I was talking to my boy the other day, as I am wont to do, and he posed what I thought was an interesting question. My response also somewhat surprised me, and so I feel it would make a good post.
He asked, I know you were always planning on doing a lot of traveling every weekend, but you seem to just be sticking in Santiago. Are you doing that cause it´s more comfortable?
I think the answer is yes and no. Of course visiting somewhere else is a nervewracking, especially for me when I can barely communicate. But honestly, I almost think it would be easier for me to go off by myself and be a hermitted tourist than to constantly go out and try to forge relationships with these people I´ve met. I consider myself a friendly person, but meeting new people is always hard, and you´re just never quite yourself. You try too hard, you come off as desperate. And when half the time they say things you don´t understand it´s even more nervewracking. If you are one of those people who always thinks others are talking about you, just don´t travel somewhere you don´t speak the language, it´s a whole new level of paranoia.
I feel one of the biggest reasons I came here was to see what it was like to forge a normal life in another country. Yes every city in the U.S. has it´s own culture, but it is all still American. I wanted to see how different it was to create an existence in a completely foreign place, even if it´s metropolitan like New York. And in order to do that, I have to really live in the city I´ve chosen. I could travel around and simply see the countryside, but I really wanted to live in it, so get a sense of the people. It is impossible not to get a skewed perception, for everyone creates their own bubble where they live. I had my bubble in New York, I for sure have my bubble here, but everyone does. That´s part of life. I just wanted to see if I could even get that bubble started somewhere else, without it popping and me failing miserably. So far I feel I´m really making a place for myself, and I wouldn´t call it a success, but it´s in the right direction. At the very least, I don´t feel I´ll ever be scared to move wherever the greatest chance awaits me, because I have confidence in my bubble-blowing skills. And of course the P&G network, :)
Monday, June 30
Warning: Explicit Material Ahead!-Part 2
So the second part of this post is about missing that special someone. Or rather, contact with that special someone.
One of the things the guys in the previous post assume is that I am super horny and must be craving sex being apart from my man. This leads me to the question, what is it that I miss most about my relationship, in the physical sense?
It is most certainly not any sexual act. Far more than any passionate few hours, I miss simple male affection. I miss spooning, I miss holding hands, I miss the little kiss goodbye. I miss walking down the street next to someone who, touching you or not, makes you feel enveloped by their presence. I just miss that sense of knowing a touch of the arm is a reassurance, that they are nearby, they love you, they can protect you. I miss not having him to run his hand through my hair while I´m asleep, I miss not having his warm cheek to nuzzle my cold nose in. All these little touches are so much more meaningful than some sweaty night. At my weakest moments, given the choice between spooning watching a movie or having a latin lover, I would still choose spooning, because that is what I lack while I´m here. Luckily none of the guys here are that sensitive, or I might be getting asked to a lot more movie nights.
I don´t know if this is different for me because I´m a female, or if this is universal, but I believe it is the little affections I miss most because they are things I truly can´t have here. If I really wanted I could have the passionate nights, but I can´t have the true reminders of love, mixed with the history of tenderness that makes up my relationship in the States. And that is what I miss. Love you babe.
One of the things the guys in the previous post assume is that I am super horny and must be craving sex being apart from my man. This leads me to the question, what is it that I miss most about my relationship, in the physical sense?
It is most certainly not any sexual act. Far more than any passionate few hours, I miss simple male affection. I miss spooning, I miss holding hands, I miss the little kiss goodbye. I miss walking down the street next to someone who, touching you or not, makes you feel enveloped by their presence. I just miss that sense of knowing a touch of the arm is a reassurance, that they are nearby, they love you, they can protect you. I miss not having him to run his hand through my hair while I´m asleep, I miss not having his warm cheek to nuzzle my cold nose in. All these little touches are so much more meaningful than some sweaty night. At my weakest moments, given the choice between spooning watching a movie or having a latin lover, I would still choose spooning, because that is what I lack while I´m here. Luckily none of the guys here are that sensitive, or I might be getting asked to a lot more movie nights.
I don´t know if this is different for me because I´m a female, or if this is universal, but I believe it is the little affections I miss most because they are things I truly can´t have here. If I really wanted I could have the passionate nights, but I can´t have the true reminders of love, mixed with the history of tenderness that makes up my relationship in the States. And that is what I miss. Love you babe.
Warning: Explicit Material Ahead!-Part 1
Ok, so that´s not really true, but this blog is slightly dealing with that forbidden fruit which we all crave-sex. Or rather, what it´s like being away from your significant other when living abroad.
I have been shocked at people´s attitudes towards my having a boyfriend here in Chile. Those people who I call my friends for the most part have all offered to sleep with me, some subtly, some not so subtly. At first I was flattered, but now I find it merely annoying. Because I am from the U.S., people tend to assume that I will be slutty, and I think the blond hair in a spanish country doesn´t exactly help. People assume that my boyfriend and I aren´t serious, and that I would be more than willing to cheat. Once I explain our situation, people may realize we´re relatively serious, but they still assume I would be more than willing to cheat. They just don´t understand that I don´t consider that an option. I consider it a waste of time for nothing but small gratification at the expense of someone else´s heart.
I went to a party on friday night, a housewarming party for J. He finally moved into a real apartment after living at the Mariott for months. That´s P&G for you, no time for apartment searching! Anyway, I had a great time, but as usual I got little attention from the girls and a lot from the guys. Most of the people there were married, but that didn´t stop the ambush. Later in the night, when most people were a bit intoxicated, I was outside and suddenly surrounded by five men, and one of them asked, ´what is this about your boyfriend, why are you having fun´. I HATE when people ask me if I´m still having fun. As if because I can´t make out with every latin guy I meet this means I´m not having fun. Did it ever occur to them I wouldn´t do that if I was single? That maybe I´m a good girl? No, of course not. When I tried to explain that I would never cheat on my boyfriend, they say, we´re not talking about cheating, we´re just talking about experiencing latin flavor. No you are not! You´re talking about cheating, and I am not going to be somehow fooled into doing it. Good lord, I´m a human being, not a monkey. I do have some ounce of logic in my light haired head. The one guy who actually supports the fact that I am not like others, kept quiet. And his defence was, I´m a friend, I still want him to have fun. Great, glad to know relationships are so respected.
I think the most annoying part was when they said, when you´re so far away, it´s ok, you don´t know what your boyfriend is doing. And of course, I actually do know my boyfriend, they´re the ones who´ve never met him, which is what I said. And they all gave each other knowing looks. To which I replied, fine, let´s say he is cheating on me. That doesn´t mean it´s ok for me to cheat on him. It doesn´t work like that. This was met by shocked silence.
At the time I was pretty upset about this, but in retrospect, I have to wonder if it´s just the way it is down here. Do people really consider relationships so open? Are women really considered so indespensable? The next day I recieved a long apology text from the guy they were all trying to get me to hook up with, saying he always respected my relationship and it´s just hard for his friends to understand. I don´t blame him for his friends, and he has been nothing short of a gentleman, but to his friends I say: bullshit. Regardless of my relationship status a no is a no. I wouldn´t hook up with him is I was single, much less now when I´m taken. So stop pushing.
I have been shocked at people´s attitudes towards my having a boyfriend here in Chile. Those people who I call my friends for the most part have all offered to sleep with me, some subtly, some not so subtly. At first I was flattered, but now I find it merely annoying. Because I am from the U.S., people tend to assume that I will be slutty, and I think the blond hair in a spanish country doesn´t exactly help. People assume that my boyfriend and I aren´t serious, and that I would be more than willing to cheat. Once I explain our situation, people may realize we´re relatively serious, but they still assume I would be more than willing to cheat. They just don´t understand that I don´t consider that an option. I consider it a waste of time for nothing but small gratification at the expense of someone else´s heart.
I went to a party on friday night, a housewarming party for J. He finally moved into a real apartment after living at the Mariott for months. That´s P&G for you, no time for apartment searching! Anyway, I had a great time, but as usual I got little attention from the girls and a lot from the guys. Most of the people there were married, but that didn´t stop the ambush. Later in the night, when most people were a bit intoxicated, I was outside and suddenly surrounded by five men, and one of them asked, ´what is this about your boyfriend, why are you having fun´. I HATE when people ask me if I´m still having fun. As if because I can´t make out with every latin guy I meet this means I´m not having fun. Did it ever occur to them I wouldn´t do that if I was single? That maybe I´m a good girl? No, of course not. When I tried to explain that I would never cheat on my boyfriend, they say, we´re not talking about cheating, we´re just talking about experiencing latin flavor. No you are not! You´re talking about cheating, and I am not going to be somehow fooled into doing it. Good lord, I´m a human being, not a monkey. I do have some ounce of logic in my light haired head. The one guy who actually supports the fact that I am not like others, kept quiet. And his defence was, I´m a friend, I still want him to have fun. Great, glad to know relationships are so respected.
I think the most annoying part was when they said, when you´re so far away, it´s ok, you don´t know what your boyfriend is doing. And of course, I actually do know my boyfriend, they´re the ones who´ve never met him, which is what I said. And they all gave each other knowing looks. To which I replied, fine, let´s say he is cheating on me. That doesn´t mean it´s ok for me to cheat on him. It doesn´t work like that. This was met by shocked silence.
At the time I was pretty upset about this, but in retrospect, I have to wonder if it´s just the way it is down here. Do people really consider relationships so open? Are women really considered so indespensable? The next day I recieved a long apology text from the guy they were all trying to get me to hook up with, saying he always respected my relationship and it´s just hard for his friends to understand. I don´t blame him for his friends, and he has been nothing short of a gentleman, but to his friends I say: bullshit. Regardless of my relationship status a no is a no. I wouldn´t hook up with him is I was single, much less now when I´m taken. So stop pushing.
Wednesday, June 25
Discos
Ok, so now that I have been to the disco a few times, I feel it deserves it´s own post. Not to mention I have a hilarious story that needs telling.
First off, I love dancing. I think it´s really really fun, and I don´t much care whether I´m good or not, or if I´m dancing alone or with someone, I just really love it. So of course, you´d think when I lived in New York I would go dancing all the time. Not so. This is because in New York men feel the need to hump you when you´re dancing. It´s awful, and it completely ruins the experience. Usually you just have to squeeze your way off the dance floor, cause it´s too much to handle. Chile is completely different. there is no humping, at least not to that degree, and of course latin men can do more than just move side to side, so they dance with you rather than on you. It´s so much fun, and actually dancing meregue or salsa is fun too, I just feel sorry for my partners, lol.
So last Thursday after the Chile vs. Venezuela game, which we won of course. A few of us decided to go to a club. Of course, I needed a ride home, so who was I to disagree? So we go, at around 12. Remember, I have the day off on Friday´s, all these people have real lives. Both of the guys I drove with are married, so they are super protective of me like a little sister. So we get to the club, we dance, good times. However, whenever a guy comes up trying to talk to me I get pulled away. Note no one even tries speaking to me in spanish. They go, you are american? And I go, sí. And they go, you are a perfect American specimen! and then my ´brothers´drag them away from me. The one time I did dance with someone, he got a 5 minute long speech about how I was a cousin and if he touched me the wrong way he would be dead. I have to say, I found this hilarious and quite heartwarming. Also note everytime I go people are like, where did you learn to dance, american´s usually cannot dance this way. I´m still determining if it´s a compliment.
