Landlord Lottery
Jackpot! One of the amazing blessings that I’ve had in life is having incredible landlords…and Chile has not proven to be any different! Coralí and Mario are among some of the first people I met down here and have been nothing but helpful! They have been very concerned about making sure that I get everything that I need to set up the house and keep warm (including stopping over a few times). On the second full day I got a phone…every day since she has checked up on me just to see how things are going. Seriously, could it get any better? Turn Up The Heat If you've lived in the Midwestern United States, you’re probably thinking that 30-40F degrees doesn’t sound quite so cold…and I would generally agree with you, especially after experiencing South Dakotan winters. However, you probably also have central heating…here everyone uses stoves or space heaters and keeps their coats/sweaters on all the time. In my house I am blessed to have una estufa, a wood-burning stove to help save on the high winter electricity costs. Not only is it warm, it’s pretty too! These Boots Were Made for Walking Unless you live in a bigger city in the USA, more than likely you own a car and drive everywhere you want to go…not so true in other countries AND I LOVE IT! While cars can be super convenient, I just love the idea of public transportation and walking to get places. I live a bit further from the downtown area than others, but it still is not very far at all! Here are a few walks I’ve taken: Home to church: 20 min Home to Jon & Elise’s: 23 min Home to Sodimac (like Home Depot): 11 min Home to Lider (like Walmart): 14 min Home to my bus stop: 5 min Home to downtown area: 30 min Home to a neighborhood market: 2 min *Keep in mind that I’m not by any means a fast walker…if I truly put the pedal to the metal these could be shorter, I just prefer to saunter. ¿Cachai? Apparently it doesn’t matter how many years you’ve studied Spanish…when you speak with Chileans, all bets are off. I love learning new words & playing with language, but Chilean Spanish has had me asking them what things mean all the time, laughing at my mistakes a lot, and has given me many many light bulb moments! palta: aguacate/avocado Do I want palta on my sandwich? Ab.so.lutely. cancelar: can mean to cancel/invalidate...I've learned that it can also mean "to pay up/settle a debt" ...at first I was so confused as to why my landlady wanted me to cancel her? cocina/estufa: here in Chile your cocina is your stove/oven and your estufa is a wood-burning stove to keep your house warm ...Spanish 4 students of 2014, I hope you're giggling with me about this one :) boleta/factura: both can mean receipt, but, I think, you more than likely want a boleta unless you're buying for a business Checkout lady: "¿Factura o boleta?" Me: [confused look] Checkout lady: "¿Factura?" Me: [unsurely] "¿Sí?" Checkout lady: [confused look] "¿Haces compras para un negocio?" Me: "No." Checkout lady: "Necesitas boleta." Me: [phew] una consulta: I LOVE this word…nobody here asks you if you have una pregunta (a question) but rather una consulta (an enquiry) Store employee: "¿Una consulta?" Me: [in my head with a British accent "why yes, yes I do have an enquiry."] carabinero/a: here in Chile this means police, the dictionary translates it as rifleman My landlady says that one of my neighbors is a carabinero...maybe we'll meet when it isn't so cold outside! pieza: dormitorio/bedroom There is a little window above my pieza door with a sticker that says "This bedroom belongs to the best mom & dad in the world." {I feel like such a rebel.} ¿cachai?: This means "¿Entiendes?" "Do you understand?" Talking on the phone is much harder than in person because they can't see the confusion that has set in... It has been a fantastic week of learning a lot and I can't wait to get some paperwork done and hopefully get to school next week!
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I don't have tons of time to write right now, but here is a quick synopsis of the last week!
Wednesday Arrived in Santiago around 9am local time Met by Pastor Tim & Ellen Quick lunch 4 hour bus ride to Linares Met by Jon, Elise, & Seth Met landlady & signed papers at notary Toured the house Wined & dined Slept…lots! Thursday Shopped til we dropped! Set up bed & moved luggage Bank card got blocked Got locked out of my house (and failed at trying to break in) Spent another night at Jon & Elise’s Friday Bought & set-up phone Called to unblock bank card Called landlady to get into the house More shopping Ate delicious and ridiculously cheap sushi Spent first night in my house Saturday Set up a few things in the house Walked around downtown Linares with Elise Went to a Wine Festival in Linares with Jon, Elise, & Seth Sunday Attended Bible Study & Church Met lots of people at church & enjoyed some snacks that some members brought to welcome us Went shopping for a few other necessities First Taxi ride in Linares with my many items Finally, with the help of my landlady, got my gas cylinder filled Monday Walked around my neighborhood Found my little neighborhood markets Stayed inside most of the day since it was rainy Put things together in the house Landlords came by to fix a minor gas leak Relaxed under a blanket reading and watching a movie Tuesday Currently catching up on some correspondence Very soon we are going to catch a bus to Longaví to meet with school officials Just in case you needed to see a bit more of us in Guatemala... The main song in the video is "Vivir mi vida" by Marc Anthony. If you're interested in seeing a rough translation of the lyrics, click here. The translation isn't perfect, but I think you'll get the idea!
I have loved this song from the first moment that I heard it because it has such an uplifting beat and positive message (how many secular songs can you say that about?)! My favorite lines say: "Sometimes rain comes to clean your wounds; sometimes just a drop can overcome a drought." I can recall a few experiences in my life when I was feeling like I was in the middle of a drought in my life...and then God sent me just a drop of happiness that turned it all around: a hug, a phone call, a devotion with the perfect Bible verse. Whatever it was, God knew just how to take care of me. I pray that God grants you any drops (or rain showers) that you may need right now! One of my very favorite things to do is to travel with my students! Yes, you read that correctly, I love to travel with teenagers. (The secret? Food. Plenty of food.) I have a passion for traveling and getting to know the Lord’s beautiful world and it has been an incredible gift to be able to share that as part of my career! This past Sunday I returned from 14 adventure-packed days in Guatemala with 6 of my Spanish students. During the first week we lived with Guatemalan host families and spent 7 hours each day immersed in one-on-one Spanish language study in the city of Antigua. Even though the first week was an amazing yet challenging experience, a relaxing second week was welcomed by all. A variety of activities kept us busy, including: kayaking, horseback riding, muddy jungle hiking, learning about traditional and modern Mayan culture, swimming, eating lots of great food, getting wet on boat rides, sleeping on long car rides, visiting the ruins of Tikal, zip-lining, and peacefully resting in hammocks. I am certainly going to miss leading these trips...extending the classroom walls and opening the world to adventure-thirsty young adults. (...maybe I can travel with some of my Chilean students to the USA? Hmmm…) Check out the “Picture This” section for some highlights! |
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