I don't know how much longer I can last before she starts eating me. I'm mostly just ecstatic that I wake up the next morning. If i dont make it back ... Tell my family I love them... Tell them I tried my best...
Monday, February 18, 2013
Second breakfast
Meal times in Chile are quite different from Canada. Breakfast seems to be at a normal time while lunch is between 1-3 pm. Next comes "las once" (elevensies) at 5-7 pm. Dinner is then around 10 pm. It's quite something to see kids a a restaurant, wide awake, at 10:30 while the other half of me is barely awake. It has been quite an ordeal to go to dinner at a somewhat reasonable hour (7 pm) when restaurants don't even open till 8:30. We often arrive at the restaurant too early and pace outside the restaurant doors, peeking through the windows. The waiters act like cockroaches that have had a light turned on, scurrying madly to get away from "our" gaze. I imagine Lori is like a zombie, banging at restaurant doors trying to get in, frantically trying to get something to eat. She turns into mindless creature, caring for nothing else except the next meal. I've gotten into the habit of ordering a fresh fruit juice for Lori as the waiter seats us, to buy the waiter some time in delivering the main course.
I don't know how much longer I can last before she starts eating me. I'm mostly just ecstatic that I wake up the next morning. If i dont make it back ... Tell my family I love them... Tell them I tried my best...
I don't know how much longer I can last before she starts eating me. I'm mostly just ecstatic that I wake up the next morning. If i dont make it back ... Tell my family I love them... Tell them I tried my best...
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Love in the time of Chile-ra
There were times when my mom would ask me why I was never more affectionate with my girlfriends. There was never enough handholding or hugging or displays of affection. I never thought I was stand-offish or cold or against physical contact at all, so it always seemed kinda weird to me that my mom would say that.
After a couple of days in Santiago, it suddenly dawned on me of how the "courting rituals" actually happen in Chile. I've never seen such open displays, and I felt like I was walking into a private situation, even though it was in a clearly public place. I had an internal war of not wanting to stare yet at the same time, catalog the proceedings for scientific (sociology) purposes. I had to put myself in the shoes, figuratively, of Diane Fossey, trying to live amongst the "gorillas" in their natural habitat, not disturbing them as they act as they would, naturally. Making no eye contact!
Turns out it wouldn't have mattered as the "lovers" would act as is if there was no one around. Pretty fair to say that in Canada, the "lovers" would have to be intoxicated to act as the Chileans did. Lori saw it as "romantic" - I explained that the romance was probably just a way of getting back in the good books as there was probably some transgressions : )
Since kids live with their parents till they marry, perhaps this is there way of getting away, getting some intimate "alone" time. Get to know each other better, as it were. Trespass where no one has trespassed before!
It appears there is a sense of anonymity in public places. Or maybe since most of the time they are lying down, they may think we can't see them.
In the end I wondered what it must be like to move to a different country and raise children in a culture different than the one you grew up in. What would it be like to move to Korea, have your children speak Korean and have them think Gangam style is the greatest song ever, without ever knowing about Wayne Gretzky, the Calgary stampede, Tim Hortons or having your children speak English with an accent. Hmmmmm
After a couple of days in Santiago, it suddenly dawned on me of how the "courting rituals" actually happen in Chile. I've never seen such open displays, and I felt like I was walking into a private situation, even though it was in a clearly public place. I had an internal war of not wanting to stare yet at the same time, catalog the proceedings for scientific (sociology) purposes. I had to put myself in the shoes, figuratively, of Diane Fossey, trying to live amongst the "gorillas" in their natural habitat, not disturbing them as they act as they would, naturally. Making no eye contact!
Turns out it wouldn't have mattered as the "lovers" would act as is if there was no one around. Pretty fair to say that in Canada, the "lovers" would have to be intoxicated to act as the Chileans did. Lori saw it as "romantic" - I explained that the romance was probably just a way of getting back in the good books as there was probably some transgressions : )
Since kids live with their parents till they marry, perhaps this is there way of getting away, getting some intimate "alone" time. Get to know each other better, as it were. Trespass where no one has trespassed before!
It appears there is a sense of anonymity in public places. Or maybe since most of the time they are lying down, they may think we can't see them.