So we decide to leave. Earlier married J (husband of M) tells me he´s going to take a cab home. He was pretty toasted at this point. He gives me my coat check ticket and bounces, or so I thought. So a half hour later L and I leave, only to recieve a call from J saying he is still there. So we do a U-turn, which I thought was too fast, and made me remark, you´re gong to kill me. L responds, do you want to drive? which in my experience only leads to bad things. He swerves right like he´s going to stop and let me drive, but instead jumps the curb and gets a flat tire. Needless to say, I, who does not have work tomorrow and is not the owner of the car, found this hilarious. So we pull into a gas station, call J, and he says he´ll walk . Some 20-30 min later, while we have still not gotten the car even jacked up, J waltzes into the gas station, with a glass of a drink in hand, which he stole from the bar. He is schockered. Again, hilarious. Long story short, it takes almost two hours total to change the tire. by now it is around 4 in the morning.
You would think my story is over, but no. We now had to get home. We decided to take J home first, because now he was worried M would be really upset and not let him inside. Of course, none of us thought to call her while we were changing the tire. So he calls her to let her know he´s coming. She is very upset and asks to speak to me. I tell her about the tire, but she didn´t believe me. And to be honest, it does sound like a complete lie, so I don´t blame her. She hung up, pretty furious and didn´t answer the phone for the rest of the night. At this point I´m all worried that she hates me, because I was in fact telling the truth! But, Chilean custom says you don´t trust anyone, and since she doesn´t know me that well, of course she wouldn´t trust me. I was not so accquainted with Chilean social customs as I am now, but they really do take a long time to truly let someone into the inner circle, and for the most part are just very untrusting. I don´t really see anything wrong with it, but it is definitely different, and a lot of gringa´s find it enormously frustrating.
So anyway, we´re driving, and all of a sudden, L realizes he´s lost. Great. We end up in Santiago centro, and we get J home a 4:30. Luckily M let him in, but I wasn´t in bed until 5. Needless to say it was a long night, with some not so good choices, but a great story.
First off, I love dancing. I think it´s really really fun, and I don´t much care whether I´m good or not, or if I´m dancing alone or with someone, I just really love it. So of course, you´d think when I lived in New York I would go dancing all the time. Not so. This is because in New York men feel the need to hump you when you´re dancing. It´s awful, and it completely ruins the experience. Usually you just have to squeeze your way off the dance floor, cause it´s too much to handle. Chile is completely different. there is no humping, at least not to that degree, and of course latin men can do more than just move side to side, so they dance with you rather than on you. It´s so much fun, and actually dancing meregue or salsa is fun too, I just feel sorry for my partners, lol.
So last Thursday after the Chile vs. Venezuela game, which we won of course. A few of us decided to go to a club. Of course, I needed a ride home, so who was I to disagree? So we go, at around 12. Remember, I have the day off on Friday´s, all these people have real lives. Both of the guys I drove with are married, so they are super protective of me like a little sister. So we get to the club, we dance, good times. However, whenever a guy comes up trying to talk to me I get pulled away. Note no one even tries speaking to me in spanish. They go, you are american? And I go, sí. And they go, you are a perfect American specimen! and then my ´brothers´drag them away from me. The one time I did dance with someone, he got a 5 minute long speech about how I was a cousin and if he touched me the wrong way he would be dead. I have to say, I found this hilarious and quite heartwarming. Also note everytime I go people are like, where did you learn to dance, american´s usually cannot dance this way. I´m still determining if it´s a compliment.
So we decide to leave. Earlier married J (husband of M) tells me he´s going to take a cab home. He was pretty toasted at this point. He gives me my coat check ticket and bounces, or so I thought. So a half hour later L and I leave, only to recieve a call from J saying he is still there. So we do a U-turn, which I thought was too fast, and made me remark, you´re gong to kill me. L responds, do you want to drive? which in my experience only leads to bad things. He swerves right like he´s going to stop and let me drive, but instead jumps the curb and gets a flat tire. Needless to say, I, who does not have work tomorrow and is not the owner of the car, found this hilarious. So we pull into a gas station, call J, and he says he´ll walk . Some 20-30 min later, while we have still not gotten the car even jacked up, J waltzes into the gas station, with a glass of a drink in hand, which he stole from the bar. He is schockered. Again, hilarious. Long story short, it takes almost two hours total to change the tire. by now it is around 4 in the morning.
You would think my story is over, but no. We now had to get home. We decided to take J home first, because now he was worried M would be really upset and not let him inside. Of course, none of us thought to call her while we were changing the tire. So he calls her to let her know he´s coming. She is very upset and asks to speak to me. I tell her about the tire, but she didn´t believe me. And to be honest, it does sound like a complete lie, so I don´t blame her. She hung up, pretty furious and didn´t answer the phone for the rest of the night. At this point I´m all worried that she hates me, because I was in fact telling the truth! But, Chilean custom says you don´t trust anyone, and since she doesn´t know me that well, of course she wouldn´t trust me. I was not so accquainted with Chilean social customs as I am now, but they really do take a long time to truly let someone into the inner circle, and for the most part are just very untrusting. I don´t really see anything wrong with it, but it is definitely different, and a lot of gringa´s find it enormously frustrating.
So anyway, we´re driving, and all of a sudden, L realizes he´s lost. Great. We end up in Santiago centro, and we get J home a 4:30. Luckily M let him in, but I wasn´t in bed until 5. Needless to say it was a long night, with some not so good choices, but a great story.
Fútbol
Yes, I learned how to put accents on the top of letters. Score one for Jessica! And speaking of scoring, I guess it´s pretty much impossible to come to a Latin country and not watch soccer. I have watched more soccer in the last few weeks than I probably ever will for the rest of my life. Of course I played when I was younger, like every other person in the U.S., but I wasn´t aggressive enough. I mean really, if they want the ball that badly they can just have it.
Having said that, watching soccer here is at least as much fun as watching football in the U.S.. People love it, and go crazy, and of course there are drinking games involved. It´s good times for sure. One of my new friends, J (no, not that J, everyone here has a name that begins with J) is from españa, and he says I just can´t understand what it means. Of course we watched the spain vs. italy match, that was really quite amazing, and I learned every curse word there is in spanish. It was so much fun. And afterwards we all went to celebrate. I had to wear a jersey from spain, which I still have. The semifinals are this week, today and tomorrow, and I can´t WAIT for the finals! If you´ve never watched soccer before, get a big group of friends, go to a mexican restaurant with a TV, and embrace the experience. It´s one you won´t forget.
Having said that, watching soccer here is at least as much fun as watching football in the U.S.. People love it, and go crazy, and of course there are drinking games involved. It´s good times for sure. One of my new friends, J (no, not that J, everyone here has a name that begins with J) is from españa, and he says I just can´t understand what it means. Of course we watched the spain vs. italy match, that was really quite amazing, and I learned every curse word there is in spanish. It was so much fun. And afterwards we all went to celebrate. I had to wear a jersey from spain, which I still have. The semifinals are this week, today and tomorrow, and I can´t WAIT for the finals! If you´ve never watched soccer before, get a big group of friends, go to a mexican restaurant with a TV, and embrace the experience. It´s one you won´t forget.
Gringa Party
So, Saturday night I went to a gringa party! Emily invited me to a party that Kyle, another blogger in Chile was hosting. Kyle´s mom was in town and had brought tons of candy, so it was a huge pig out time! It was really fun, and it was interesting to hear everyone´s stories of how they ended up here. Most people started with a study abroad, although a few had just come here like me. Most of them returned because of loved ones (aka hot chilenos) but there were a few again, like me, here without a loved one. Everyone was in a different stage of their travels, and I think I was the newest. Everyone else definitely knows more spanish than I do, lol. But it was luckily all in english. It was really nice tho, to meet other people who have gone through the same things I have and made it through. It gives me hope that I´ll be able to make it here too, and that I´ll know more spanish too! Thanks girls, for a great evening, and Kyle for being so welcoming!
Tuesday, June 24
Can I have that to go?
Ok, this is something that drives me crazy. You can´t get anything to go here. Not to mention they don´t know what preprepared meals are. Seriously, no TV dinners, barely a choice of some premade lunches in groceries, and no to go coffee and bagel! THEY DON´T EVEN HAVE BAGELS. Seriously, I asked everyone in my lab, they´ve never heard of anything like it. I feel the need to bring New York bagels to Santiago. I would be a gagillionaire. But really, I am used to ordering in every single thing I eat, so to have to cook or go to a restaurant and sit there is just weird for me! I´m sure it´s much healthier, and that I´m eating less fat, but really, I just want a frappucino. To go.
Spanish update
Basically, I have found I can´t speak spanish. 3 weeks and I still have an incredibly hard time understanding anything. And if someone tries to talk to me, I completely crumble into a ball of nerves that is unable to listen or respond. It has gotten better, and I understand much more than I used to, but for the most part it´s still all another language, not something I understand. I suppose I expected to be farther along by now, but I think it´s my fault because I´m so hesitant to speak spanish with people. I thought if I just listened for a while I would pick up on a lot, but maybe if I speak it it will be better. So I´ve made an effort the last few days to speak only in spanish with people. We´ll see how that goes. More updates later!
Iglesias
Ok, so having been to Europe, I really feel I have been outdone on churches for the rest of my life. Going to Italy is like constantly being in a cathedral, and since then I really haven´t ever been too keen on touring other churches to date. The last cathedral I was in was St. Pat´s a few years ago. However, I keeping with my desire to see everything in Santiago, I walked around one day and lo and behold, I came upon three famous churches. The crazy thing was, they were absolutely nothing alike, and I found them so interesting I wanted to write an entire post on them. So here goes.
The first church I will mention is Iglesia de San Antonio, which is the oldest church here. And let me tell you, it looks it. The poor thing looks run down and beat up. It looks even worse inside, and is absolutely the ugliest little thing I´ve ever seen. Granted, it´s history, and I don´t want to not appreciate that, but I just don´t think I could come to worship in such a cold, cold little place. I´ll put pictures up later, but I always feel awkward taking pictures in a church, so there aren´t any of the inside. I feel like I´m mocking God or something by touristizing the inside of a chapel or something.
The next church is completely the opposite. It´s huge, very ornate, and right on the corner of Plaza de Armas. It´s beautiful, with all the huge marble statues and Gothic architecture that makes up a typical European cathedral. It was very beautiful I must say, and I was not the only one who was there just to look. However, I always find churches like this rather ostentatious, so I was not overly impressed I must say. Seems like anyone can make an ornate church full of marble and dramatic statues these days, so yay for having seen Santiago´s.
Now I have been in a lot of churches in my day, but I found a church in Santiago that is actually comfortable. And I don´t mean you go inside and you could lounge about, I mean you walk inside and you feel relaxed. Your shoulders release a little tension, and you feel vaguely at home. This is Iglesia de Merced. I walk past it every day on my way to the gym, and I always noticed the outside because it´s this very pretty red color with yellow trim, and it always looked happy. Inside is just breathtaking. But not in a gaudy way, in a subtle and beautiful way. It´s as if someone actually took the time to design the church in hopes people would be able to truly use it as a sanctuary from their otherwise hectic lives. I think this is because the church is all in pink. Pink marble, pink trimming, magenta molding. You may be thinking there is just no way that could work, but it really does! It just gives off this warm atmosphere. And the saints´alcoves are all different, and the saints´faces look comfortable, if perhaps a little concerned. I really enjoyed myself there. I reccomend it to everyone, just for 5 minutes. It´ll make your day.
