Meeting the (Host) Family

After quite an eventful Monday night, Laura and I finally managed to fall asleep just as the hot summer sun started to peak through my very thin curtains.  And even though I didn't have to go to work, the rest of the city did, so traffic started to pick up and get noisy around 7:00 a.m.  I managed to stay in bed until about 9:00 before it just all became too much for me and I had to get up.  I went to the kitchen to make coffee.  Laura was still sleeping soundly when I passed, so I just grabbed my computer and got back in bed with my coffee and surfed the web for a while.  I still had a few things to do for the end of the semester, so I spent a few hours doing that before Laura got up around 11:00. She probably could have slept longer, except that the phone rang.  It was my apartment manager, telling me that he was in the building and would be by with the sheets in 20 minutes or so.

Laura's pain had gone down significantly, but she was still really tired out from fighting it all night (and the nights before).  We'd been invited out to dinner by my previous host family, but we hadn't given a definite answer yet, just to make sure Laura would be up to it.  It was a really nice day out (as far as Santiago goes, at least).  We decided to take advantage of the clear skies and slightly cooler weather to explore a little bit near my apartment.  By the time we got ready and had breakfast, it was more than an hour after the manager had promised to come by with the sheets.  I figured he might have gotten caught up with another tenant, so I gave him a call to remind him.  He told me he wouldn't be able to drop it off for another hour or so.  Laura and I didn't really want to wait that long, so he agreed to leave the sheets with the concierge so that we could pick them up on our way back.

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With high hopes of returning to a bed with sheets, we headed out into town.  We didn't want to venture too far away, just in case Laura's symptoms started to return.  Laura really enjoys architecture, so I tried to think of some places in Santiago that might have some interesting buildings to check out.  I really couldn't think of any, so we just headed towards Santa Lucia Market to scope out some souvenirs/ Christmas gifts.  Our first stop was at London Cafe for some fresh-blended juice.  According to Laura, good juice is hard to come by in Argentina.  Maybe we should have traded places--I could go to Argentina for the coffee and she could come to Chile for the juice!  Though I'm not usually much of a juice fan, there is a lot to be said for fresh-made!  I got strawberry/melon and Laura got mango/strawberry.  They were perfectly sweet, even without any added sugar!

We took a short walk through the stalls at the market, but decided not to buy anything since it was only the first day.  Besides, we were going south the next day, and were looking forward to checking out the hand-made gifts that are famous in that region!  Across the street from the market, Laura pointed out a very beautiful building that I pass by quite often but usually overlook.  She asked what it was, and I told her that it was the National Library.  Even after 9 months living so close to it, I'd never gone inside.  We decided to check it out, and entered through the grand front entrance.

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There was a tour group meeting just inside, and we stopped to listen for a while.  They were talking about politics and were apparently waiting for quite a few other people before getting on their way.  We continued past them into a room hidden behind the stairs.  It held an exhibit about Chilean folklore musician Victor Jara.  It was interesting, although a little difficult to follow because the creators assumed that the viewer already knew the history of Jara, and therefore did not give much background information.  We were a little lost, but did enjoy looking at objects from the early 20th century.  The room wound around, even going outside of the main building for a bit.  From there, we were led into the "computer room."

The computer room was quite unique.  All around the outside walls were photos and objects about famous people in Chile's history.  In the center of the room was an elevated platform upon which there were three rows of computers.  To reach the platform, users had to climb a ramp that spiraled around it.  The ramp was surrounded by a translucent wall covered in poetry and music by prominent Chilean artists.  It was really neat to look at, although I'm not sure how I would feel having to work up on a platform with tourists coming in and staring at me all day.  I guess I do have similar experience, though--the lab I worked at in Florida was part of the museum exhibit, so we often felt like zoo animals!  Especially when large school groups went by.  I think I can safely say that I don't really miss that aspect of the job.

As of yet, we hadn't actually found any books, which we found slightly odd given that we were inside a library.  The library is three stories tall, so we figured that the books must be hiding up near the top.  We exited the computer room through a cafe (which had a large book on display behind a case, but still nothing for reading).  There were elegant staircases to either side, but one was blocked off.  That left us only one choice, so we climbed up to the second floor. There was a great view off a balcony to the cafe below and some more computers, but no books.  On the other side of the hallway was a large study room filled with beautiful wooden tables and benches.  There were actually quite a few people inside working, although most were using computers or other electronics.  Only one had a real book!

© Laura Morgan

Becoming even more concerned by the lack of books in the library, we continued our quest up to the third floor.  It wasn't blocked off, but there also weren't any lights in the narrow corridor we came upon at the top of the stairs.  Most of the rooms were locked off, but we did find an interesting ancient relic--an IBM 9370 Mainframe computer!  Of course we had to take a photo--when else might we have a chance to be around such a historic artifact!  We actually didn't know what it was when we were there, but luckily Mauricio works for IBM and had some insider information to help us identify it.  We were pretty excited about our discovery, but beginning to wonder if there were actually any books in this so-called "library!"  Just as we were about to give up, we walked past a class-enclosed room that was about the size of my bedroom.  It was filled with very old books, and there was a sign on the door stating that an appointment needed to be made to see any of them.  Of course, office hours were very short and during most inconvenient times.  But at least the books existed!

© Laura Morgan

Satisfied that we had completed our quest, we left the library in search of other adventures.  We found it on Santa Lucia Hill.  The hill is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city, and has quite a history of its own.  It was known to the native Mapuche people as "Huelen," a mapudungun word meaning "pain, melancholy, or sadness."  I couldn't find any explanation of why it was given such a somber name.  The hill was conquered by Spanish conquistador Pedro de Valdivia on December 13, 1541, and christened with its current name, Santa Lucia.  It was used for many years as a lookout and point of reconnaissance.  Later, in 1816, two forts were built on the north and south sides of the hill to be used by the Spanish in defense against the Mapuche.  The other side of the hill was used as a "cemetery for dissidents" for non-Catholics.  

By the late 19th century, most of the indigenous population had been pushed out of the city, and such strong defenses were no longer needed.  In 1872, Chilean politican Benjamin Vicuña Mackenna proposed a city-wide improvement program, part of which included an extensive remodeling of Santa Lucia Hill.  He built a chapel at the top of the hill, along with a road leading to it.  The rest of the hill was fitted with decorative gardens, fountains, and outlooks.  He also created an advanced irrigation system that is still in use today, as well as the famous yellow facade that is the modern day icon of the hill.  Traditionally, a cannon is shot every day to mark midday.  The practice was paused for a while after the cannon was damaged in the 2010 earthquake, but has recently been reinstated (although it's still only up to once a week or so).   

