Archive for November, 2007

The gardener

29 November 2007 at 11:47 am · Filed under homes, jobs

The official residence of the ambassador of New Zealand to Chile is next door to our apartment building. It is a large home with a large front yard and two gated entrances. It has very well-kept gardens, and we often take a peek through the gate as we pass by.

 Yesterday Rachel saw a sprinkler running inside the gate. “Mommy, why do they have that sprinkler? Don’t they have a gardener?” she asked me.

“Well, Rachel,” I said, “the sprinkler saves time so that someone doesn’t have to stand there with a hose and water all that grass and all those flowers and plants that they have.” Secretly I was thinking that this was a rare opportunity to teach Rachel about one of my favorite North American values: efficiency.

“Does the gardener just play in the water then?”

I can hardly hold back the laughter. “Um, no. I think the gardener can do other things, then.”

About this time we passed the second gate to the house. As we peeked in, we saw the gardener. He was standing there with a hose, watering the other half of the lawn.

“Like hold the hose somewhere else,” I said. My chance to pass on my value of efficiency was thwarted once again.

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Bus Adventures

29 November 2007 at 11:37 am · Filed under food, jobs, purchases, travel, weather

As we travel around Santiago by bus these days, we are often surprised at the things that we experience. Here are a few from just this week:

  • The man riding beside us with his young daughter sleeping on his lap bought Rachel a 4-ounce Coke from the vendor who got on the bus with his soft-sided cooler full of about 30 little bottles to sell to the passengers for about 50 cents each. I think the man felt guilty for drinking his little Coke in front of Rachel, so he bought her one, too.
  • Many singers, usually with guitars, get on the bus to sing and ask for donations, but this week dreadlocks and drums were a unique bus ride show.
  • Vendors of all kinds get on and describe their product in loud voices. This week we had the opportunity to buy ink pens, sewing needles, file folders, coloring books to teach us English words (!), and socks.
  • Beggars also get on the bus. They have a pattern to their stories. First they get your attention and say that they hate to have to do this, but there is no other way for them to feed their family. Then they tell you their story, without looking anyone in the eye. Then they say God bless you all and have a safe trip, and walk through the bus with their hand out for coins.
  • The favorite of all bus riders at this hot time of the year is the ice cream man. He has either a foam cooler or a masking-tape-reinforced cardboard box full of popsicles: blackberry, pineapple, orange dreamsicle, plain orange, chocolate cream. Only 20 cents each!

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The Van

24 November 2007 at 7:04 pm · Filed under jobs, purchases, travel

Those of you who read Mark’s blog (itismark.wordpress.com) will already be aware of the recent demise of our van, may it rest in peace. This van has plagued us from the start with problem after problem, and I for one am glad that it is finally dead.

But what exactly do you do with a kaput car in Chile? I mean, in the States I would sell it to the junk yard, or give it to charity to be fixed for someone who needs it, or at least recycle the scrap metal somewhere. But here in Santiago, where people leave things outside by the curb to just disappear when they are done with them, how do you get rid of something as big as a van?

Well, we didn’t just leave it at the curb, in case you were wondering. In fact, we sold it to the first person who came to see it on the first day it was for sale! (Maybe we should have asked for more as far as the price, but to me it is priceless just having it sold.)

I called the buyer directly. See, last year when we were still in the old house, this guy came riding a bike down our street handing out his business card to anyone and everyone. He makes his living buying cars like ours that have some good parts (ours had a decent exterior and interior) and some bad parts (ours needs a new engine). Then he puts together new vehicles and sells them. We’ll call him the puzzlemaker.

So, as is my habit, I had glue-sticked his business card into my spiral notebook of cards. This is how I keep track of all the people who I meet or get recommended. I have no idea why I thought I might need to know the puzzlemaker someday, but his card was there, so I called him.

“Yes, how much do you want for it? I’ll come this morning.”

One trip to the notary later, and it’s gone. He towed it away with a nylon rope and his car. I wondered if his method of towing would work (slippery rope, small car, big van), but you know, it’s not my problem anymore. What a relief!

 

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Happy Birthday to Rachel

7 November 2007 at 10:05 am · Filed under food, holidays, people

As I have said many times before, my parenting is one the most gringo things about me, and I am okay with that.

Rachel turned five this past week, and it was a busy week of birthday preparations. We had no less than 25 people (friends, their parents, and their brothers and sisters, plus us) at the park for chocolate cake and strawberries. Strawberries for your birthday is one of the benefits of your November birthday being in the spring in Chile. We hung a piñata and the kids all smashed it with a stick, but finally we had to put it down ourselves. All sorts of fun.

Here’s a picture of Rachel blowing out her candles:Rachel birthday candles

On Sunday, Rachel went to the birthday party of another girl who had been at Rachel’s party. She was turning seven.

It was a High School Musical Party. (“That’s SO cool, Mommy.”)

They opened the presents as soon as they arrived. Each child just gave the gift to the birthday girl when they arrived, and she opened them up on the spot. Very Chilean.

They played party games in Spanish even though all the kids were from English speaking families. There’s the culture gap between us and our kids, and they are only five or a little older!

They hung the piñata and just pulled the string so it would shower the kids with candy. No sticks. Also very Chilean.

They ate hot dogs (well, not Rachel, but everyone else). The birthday girl didn’t get a hotdog because they had more guests than they expected. She didn’t seem to mind too much.

They sang Happy Birthday and Felíz Cumpleaños. She blew out her candle (shaped like a 7) and then did the most Chilean thing yet: She begged her parents to let her plant her face in the birthday cake.

They said no. Not very Chilean.

On the way to the car, I said to Rachel, “Did you see that? She wanted to put her face in the cake!”

Rachel said, “Yeah, Mommy. Abby did it at her party.” Like that was the most normal thing in the world.

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