind the museum was an unusual site, a circus of artists practicing and exhibiting their talents. Jugglers of all levels—oranges, balls, knives, fire. Acrobats doing slow-dance moves hanging from a ribbon-like rope attached to a tree. Breakdancers doing astonishing moves to old school rap music. Families and hippies and kids with green Mohawks all milling about. I felt like I was in a David Lynch movie.

First Day of Work

Today was my first day at work, where I had a meeting with the folks at FASIC. I was very nervous about my first day of working in Spanish. So, how did I do? Well, the third Spanish word out of my mouth was the wrong word for “happy” and it was an embarrassing and totally predictable mistake. Later in the day, as a Chilean colleague introduced me around the office, everyone kept asking “Habla Castelan?” (that’s what they call Spanish here). Then, after a Chilean woman was talking to me in very rapid Castelan, I heard my colleague tell her, more or less, “He doesn’t understand Castelan very well, and that’s why he has that look on his face.”

Here's a picture showing how I felt the first day.

Still, at the end of the day, I felt great. We went for lunch at a restaurant called Torres, which is famous and frequented by the political elite, and after I walked along the Alameda just taking in the city. I was in awe, and thinking Santiago is the greatest city in the world. It is beautiful and clean and full of life. And here I am for three months.

Arrival in Santiago

We arrived in Santiago at 4am, after flying from Houston with a layover in Panama City. We took a cab to our apartment and fell right to sleep, waking up around nine or so. It’s a furnished apartment with two bedrooms and two baths. It’s small, with the kitchen, dining area, and living room all more or less together. We found it through a good service, www.apartmentchile.com after another website www.contactchile.com tried to scam us—after we were all ready to rent an apartment from their site, they suddenly “talked to the owner and he is raising the rent $100.” Annoying.

All my life I’ve wanted a home with a view of mountains. And, here, we can see on a clear day like today, just in between tall apartment buildings, the tips of snow-covered mountains. The Andes, reaching to heights of 18,000 feet (compare to 14,000 max in Colorado) and creating an astonishing backdrop to the city of Santiago.