Laura and I climbed the winding stairs most of the way to the top of the hill.  We found a lookout and tried to see if we could spot my apartment.  Unfortunately, my sense of direction isn't the best and Laura wasn't really in the mindset to be paying attention to where things were when I brought her to my house the night before.  We looked in the general direction and saw some tall buildings that may or may not have been my apartment.  All the hiking made us thirsty, so we stopped at a stand to grab a traditional Chilean drink--mote con huesillo.  It's peach juice with dried peaches and barley.  I love it, and find it the perfect refreshing drink/ snack on a hot day!  I may even go so far as to say that it's my favorite Chilean food.  Laura wasn't quite as enthusiastic as me, though.  She bravely took a taste, but I was left with the majority after she decided that it most closely resembled "soggy brains."

Beneath the hill there is a small indigenous artisan market, so we stopped in for a quick peek.  Laura was momentarily excited to see a range of imported foodstuffs, but it turned out to be mostly quinoa products.  I guess we would have to continue our search for sweet corn flour elsewhere.  We did end up talking to a Aymara man from the north of Chile.  He was selling handmade ocarinas that he designed himself using traditional indigenous symbols.  He gave us a short lesson, and in no time Laura was an expert!  She even drew a small crowd as she performed Bach on a green and yellow ocarina.  I was more interested in the cultural and historical aspects of the instrument, and the man gave me several flyers explaining them.  I even bought one (with Packers colors) to give to Gaven for Christmas!

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We actually ended up doing a lot more than we had initially intended to, and were starting to get tired out.  Laura was still feeling pretty good, so I called Mauricio to let him know that we could make it to dinner later that evening.  We headed back towards the apartment to rest up a little before dinner.  We hadn't eaten much since breakfast and still had a ways to go for dinner, so we stopped at a neighborhood shop for some empanadas to tide us over.  We went for the traditional "pino" (meat and onions) flavored, but with a twist, "aji" (chili pepper).  They were the perfect snack, and even Laura conceded that the one food that Chile does better than Argentina is the empanada.  At least that gives us something to brag about!  When we arrived back at the apartment, we pleasantly surprised with a new set of sheets waiting for us at the concierge desk!  We made up the bed and both settled down for a quick nap before going out again with my old host family.  

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Around 8:00, Mauricio called to let us know they were on their way to pick us up.  Laura and I quickly made ourselves presentable and threw on some sweaters to guard against the cool spring evening air.  We got downstairs just in time to see Mauricio pull up in his new SUV, the rest of the family in tow.  We did some quick introductions as we piled into the car, and everyone commented on how great (albeit Argentinian) Laura's accent was.  We drove towards the "nice" side of town while deciding where to go eat.  We ended up going for "Tip y Tap," a home-style restaurant that I was first introduced to by my host family when my "real" family came to visit me in 2007.  Dad will never forget that experience--first, he tried to give me a piggy-back ride which ended with us both down on our butts in the middle of the parking lot and second, we all got to try raw beef (crudito) "cooked" in lemon juice.

We went to a different location than that made famous by the appearance of the Hoefert clan.  That one was stand-alone, but this time we went to one inside of an upscale mall on the northside of the city.  It was nice to be able to drive through the nice neighborhoods and see all the sights as we did.  Mauricio has spent quite a bit of time in Buenos Aires for his job, so he and Laura compared notes about life there.  She had a little bit of trouble understanding him at first, but once he toned down the Chilean slang she caught on pretty fast.  Having had only a few days experience in (a very touristy area of) Argentina, I was completely lost in their conversation.

Instead, I talked with Chabe about some of my wedding plans.  I invited their family to come to the wedding, and I really hope they can make it!  It's been so nice to have someone helping me out and showing me around during my time in Chile; I hope I can repay some of that to them if they can make the trip.  I also learned that their oldest daughter, who is 15, is about to go on a three-month exchange program to Germany in January.  The two girls study at a German school in Santiago, so are quite proficient in German.  They've also been studying English, and I hear from others that they are very good, although I still haven't managed to convince them to speak to me in English.  I'm hoping to be able to go visit her for a weekend while she's in Germany, so maybe I can convince her then.  Don't hold your breath, though!

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When we finally figured out how to actually get to the restaurant (the layout of the mall isn't the most straight-forward), we went up to the second floor to get a better view.  We sat for a few minutes but no servers came to our table.  We called one over, who told us that they had to serve the other big table upstairs before they could help us (which even included giving us menus, apparently).  We waited a couple more minutes, but eventually just decided to forgo the view and go downstairs to see if we could get some service.  It was much faster down there!  I was still pretty full from my empanada, but I wanted to take advantage of all the good Chilean food I could before I left.  I ordered a salad with fresh tuna and avocados--what could be more Chilean than that?  Laura ordered salmon with sauteed mushrooms, and Mauricio once again ordered the famed raw beef.  Chabe and the girls shared some sandwiches and french fries.  

We chatted and caught up while we enjoyed our food.  We talked about future plans.  I gave some advice for being an exchange student, while Mauricio and Chabe gave me some advice about how to be a married woman.  And of course, we all had to make a little fun of each other!  It was really nice to get together again, even though all of us were a little tired and had to get to school/ work the next day.  We stayed out until around 10:00, and then headed back towards home.  We took the scenic route so that Laura could see a little more of the city (and so more marital advice could be dispensed).  By the time we arrived back at my apartment, we were more than ready to say good-bye and settle into bed.

Laura Comes to Chile

It had been nearly a year since I last saw my best friend, Laura.  We first met when we were assigned to be roommates freshman year of college, and have been good friends every since!  We ended up living together for five years, until life took us in different directions.  She's lived in Texas her whole life, but recently decided that it was time for a change.  She took the plunge and moved to Argentina to teach English.  Though it's still one country over, it's a lot closer than the U.S.!  We both finished up our teaching duties in early December, so she decided to come over to Chile to visit me for a couple weeks before I headed back to the States for the holidays.

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She was scheduled to arrive Monday evening around 8:00.  I was a little nervous because I hadn't given her my address, so I was really counting on being able to find her at the bus terminal.  I went to the main bus station, but couldn't find any terminal for her bus line.  I asked a guard about it, and he pointed me to a smaller bus station across the street.  By the time I found my way through the crowd and made my way to the correct terminal, the bus was scheduled to arrive any minute.  I waited about 15 minutes, but still no Laura.  I started to get a little nervous, because buses in Chile are actually fairly good about keeping to schedules, so I went to the ticket counter to make sure I was in the right place.  I was assured that I was, but the people there had no information about any buses arriving from Mendoza that day.  I went back out to the terminal to wait a little longer.