In the end I wondered what it must be like to move to a different country and raise children in a culture different than the one you grew up in. What would it be like to move to Korea, have your children speak Korean and have them think Gangam style is the greatest song ever, without ever knowing about Wayne Gretzky, the Calgary stampede, Tim Hortons or having your children speak English with an accent. Hmmmmm
Marco the giant
Not quite the same ring to it as Andre the giant but it's quite valid in Chile.
My friend GP would say to me "don't worry Marco, I'm sure you're
handsome in your country", trying to make me feel better about myself
(in some way it felt like failing a test badly but being graded on a
bell curve so that i barely pass). I haven't noticed anything like
that but in this case it turns out its true in terms of height - I am
vertically exaggerated in my country. Its a bit hard to believe but
imagine this: Lori likes to go around pointing out all the "little
people" (not dwarves or children) and when she says it that way, it
makes me think that she's somewhere in middle earth with strange
creatures.
It is true though, there a lot of little people (under 5 feet). My
grandmother was under 5 feet - I was taller than her by grade 7. And
since I was the oldest of the brothers I was tallest for a long time,
especially since when I went to boarding school and came back during
holidays I was only reminded infrequently that I wasn't the tallest
anymore.
During university, my roommates were all under 6' - in fact I'd say
all under 5'10". I lived in a land where that height was the norm. It
was only when I moved to Calgary that I had moved from the land of
hobbits and realized what the real height distribution was.
Anyways, all that to say its been quite different to suddenly be on
the tall end of the spectrum. Maybe I walk around a little more
confidently; maybe I don't have to stand on my tippy toes to see over
people and watch the street performer. Maybe I have to duck to get
into the art store whose entrance is only 5'5" tall; maybe when I get
in the rental car, I have to move the seat back. Maybe I notice that
the coffee I ordered was for "the tall guy", or that all my cousins
are shorter than me (the ones I've seen so far). Maybe... But I don't
judge people by how tall they are. That's beneath me.
PS. I'm not actually a giant here, but definitely above average.
My friend GP would say to me "don't worry Marco, I'm sure you're
handsome in your country", trying to make me feel better about myself
(in some way it felt like failing a test badly but being graded on a
bell curve so that i barely pass). I haven't noticed anything like
that but in this case it turns out its true in terms of height - I am
vertically exaggerated in my country. Its a bit hard to believe but
imagine this: Lori likes to go around pointing out all the "little
people" (not dwarves or children) and when she says it that way, it
makes me think that she's somewhere in middle earth with strange
creatures.
It is true though, there a lot of little people (under 5 feet). My
grandmother was under 5 feet - I was taller than her by grade 7. And
since I was the oldest of the brothers I was tallest for a long time,
especially since when I went to boarding school and came back during
holidays I was only reminded infrequently that I wasn't the tallest
anymore.
During university, my roommates were all under 6' - in fact I'd say
all under 5'10". I lived in a land where that height was the norm. It
was only when I moved to Calgary that I had moved from the land of
hobbits and realized what the real height distribution was.
Anyways, all that to say its been quite different to suddenly be on
the tall end of the spectrum. Maybe I walk around a little more
confidently; maybe I don't have to stand on my tippy toes to see over
people and watch the street performer. Maybe I have to duck to get
into the art store whose entrance is only 5'5" tall; maybe when I get
in the rental car, I have to move the seat back. Maybe I notice that
the coffee I ordered was for "the tall guy", or that all my cousins
are shorter than me (the ones I've seen so far). Maybe... But I don't
judge people by how tall they are. That's beneath me.
PS. I'm not actually a giant here, but definitely above average.
Weird things about chile...
There are some weird things about Chile, and I say that trying to account normal cultural differences.
One weird thing about chile is the playgrounds. There are the normal swings and slides, but there are also things that you'd expect to see from Dr Seuss. The googly-jazboodle, that oodles and doozles... Or something.
It doesn't stop with that though. It seems like Stephen King is also in charge of playgrounds.
Exhibit A: a wooden slide?
Who wants to slide down that????