The first church I will mention is Iglesia de San Antonio, which is the oldest church here. And let me tell you, it looks it. The poor thing looks run down and beat up. It looks even worse inside, and is absolutely the ugliest little thing I´ve ever seen. Granted, it´s history, and I don´t want to not appreciate that, but I just don´t think I could come to worship in such a cold, cold little place. I´ll put pictures up later, but I always feel awkward taking pictures in a church, so there aren´t any of the inside. I feel like I´m mocking God or something by touristizing the inside of a chapel or something.
The next church is completely the opposite. It´s huge, very ornate, and right on the corner of Plaza de Armas. It´s beautiful, with all the huge marble statues and Gothic architecture that makes up a typical European cathedral. It was very beautiful I must say, and I was not the only one who was there just to look. However, I always find churches like this rather ostentatious, so I was not overly impressed I must say. Seems like anyone can make an ornate church full of marble and dramatic statues these days, so yay for having seen Santiago´s.
Now I have been in a lot of churches in my day, but I found a church in Santiago that is actually comfortable. And I don´t mean you go inside and you could lounge about, I mean you walk inside and you feel relaxed. Your shoulders release a little tension, and you feel vaguely at home. This is Iglesia de Merced. I walk past it every day on my way to the gym, and I always noticed the outside because it´s this very pretty red color with yellow trim, and it always looked happy. Inside is just breathtaking. But not in a gaudy way, in a subtle and beautiful way. It´s as if someone actually took the time to design the church in hopes people would be able to truly use it as a sanctuary from their otherwise hectic lives. I think this is because the church is all in pink. Pink marble, pink trimming, magenta molding. You may be thinking there is just no way that could work, but it really does! It just gives off this warm atmosphere. And the saints´alcoves are all different, and the saints´faces look comfortable, if perhaps a little concerned. I really enjoyed myself there. I reccomend it to everyone, just for 5 minutes. It´ll make your day.
Wednesday, June 18
Restaurant Review: Tiramisu
This will probably be my last post for the day, but I have 5 more topics I want to write about, so expect lots more tomorrow!
Monday I went to dinner with J, J, and M at Tiramisu. It is a restaurant in the El Golf district, which is a very cute neighborhood, sort of like the west west part of Greenwich village. A lot of cute restaurants and bars, but quiet and with nice homes and apartments. I live on Bellavista, which is like living on Christopher street and 6th ave. For those from New York, I´m sure you get the difference.
Anyway, it is a very nice Italian restaurant famous for its pizzas. Let me tell you, their pizzas were amazing! The ambience is really nice, with cute table with checkerboard tablecloths, candles, and low lighting to set a good mood. When I arrived and when I left there was a waiter ready to pull out my chair and put on my coat. Although, to be honest, I think it was the hair. I didn´t see anyone else get the same treatment, and people tend to hover over me in restaurants, but if you speak english you´ll probably get the same special treatment. In the middle of the restaurant is a courtyard with fruit trees growing. It´s a great place to get together with friends for some good wine, or for an intimate night out with that special someone.
I had a wonderful glass of Cabernet Savignon, so I have to say the wine is very good there. Cab Sav can be very vinegary if you let it ferment too long, but if it´s done well, it is my favorite varietal. Here I had a perfect glass, so I had to mention it! The pizza I chose was amazing! I got the All´arriabata, which had mozzarella cheese, sun dried tomatoes, and hot chili sauce. It is so hard to find spicy food here, and so when I do, I take it. M loves it too from her time in the U.S. so we asked especially for red pepper flakes, which are only available at very fine restaurants, not even from a supermarket. It was so good, although I can´t get used to eating pizza with a knife and fork, and yesterday when I at the leftovers, you can bet I used my hands.
All in all, I give it 4 stars out of 5, and a great review. If you come to santiago, don´t miss it!
Monday I went to dinner with J, J, and M at Tiramisu. It is a restaurant in the El Golf district, which is a very cute neighborhood, sort of like the west west part of Greenwich village. A lot of cute restaurants and bars, but quiet and with nice homes and apartments. I live on Bellavista, which is like living on Christopher street and 6th ave. For those from New York, I´m sure you get the difference.
Anyway, it is a very nice Italian restaurant famous for its pizzas. Let me tell you, their pizzas were amazing! The ambience is really nice, with cute table with checkerboard tablecloths, candles, and low lighting to set a good mood. When I arrived and when I left there was a waiter ready to pull out my chair and put on my coat. Although, to be honest, I think it was the hair. I didn´t see anyone else get the same treatment, and people tend to hover over me in restaurants, but if you speak english you´ll probably get the same special treatment. In the middle of the restaurant is a courtyard with fruit trees growing. It´s a great place to get together with friends for some good wine, or for an intimate night out with that special someone.
I had a wonderful glass of Cabernet Savignon, so I have to say the wine is very good there. Cab Sav can be very vinegary if you let it ferment too long, but if it´s done well, it is my favorite varietal. Here I had a perfect glass, so I had to mention it! The pizza I chose was amazing! I got the All´arriabata, which had mozzarella cheese, sun dried tomatoes, and hot chili sauce. It is so hard to find spicy food here, and so when I do, I take it. M loves it too from her time in the U.S. so we asked especially for red pepper flakes, which are only available at very fine restaurants, not even from a supermarket. It was so good, although I can´t get used to eating pizza with a knife and fork, and yesterday when I at the leftovers, you can bet I used my hands.
All in all, I give it 4 stars out of 5, and a great review. If you come to santiago, don´t miss it!
¿Cocinas? No, no puedo.
Friday night I finally spent some quality time with the roomies. I helped cook dinner, and by helped, I mean I watched, because I can´t cook. And we made pasta sauce from scratch, so really, I couldn´t do much to help. I tried chopping an onion and Mariaisabella took it away from me and promptly began laughing at me telling everyone how I couldn´t cook. This is true, so what are you gonna do.
There is now a woman from Germany living there as well, who actually speaks less spanish than me, lol. So we all (like 9 of us) in the house were out in the common room, talking. It was interesting to see, because we talked about difference between cultures. When we talked about family life, half the roomates expressed disgust at the American way of leaving your family early and then living far away. But there were some younger people there who are doing that right now, and they obviously felt differently. I didn´t know how to say I think being able to live away from my family helps foster a closer relationship with my parents, because I feel I can be more open with them when my live does not revolve around them.
However, I understand how in Latin cultures taking care of your own is so important. I suppose I feel my parents don´t much need me, and to be honest, I think they enjoy having the house and their lives to themselves again. Mom, you can tell me I´m wrong, but I think my experience helps foster an independence that is very necessary for me to go out into the real world of American jobs. If I still had my mom to do my laundry, and take care of things that weren´t going my way, I´m not sure I´d be prepared to take care of myself someday. Granted, my mother takes care of me all the time for the big things, i.e. see my first 5 posts, lol. But that´s what´s great about our relationship, she´s there to support me whenever I need it, but I´m a mature adult because she was forced not to baby me once I was away from home.
It´s hard for me to understand how someone matures into a caretaker, into being responsible enough to have their own family when they never leave the nest. Obviously much of the world in fact lives in this method, so it is most certainly possible, and very successful. I however, can´t comprehend it. It is so foreign to me, that to understand this concept might be more difficult than understanding spanish. In the U.S. people who live with their parents are often not successful, usually are high school dropouts. They have failed at starting their own life, and living with their parents is a sign of this. Thus it is looked down on. Here it is normal, and people live their lives together, and being able to take care of and live with your parents your whole life can be a sign of affluency. Perhaps I will be able to understand family dynamics in the Chilean household someday, but for now, it elludes me. Maybe I´m too independent for my own good.
There is now a woman from Germany living there as well, who actually speaks less spanish than me, lol. So we all (like 9 of us) in the house were out in the common room, talking. It was interesting to see, because we talked about difference between cultures. When we talked about family life, half the roomates expressed disgust at the American way of leaving your family early and then living far away. But there were some younger people there who are doing that right now, and they obviously felt differently. I didn´t know how to say I think being able to live away from my family helps foster a closer relationship with my parents, because I feel I can be more open with them when my live does not revolve around them.
However, I understand how in Latin cultures taking care of your own is so important. I suppose I feel my parents don´t much need me, and to be honest, I think they enjoy having the house and their lives to themselves again. Mom, you can tell me I´m wrong, but I think my experience helps foster an independence that is very necessary for me to go out into the real world of American jobs. If I still had my mom to do my laundry, and take care of things that weren´t going my way, I´m not sure I´d be prepared to take care of myself someday. Granted, my mother takes care of me all the time for the big things, i.e. see my first 5 posts, lol. But that´s what´s great about our relationship, she´s there to support me whenever I need it, but I´m a mature adult because she was forced not to baby me once I was away from home.
It´s hard for me to understand how someone matures into a caretaker, into being responsible enough to have their own family when they never leave the nest. Obviously much of the world in fact lives in this method, so it is most certainly possible, and very successful. I however, can´t comprehend it. It is so foreign to me, that to understand this concept might be more difficult than understanding spanish. In the U.S. people who live with their parents are often not successful, usually are high school dropouts. They have failed at starting their own life, and living with their parents is a sign of this. Thus it is looked down on. Here it is normal, and people live their lives together, and being able to take care of and live with your parents your whole life can be a sign of affluency. Perhaps I will be able to understand family dynamics in the Chilean household someday, but for now, it elludes me. Maybe I´m too independent for my own good.
Creepy men exist everywhere
So, living in New York, you get catcalled a lot. Especially in public places like parks, or very busy streets. People hang out next to fountains or schools and there is just nothing you can do to avoid them. However, in New York, these people often huddle in little circles, so they don´t seem to just be loitering for the sake of hitting on women they know are just going to ignore them. In Santiago, they don´t play. During the day, men will line up on the street, sit in these lines on the sides of buildings and just wait for women to walk by and say things to them. I am most commonly called delicioso, which is far tamer than New York. I get bonita, linda, compliments actually, rather than phrases such as, I´d like to lick you, or other things I probably shouldn´t repeat on a public page, which is what I got everyday in New York. But the men lining the street crack me up. I can´t decide if they´re construction workers who just don´t do any work, or if they´re unemployed or what, but they sit there for hours! The whole day, against the wall of a store, occasionally mumbling to each other, but for the most part just being creepy. When the sun goes down they magically disappear, only to reappear the next day. All I can say is, it feels like home.
Al Gimnasio
I love my gym here in Chile. It´s very near two universities, so they get a lot of extranjeras, so I´m not such a novelty. When I went to join, the man was very nice, and very willing to go slowly so I could understand him. And it´s only 18,000 pesos a month, about $36 U.S., which is a lot less than I was planning on paying! I chose not to use the pool, since I don´t think I´ll want to so much. However, there are tons of classes during the day, like Pilates, Aero-Box, and Step, just to name a few. There machines leave quite a bit to be desired, and there are no treadmills or elipticals, only bikes, but it will do.
