La Primera Semana

Versiculo de la Semana
"Mantegamos firme, sin fluctuar, la profesion de nuestra esperanza, porque fiel es el que prometio." Hebreos 10:23
Donde Vivimos
Welcome to our accounts of our journey together in Santiago de Chile. The name of this blog comes from a nice song Chris made up and would sing with frequency leading up to our trip. You can ask him to sing it for you when I am not around :) Chris arrived early in the morning last Monday, slept for a few hours, then was off to his first day of work with LAN airlines. As they recieved the 787, they had a ceremony for the whole staff which included a priest praying a blessing over the airline staff, pilots, and flight attendants. Since everything was in Spanish, Chris wasn't quite sure what else was happening, but he felt very welcomed by the friendly LAN Chile crew. One welcoming custom in particular caught Chris a little off gaurd--that of greeting each other with a kiss. The first day a coworker leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek, which was a bit of a surprise, but now Chris is kissing the locals (on the cheeck of course), like the best of them.
I arrived two days later, at 9am on Wednesday morning, having not really slept at all on the flight, since I don't possess Chris' magic "sleep anywhere" capabilities. After a much needed nap, we set about exploring Las Condes, the neighborhood of Santiago where we are living (in the Hotel Plaza el Bosque)
Here are a few pictures of our "home," as well as our first attempt to cook with one knife, two pots, one frying pan, two burners, one large spoon, and one set of dishes each. I think Chris did a wonderful job. Notice how we had to eat our salad out of a pot, since we have no large bowls. Life is about creativity :)