Another weird thing
There are people selling almost anything on the street. People lay out a blanket and sell their trinkets. Trinkets could mean almost anything. Lipstick, knitting needles, noise makers, comic books, hair scrunchies, matches, forks, shoe glue, etc. all of it unpackaged in piles on a blanket. It's almost as if they took the stuff, unwrapped it, tried it out for a couple of days then decided that it was ready to go out to the market. The funniest thing to me was the selling of tape. They were the skinniest rolls of tape I had ever seen - "end-of-the-roll tape"!
PS. Also, a picture of Lori, evidence she is having a good time!
One weird thing about chile is the playgrounds. There are the normal swings and slides, but there are also things that you'd expect to see from Dr Seuss. The googly-jazboodle, that oodles and doozles... Or something.
It doesn't stop with that though. It seems like Stephen King is also in charge of playgrounds.
Exhibit A: a wooden slide?
Who wants to slide down that????
Another weird thing
There are people selling almost anything on the street. People lay out a blanket and sell their trinkets. Trinkets could mean almost anything. Lipstick, knitting needles, noise makers, comic books, hair scrunchies, matches, forks, shoe glue, etc. all of it unpackaged in piles on a blanket. It's almost as if they took the stuff, unwrapped it, tried it out for a couple of days then decided that it was ready to go out to the market. The funniest thing to me was the selling of tape. They were the skinniest rolls of tape I had ever seen - "end-of-the-roll tape"!
PS. Also, a picture of Lori, evidence she is having a good time!
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Beautiful "cha-moo-yo"
Note: "cha-moo-yo" is basically BS. Someone who BS's is a "cha-moo-yen-toe" or "cha-moo-yen-ta".
Listening to a lady sing some romantic songs at a valentines day dinner. Her singing is quite good actually, and shes not bad to look at (from a distance and after some wine but not as good as my date). The funny thing is that when she sings in English, she doesn't quite know all the words. So "true colors" by Cindy "Lauder" becomes
"I see Jo too callers, chining tru, And dats why I blub Jew"
Or from shania twain, (looks like we made it)
"Lou lie we may eet, Lou ow far we come now bay bee. We might av too da Lon way, we noo we get Dere sum day"
Or from wham (careless whisper)
"Blah blah blah, blah blah blah blah"
Or No Doubt
"Donne spick, i know jas wat jur sayin Donne tell me cuz it urtz
I know wat jur tinkin no tell mee cuz it urtz"
It's almost like she's one of the cirque de soleil singers where you don't know exactly what language she's speaking in. Hints of something, but nothing concrete.
Completely awesome.
Listening to a lady sing some romantic songs at a valentines day dinner. Her singing is quite good actually, and shes not bad to look at (from a distance and after some wine but not as good as my date). The funny thing is that when she sings in English, she doesn't quite know all the words. So "true colors" by Cindy "Lauder" becomes
"I see Jo too callers, chining tru, And dats why I blub Jew"
Or from shania twain, (looks like we made it)
"Lou lie we may eet, Lou ow far we come now bay bee. We might av too da Lon way, we noo we get Dere sum day"
Or from wham (careless whisper)
"Blah blah blah, blah blah blah blah"
Or No Doubt
"Donne spick, i know jas wat jur sayin Donne tell me cuz it urtz
I know wat jur tinkin no tell mee cuz it urtz"
It's almost like she's one of the cirque de soleil singers where you don't know exactly what language she's speaking in. Hints of something, but nothing concrete.
Completely awesome.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Tale of two cities.... Literally
Went for a city tour of vina del mar and valparaiso. Both amazing cities in completely different ways.
Vina del mar is a touristy city with many beaches and plenty of ocean front or ocean view properties. It has winding roads that caress the various beaches that line the eastern part of the city. There are boardwalks with playgrounds and various forms of beach environment activities. Cafes and ice cream shops are in abundance. The coast is known for is large waves and hilly topography. In vina, the hills are dotted with high rise apartment buildings and condos. They look like small country clubs.
Valparaiso is also a hilly city and unlike vina, it is a working town as it houses chiles main port. Up on the hills, houses are packed together likes decks of cards, one on top of each other trying to reach for the sun, much like vegetation would in the jungle. We went to see one of the more famous houses, that of Pablo Neruda. It had five stories with each floor not having more than 200 sq ft. More on this house later, but it shows an example of what people lived like. I imagine that others not as fortunate would have a similar house with a family occupying each floor.