Saturday, after my climbing of Cerro Santa Lucia, and a little more meandering I decided to take my first class at the gym. I was very nervous, but I assumed I would have to understand little to be able to follow an aerobics class. I was right. I took the Aero-boxing class, and it was great! The music was so loud I doubt I´d be able to hear the leader even if I could understand her, but for the most part it was just her doing a combination and then us following for a number of times. She would say the occasional derecha, isquierda, or arriba, but luckily these are all directions, words I know, lol. And that class was HARD. I mean it was a struggle. It was a great class and so much fun! I´m so glad I braved it out and took it. It was a great stress reliever to, so I was pretty happy when I left.
Monday I went back to the gym and actually used the machines. They were pretty basic, the same as in the U.S., just much older. There were a few differences, but I´m pretty comfortable in most gyms. However, I got a personal trainer for the day. No, I didn´t ask for one, there was just this one guy, who helped out tons of people while I was there, but evertime I moved to a new machine, he´d watch me and then come over and tell me how to do it better. It was actually really nice, lol. I officially like this gym better than any other I´ve used, simply because they are so attentive! He knew I didn´t speak spanish, so he spoke really slowly and used lots of hand motions. I feel very comfortable in that gym, so I can´t wait to go back. And that is exercise life in Santiago! I´ll let you know when I go back again!
Saturday, after my climbing of Cerro Santa Lucia, and a little more meandering I decided to take my first class at the gym. I was very nervous, but I assumed I would have to understand little to be able to follow an aerobics class. I was right. I took the Aero-boxing class, and it was great! The music was so loud I doubt I´d be able to hear the leader even if I could understand her, but for the most part it was just her doing a combination and then us following for a number of times. She would say the occasional derecha, isquierda, or arriba, but luckily these are all directions, words I know, lol. And that class was HARD. I mean it was a struggle. It was a great class and so much fun! I´m so glad I braved it out and took it. It was a great stress reliever to, so I was pretty happy when I left.
Monday I went back to the gym and actually used the machines. They were pretty basic, the same as in the U.S., just much older. There were a few differences, but I´m pretty comfortable in most gyms. However, I got a personal trainer for the day. No, I didn´t ask for one, there was just this one guy, who helped out tons of people while I was there, but evertime I moved to a new machine, he´d watch me and then come over and tell me how to do it better. It was actually really nice, lol. I officially like this gym better than any other I´ve used, simply because they are so attentive! He knew I didn´t speak spanish, so he spoke really slowly and used lots of hand motions. I feel very comfortable in that gym, so I can´t wait to go back. And that is exercise life in Santiago! I´ll let you know when I go back again!
Cerro Santa Lucia
I know, I know, there needs to be an accent on that i, but I can´t for the life of me figure out how to use this keyboard, and everyone is busy, so I´ll have to wait and edit it later, lol.
So, last Saturday I woke up somewhat early, and spent the day wandering around before my wonderful night out. I went to Cerro Santa Lucia first, which is surprisingly close to my apartment and work. Before I went I got some ice cream from Emporio la Rosa. Yes, I am addicted, and yes people stared at me when I got ice cream at 10 in the morning. The ice cream girl thought it was hilarious though. And I´m pretty used to being stared at now. I got cinnamon and moka. The cinnamon was a little too strong for me, but still good, but the moka was absolutely delicious. In the U.S. mochas are often too sweet for me. They taste like hot chocolate with a hint of espresso, which is good in it´s own right, but is not a classic mocha, which should taste like dark chocolate with a big hit of espresso in my opinion. Luckily, they serve perfect moka´s for my taste here, but I wasn´t so sure about the ice cream. I was a little worried the ice cream would be too sweet and lose the real taste of a moka. But of course, Emporio la Rosa did it again. It was delicious and fantastic, and I can´t imagine anything better. And yes I will probably continue saying that about every single ice cream I have from there.
So back to the Cerro, It´s basically a very larg hill, or very small mountain in the middle of the city. I entered from the West side, very close to where I work. There are quite a few buildings, old castles really, that were used as lookouts and also as homes for the very wealthy in older Santiago. Benjamin McKenna, who is considered one of the greatest leaders in Chile, was very passionate about beautifying Santiago, and Cerro Santa Lucia and Cerro San Cristobal were a large part of his focus. Because of this the buildings are well taken care of, and there are beautiful plants all over the place, turning the Cerro into a huge landscape of ivy and flowers.
As you climb up, you continually get to little plateus that you think must be the top, only to find an even narrower (and more dangerous) stairway to continue up in. At the almost top is this little chapel, the burial sight of McKenna, almost hidden away. It´s very pretty, and covered with these red cacti flowers, which I became obsessed with as I walked up. Finally you reach the very top, and you´re in a little turret open to the air with a telescope for those wishing to look very far. I was lucky it was such a clear day, because you could see all the mountains, the entire city, in such clarity. It was so incredibly beautiful. It was just what I needed, because at that point I was having a very hard time with accepting the differences with my life in Chile, as well as having some personal problems with loved ones back home. My time up there was just what I needed, because it reminded me that I came to Chile for new experiences, and while some, like this view of the mountains I was having would be wonderful, some would not, and the difficulties were just as, if not more important in building the kind of character I hope to gain from my trips.
Coming down from the very top, I saw dozens of these beautiful little birds. They look a lot like a hummingbird, but they are a glowing green all around, and they make the most interesting call. They were flitting about, drinking nectar from my favorite flowers, filling the otherwise quiet morning with their song. I got like 6 pictures of one bird, I just loved them so much!
Once you walk down and around from the very top, there is this beatiful oasis almost, with a waterfall, benches, and a statue of Pedro de Valdivia. Again, there were wonderful views and the waterfall made the spot even more calming. There are so many different trails and things to see, I plan on going back again soon, and trying some more out. Hopefully when people come visit me I can take them up my favorite path to the top!
So, last Saturday I woke up somewhat early, and spent the day wandering around before my wonderful night out. I went to Cerro Santa Lucia first, which is surprisingly close to my apartment and work. Before I went I got some ice cream from Emporio la Rosa. Yes, I am addicted, and yes people stared at me when I got ice cream at 10 in the morning. The ice cream girl thought it was hilarious though. And I´m pretty used to being stared at now. I got cinnamon and moka. The cinnamon was a little too strong for me, but still good, but the moka was absolutely delicious. In the U.S. mochas are often too sweet for me. They taste like hot chocolate with a hint of espresso, which is good in it´s own right, but is not a classic mocha, which should taste like dark chocolate with a big hit of espresso in my opinion. Luckily, they serve perfect moka´s for my taste here, but I wasn´t so sure about the ice cream. I was a little worried the ice cream would be too sweet and lose the real taste of a moka. But of course, Emporio la Rosa did it again. It was delicious and fantastic, and I can´t imagine anything better. And yes I will probably continue saying that about every single ice cream I have from there.
So back to the Cerro, It´s basically a very larg hill, or very small mountain in the middle of the city. I entered from the West side, very close to where I work. There are quite a few buildings, old castles really, that were used as lookouts and also as homes for the very wealthy in older Santiago. Benjamin McKenna, who is considered one of the greatest leaders in Chile, was very passionate about beautifying Santiago, and Cerro Santa Lucia and Cerro San Cristobal were a large part of his focus. Because of this the buildings are well taken care of, and there are beautiful plants all over the place, turning the Cerro into a huge landscape of ivy and flowers.
As you climb up, you continually get to little plateus that you think must be the top, only to find an even narrower (and more dangerous) stairway to continue up in. At the almost top is this little chapel, the burial sight of McKenna, almost hidden away. It´s very pretty, and covered with these red cacti flowers, which I became obsessed with as I walked up. Finally you reach the very top, and you´re in a little turret open to the air with a telescope for those wishing to look very far. I was lucky it was such a clear day, because you could see all the mountains, the entire city, in such clarity. It was so incredibly beautiful. It was just what I needed, because at that point I was having a very hard time with accepting the differences with my life in Chile, as well as having some personal problems with loved ones back home. My time up there was just what I needed, because it reminded me that I came to Chile for new experiences, and while some, like this view of the mountains I was having would be wonderful, some would not, and the difficulties were just as, if not more important in building the kind of character I hope to gain from my trips.
Coming down from the very top, I saw dozens of these beautiful little birds. They look a lot like a hummingbird, but they are a glowing green all around, and they make the most interesting call. They were flitting about, drinking nectar from my favorite flowers, filling the otherwise quiet morning with their song. I got like 6 pictures of one bird, I just loved them so much!
Once you walk down and around from the very top, there is this beatiful oasis almost, with a waterfall, benches, and a statue of Pedro de Valdivia. Again, there were wonderful views and the waterfall made the spot even more calming. There are so many different trails and things to see, I plan on going back again soon, and trying some more out. Hopefully when people come visit me I can take them up my favorite path to the top!
Tuesday, June 17
Perros y perros y perros
I LOVE all the stray dogs here. They are adorable, and they are very friendly. They also all have little territories of their own, which means I get to see the same ones everyday and pet them. So far no fleas, so I think I´m ok. They´re very cute, and they look just like any dog you´d see in a pound. I´ve seen a husky, german shepherds, black labs, a lot of absolutely amazingly cute little spaniels, and they all just wander around, looking happy and sleepy in the sun.
There is another side to these dogs. And it comes out with the motorcycles. Motorcycles are pretty common to see in Santiago, which I think is because of the smog levels. People are trying to cut down on pollution, so vespas and harleys abound. Dogs go nuts over these motorcycles. They will run along side those things forever, barking up a storm and nipping at their feet. I mean they are vicious. I am frightened of these dogs when a motorcycle comes around. And then they get tired and go back to being their cute little selves. But it is the funniest thing when these cute little sleeping dogs here a moto, all of sudden get up barring fangs, and start to attack, and then half a block later just stop and come back and go to sleep. Sigh, I love dogs.
There is another side to these dogs. And it comes out with the motorcycles. Motorcycles are pretty common to see in Santiago, which I think is because of the smog levels. People are trying to cut down on pollution, so vespas and harleys abound. Dogs go nuts over these motorcycles. They will run along side those things forever, barking up a storm and nipping at their feet. I mean they are vicious. I am frightened of these dogs when a motorcycle comes around. And then they get tired and go back to being their cute little selves. But it is the funniest thing when these cute little sleeping dogs here a moto, all of sudden get up barring fangs, and start to attack, and then half a block later just stop and come back and go to sleep. Sigh, I love dogs.
Chilean Stoplights
Ok, this is the first of very many many posts about things I´ve noticed but have had no time to post about, since I no longer have a computer. The first of these is Chilean stoplights.
I used to think New York driving was awful and scary. However that was before I´d been to Chile. It brings it all to a whole new level. Good lord! These people are crazy. First of all, you know how in New York when the walk sign starts blinking you get ten blinks to cross? Yeah, not so much here. You see blinking and you run, no matter where you are on the street. Because as soon as it stops, that means the green light is up, and you will die if you are in the street. I have been in the middle of the street and people have actually stepped on the gas full throttle, meaning they were two seconds away from killing me if I didn´t do cardio.