By 8:30, I was really starting to get nervous, but there was really nothing I could do since I didn't have Laura's phone number (and her phone ended up not even working in Chile, anyway), so I just paced up and down, probably entertaining quite a few people in the process.  I was just about to give up and see if perhaps I needed to go to yet another bus station when I heard my name called from the driveway where the buses came into the terminal--it was Laura, walking in with all her gear, no bus in sight.  She was moving a bit slower than normal, but I figured that she was just tired from the trip (over a day from Buenos Aires to Santiago).  I ran over to greet her, and she gave me a hug and said, "Hi, I really missed you--now can we go to the hospital?"

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It turned out that she had been having pain in her abdomen and lower back for a few days, but didn't think much of it and hoped that it would go away in time for her visit to Chile.  Unfortunately, not only did her symptoms not improve, they got much worse and were aggravated by the long bus rides through the mountains.  To top things off, her bus from Mendoza to Santiago had a bad habit of breaking down every hour or so.  Every time it broke down, all the passengers would be told to get off the bus and get their luggage to wait for another bus to come and rescue them.  Just as everyone got off and ready to board another bus, the mechanic would tell them that their current bus was good to go and they could all get back on and continue their journey.  This occurred several times over the 7-hour trip.  The last time it happened just a few blocks away from the bus station, so all the passengers were told to get off and just walk the rest of the way.  I was actually really surprised that they were only half an hour late after all that!

Anyway, all the stopping and starting and getting on and off really didn't help with Laura's condition, so she was pretty fed up by the time she arrived in Santiago.  It was too late to get in to a "regular" clinic, and I had been fortunate enough to never have had to visit a doctor in Chile, so I didn't know where there would be one that would be open so late.  Luckily, Laura had made friends with her seatmate on the bus, so we asked him if he knew of any place.  His relatives were life-long residents of Santiago, so they recommended that we go the the clinic associated with the Universidad Católica.  They gave us directions to the 24/7 Urgent Care, and I realized that it was only a few blocks from my apartment!  In fact, I pass by it regularly and never really registered what it was!  I was relieved to find out that it was in a familiar place.

Unfortunately, the clinic is about half an hour away from the bus station by metro.  Laura and I tried to catch up a little on the way over, but it wasn't the easiest for her to stay focused through the pain.  She said that it was getting progressively worse, and that she was really worried because she had been looking at WebMD when her symptoms first presented and had read about people going into renal failure with similar symptoms.  So, first lesson: never look up your symptoms online!  I can't tell you how many times the internet has told me with "complete accuracy" that I am pregnant.  If everything on the internet were true, I should probably have about 47 children by now.  At least.

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Anyways, we finally made it to the urgent care center around 9:30 p.m.  The waiting room was pretty full of people with all sorts of ailments.  I wasn't quite sure how urgent care works in Chile (and now that I mention it, I'm not really sure how it works in the U.S., either), so I went to the information desk to ask what we should do.  They told us that we needed to register with a Chilean ID number before we could be put in the queue for triage.  Since Laura didn't have one, they let her register with mine.  They told us that the wait for triage shouldn't be too long, but that it would probably take about three hours after that before we could get in for treatment.  They were right; Laura was called to the triage room about 15 minutes later.  They had a little trouble with her middle name, which they pronounced "Gay", followed by a long paused, then: "-Lay."  We weren't sure at first if they were actually calling her, but the man from the information counter assured us that it was our turn.

We were taken to a small room just behind the waiting room, where a nurse asked some questions to determine how to initially diagnose Laura.  She tried to speak in English, but Laura insisted on Spanish so that she could practice.  It ended up being a mixture of Spanglish and excellent miming, but we managed to get the point across.  The nurse told us that it sounded like an urinary tract infection, but it was possible that it might be a kidney stone or something like that as well.  She put Laura's information in the system, fitted her with a hospital bracelet, and sent us back out to the waiting room to wait for the doctor.

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By now it was past 10:00, and we were both pretty hungry.  Laura hadn't really eaten a "real" meal since she left Buenos Aires more than 24 hours before.  I offered to go out in search of food while she stayed in the waiting room, just in case things moved faster than expected.  Even though Santiago is the biggest city in Chile, it does slow down quite a bit at night so there weren't a whole bunch of options available at that time.  Luckily, Laura requested something with fish (apparently seafood prices are through the roof in Buenos Aires--surprising, given that it's right on the coast), and the first place I came to was a sushi restaurant.  I never know what to order at sushi restaurants, so I just asked for the 2-person special.  I only had large bills and the cashier didn't have enough change, so while they prepared my order I went to the convenience store across the street to get some.  I tried to look for pineapple juice, because Laura had read that that might help with a UTI.  The store didn't have any, so I settled for orange.

The sushi place was surprisingly really quick, and had my order ready to go by the time I returned with the correct change.  The 2-person meal looked more like a 4- or 5-person meal, but I was glad for the extra food because I was starving!  We'd planned to go out to a big dinner with Raul as soon as Laura arrived, so I hadn't eaten much earlier in the day in preparation for that.  When I got back to the clinic with the food, we decided to sit outside and eat, just in case there might be some undesirable pathogens hanging around the waiting room.  There were some undesirable flaites hanging around outside, but they just gave us weird looks as we sat on the steps and enjoyed our take-out sushi and orange juice straight from the container.  We made it about halfway through before we were starting to get full.  We packed it up and headed back inside.

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We'd lost our original seats, so we had to shuffle to the back of the room to find two open next to each other.  As we sat down, I checked my watch: 11:10 p.m.  According to the information we'd been given upon checking in, we still had over two hours to wait until getting called to see a doctor.  We settled in and tried to watch the tv across the room while we waited our turn.  We weren't really paying attention to the names being called, but only a few minutes later the man from the information station came over to us and told us that they had been calling us and we should hurry to the back before they gave our spot to someone else.  We were astonished that we were going in so quickly; as you've probably noticed from my other posts, most aspects of life in Chile are decidedly slower than what we're used to in the U.S.

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We headed towards the back of the building again, where we were met by a nurse who escorted us to a small room with 5 beds separated by curtains.  We were shown to the bed in the corner.  It was a little awkward, because the only way to access it was by walking through the curtained-off areas of two other patients.  But at least we got some good privacy!  The nurse had Laura get comfortable on the bed, and asked her to rate her pain on a scale from 1-10.  Laura estimated she was around 8, so the nurse offered to give her some intravenous pain medication.  Laura agreed before the offer was even fully out of the nurses mouth!  The nurse laughed and went off to find someone to run the line.

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We had to wait a bit for someone to come, so we took the opportunity to catch up a little and try to get Laura's mind off the pain.  Of course, we had to gossip!  Laura told me all about her life in Argentina, and told me that (apart from being in excruciating pain at the moment), her life was pretty awesome.  She even had a new sexy boyfriend from Colombia!  She told me that he's a pretty good cook, and that she had become addicted to a Colombian delicacy called "arepas."  I don't think that I've ever had one, but after Laura's raving description of them, I definitely want to try!  Apparently, they are kind of like pancakes, except that they are made out of a special sweet corn flour, harina de choclo dulce.  She told me that food in general is in short supply in Argentina, but that finding the flour for arepas was pretty much impossible.  She hoped to find some in Chile, but I didn't remember seeing any at any of the places that I normally shopped.  I promised to take her to some of the big import stores to check, anyways.