The area of Las Condes is composed of a mixture of high-rise buildings, new construction, older apartments, and the Maipo River, which is bordered by city parks. There are lots of restaurants, businesses, and business people dressed in mostly black. I am often one of the few ladies not wearing slacks and high heeled boots if I go out during the work week. Winter is finishing up here, and so some days it is sunny and warm, and other days the locals are bundled and layered, while Chris and I wear the light jackets we brought and I shiver a little (mostly just in the mornings; the sun makes the afternoons warm).
For our first dinner, we tried our best to hold out and eat later as the locals do, but by 7:45pm our American hunger was overtaking us so we went to the "calle gastronomico" where all the restaurants are located and explained to the waitress we were not simply going to have a drink, like the other Santiaguinos in the restaurant--we needed food. I also realized that if I am going to save Chris from death by consumption of shellfish, I need to brush up on my fine dining vocabulary. I encouraged him to order a meat dish, however I chose a mysterious soup (I wasn't sure what the word before "sopa" meant) and was given a bowl full of clams, mussels, and shrimp. Wonderfully delicious for me, however it would have been a last supper for Chris. Don't worry family, I have since made sure I know the word for shrimp (camarones) and other things with shells (conchas).
La Soledad en la Ciudad
Thursday morning Chris went off to work early with his Boeing crew, and I decided to explore the city myself. I joined the throngs of locals heading to work. Imgaine New York City, though perhaps not quite as populous, with all business people walking fast through the streets, and you have an idea of "Sanhattan," or the equivalent to Manhattan here in Santiago (as the locals call the area in which we live). Shoulder to shoulder with the crowds, I entered the bowels of the bustling metro station to buy a metro card. Santiago is pretty advanced in terms of public transport, so after a few blunders with technology, I was able to purchase a Bip! card and head down to catch a ride to the heart of downtown. I actually didn't have a plan per se on where I would go, so when I heard the announcement for the Universidad, I figured that would be a good place to start.
As I exited the subway station, I saw an impressive colonial looking structure which turned out to be the Biblioteca Nacional de Chile. I wandered around and admired the architechture, then found myself a beautiful atrium style cafe. I went and ordered an espresso and chocolate crossaint and then sat at a table to read for awhile. As I left the library, I saw across the way the famous Cerro Santa Lucia, and went to explore. It's a really neat park that that was the place where Santiago was originally founded, and it served as a fort and "castle" for some time. There are all sorts of parks and winding stairs and fountains and a great view of the city from the top of the stairs (which is quite a climb). As I looked around at people with their friends, families, and lovers (the locals are quite amorous in public), feelings of loneliness started to creep in. I would consider myself a people person, and have always felt that an experience is made more beautiful when it is shared. Simply put, I really don't like being alone unless I am watching HGTV and eating cereal at home. So wandering around a city alone, though in some ways exciting, was incredibly lonely for me. As I descended the steps, I prayed that God would provide me at least with some form of conversation.
A Comer con Las Gitanas
I moved from Cerro Santa Lucia to another park, and was soon approached by a lady who said I had a kind looking face and that she would like to read my future. Taking my hand, she began to tell me that I would have long life, that I desired love... and so on and so forth. As I pulled my hand away from her to explain that I didn't really believe what she was saying, she sighed and replied, "Will you at least give me some money for food? I am hungry." While I had some Chilean pesos in my bag, instead of handing her the money I invited to take her out to a restaurant to eat. She quickly agreed, as long as I could take her sister-in-law (who appeared from the other side of the park) with us as well. I agreed, and soon we found ourselves in a tiny Chinese restuarant in the heart of downtown Santiago eating egg rolls and chow mein and talking about life. They asked me to read the menus for them, and when I realized they couldn't read I wondered if they were indigineous people. They chucked and said, no, they were gypsies. They told me their names, and then when I mentioned that I would be praying for them one responded: "Well, we better give you our real names." Rosa was the one who initially attempted to read my palm, and she had a firey personality and loved hearing about Seattle, Chris, and what I think about Chile. She told me how her and her family live differently and are very discriminated against (which I could imagine, as I myself was gaurding my purse like a good American) but she thought that I was "buena gente" or a good person. Her sister-in-law was Mara, and she was my age. Her 26 years of life were in contrast to mine, however, as she had four children, ages 8-2, and her husband had committed suicide two years ago. She was struggling with depression and didn't speak as much. After hearing her story, I was at a loss for words, and simply told her again that I would pray for her. As we were leaving, I told Mara and Rosa that minutes before I met them, I had asked God to give me someone to talk to and break my quiet loneliness. He answered beyond what I could have imagined with Rosa and Mara, two gypsies and who ate with an extranjera in a Chinese restaurant in Chile.
Fiestas Patrias
Since our arrival, Chris and I have seen many Chilean flags (which Chris thinks are very similar to those of Texas. Here they both are for you to compare for yourselves:
Here is Chile...

...and there you see Texas. Chris is convinced that if he came home with Chilean flags and went around Texas, most people would think he was waving the Lone Star State flag proudly.
Anyway, I digress. The point is, this is the month of Fiestas Patrias, or patriotic parties celebrating Chilean indepencence 202 years ago. Chileans really do celebrate for an entire month, and next week is a vacation week for the whole country, and I have heard that it is also the "gran salida" or great exit from the city of Santiago, as everyone goes on vacation to the coast, the mountains, basically not too many stick around the city during this time. One particular park in the city has had a 10 day fair to celebrate independence, and on Saturday Chris and I joined in the party. Here are some photos highlighting what we did that day:
We were able to climb into the vessel used to rescue the Chilean miners in 2010

We saw some re-inactments of key battles leading up to independence:

Then we witnessed Chilean Rodeo, where men on horseback round up cows... We later saw students near the university protesting this activity, and I could understand why, though it was certainly interesting and something we had never seen before.

And probably one of the best parts was Anticuchos, or Chilean shisk-a-bobs!