This may be one of the scariest parts of living here so far. You might think no big deal, she´s lived in the city, she knows how to walk. NO, it is completely different. In New York drivers openly hate pedestrians, honk at them, but never run over them. Here it is as if people walking across the street don´t exist. If I don´t burn my hand off with the damn calefecon, I´m going to be killed by a car that thinks red means, hurry, you might run it without getting killed. Just thought I´d share this little tidbit with those who might be thinking of braving the streets of Santiago themselves. Wear a helmet.
I used to think New York driving was awful and scary. However that was before I´d been to Chile. It brings it all to a whole new level. Good lord! These people are crazy. First of all, you know how in New York when the walk sign starts blinking you get ten blinks to cross? Yeah, not so much here. You see blinking and you run, no matter where you are on the street. Because as soon as it stops, that means the green light is up, and you will die if you are in the street. I have been in the middle of the street and people have actually stepped on the gas full throttle, meaning they were two seconds away from killing me if I didn´t do cardio.
This may be one of the scariest parts of living here so far. You might think no big deal, she´s lived in the city, she knows how to walk. NO, it is completely different. In New York drivers openly hate pedestrians, honk at them, but never run over them. Here it is as if people walking across the street don´t exist. If I don´t burn my hand off with the damn calefecon, I´m going to be killed by a car that thinks red means, hurry, you might run it without getting killed. Just thought I´d share this little tidbit with those who might be thinking of braving the streets of Santiago themselves. Wear a helmet.
Monday, June 16
HATE technology
I hate technology! Not having a computer is a huge bummer, and of course today was busier than usual. I have so many things I want to post, but for now I´ll give an overview of my weekend and leave it at that. So, Friday I finally hung out with the roomies, helped make dinner, good times. Of course this ended at 12 a.m. because that´s how Chile rolls, but it was fun nonetheless. So then Saturday I did some major sightseeing, pics of which will be posted as soon as I have some time at work.
Saturday night deserves it´s own post, but I don´t have time. I went to my first Chilean barbeque! Chileans love their barbeques, and they are hard core filled with lots of meat, and lots of pisco, which is equivalent to vodka, but is technically a brandy according to wikipedia. It´s very sweet, and I had my first piscola. Then we went to a disco, and since J is an important guy in Latin America, we of course were in the VIP of the VIP sections, which was amazing. We were there until it closed at 5, and then we went to J´s for some after hours winding down. I got home at 8, and that is a typical Chilean night out. AMAZING. Not so amazing was my latin dancing, which I am terrible at, but luckily most of the music was like what you´d find at a U.S. club. Anyway, after much fun times, I had a good day at work and am headed to dinner with J and J and M in a little while. More posts tomorrow, I promise!
Saturday night deserves it´s own post, but I don´t have time. I went to my first Chilean barbeque! Chileans love their barbeques, and they are hard core filled with lots of meat, and lots of pisco, which is equivalent to vodka, but is technically a brandy according to wikipedia. It´s very sweet, and I had my first piscola. Then we went to a disco, and since J is an important guy in Latin America, we of course were in the VIP of the VIP sections, which was amazing. We were there until it closed at 5, and then we went to J´s for some after hours winding down. I got home at 8, and that is a typical Chilean night out. AMAZING. Not so amazing was my latin dancing, which I am terrible at, but luckily most of the music was like what you´d find at a U.S. club. Anyway, after much fun times, I had a good day at work and am headed to dinner with J and J and M in a little while. More posts tomorrow, I promise!
Saturday, June 14
Thursday, June 12
Trabajando en Santiago
I know I already posted today. But I´m here for such a short time, and I want to document everything, and I just have so many things I notice! I´ve worked in quite a few laboratories in my day. Some were very strict, and some were not, some in between. But to be honest, nothing compares to a foreign country. Everything here is SO lax.
For example, in the U.S., in every single lab I worked at we were required to put anything pointy, as well as anything glass in these special metal containers that we then had to lock, and they were taken out by special cleaning people each week in special biohazard bags. And this was not just something labs did, this is due to a law meant to protect people. Here in Chile, they have a container to collect glass in, but it is an open tub. Gloves go in a normal trash can, gloves can be reused, gloves can be taken off however you please! AND I worked with phenol for the first time. Phenol is a very volitale and dangerous incredibly toxic. There are also experiments where it seems to be a possible carcinogen in lab animals. Good lord! I used this stuff in the most unordered lab environment I´ve ever worked in.
Having said all this and possibly made labs in Chile seem inept, I have forever thought all the regulations in the states were unecessary. I thought it was so stupid, even when I was working with human skin on a regular basis, that I needed to be wary of contamination and being careful to wash my hands every 5 seconds. And for the most part, it really is unecessary. I´m sure the accident rate here in Chile in labs is not any worse than in the states. However, when we went through hours and hours of safety training at P&G, we got to watch a lot of videos about things that can go wrong in a lab. Most of them were based on true stories. They were not kidding around, all this stuff can kill you. It is scary shit on the real. The worst was Remember Charlie, which is an amazing video that made everyone in the audience all three times I had to watch it break out into crocodile tears. I don´t reccomend watching it if you are paranoid or have a weak stomach.
So now, all those things I learned, like how phenol can be absorbed in the skin, and you need to clean your bench with alcohol each day, or even storing glass in a locked container start to make sense. My new awareness has made me extra cautious, and thus brings me to my conclusion. They say before you must know the rules before you can break them. I think my time in the U.S. fully taught me the rules, and I mastered them. Chile makes a little more sense, but I believe I will only avoid an accident because of my intense training in the U.S. I don´t know what training is like here in Chile, but I can´t help but wonder if my two countries need to mingle a bit more to come to a commonality.
For example, in the U.S., in every single lab I worked at we were required to put anything pointy, as well as anything glass in these special metal containers that we then had to lock, and they were taken out by special cleaning people each week in special biohazard bags. And this was not just something labs did, this is due to a law meant to protect people. Here in Chile, they have a container to collect glass in, but it is an open tub. Gloves go in a normal trash can, gloves can be reused, gloves can be taken off however you please! AND I worked with phenol for the first time. Phenol is a very volitale and dangerous incredibly toxic. There are also experiments where it seems to be a possible carcinogen in lab animals. Good lord! I used this stuff in the most unordered lab environment I´ve ever worked in.
Having said all this and possibly made labs in Chile seem inept, I have forever thought all the regulations in the states were unecessary. I thought it was so stupid, even when I was working with human skin on a regular basis, that I needed to be wary of contamination and being careful to wash my hands every 5 seconds. And for the most part, it really is unecessary. I´m sure the accident rate here in Chile in labs is not any worse than in the states. However, when we went through hours and hours of safety training at P&G, we got to watch a lot of videos about things that can go wrong in a lab. Most of them were based on true stories. They were not kidding around, all this stuff can kill you. It is scary shit on the real. The worst was Remember Charlie, which is an amazing video that made everyone in the audience all three times I had to watch it break out into crocodile tears. I don´t reccomend watching it if you are paranoid or have a weak stomach.
So now, all those things I learned, like how phenol can be absorbed in the skin, and you need to clean your bench with alcohol each day, or even storing glass in a locked container start to make sense. My new awareness has made me extra cautious, and thus brings me to my conclusion. They say before you must know the rules before you can break them. I think my time in the U.S. fully taught me the rules, and I mastered them. Chile makes a little more sense, but I believe I will only avoid an accident because of my intense training in the U.S. I don´t know what training is like here in Chile, but I can´t help but wonder if my two countries need to mingle a bit more to come to a commonality.
Santiago Social Life
Well, I can´t say yesterday was particularly easy, nor is today. My cousin´s funeral is today, and my family and I have been on the phone quite a bit. I feel very guilty that I can´t be there, and of course a young death brings up many dark thoughts and feelings, but for the most part I´m trying to be positive. After all, what´s done is done, and while it will take time to heal, it lets me have a new perspective and appreciation for the life I´m slowly building here, and especially for the unity of my family.
Last night I went to dinner with J, a friend from P&G of J and M. The letters are really getting quite confusing, so I may have to just give it up, and ignore some peoples possible preference for anonymity. We went to a restaurant/bar, really more of a lounge, which was quite fun. I had a cosmopolitan, and determine that being away from college and losing a little weight from all this stress equals an easily intoxicated Jessica. So, I stuck to my one cosmo for the night, which to be honest, was the best cosmo I´ve ever had. I´m sorry New York, ya´ll don´t cut it anymore.
Anyway, it was a fun night of talking, meeting a new person, and just all out good times. J is from Mexico originally, but has lived in a bunch of countries in Latin America, and Miami. Thus, he speaks english. He is also relatively new to Chile, only having been here since January, so we have some of the same first complaints when moving anywhere new. It´s always nice to know you´re not alone. His friend is having a birthday party tonight, so I may go to that as well. Anyway, Chile is starting to look up, and hopefully these are good signs of things to come. And heaven help my spanish, it needs it.
Last night I went to dinner with J, a friend from P&G of J and M. The letters are really getting quite confusing, so I may have to just give it up, and ignore some peoples possible preference for anonymity. We went to a restaurant/bar, really more of a lounge, which was quite fun. I had a cosmopolitan, and determine that being away from college and losing a little weight from all this stress equals an easily intoxicated Jessica. So, I stuck to my one cosmo for the night, which to be honest, was the best cosmo I´ve ever had. I´m sorry New York, ya´ll don´t cut it anymore.
Anyway, it was a fun night of talking, meeting a new person, and just all out good times. J is from Mexico originally, but has lived in a bunch of countries in Latin America, and Miami. Thus, he speaks english. He is also relatively new to Chile, only having been here since January, so we have some of the same first complaints when moving anywhere new. It´s always nice to know you´re not alone. His friend is having a birthday party tonight, so I may go to that as well. Anyway, Chile is starting to look up, and hopefully these are good signs of things to come. And heaven help my spanish, it needs it.
Tuesday, June 10
For the Davidson Family
Well, this is unfortunately a very serious, sad post. This evening my parents informed me my cousin died from an overdose. He was two years younger than me, so young. He had a problem with cocaine for many years now, and despite rehab and much familial support he was unable to overcome it. We don't know the details, but I just want to say that I loved him very much, and I hope that he's finally at peace, free from his addiction. My heart goes out to his parents and all my family, and I hope we can use this as an opportunity to grow closer and reflect on how important family really is. I know it really helps put my last few weeks in perspective. Whoever is reading this, most likely you are a close friend of mine, and I ask you to keep my family in your prayers and your hearts, and remember how dangerous any addiction can be. Rest in peace Michael.
The Tall and Short of It...
In my previous blog I mentioned how short people are. I didn't want that post to go on forever, so I decided to start a new post about some things about Chile, rather than just my days here. Now, I'm not so tall, 5'7'', and I am HUGE here. Some of the guys are pretty tall, and oddly there are a few women in my lab as tall as me, but for the most part people are very short. And you can see it in how certain things are made. For example, the subway is soooo short! My dad isn't huge, 6'2'', but he's coming to visit me in a month, and I really think he might not fit right in the subway! He'll definitely have to duck to get in. I'm sure it's not so much shorter than the one in New York, but I haven't even been in it with heels on, and it still seems super short to me. I'm actually a little worried about wearing heels, cause then I would look like a giant. Emily told me people here are much taller than chileans outside the capital, since people here are more metropolitan. Good lord, I don't even know what that would look like!