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Just about the time Laura had convinced me that arepas are the food of the gods and nothing else is worth eating, another nurse came in to run the IV line for the pain medication.  We heard her coming from a mile away, because she was pushing a huge cart with all her supplies, and had to navigate it through the narrow corridors and between all the beds to reach us in the back of the room.  She finally made it and settled down next to Laura on her left side to insert the needle.  By now, Laura's pain had worsened significantly and she was shaking.  I was a little worried, but she told me that it seemed to be her body's way of dealing with pain because it happens quite regularly when she gets hurt.  Of course, it didn't make things any easier for the nurse, although I must say that Laura made a heroic effort to keep still while she was working to find a vein.  Laura's veins apparently weren't really up to being found that night, because the nurse tried four different spots on her left arm and didn't manage to get the needle in any of them.  Frustrated, she left without saying much.

A few minutes later, we heard more clanging as a different nurse pushed her cart through the obstacle course to arrive in our corner.  She tried the left arm one more time but still didn't manage to find a vein.  She maneuvered herself and her cart over to the right side to try again.  Another three tries, and still nothing.  She got pretty aggressive, too, moving the needle back and forth vigorously inside of Laura's arm.  Laura was talking to me and not watching, but I couldn't help but stare at the nurse's wild efforts to insert the needle.  I'm not generally a queasy person, but her technique almost made me sick!  A few more stabs and she gave up on the right arm, too.  She left, and it looked like Laura wasn't going to get any pain medication after all.  But the nurse came back a few minutes later with a smaller needle and gave it one more try.  Finally, she managed to find the vein and get the IV going, but by this time Laura looked like a drug user, with track marks and bruises all up and down both of her arms!

It was worth it, though, because the medicine started to work almost immediately and Laura could relax a little more while we waited for the doctor.  When he came in, he started to explain things to her and asked if she would prefer that he speak English.  She said no, and he seemed pretty relieved about that.  He said that he had studied in the U.S. for a year, but that he didn't get much practice in Chile, so our Spanish was probably better than his English.  He made the effort to speak slowly and clearly, but Laura was still having some trouble understanding him, and he must have noticed this because he asked again if she would like to speak English.  She responded, "no, but could you speak in Argentinian? I don't really understand the Chilean accent."  He laughed, but actually made a (very good) effort to speak in an Argentinian accent.  He must have done a good job, because Laura understood much better after that!

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He explained that the tests they had run revealed that she had a urinary tract infection (a relief to us, after having convinced ourselves that it was a kidney infection).  However, the tests would not be able to tell what kind of infection it was for another 48 hours.  This was a bit of a problem because we were scheduled to leave for the south of Chile the next day!  We asked the doctor about that, and he said we should be clear to go if she felt better by that time.  He told us he would prescribe her with an antibiotic, but that we had to be sure to check the online system while we were in the south to make sure that she didn't have a drug-resistant infection.  If she did, we would have to find a doctor there who could prescribe stronger antibiotics.  After the doctor explained all this in Spanish, he told us that he was legally obligated to explain it to us in our native language, so he reiterated it all in English.  He got stuck on a few of the medical terms, but somehow I managed to help him with all of them.  I have no idea how I got such a great medical terminology vocabulary, but I suspect that some of it may be due to being the daughter of a doctor.  Thanks, Dad!

The doctor wrote a prescription for an antibiotic and two medications to help with the pain, and released us to the billing department.  Once again, I had to sign all the papers since I was the one with a national ID.  It turned out to be quite the expensive night--about $300USD for the consultation and lab tests.  And we still hadn't even picked up the prescriptions!  It was now about 2:00 a.m., and there wasn't a pharmacy associated with the clinic, so we though we might have to wait until morning to pick up the prescriptions.  Laura was not too happy about that, because the pain medication had begun to wear off and she was starting to get uncomfortable again.  Luckily, we found out that there was a 24/7 pharmacy just a few blocks away.

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Unfortunately, it was in the other direction from my house, in an area that is not known to be the best, especially at night.  We hurried past a group of unsavory-looking youth and made it to our destination without much incident.  We did get yelled at by a cab driver waiting across the street, warning us not to walk in that area because it was dangerous at night.  We didn't have much of a choice, so we just moved as quickly as we could and tried to look alert (probably a bit easier for me than Laura, who hadn't slept in two days and was starting to feel the pain full-force again).  We hoped that her debit card wouldn't get rejected at the pharmacy for so many expensive purchases in a foreign country over such a short time, but it turned out that all three medications cost less than $12USD.  One good thing about going to a pharmacy at 2:30 a.m. is that there really isn't much of a line, so we were in and out in only a few minutes.   We hurried back home, eager to finally get in bed.

We had to take a quick stop in the lobby to say hello to the concierges, but managed to get up to the room and ready for bed by around 3:00 a.m.  I'd been contacting my landlord about borrowing sheets for the pull-out bed for about three days, but still hadn't been able to track any down, so we just laid some extra blankets on top for the time being.  Laura was so exhausted that she didn't really mind at that point.  She took her medicine and we both headed off to bed.  We didn't get much rest right away, because around 4:30 a.m. she started having horrible pains again, and we were worried that she might be getting worse because it should have been too soon for the pain medication to wear off already.  We actually even called my Dad to see if we needed to go back to the clinic, but he told us that she should be ok and would just have to ride out the pain.  After some deduction, we realized that she had actually only taken half the prescribed dosage of medicine, so she took some more and tried to go back to sleep.

Finally her pain began to subside and I was felt less worried, and we both fell asleep.  It was about 6:00 a.m.  Luckily, we didn't have any set plans for the next day!

Happy Anniversary, Duoc!

After nearly 9 months of hard work, the teachers and staff at my campus finally got to let loose and relax a bit.  The school holds an annual dinner celebrating the anniversary of the university, and this year was the 44th.  Everyone received an invitation by email about a month before the event.  I get so many school-wide emails that don't ever pertain to me, so I ignored it when I first got it.  For the next couple weeks, I was so caught up in school and the pending midterm tests that I all but forgot about it completely.  It was only when one of the staff members asked me if I was going that I remembered.  I wasn't really sure I wanted to--it was scheduled for a Tuesday night, and I have early classes on Wednesday.  But everyone kept talking about how much fun it was and how they always looked forward to it every year, so I was finally convinced.

