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!
1 Comment
Jayne jaeger
7/29/2015 12:05:33 pm
Delightful! Keep posting!
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
|