Speaking of the subway, the subway here is great. I think they use space less wisely than the New York subway, but they also seem to have a lot less people riding it, so I don't think it matters. They don't have very many seats per car, but they do have a really cool handlebar system, where the vertical ones have three mini bars coming out of them, so people aren't constantly fighting for a spot. My friends and I would always complain when you had to touch someone elses hand, or hold your arm awkwardly so you wouldn't touch someone, and this fixes that. And it comes soooooo often. About 30-90 seconds after the previous one, a new subway comes. Which lets face it, is AMAZING. So much better than haphazard new york. It reminds me a lot of the D.C. metro system, and since they're both newer, that makes sense. I'm really glad they didn't go with the New York color scheme, cause honestly, the orange and yellow that reminds one of baby food was really not a good palate choice.
Another thing I really love about Santiago is how beautiful all the streets are. There are fountains, and palm trees, and flowers everywhere, not to mention tons of statues. And the sidewalks are huge. I mean, each side of the street has a sidewalk the size of the street itself. Which is really quite nice, lot less congestion, but the stores seem to make up for the space by being the size of a closet! However, just walking around outside is so nice, and every restaurant has outside seating due to the huge sidewalks. If you ever come here, walk outside everywhere as much as you can!
My last post will be about weather. It's been beautiful so far. Apparently very unlike Santiago winter, so at least the city is trying to cooperate with me. very warm, never need more than a light jacket, and when I'm in the subway I'm actually sweltering! It's like my ideal weather. I was kind of expecting New York winter or something, but it's never bitterly cold, or at least not so far. Unfortunately, regardless of the outside temp, my room is always freezing. The walls are made of concrete, so they never warm up, and it is always 57 degrees in my room (you think I'm exaggerating, just come visit, it's nuts how cold it gets) even when it's 70 outside.
However, with all my complaining, my time really hasn't been so bad. The people are really quite friendly, it's just so frustrating not being able to communicate. Friday I believe, one of M.'s friends from P&G is going to invite me out to see the town, or maybe to a party, so I can meet some people my age. Let's hope it goes well!
Speaking of the subway, the subway here is great. I think they use space less wisely than the New York subway, but they also seem to have a lot less people riding it, so I don't think it matters. They don't have very many seats per car, but they do have a really cool handlebar system, where the vertical ones have three mini bars coming out of them, so people aren't constantly fighting for a spot. My friends and I would always complain when you had to touch someone elses hand, or hold your arm awkwardly so you wouldn't touch someone, and this fixes that. And it comes soooooo often. About 30-90 seconds after the previous one, a new subway comes. Which lets face it, is AMAZING. So much better than haphazard new york. It reminds me a lot of the D.C. metro system, and since they're both newer, that makes sense. I'm really glad they didn't go with the New York color scheme, cause honestly, the orange and yellow that reminds one of baby food was really not a good palate choice.
Another thing I really love about Santiago is how beautiful all the streets are. There are fountains, and palm trees, and flowers everywhere, not to mention tons of statues. And the sidewalks are huge. I mean, each side of the street has a sidewalk the size of the street itself. Which is really quite nice, lot less congestion, but the stores seem to make up for the space by being the size of a closet! However, just walking around outside is so nice, and every restaurant has outside seating due to the huge sidewalks. If you ever come here, walk outside everywhere as much as you can!
My last post will be about weather. It's been beautiful so far. Apparently very unlike Santiago winter, so at least the city is trying to cooperate with me. very warm, never need more than a light jacket, and when I'm in the subway I'm actually sweltering! It's like my ideal weather. I was kind of expecting New York winter or something, but it's never bitterly cold, or at least not so far. Unfortunately, regardless of the outside temp, my room is always freezing. The walls are made of concrete, so they never warm up, and it is always 57 degrees in my room (you think I'm exaggerating, just come visit, it's nuts how cold it gets) even when it's 70 outside.
However, with all my complaining, my time really hasn't been so bad. The people are really quite friendly, it's just so frustrating not being able to communicate. Friday I believe, one of M.'s friends from P&G is going to invite me out to see the town, or maybe to a party, so I can meet some people my age. Let's hope it goes well!
Por que por que
I now find myself asking one question quite a lot. Why do people move to a country when they're not fluent in the language? And now I've answered it. Because they think they know enough to get around, and that when completely immersed in it they'll learn very quickly. Then they get there, and they're stuck, lol.
Today was sooooo frustrating! I got food poisoning yesterday, or something, and haven't been feeling so hot. This afternoon, I was feeling much better and thinking I could venture out for some much needed necessities. Basically, I wanted to register at a gym and buy some more books to read. So, I headed up to Providencia to an english bookstore I had read about online and in some travel books. Lo and behold when I got to the address it no longer existed. This has been a running theme, and I was sort of prepared for it. But, what are you gonna do.
So I headed home and decided to get some food before heading over to the gym. After walking around nervously for a half hour, I finally just forced myself to walk into a cafe. I tried to say table for one, then just one, holding up a finger. Nothing. The lady just kept looking at me going que que que? So I left and got an empenada from the equivalence of a convenience store, or corner deli. Luckily, queso empenadas are delicious, or I might not be so happy to eat them every single day. After eating I still had 15 minutes to get to the gym, so I thought no problem. Well, of course, it wasn't there. I walked around for 20 min, and finally called and asked where it was. The guy kept trying to tell me in english, and I kept asking in spanish hoping he would just tell me in spanish. Needless to say I never found it and no gym for me. However, I randomly found another gym that I think I'll try, but I was just too frustrated to deal with registration.
Everything here is soooo hard! So far I haven't even successfully eaten at a restaurant, and half the time I ask for an empenada they don't understand me, so I point. Seriously, I must have a terrible terrible accent. Oh, sadness. Also, this is something that gets me everywhere I go, most of the waiters are men. In the U.S. almost all the waiters are women, and usually men are harder to find. Not that there aren't any men. I actually worked at a restaurant with mostly male waiters, but that's unusual. The fact that men are the waiters makes me feel less comfortable going in somewhere and sitting down. This is because the men always stare at me, a lot, and it freaks me out, so I basically just run away. If I could get a cameraman to follow me, it would probably be quite funny, but for now it's just making me really hungry.
On a happier note, I did meet Emily on Saturday at this great little coffee shop, and it was really nice just to talk to someone. She made me feel like I'm not a complete idiot for not understanding the spanish, and she agreed with my eternal hatred for the calefecon. Also, she's pretty tall, 5'10'' I think? (feel free to correct me Emily, lol) and people here are SHORT, so she gets stared at too. She said she didn't even question if I was the girl she was meeting, cause of the blondness and such. But we had a really good time, and even got to talk about things not pertaining to Chile, which may have been the best part. Honestly, Chile is starting to take up my whole life, which is sort of annoying. Blondie in Brazil, another blog I read wrote recently about how people seem to define her as the one who moved to Brazil. Right now I feel like I define myself by living in Chile! It encompasses everything, and makes me feel inadequate for the most part. But soon, I will acclimate! Or at least, I really hope so.
Today was sooooo frustrating! I got food poisoning yesterday, or something, and haven't been feeling so hot. This afternoon, I was feeling much better and thinking I could venture out for some much needed necessities. Basically, I wanted to register at a gym and buy some more books to read. So, I headed up to Providencia to an english bookstore I had read about online and in some travel books. Lo and behold when I got to the address it no longer existed. This has been a running theme, and I was sort of prepared for it. But, what are you gonna do.
So I headed home and decided to get some food before heading over to the gym. After walking around nervously for a half hour, I finally just forced myself to walk into a cafe. I tried to say table for one, then just one, holding up a finger. Nothing. The lady just kept looking at me going que que que? So I left and got an empenada from the equivalence of a convenience store, or corner deli. Luckily, queso empenadas are delicious, or I might not be so happy to eat them every single day. After eating I still had 15 minutes to get to the gym, so I thought no problem. Well, of course, it wasn't there. I walked around for 20 min, and finally called and asked where it was. The guy kept trying to tell me in english, and I kept asking in spanish hoping he would just tell me in spanish. Needless to say I never found it and no gym for me. However, I randomly found another gym that I think I'll try, but I was just too frustrated to deal with registration.
Everything here is soooo hard! So far I haven't even successfully eaten at a restaurant, and half the time I ask for an empenada they don't understand me, so I point. Seriously, I must have a terrible terrible accent. Oh, sadness. Also, this is something that gets me everywhere I go, most of the waiters are men. In the U.S. almost all the waiters are women, and usually men are harder to find. Not that there aren't any men. I actually worked at a restaurant with mostly male waiters, but that's unusual. The fact that men are the waiters makes me feel less comfortable going in somewhere and sitting down. This is because the men always stare at me, a lot, and it freaks me out, so I basically just run away. If I could get a cameraman to follow me, it would probably be quite funny, but for now it's just making me really hungry.
On a happier note, I did meet Emily on Saturday at this great little coffee shop, and it was really nice just to talk to someone. She made me feel like I'm not a complete idiot for not understanding the spanish, and she agreed with my eternal hatred for the calefecon. Also, she's pretty tall, 5'10'' I think? (feel free to correct me Emily, lol) and people here are SHORT, so she gets stared at too. She said she didn't even question if I was the girl she was meeting, cause of the blondness and such. But we had a really good time, and even got to talk about things not pertaining to Chile, which may have been the best part. Honestly, Chile is starting to take up my whole life, which is sort of annoying. Blondie in Brazil, another blog I read wrote recently about how people seem to define her as the one who moved to Brazil. Right now I feel like I define myself by living in Chile! It encompasses everything, and makes me feel inadequate for the most part. But soon, I will acclimate! Or at least, I really hope so.
Saturday, June 7
The Eyes of Chile
So, I've run into a little bit of a problem. Yesterday was a hard morning, but great night. I wanted to go get a phone, so I looked up the best plans, and then braved the subway and went on my search. It was a beautiful day, and if it didn't take so long to load pictures, I'd put them in right now, but I'll have to add them to the next post. So I walked to the subway, and braved that as well. Here, just like in New York, you have a card that works for the metro and bus systems. Only, there is no automated machine to give it to you, you have to wait in line. So, in my broken spanish I managed to buy one, in only a slightly longer time than it probably should have taken.
I got out in Providencia, where Avenida Providencia becomes Apoquindo. I walked around for nearly an hour trying to find this phone store, but alas, I couldn't find it, it must have closed at some point. So, by this time it's nearing lunch, and I was in a quite nice part of town, so I decided to eat at a cafe. And then, it began. The staring. I swear, this is not normal staring, this is like, boring into your soul staring. Everywhere I go, people stare at me. When I'm actively walking it's no big deal, because of course, I'm moving quickly. But while trying to find a place to eat, it seemed to be all I noticed. Anytime I slowed down I noticed people stopped their conversations, and just stared. For as long as I was in the vicinity of their eyesight. This is mostly men I'm talking about, which is why it's so disconcerting. In the U.S., I used to have some sort of sexual comment thrown at me all the time, but there is a stigma against staring there. People would yell these comments, and if they were near me, they would look, then look away, look, then look away. But here, it's not like that. Everyone stares and does not look away EVER.