All of us TIPS (the American teachers) have the same schedule on Tuesdays, so we agreed to meet up after work to get ready together.  I was a little nervous because I am not really a "dress up" type person (see how worked up I got about a wedding dress), but another one of the girls is about the same size as me and offered to let me borrow something if I couldn't come up with anything from my own closet.  I got home from work around 4:30 and started going through my outfits to see if I could find anything appropriate.  Luckily, Aunt Jenn had taken me on a shopping spree before I left Florida last year and had helped me pick out some good dresses.  Since I never have occasion to wear them, I'd nearly forgotten I'd brought them at all!  But I pulled out a knee-length black and white dress with a diamond pattern that seemed perfect for an anniversary dinner.  The only problem was that I'd lost the only pair of black shoes that actually fit me when I moved to the center of town.  The ones I had were way too big, but it was too late to do anything about it then, so I just stuffed them with toilet paper and headed out.

I was the first to arrive at my coworker's house, and when she opened the door we both had a good laugh because her dress was very similar to mine.  Guess we both have good taste!  As we waited for the rest of the girls to arrive, we talked about how school was going (and both agreed we were definitely looking forward to the end of the semester).  I mentioned that my shoes were not the most comfortable, and she ran to her closet and pulled out a pair of black flats that went great with my dress and fit perfectly.  I almost felt like Cinderella!  With the shoe dilemma solved, we turned our focus to the important stuff--wine and french fries.  Chileans are notorious for beginning events much later than scheduled, so we weren't sure what time we'd actually be eating.

The rest of the girls showed up just as the fries finished cooking.  We broke open the wine and had our snack while we made some last minute preparations.  One of the girls had seen a video online about how to create a new hairdo (called "the spring flower" or something along those lines).  The presenter in the video made it seem like it was a snap and so easy the cat could do it.  It turned out that may have been a slight exaggeration, because in real life she'd had very limited success attempting to put her hair up in that style by herself.  So we put in a group effort and managed to complete the hairstyle.  It took three of us 20 minutes to finish a hairdo on another person that had been done by the woman in the video to herself in only five.  So, we considered it a success!  We all finished up with the minor adjustments to our outfits, and got ready to head out.

yorkblvd.com

The dinner was scheduled to start at 8:00, so we left the apartment around 8:30 so as not to arrive too early.  We were surprised when we arrived to see that there were already quite a few people at the hotel, socializing and snacking on hors d'oeuvres.  People were just kind of muddling around, so we did too.  It was very elegant; there were waiters walking around carrying trays of all kinds of foods (even little bowls of soup--that was one braver waiter!).  Of course, we had to try as many as possible!  And what would a party be without alcohol?  There were many options to choose from, but I went for the Chilean drink of choice--pisco sour.  We made the rounds and said "hello" to the other teachers in our department, as well as some that we'd chatted with in the teachers' lounge.  It was a little strange at first to see all the teachers dressed up for a party instead of for a professional setting, but it was also really nice to see everyone more relaxed and with their guard down a bit.

A little after 9:00, there was an announcement calling everyone into the dining room.  The dining room actually happened to be a giant tent (almost circus-style) into which dozens of tables had been set to face a large stage and screen.  The lights were dimmed and the room was illuminated by candles and colored light accents around the periphery.  We headed to the table in the back corner with our department head and some other English teachers.  They told us they hoped we'd eaten a lot of snacks, because it typically took a long time to distribute the food to all the tables.  Luckily, we'd been allowed to bring in our drinks (and were still full of french fries), so we weren't too concerned.  But they must've switched up the service order this year, because no sooner had we been seated than a line of waiters appeared through the door and headed directly to our table!  We were the first group to be served!  The teachers who'd experienced the anniversary dinners before couldn't believe our good fortune.

The first course was smoked salmon with a side of a green salad and couscous topped with huevos de pescado (the Chilean version of caviar).  We were also given our choice of red or white wine, or fresh juice.  Some people went for all three!  I'm not notorious for my drinking abilities, and I'd already had a glass of wine and a pisco sour, so I opted for some raspberry juice.  It was delicious, and very refreshing with our meal.  By the time I finished my plate, I was feeling quite satisfied.  What I hadn't realized was that that was only the first course!  The waiters came around swiftly to collect our plates and make room for the next course.

Again, our table was the first to be served.  This time, we received grilled chicken and steak on a bed of rice.  The dish had a very beautiful garnish, but I'm not quite sure what it was.  It looked like clovers to me (yes, I am quite sophisticated).  I was starting to feel the effects of all my hors d'oeuvre-sampling and the first course, so I only managed to eat about half of the second course before I felt as if I could no longer move.  I made a valiant effort to eat as much as I could, but my stomach can only stretch so far!  Of course the others made fun of me, but in the end it worked out for them because they got to finish off what I couldn't!

Of course, the most important part of any meal is dessert, and we weren't about to miss out on that!  Luckily, this time the waiters gave us a little more time between courses so our stomachs could settle a bit before attempting another workout.  While we waited for dessert, the campus director made his way onto the stage and began to announce winners for various awards, such as a staff member of the year.  One of my students also works at the school, and I was very proud to see that he was runner-up for "most invaluable asset" in his department!  We'd heard from TIPS at other campuses that they also had an award for best exchange teacher, so we were excited to see who would get that.  Unfortunately, our campus apparently doesn't give that award.  We were only momentarily disappointed, however, because as the awards wrapped up, out came dessert!  It was a big plate with three different delicacies--strawberries and cream, peach custard with a chocolate shell, and raspberry ice cream in an edible mini dish.  They were all super delicious!

While we enjoyed our desserts, we were entertained by one of the design teachers doing a live sand art show.  He was dressed up as an Arabian prince, and created a story simply by drawing in sand that was spread out on a table.  It was really cool to watch, especially because it was totally synchronized with the music.  He drew the story of Duoc, showing students in the classroom and all sorts of other activities that go on at the university.  The whole show probably lasted 15 minutes, during which he drew continuously.  It was really impressive!  The grand final was when he drew the Duoc logo and wrote "Happy Anniversary" in the sand for posterity.  Or at least until the cleaning crew arrived.

After the art show, we were treated to a talent contest.  Unfortunately, none of us (American teachers) had heard about it beforehand. We were a little disappointed because we could think of a few good ideas that just might have brought us the prize.  Too bad we won't be around next year.  But we did enjoy watching the normally very primp and proper teachers strut their stuff on the stage in all sorts of outrageous costumes!  My favorite was a group who did a medley of different dances, mostly to songs I didn't know, but ended with their own rendition of "Gangnam Style."  Even though I didn't really know most of the participants, it was still really entertaining to watch!  After the talent contest, there was one final act.  A singer came on stage, pretending to be Spanish with a very exaggerated accent.  Apparently he was imitating a very popular artist from about 50 years ago.  Of course, that's way before my time (and place), so I had really no idea what was going on.  All of the other women were swooning, though, so it must have been kind of a big deal.  Our department head told us that everyone loved that singer because he was all of their mothers' favorite.  It was funny to watch how they reacted when he would come up and sing personally to some of them!  I wish I remembered his name so I could look him up and show a video.  I'll ask around.