A series of ~33 hills make up the communities of valparaiso. The hill boundaries are outlined by the drainage fans that spill towards the bay. The roads of the town stretched up the hills away from the bay like vines, twisting and turning, trying to make their way up to the summit. The roads were narrow and had no structure to them. They provided the main transportation routes for man, car and many dogs. Yet even in the nest of people, roads and multi-colored houses, there were small parks, public terraces or community squares with breathtaking views of the surrounding hills and the bay below.
I've included some pictures, hopefully you get a sense of what I'm talking about. ONe of them is a map of the valparaiso hills.
Vina del mar is a touristy city with many beaches and plenty of ocean front or ocean view properties. It has winding roads that caress the various beaches that line the eastern part of the city. There are boardwalks with playgrounds and various forms of beach environment activities. Cafes and ice cream shops are in abundance. The coast is known for is large waves and hilly topography. In vina, the hills are dotted with high rise apartment buildings and condos. They look like small country clubs.
Valparaiso is also a hilly city and unlike vina, it is a working town as it houses chiles main port. Up on the hills, houses are packed together likes decks of cards, one on top of each other trying to reach for the sun, much like vegetation would in the jungle. We went to see one of the more famous houses, that of Pablo Neruda. It had five stories with each floor not having more than 200 sq ft. More on this house later, but it shows an example of what people lived like. I imagine that others not as fortunate would have a similar house with a family occupying each floor.
A series of ~33 hills make up the communities of valparaiso. The hill boundaries are outlined by the drainage fans that spill towards the bay. The roads of the town stretched up the hills away from the bay like vines, twisting and turning, trying to make their way up to the summit. The roads were narrow and had no structure to them. They provided the main transportation routes for man, car and many dogs. Yet even in the nest of people, roads and multi-colored houses, there were small parks, public terraces or community squares with breathtaking views of the surrounding hills and the bay below.
I've included some pictures, hopefully you get a sense of what I'm talking about. ONe of them is a map of the valparaiso hills.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Secret Avis location
On Monday we checked out of our apartment rental, and made our way to the rental car facility. My cousin Victor Hugo has gone out of his way to make us feel welcome and it's been amazing to have family, that I haven't seen for over 20 years, to be so giving and generous. When we first met he gave me a long hug, as if he had missed seeing me for all this time. It was pretty amazing.
Anyways, we made our way to the rental car. Lori is very organized and has printed off all our reservations with maps and confirmation numbers. My cousin VH drove for 20 minutes to drop us off. And when we get there, it was an abandoned building.
When someone has the illusion of control, not having something in place as planned can be stressful. A scramble of phone calls and google mapping ensued as we tried to find out where the car was. Then Lori said "I wonder if we even have a car reservation in place?"
After getting a hold of Avis, we got an address; an incorrect address and it took us over an hour and a half to finally find the rental centre, hidden away between apartment buildings. Weird place to placed. The lack of visibility is poor advertising.
Avis did at least have a car for us and we found out that the location we first went to had been closed for 2 years!
Five hours after we were expecting to be on our way we finally took the Mazda 2 and drove about an hour to the coast.
Part two of the quest begins!
Anyways, we made our way to the rental car. Lori is very organized and has printed off all our reservations with maps and confirmation numbers. My cousin VH drove for 20 minutes to drop us off. And when we get there, it was an abandoned building.
When someone has the illusion of control, not having something in place as planned can be stressful. A scramble of phone calls and google mapping ensued as we tried to find out where the car was. Then Lori said "I wonder if we even have a car reservation in place?"
After getting a hold of Avis, we got an address; an incorrect address and it took us over an hour and a half to finally find the rental centre, hidden away between apartment buildings. Weird place to placed. The lack of visibility is poor advertising.
Avis did at least have a car for us and we found out that the location we first went to had been closed for 2 years!
Five hours after we were expecting to be on our way we finally took the Mazda 2 and drove about an hour to the coast.
Part two of the quest begins!
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