So, I decided to just buy an empenada from a supermarket. I got a few other things I felt I was lacking, and was quite happy with my purchases when I went to leave. I even bought my first bottle of Chilean wine. When I went to pay, I was just about done when a bagboy at the register next to me bumped into me. He apologized, and then he looked. He went, oh-ho, and immediately started bagging my items. In Chile you tip baggers, and I wasn't about to get suckered into that, so I told him no. He stopped, crossed his arms, gave me a lilting smile, and stared. He didn't move, which meant I had to like push past him. And he just kept staring. And smiling. Like I was gonna throw him on the conveyor belt and start making passionate love to him. I got so flustered that I forgot my empenada. Luckily that's maybe 2 bucks, but still! I was so upset that I let those kinds of things affect me, when it's something I obviously have to get used to, with the blond hair and all. So I slinked back to my apartment in the blazing hot sun and sulked for a while.
Luckily, my mother knows someone who works for P&G Santiago, and he and his wife were taking me out to dinner. J, the husband, and M, the wife, were wonderful! They picked me up in their car, and I got to meet Bella, their adorable little white dog who was so sweet. They take her everywhere, in her own little carrying case. She's very cute. So they took me to a mall, Paris in Las Condes, a much more international area. I didn't get stared at so much, but Bella got quite a bit of attention! I bought a local phone, and a heater for my room. The phone plans here are outrageous, nearly 40-70 cents a minute, min, but what are you gonna do. Technology here is often more expensive than in the U.S., which is outrageous considering the average salary. Not to mention I'm not sure I even know how to function without a phone anymore, lol. But, I got a very cheap phone, with minimum minutes, which should work well while I'm here.
We then went to this pizza place for dinner that was AMAZING. The appetizers were delicious, and we got the camaron pizza, with shrimp on it that was truly just, superb. They served the pizza with this spicy sauce, with olive oil, fresh basil, red pepper flakes, garlic oil, and other deliciousness that was just wonderful. J and M are great, J is half chilean, born in California, but his parents sent him to Chile for high school so he would learn spanish and connect with his roots. He and M met in college, and lived in the U.S. for 6 years, just returning to Chile a year ago. M also works for P&G, both of them on the business side of things. Their very fun, and we got along wonderfully. J's dad was in the navy, just like my father and his family, so there was a connection there, and our senses of humor were just wonderful.
After dinner we went to starbucks while waiting to see Indiana Jones. All the guys working there wanted to know where I was from, what I was doing. When I told them I was going to med school next year to be a doctor, they looked dumbfounded, lol. I don't know if being a female doctor is rare, or if the dumb blond stereotype exists here in Chile too, but either way, they just couldn't believe I was a science nerd. They were very nice and very polite, and didn't stare! Lol, it made me feel a little better. Anyway, I had a wonderful time. And they're going to get me in touch with people at P&G my age, who can take me out on the town. And we might go to this little artisan village tomorrow, so we'll see.
Tonight I have to meet Emily, a girl who also has a blog on this site, who has lived in Chile for a few years. Her boyfriend is Chilean, and she moved for love. She's always seemed really nice, and when I first contacted her she told me I could always ask her for anything, and anyone who can make me feel a little less lonely is great. So, we're meeting at Cafe de la Barra, very close to my house later tonight. I'll write more later, but I've got to clea my room, Chao!
I got out in Providencia, where Avenida Providencia becomes Apoquindo. I walked around for nearly an hour trying to find this phone store, but alas, I couldn't find it, it must have closed at some point. So, by this time it's nearing lunch, and I was in a quite nice part of town, so I decided to eat at a cafe. And then, it began. The staring. I swear, this is not normal staring, this is like, boring into your soul staring. Everywhere I go, people stare at me. When I'm actively walking it's no big deal, because of course, I'm moving quickly. But while trying to find a place to eat, it seemed to be all I noticed. Anytime I slowed down I noticed people stopped their conversations, and just stared. For as long as I was in the vicinity of their eyesight. This is mostly men I'm talking about, which is why it's so disconcerting. In the U.S., I used to have some sort of sexual comment thrown at me all the time, but there is a stigma against staring there. People would yell these comments, and if they were near me, they would look, then look away, look, then look away. But here, it's not like that. Everyone stares and does not look away EVER.
So, I decided to just buy an empenada from a supermarket. I got a few other things I felt I was lacking, and was quite happy with my purchases when I went to leave. I even bought my first bottle of Chilean wine. When I went to pay, I was just about done when a bagboy at the register next to me bumped into me. He apologized, and then he looked. He went, oh-ho, and immediately started bagging my items. In Chile you tip baggers, and I wasn't about to get suckered into that, so I told him no. He stopped, crossed his arms, gave me a lilting smile, and stared. He didn't move, which meant I had to like push past him. And he just kept staring. And smiling. Like I was gonna throw him on the conveyor belt and start making passionate love to him. I got so flustered that I forgot my empenada. Luckily that's maybe 2 bucks, but still! I was so upset that I let those kinds of things affect me, when it's something I obviously have to get used to, with the blond hair and all. So I slinked back to my apartment in the blazing hot sun and sulked for a while.
Luckily, my mother knows someone who works for P&G Santiago, and he and his wife were taking me out to dinner. J, the husband, and M, the wife, were wonderful! They picked me up in their car, and I got to meet Bella, their adorable little white dog who was so sweet. They take her everywhere, in her own little carrying case. She's very cute. So they took me to a mall, Paris in Las Condes, a much more international area. I didn't get stared at so much, but Bella got quite a bit of attention! I bought a local phone, and a heater for my room. The phone plans here are outrageous, nearly 40-70 cents a minute, min, but what are you gonna do. Technology here is often more expensive than in the U.S., which is outrageous considering the average salary. Not to mention I'm not sure I even know how to function without a phone anymore, lol. But, I got a very cheap phone, with minimum minutes, which should work well while I'm here.
We then went to this pizza place for dinner that was AMAZING. The appetizers were delicious, and we got the camaron pizza, with shrimp on it that was truly just, superb. They served the pizza with this spicy sauce, with olive oil, fresh basil, red pepper flakes, garlic oil, and other deliciousness that was just wonderful. J and M are great, J is half chilean, born in California, but his parents sent him to Chile for high school so he would learn spanish and connect with his roots. He and M met in college, and lived in the U.S. for 6 years, just returning to Chile a year ago. M also works for P&G, both of them on the business side of things. Their very fun, and we got along wonderfully. J's dad was in the navy, just like my father and his family, so there was a connection there, and our senses of humor were just wonderful.
After dinner we went to starbucks while waiting to see Indiana Jones. All the guys working there wanted to know where I was from, what I was doing. When I told them I was going to med school next year to be a doctor, they looked dumbfounded, lol. I don't know if being a female doctor is rare, or if the dumb blond stereotype exists here in Chile too, but either way, they just couldn't believe I was a science nerd. They were very nice and very polite, and didn't stare! Lol, it made me feel a little better. Anyway, I had a wonderful time. And they're going to get me in touch with people at P&G my age, who can take me out on the town. And we might go to this little artisan village tomorrow, so we'll see.
Tonight I have to meet Emily, a girl who also has a blog on this site, who has lived in Chile for a few years. Her boyfriend is Chilean, and she moved for love. She's always seemed really nice, and when I first contacted her she told me I could always ask her for anything, and anyone who can make me feel a little less lonely is great. So, we're meeting at Cafe de la Barra, very close to my house later tonight. I'll write more later, but I've got to clea my room, Chao!
Thursday, June 5
Emporio la Rosa
Today was really quite wonderful! Yesterday was full of not a whole lot besides looking up maps of chile, reading a few articles about my research project, and checking a whole lot of mail. Oh! and at lunch I tried tuna! No no, the spanish word for tuna is atun, with an accent on the u. Tuna is a fruit, like the prickly pear, that is DELICIOUS. You can't touch the outside, and you slice is 4 times longways and then sort of peel the skin off. Anyway, it's very fruit, and has tons of little seeds inside. It's sooooo good. So then after work yesterday I walked to the supermarket in the rain. It was really gross. But I tried this weird pudding thing. It's like pudding, but it's almost like thicker, so that it's not smooth like pudding, and it's in a syrupy liquid, so it's a little much for me, but it's still very good.
So, on to my glorious day today. One big difference between Santiago and New York. Both Santiago and New York have a bit of rain, but in New York, the rain seems completely unnecessary. In Santiago, the rain leads to a beautiful sunny day that is clear and beautiful, and displays the mountains quite prominently, which I see each day on my way to work while crossing the bridge.
Today I got to do real work. I did an RNA extraction, and ran a gel to test the RNA's strength, so to speak. I won't bore anyone with details, but basically we want to understand the mechanism by which changes in nitrogen levels in soil affect the genes within plants. My partner and I are working with a specific gene. Jose Miguel is the guy I work with, and he's wonderful. We have a very similar sense of humor, and we get along great. It makes the day go very fast. Anyway, I've done RNA extraction before, but never with plants, so it was quite different. We were actually quite pleased with the results, so yay for a successful day!
Since it was raining so hard yesterday, I didn't get ice cream, but today was beautiful! Emporio la Rosa is on my way home from work, so I stopped in. I ended up right behind two American girls, so I tried to make friends and asked them how to order in spanish. They were very nice, they're from California and here for school, but they made no effort to make a connection with me or even ask me to sit with them. So, after that slight disappointment, cause I'd love to be able to have english speaking friends to go to clubs with, I got my two scoops of ice cream, one pistacchio and one castanas, or chestnust. DELICIOUS. Oh my goodness, all the hype about this place is true. And it wasn't ridiculously crowded. So, I walked home quite happy, and when I got home, the lights when out! Everyone came out into the hall, and I actually understood some stuff!
Anyway, then one of the ladies in the house, the one with the baby showed me how to have a hot shower. I have to actually use a lighter to light a heater, to heat the water. I'm gonna come home without a hand for sure. But, now I am warm, clean, and well fed. All in all, a pretty wonderful day. More tomorrow on interesting tidbits about Chile, like how everyone loves Seinfeld as much as I do. Chao!
So, on to my glorious day today. One big difference between Santiago and New York. Both Santiago and New York have a bit of rain, but in New York, the rain seems completely unnecessary. In Santiago, the rain leads to a beautiful sunny day that is clear and beautiful, and displays the mountains quite prominently, which I see each day on my way to work while crossing the bridge.
Today I got to do real work. I did an RNA extraction, and ran a gel to test the RNA's strength, so to speak. I won't bore anyone with details, but basically we want to understand the mechanism by which changes in nitrogen levels in soil affect the genes within plants. My partner and I are working with a specific gene. Jose Miguel is the guy I work with, and he's wonderful. We have a very similar sense of humor, and we get along great. It makes the day go very fast. Anyway, I've done RNA extraction before, but never with plants, so it was quite different. We were actually quite pleased with the results, so yay for a successful day!
Since it was raining so hard yesterday, I didn't get ice cream, but today was beautiful! Emporio la Rosa is on my way home from work, so I stopped in. I ended up right behind two American girls, so I tried to make friends and asked them how to order in spanish. They were very nice, they're from California and here for school, but they made no effort to make a connection with me or even ask me to sit with them. So, after that slight disappointment, cause I'd love to be able to have english speaking friends to go to clubs with, I got my two scoops of ice cream, one pistacchio and one castanas, or chestnust. DELICIOUS. Oh my goodness, all the hype about this place is true. And it wasn't ridiculously crowded. So, I walked home quite happy, and when I got home, the lights when out! Everyone came out into the hall, and I actually understood some stuff!