After the serenade, once it was assured that no one had fainted from heart-throb exposure, it was time to get the party started for real!  Everyone was ushered back into the reception room for dancing and more free drinks.  Unfortunately, by this time it was past 1:00 a.m. and the effects of the alcohol were starting to get to me--I was tired!  The other American teachers also had to teach early classes, so we all agreed to go home together.  We said our good-byes and went on our way.  I still had a few things to get ready for class the next day, but by the time I made it home, I was lucky to get my pajamas on before getting into bed for the night!  Luckily for me, no one noticed how tired I was the next day because I'm pretty sure they were all even more tired!

Feliz Día del Profesor!

Happy Teachers' Day!  I actually had no idea that it was a holiday at all!  I remember seeing a couple weeks ago an ad at the mall for it, but quickly forgot about it.  I had better things to think about, anyway, like the fact that we had Monday off from school!  I slept in late, spent the afternoon at the park with my friends, went out for pizza, and finally reluctantly did some lesson planning at the end of the day.  I was even starting to look forward to going to school the next day, because I had some pretty fun lessons planned out.  Or so I thought.

Of course, it happened to be "Career Day" at the university, and of course I was not aware of it beforehand.  This meant that the entire bottom floor of the main campus was filled wall to wall with booths set up by employers looking for new hires.  It also meant lots of promotion in the form of very loud music and lots of yelling from loudspeakers.  The room for my first class directly overlooks the courtyard in which all of these events were held, so as you can imagine, it was slightly difficult to maintain the attention of my students.  The few that even showed up.  We didn't even manage to get started until about half an hour in, and even then the whole next hour was a struggle.  Most of the kids just wanted to get back downstairs to the festivities, and the ones that were trying to participate couldn't very well because of the noise.

Luckily, I only have two classes on Tuesday.  I made it through the first one and was looking forward to getting the other one over as well.  Fortunately, my second class is held in the annex, so at least I wouldn't have to deal with the noise.  Unfortunately, because the passing period between classes is only one minute and I have to walk down three flights of stairs, down a block, and back up three flights of stairs to get there, I'm usually a couple minutes late.  And the students know this and use it as an excuse to show up late themselves.  Except that they're usually about 20 minutes late.  I've learned to accept it.  After all, it's not me that could use the extra minutes to practice English.

When I first arrived, there was only one girl in the room.  She's the only one that is consistently on time.  We chatted while we waited for the others to arrive.  By about fifteen minutes later, five more people had arrived.  There are only 14 people enrolled in the class, so that's actually a fairly good ratio. I was surprised because there are usually a few more people, especially a group of four girls who are all pretty quiet but do good work.  I thought they might have decided to go to the job fair instead.  I started class with the few people who were there.  It took a while to warm them up, but eventually the energy started to rise and we started to have fun.  We even danced a little.

Finally, about half an hour into the class, the four other girls showed up.  They're not usually very late and I didn't question them because I just assumed they were at the job fair.  They sat down and got straight to work.  Even though the subject matter was a bit tedious (we're learning how to talk about health problems, not the most interesting or useful topic to a group of vigorous 18-year-olds), everyone participated and even laughed at my stupid jokes and crazy antics.  By the time we finished, I was feeling much better and could tell that the students had enjoyed the class, as well.  I dismissed the class, and everyone filed out, saying their "good-bye"s and "see you"s on the way out.

I'd turned my back to the room to clean up my supplies before heading out myself.  I assumed everyone had left, but when I turned around, I saw the four girls that had showed up so late.  Like I said, they're all pretty shy so when I asked them what I could do for them, they all just looked at each other to see who would speak.  After a bit of an awkward pause, one of them got up the courage to ask me if she could speak in Spanish.  It was after class, so I agreed.  She told me that it was National Teachers' Day and the reason they were late for class was because there was a long line at the store.  At first, I didn't make the connection between those two statements, but then the girls pulled out a gift-wrapped bag and handed it to me.  They said they were glad I was their teacher, and had a gift for me.

I was shocked!  I didn't even know it was Teachers' Day, and even if I had, I wouldn't have expected anything for it!  But here it was! I opened the gift, and laughed at what was inside.  They pay more attention in class than I thought!  The gift was a pink, girl notebook with a cute cow on it.  I tell my students that cows are my favorite animals because its something that both my "hometowns" have in common.  They told me they knew my favorite color was purple, too, but that there weren't any notebooks in that color.  To go along with the book, they also gave me two rainbow-colored pens.  Do my students know me, or what!?

I was still so surprised that all I could do was keep saying, "thank you, thank you!"  I wasn't quite sure of the protocol after that, and they seemed a bit unsure themselves.  Are you allowed to hug your students for a gift?  I think it would be acceptable here, but I've been so conditioned against it in the states that I just kind of stood there.  I felt very awkward, but just said, "thank you," again.  The girls smiled and acknowledged, and then headed out to their next class.  I hope I did the OK, because I really do appreciate that the students take the time to do things like this for me!  Although I guess my awkwardness is part of my gringa charm.  Or so I'll say.  So, I know it's unlikely, but girls if you read this--THANK YOU!  You really made my day!

Salón del Automóvil

There are some perks to teaching business people, although I wouldn't know because most of my students are young college-goers.  I do, however, have a friend who is well acquainted with such benefits, and he was kind enough to share them with me on this particular occasion!  But before I get to that story, let me tell you "our" story.

Dan is a gringo like me, but he's been living in Chile since 2010 (arrived just a few days before the big earthquake, in fact).  He was actually the first person I talked to about coming to Chile before I did.  Ever since I did my study abroad here, I'd been trying to find a way to come back.  It was around 2010 that I heard about the TeachingChile program on a "Teach English Abroad" website.  But, as you all know, I'm pretty skeptical and I have to read tons of testimonials and reviews before buying or doing anything new.  It was difficult to find third-party opinions on this program, but through some searching I happened upon Dan's blog.  He was already writing about his experiences on the blog, so I thought I'd give it a try and e-mail him for some advice.

To my surprise, he responded and we started a year-long cross-continental correspondence.  He gave me some advice about the program and did his best to prepare me for the upcoming challenges.  After helping me through so much, I was finally able to meet him in person at a BBQ when my group arrived in Chile.  We've gotten to hang out a few times since then (and he's still always there for me with tips and tricks for living in Chile when I need it), but it's usually pretty casual like BBQs or pizza/game nights.  When he invited me to go out on a Wednesday night, I knew it had to be pretty special (we're both kind of nerdy and usually reserve weekdays for planning, etc).