And of course after so much amazing food, including Empanadas (they are everywhere right now, and while Chris calls them a glorified hot pocket, they can be quite tasty) we needed to dance!
Part of the fiestas patrias is the national dance of the Cueca. It is a folk dance that EVERYONE knows and that so far in our ten days here, we have seen people break into dance almost every day. After seeing some co-workers dance at a bbq lunch at work (yes, life in LAN Chile is a bit more festive than what Chris was previously accustomed to), Chris had fuerte ganas (he really wanted) to learn how to dance as well. Conveniently, at this fair dance lessons were offered! While I was initially hesitant, we eventually made our way to the dance floor and learned to Bailar la Cueca. If you would like to see more or less what we looked like, you can click HERE and if that really inspires you to want to dance yourself (Chris and I will come home with plenty of Panuelos, or handkerchiefs), then click HERE :) I am pretty sure the lady in the video is the one who taught us as well...
Anyway, after so much dancing, we were a little thirsty, and had seen many signs advertising "Terremotos," which means earthquake in Spanish (a common occurence in Chile, so why not deal with the dangers of living on the faultline by having a tasty cocktail?) It consists of pineapple ice-cream, juices, and alcohol, and if you would like to enjoy one yourself, it's worth a one time try.

Besides food, dancing, rodeos, and the like, we also were able to see meet some Chilean soldiers. Chris got to hold the semi-automatic rifle, which ranked up next to the bbq for the highlight of the day.

And a final image of the fair and in the distance, the Andes mountains. Most days there is a smoggy haze over the city, so it's hard to see the mountains and always a treat when they appear.

La Iglesia
On Sunday morning we went to a nearby church that I had found through a friend of a friend of a friend here in Chile. I was so excited to get an email from Kay, who lives here with her husband Leo and two kids Sofia and Benjamin. I had never even met her, just got her contact through facebook, and she emailed to let us know that the church she is a part of meets about two blocks away from our hotel, and that she knew I desired some form of volunteer work and that her and the pastor had some ideas of things I could do.
Chris and I felt incredibly welcomed by the church family, which consists of about thirty people. Besides Kay and her nephew, they are all locals and the service is held in Spanish, but Chris was a trooper and I tried to whisper translations into his ear. The pastor even gave us a special welcome and asked us to stand up and describe why we were in Chile. Then everyone came up and hugged us, kissed our cheeks, and said, "Dios te bendiga." Many aspects of the service reminded me of the church in Mexico, Rosa de Saron, and for that it felt a little like "home."
Since it is the time of fiestas patrias, the service included the singing of the national anthem, shouting of the patriotic chant (which was good to learn, since we watched a soccer game later that week and needed to be able to cheer along). At the end of the service, everyone was invited for empanadas, dessert, and of course dancing the Cueca! Good thing Chris and I had learned the day before so we could join along in the fun. With all this celebration, we were at church for almost four hours!
Campeona de Cribbage!
After church, the sun was shining, and so Chris and I stopped by a cafe near our hotel and ordered a Jugo Natural, or fruit juice, and played cribbage. Since that game, I went on to beat Chris TEN TIMES in a row, including a skunk. It was a beautiful time of cribbage for me, and those of you who play the game can imagine my glee at winning so many times in a row. Unfortunately, as much as I tried to be humble about it, it put a slight strain on the marriage so I had to let Chris win one game, but then I beat him two more times (so final tally is 12 to 1, and counting).
El Centro
Since we are now used to eating dinner around 8 or 9pm, after our cribbage game we decided to go to the city and explore. We visited the Parque Forestal, or a park of trees (which once spring comes and things begin to bloom, I imagine will be very beautiful).

Another large festival was happening in the park as well, though it was mostly geared to children, with clowns and candy and music and such. And lots and lots of people.

We saw the Fuente Aleman, or German fountain (large German population in Chile, especially in the South).

And then we went back to Cerro Santa Lucia, so I could show Chris around the place I had gone to earlier.

And there you have our first week! Well, five days for me, and almost a week for Chris. God has been continuosly revealing to us His perfect timing and faithfulness, even when our adventures in South America have been challenging.
More to come soon on the great things that have happened in our Segunda Semana!