Anyway, then one of the ladies in the house, the one with the baby showed me how to have a hot shower. I have to actually use a lighter to light a heater, to heat the water. I'm gonna come home without a hand for sure. But, now I am warm, clean, and well fed. All in all, a pretty wonderful day. More tomorrow on interesting tidbits about Chile, like how everyone loves Seinfeld as much as I do. Chao!
Wednesday, June 4
Arriving to...Uh oh
Well, it´s been quite the few days. I´m currently writing this at work with a spanish keyboard, which is surprisingly hard to use. Anyway, I´ll give a quick recap of my getting into Santiago, which I don´t really want to rehash all that much. My flight was fine, I did manage to sleep almost all night, altho is was also 2 hours late, and the meals were free. My flight from Buenos Aires to Santiago was great, mostly because they served a full free lunch for a 2 hour flight. Delicious. So when I got to the airport I was lightly upset to see the price for US citizens to enter has been raised from $100 to $131. Boo on the dollar. Once I finally got to my bags and went to the area where my taxi company was (I made a reservation in advance), they told me where to go...in spanish. I was very confused, but whatever. So I go down there, and none of them speak english, and they were all yelling at once, which was really difficult.
So finally I get in a cab with maybe 7 other people and we´re on our way. Well, the scenery is gorgeous. There are HUGE snow capped peaks everywhere! I think Colorado ain´t got nothing on Chile. And I mean everywhere. There are mini mountains even in the city, and I would call them hills, but really, they´re more like the appalachians. There is a huge river running through the city, Rio Mapocho, which is the dirtiest thing I´ve ever seen. It´s very fast moving, so it´s very brown and very muddy. Grossness. Also, there´s trash on either side of it everywhere, and usually a stray dog or two drinking from it.
Anyway, so my cab driver drops me off in front of a delapidated building that is padlocked. I think it´s quite obvious that this is the wrong address, but he tells me to find a hotel and leaves. Now, you have to remember I have 4 bags, so I can´t really walk anywhere. I decide to see if my phone works, but dusk is falling so I´m already feeling a little nervous. My phone doesn´t seem to work, so I decide to try using my calling card. I pulled up my mail to write down the numbers, but as I do so, my stupid touch screen reacts to my arm and the message gets moved. Now I´m freaking out, and when I find where the message was moved to, it won´t open. I have now decided that I am stuck in Chile forever and am going to die, so, I start crying. I try walking down the street a bit, but I just have too many bags. So, I try my phone again in depseration. It works! I get a hold of my mother, and she starts making some calls. Unfortunately this is Sunday, so nobody is at the office of the company which got me my apartment. So, I sit there waiting, and a guy on a bike comes up and in perfect english tells me, you don´t want to stand here, you´re going to get mugged. Awesome. Great. I´m so happy at this point. Then while again talking to my mother, who has had her spanish friend Carolina call my landlady for me, since she doesn´t speak english, a creepy guy with very long hair walks by and gets in my face, waving at me. So, I lose it and just hail a cab. Luckily, Carolina has found out they gave me the wrong address. I live at 291 Bellavista, not 0291. Well, my cab driver literally makes a circle and takes me back to the same place. For 6 dollars. and then after talking to Carolina twice, realizes where I´m going and takes me there.
My landlady, Jaqueline is very nice, but I have a very hard time understanding her. The house is really quite beautiful, with oak everywhere and very wide walkways, although all the actually rooms are very, very tiny. So, I unpack, realize I have no internet, and give it up for the night.
The next day I wake up, exhausted, and having decided not to go to work, take quite a bit of time working up the nerve to venture outside and buy things which is not in my house, like: a towel, toilet paper(i know) and food. I go to the grocery store, and it´s a beautiful day. I live right on the river, so I cross it to get everywhere, and it´s really quite a pretty sight. The day is beautiful and sunny, I´m hot in my sweathshirt, and even though I can´t read any of the signs in the supermarket, I manage to get some things. I also went to a towel store. Yes, a store just for towels. The stores here are very small, and you don´t shop, they have everything stacked up behind the counter and you tell the worker what you want, and they give you a ticket to take the the cash register. Anyway, I got a pretty blue towel, and headed home. At this point I´m feeling great, I was able to speak enough spanish to buy a towel! So I get home and try my key. It´s not working. I keep turning and turning and turning, literally bruising my fingers trying so hard. My fingers are still bruised actually. So of course, I start crying again. I suppose I was a little fragile. Anyway, I call my mother again to call Carolina to call my landlady and tell her my keys don´t work.
So I get and meet Mother and Baby. Mother does her best to help me, but speaks no english so it´s very difficult. Baby is actually cute, never cries, and smiles all the time. So when I finally get into my room I collapse and nap for an hour. I wake up, sort of feeling trapped, but decide to take a shower. The shower is freezing. I mean freezing. Like it was painful. But then I couldn´t feel anything, and then it got even more painful. It´s very odd to not be able to feel anything with your hands for a full minute while trying to get dressed. It makes for hilarity if one is not already on her last nerve. Anyway, my landlady came over, turns out I´m not an idiot, my key actually didn´t work, so she gave me hers. Problem solved. I watch friends with Mother and Baby, meet nearly 7 other people who live here, and learn that Baby loves me. Won´t stop climbing on me. Oy ve. I finally get my internet to work, and then just roll into bed.
The next day (this is yesterday) I use the other shower, which has some sort of heater attached to it that you turn outside of the shower. I apparently am doomed to be cold, cause I had to take another freezing shower. But finally, a ray of light. Jose Miguel, the guy I`m working with came to meet me at my house and he speaks english! not perfect, but really good. Finally, I am safe. Work was fine, although I can´t understand anyone and they can´t understand me. I finally have real food, rice and beans called lentejas that was delicious. And I get walked home, so everything is going better. As of right now I am feeling ok. It´s exhausting trying so hard to talk to people and failing, and it´s also quite lonely, but at least I´ve been fed and can walk to and from work just fine. After work today I´m going to try ice cream from Emporio de la Rosa, which is famous, and right on my way home from work. It´s a little cold for it, and it´s also raining, but I think I´ve earned a little treat. Wish me luck for today!
So finally I get in a cab with maybe 7 other people and we´re on our way. Well, the scenery is gorgeous. There are HUGE snow capped peaks everywhere! I think Colorado ain´t got nothing on Chile. And I mean everywhere. There are mini mountains even in the city, and I would call them hills, but really, they´re more like the appalachians. There is a huge river running through the city, Rio Mapocho, which is the dirtiest thing I´ve ever seen. It´s very fast moving, so it´s very brown and very muddy. Grossness. Also, there´s trash on either side of it everywhere, and usually a stray dog or two drinking from it.
Anyway, so my cab driver drops me off in front of a delapidated building that is padlocked. I think it´s quite obvious that this is the wrong address, but he tells me to find a hotel and leaves. Now, you have to remember I have 4 bags, so I can´t really walk anywhere. I decide to see if my phone works, but dusk is falling so I´m already feeling a little nervous. My phone doesn´t seem to work, so I decide to try using my calling card. I pulled up my mail to write down the numbers, but as I do so, my stupid touch screen reacts to my arm and the message gets moved. Now I´m freaking out, and when I find where the message was moved to, it won´t open. I have now decided that I am stuck in Chile forever and am going to die, so, I start crying. I try walking down the street a bit, but I just have too many bags. So, I try my phone again in depseration. It works! I get a hold of my mother, and she starts making some calls. Unfortunately this is Sunday, so nobody is at the office of the company which got me my apartment. So, I sit there waiting, and a guy on a bike comes up and in perfect english tells me, you don´t want to stand here, you´re going to get mugged. Awesome. Great. I´m so happy at this point. Then while again talking to my mother, who has had her spanish friend Carolina call my landlady for me, since she doesn´t speak english, a creepy guy with very long hair walks by and gets in my face, waving at me. So, I lose it and just hail a cab. Luckily, Carolina has found out they gave me the wrong address. I live at 291 Bellavista, not 0291. Well, my cab driver literally makes a circle and takes me back to the same place. For 6 dollars. and then after talking to Carolina twice, realizes where I´m going and takes me there.
My landlady, Jaqueline is very nice, but I have a very hard time understanding her. The house is really quite beautiful, with oak everywhere and very wide walkways, although all the actually rooms are very, very tiny. So, I unpack, realize I have no internet, and give it up for the night.
The next day I wake up, exhausted, and having decided not to go to work, take quite a bit of time working up the nerve to venture outside and buy things which is not in my house, like: a towel, toilet paper(i know) and food. I go to the grocery store, and it´s a beautiful day. I live right on the river, so I cross it to get everywhere, and it´s really quite a pretty sight. The day is beautiful and sunny, I´m hot in my sweathshirt, and even though I can´t read any of the signs in the supermarket, I manage to get some things. I also went to a towel store. Yes, a store just for towels. The stores here are very small, and you don´t shop, they have everything stacked up behind the counter and you tell the worker what you want, and they give you a ticket to take the the cash register. Anyway, I got a pretty blue towel, and headed home. At this point I´m feeling great, I was able to speak enough spanish to buy a towel! So I get home and try my key. It´s not working. I keep turning and turning and turning, literally bruising my fingers trying so hard. My fingers are still bruised actually. So of course, I start crying again. I suppose I was a little fragile. Anyway, I call my mother again to call Carolina to call my landlady and tell her my keys don´t work.
So I get and meet Mother and Baby. Mother does her best to help me, but speaks no english so it´s very difficult. Baby is actually cute, never cries, and smiles all the time. So when I finally get into my room I collapse and nap for an hour. I wake up, sort of feeling trapped, but decide to take a shower. The shower is freezing. I mean freezing. Like it was painful. But then I couldn´t feel anything, and then it got even more painful. It´s very odd to not be able to feel anything with your hands for a full minute while trying to get dressed. It makes for hilarity if one is not already on her last nerve. Anyway, my landlady came over, turns out I´m not an idiot, my key actually didn´t work, so she gave me hers. Problem solved. I watch friends with Mother and Baby, meet nearly 7 other people who live here, and learn that Baby loves me. Won´t stop climbing on me. Oy ve. I finally get my internet to work, and then just roll into bed.
The next day (this is yesterday) I use the other shower, which has some sort of heater attached to it that you turn outside of the shower. I apparently am doomed to be cold, cause I had to take another freezing shower. But finally, a ray of light. Jose Miguel, the guy I`m working with came to meet me at my house and he speaks english! not perfect, but really good. Finally, I am safe. Work was fine, although I can´t understand anyone and they can´t understand me. I finally have real food, rice and beans called lentejas that was delicious. And I get walked home, so everything is going better. As of right now I am feeling ok. It´s exhausting trying so hard to talk to people and failing, and it´s also quite lonely, but at least I´ve been fed and can walk to and from work just fine. After work today I´m going to try ice cream from Emporio de la Rosa, which is famous, and right on my way home from work. It´s a little cold for it, and it´s also raining, but I think I´ve earned a little treat. Wish me luck for today!
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