Dan works for an institute that caters more to business people in one-on-one settings, so he's gotten to know some fairly successful people here.  One of his students works as an event planner for the Asociación Nacional Automotriz de Chile (ANAC), an association of importers and sellers of all brands of automobiles in Chile.  It's a pretty big deal.  Every 4 years or so, the association throws a huge car show, the Salón del Automóvil, to feature all the new models available in the country.  The event lasts two weeks and is open to the public for most of the event.

Except opening night.  That night is reserved only for VIPs and their invited guests.  Being one of the main planners of the event, Dan's student was of course a VIP.  He managed to procure some extra invites, and gave them to Dan as a gift.  Dan is only one person but had two tickets.  So, I got the honor of going as his date for the night (sorry, Scott!).  It was a black-tie affair, so I did my best with my limited wardrobe to dress as nicely as possible.  I think I did OK; my students would surely be surprised!  Dan looked great in a suit and tie.  The only problem was that neither of us owns a car, so we had to take a bus the half hour or so to the event center.  It didn't start until 9:00 p.m., so at least the bus wasn't too full, but we did comment on the irony of traveling to a car show on a bus.  We got a couple of weird looks when we walked through the gate as opposed to driving, but we can just chalk that up to our gringo-ness.

We were disappointed that we had to hand over our beautiful invitations before we were allowed in, but we were so awed by the sites that we soon forgot about that.  Neither of us know very much about cars, but were still fascinated by the sheer number of different types of them all in one place!   There were about five different pavilions, each home to different brands of cars.  We walked past a stage (we realized too late that it was for the opening speeches) and into the largest of the pavilions.  Most of the cars looked pretty similar to me, but what I found most intriguing were all the different female models standing next to the cars.  My first thought was pity, because it was a pretty chilly night and most of those models weren't dressed appropriately for such weather.  Then, I wondered why they were all female.  Don't us girls deserve some eye-candy, too?  All of the models were very gorgeous, but my favorites were the ones hired by Jeep.  I'm not even going to try to explain; just look at the picture.

As we meandered through each display from each manufacturer, we were offered drinks (champagne, wine, and pisco, of course) and small hors d'oeuvres.  They were very elegant, I have no idea what any of them were made of.  But they were delicious (especially because I'd come straight from work and hadn't had time for dinner)!  I'm a lightweight when it comes to alcohol, so I only managed to make it through one glass of champagne.  Actually, Dan even had to help me finish that one off!  But they did offer soda and juice, as well, so I didn't feel lacking.  I know I'm so sophisticated, but my favorite snack was the kettle corn we were given by a race car sponsor.

In addition to getting our fill of food and drink, we also did admire some of the cars.  Dan told me how he always had a special place for Subarus (it was the brand he grew up with and learned to drive on), so we stopped by the Subaru stand to snap some photos.  I don't remember what brand of car I learned to drive on (I just remember it was awesome because it was green and sparkly and had mood lights and a tube tv inside).  Dan was also a German teacher back in the States, so we checked out some of the German manufacturers and he helped translate the signage for me.  My favorite stand was the Kia display.  Not because I have any great feelings for Kia as a brand, but because theirs was the only car that was painted rainbow!  I know absolutely nothing about it as a vehicle, but I am determined that that is the one I am going to get!

We walked through most of the pavilions, checking out the displays and trying to find Dan's student.  I wasn't much help because I'd never met him before.  But I did my best based on Dan's description of him being "kind of tall with brown hair."  After a couple of hours of wandering, we were both starting to get tired (and all the free alcohol wasn't helping).  We still hadn't been able to find Dan's student, but decided to call it a night and Dan would call him the next day to thank him for the invitations. On the way out, we passed by a display near the exit with life-size, real car characters from the movie "Cars." We almost passed right by it, but it was so neat that we decided to take a quick detour for the photo opportunity.  As we got to the front of the line, we heard someone call out, "Daniel!"  Dan turned to look, and it turned out to be his student!  After all our looking, we finally found him just as we were about to leave!  He was there with his wife (also a former student of Dan's), so I was introduced to both of them, and amazed at their English ability--both had only studied a few months!  They insisted on taking pictures of Dan and me at the display.  We could hardly say no; it was a pretty awesome display after all!

After a quick chat and some pictures, we said our good-byes and headed back to the bus stop.  It was a few blocks from the event center, and as we got about a block away we saw the bus we needed drive by.  By now, it was pretty late and we weren't sure how often the buses came.  Even though we were a block away, Dan waved at the driver to get him to stop, and we chased down the bus like there was no tomorrow.  It's a good thing that my highest "heels" are just boots, or that could have been dangerous. Luckily, the driver saw us and waited at the stop for us.  In fact, we were the only people on the bus at that point.  He actually apologized for not stopping closer to us, but said something about it being illegal or something.  We were just happy that we weren't going to have to wait out in the cold for another bus!

The bus ride back was much faster than on the way there (traffic sure does die down quickly in a couple hours), and we got off near Dan's house.  He helped me catch the correct bus to get back to my place.  By the time I got home, it was nearly midnight and I was exhausted.  I went straight to bed, and dreamt about my future rainbow car.  All in all, it was a great experience and I'm so glad I stepped out of my routine do something a little different that night.

Fantasilandia

When I'm not off traveling, my weekends tend to be pretty monotonous.  Friday is market day, Saturday is cleaning day, and Sunday is class preparation day.  I'm not much of a night owl, and that's when most of the weekend socialization occurs here in Santiago, so I don't go out very often.  This Saturday, however, turned out a bit differently.  It started out as normal--I slept in, enjoyed my coffee while reading the news, and still wasn't dressed by 11:30 a.m.  It was a good day, so far.  I finally got up the motivation to start washing the dishes that I'd let pile up during the week when I noticed a strange sound.  I'd lost my phone on the way to Mendoza and had just started using a new one.  I still wasn't quite used to the sound, and ignored it at first.  But the new phone has a handy "reminder" system, so it kept vibrating every 5 minutes or so until I finally realized what it was and went to check on it.  Turned out to be a message from my friend, Heather.  I hadn't seen her since before the semester started back in August!

"Hey, what are you doing?" read the message, "do you want to come out?  Like, now?  We're meeting at Fantasilandia at noon."  Of course, by the time I'd realized it was my phone making the alert noises, it was already about 5 minutes to noon!  There was no way I would be able to get dressed and all the way over to the theme park by then!  But I didn't have any other plans for the weekend, so I texted her back and told her I'd meet the group there as soon as I got ready.  I decided the dishes could wait another day, and quickly hopped into the shower.  I got ready in record time, and and was out the door in less than half an hour.  The park is actually located fairly close to my house, but because of the metro routes, it takes a while to get there.  By the time I got to the park, got a ticket, and found my friends, it was around 1:30.

www.fantasilandia.cl

It was a group of about 12 people, only half of whom I already knew.  The rest were friends of Heathers' roommates.  It was quite an international group--we had people from the U.S., Chile, Peru, and India!  When I arrived, we went through the standard introductions, and then got down to business--deciding which ride to go on next.  The rest of the group had already been at the park about an hour, but it was so packed that they'd only managed to get on one ride!  They'd stood in line nearly 45 minutes to get to the most popular roller coaster, the Raptor.  I got a quick look at it, and decided that I didn't feel too bad about them doing it without me.

It was starting to get warm out, so before choosing our next ride we decided to take a quick drink break.  It was still fairly early for lunch, so the line at the snack stand wasn't very long.  Five of us got in line to get drinks, behind two other park-goers.  The people in front of us ordered food, so they had to wait for it to be cooked.  We figured it wouldn't affect us and continued through to order our drinks.  We forgot that we were in Chile.  The cashier took our money and gave us a receipt, telling us we'd have to wait at the other end until they called us to tell us our order was ready.

The gringos waiting for their drinks...

We were ok with that; there were a couple other people also waiting just for drinks, and all the workers were busy working on various tasks.  We waited about ten minutes, and still got nothing.  Now, the cashier wasn't doing anything because there was no one else waiting in line to pay.  There were also two new workers who'd shown up but didn't seem to be doing anything.  We went to the cashier and asked her if she could grab our drinks, since she wasn't helping anyone else at the moment.  She told us we had to wait, that everything had to be done in the right order.  Then, she continued to sit and twiddle her thumbs.  We waited another ten minutes, and still nothing.  We asked another person, who completely ignored us.  Finally, the people in line ahead of us (who had ordered enough food to feed a small army) received their food.  After a total wait time of nearly 25 minutes, we finally received our overpriced fountain sodas.  By then, it was the most delicious soda that any of us had ever tasted!

Once we quenched our thirst, we began to explore our options for the next ride.  Everyone agreed upon La Pirata, a viking ship that swings back and forth.  Unfortunately, I am not the best at chugging, so I still hadn't finished my drink.  Another friend, Kimberley, also needed some more time to finish her drink, so we appointed ourselves official photographers and sat the ride out.  We did manage get some great pictures, though!  After the ride was over, everyone (well, almost everyone) decided they were up for some more adrenaline.  That meant it was time for the Boomerang!  Kimberley and I did our best to escape, but when you've got a dozen people surrounding you, there really isn't much room to run.

www.fantasilandia.cl

We were forced to get in line and wait for what looked like the most terrifying ride known to man.  And the worst part was that the line was very long, meaning that we got to sit through the horrified screams of all our predecessors.  After enduring the blood-curdling cries of about 10 groups of people, it was our turn.  I tried one last desperate attempt to get away, but two of the guys in our group grabbed me and dragged me into my seat.  At least they were kind enough to make sure I was strapped in securely! The ride lasted just under 2 minutes (yes, I timed it), and I have to say that those were the most terrifying 120 seconds of my life.  The ride is called "Boomerang" for good reason--you are first pulled backwards up a steep incline, where you sit for a few seconds.  Then, all of a sudden, you are flung forward into a spiral that promptly turns into a loop.  After you survive the loop, you are rushed up another steep incline where you are allowed a short break to catch your breath.  Then, just when you think the worst is over, you are dropped back down the incline in the opposite direction and have to endure the whole track again, in reverse!  My eyes were closed the entire time, and my hands hurt for an hour afterwards from holding on to the handrails so hard.  It took just about as long for me to stop shaking; but I survived!

The rest of the group still didn't feel as if they'd gotten their fill of adrenaline yet, so they got in line for the Extreme Fall (have you noticed that all the rides have names in English?  That's what they're really called; I'm not translating!).  Kimberley and I had had just about enough adrenaline to last us the rest of our lives, so we once again sat this one out.  We still had fun, though!  We found a nice giraffe topiary and had a very deep conversation with it while we waited for our friends.  We discovered that most giraffes are democrats, for obvious reasons.  We even snapped a picture with him.  Kimberley apparently has quite a bit of experience with giraffe topiaries, so she wasn't as impressed as I was.  I guess I need to get out more!  Apparently, free-falling from 115 feet builds a quite an appetite, because as soon as everyone got off the ride, lunch was the only thing on their mind.  We went to a different snack stand this time, hoping for better service.  Once again, we had a momentarily memory lapse about the fact that we were in Chile.  And by now it was lunch time, so the line was pretty long, too.  I wasn't hungry yet (I'd had a late breakfast), so I was given the all-important task of saving the table.  It took about 45 minutes for everyone to get their food (not too bad, given the circumstances).  We got caught up while everyone ate.  We talked about our future plans--it looks like most everyone is planning to go home (or at least somewhere else) after our contract is up.  We also got to know the new people in the group, which was quite interesting.  It was fun to compare cultures (and discover that amusement parks are overpriced with much too long of lines in just about every country).

Lunch took about two hours, and by the time we were finished, I was starting to feel about ready to go home (besides, I had a Skype date with Scott that I didn't want to miss) .  I agreed to go on a couple more rides before heading out.  We got in line for a water ride, the Rapid River.  Just in time, too, because it started to rain while we were in line!  Everyone else  must've had the same idea, because it was probably the longest line we'd been in all day.  It took about an hour to get to the front of the line.  The line wound back and forth, and in front of us on the other side of the rope was a man with his young son.  When he saw me, he pointed right at my face and started saying, in English, "blue eyes!"  I kind of gave him a smile and tried to go back to talking to my friends, but he kept talking.  I finally said, "yes, thank you," just to get him off my back.  But then he had to point out to me that his son had green eyes (obviously making us soulmates), and try to get my life story.  Luckily, the line started to move so I didn't have to talk long.  Until we ran into each other again as the line snaked back onto itself once again.  I had to endure five awkward Spanglish conversations with them before the line straightened out and we finally got rid of them. Or so I thought.  When we got on the ride, he was waiting in the spectator area.  He shouted to get me to look at him, and snapped my picture!  I guess I should feel flattered?

I think the ride was fun, but I was a bit flustered by my new friend.  After being around the water so long, I had to take a bathroom break.  I set out to find one while the rest of the group got in line at bumper cars.  The line at the bathroom was just as long as for the rides, so by the time I got back to the group, they were next in line for the cars.  So, once I again, I became official photographer.  It was actually really fun to watch everyone fight it out in the bumper car arena!  My camera wasn't too happy about the low light and quick movements, but I got a couple decent shots.  And a whole bunch of really funny ones!  After the bumper cars, I had to head out, but everyone else decided to stay another hour until the park closed at 8:00.  We said our good-byes and went in our separate directions. It was nice to get out and do something a little different, and to meet some new, fun people while doing it!