New Years in Los Vilos

Just getting caught up on blog posts…

On Boxing Day we packed up 4 adults, 2 kids, 1 dog, 1 cat and 1 bunny, plus all our related necessities, and headed out to Los Vilos on the coast for 7 nights of vacation. Given the large group of us we decided to take both the Kombi bus (driven by Jeremy, who had to leave over an hour earlier since it only goes a maximum of 85 km/hr) and the Subaru.

Los Vilos is located about 280 km from Santiago, on the coast about half way between Valparaiso and La Serena. The house we rented was in Bahia Azul, a small community of beautiful homes perched on the ragged coastal cliffs, just South of the city of Los Vilos.

Los Vilos itself is a blue-collar town – fairly poor and non-descript, with a lovely beach that is overshadowed by a large industrial conveyor from a nearby chemical processing plant. The best thing about Los Vilos is the seafood. Near the Northern most end of the town along the water’s edge there is a street lined with small restaurants, where enthusiastic waitresses run out and try to wave cars full of people down and convince them to come to their restaurant. During our stay in Los Vilos, Jeremy and I were privileged to go out for dinner at two of these restaurants (with grandparents babysitting the boys) and enjoy the freshest, most delicious seafood we’ve ever tasted. Locos, rieneta, jieva and muscles were our favorite treats, and of course they were paired with delicious home made pisco sours and lots of fresh avocado and tomato.

The house we rented in Los Vilos was spectacular. The house was located on the top of a cliff overlooking the ocean, with gorgeous mature gardens filled with flowers and cactus, and a winding path that leads down the rock to the sea, where there was an abundance of tidal pools filled with sea anemones, star fish, crabs and other interesting finds. William and Jackson enjoyed many walks down to the water’s edge, with Nana and Grandpa as well as us, to explore tidal pools, watch for seals and herons, throw rocks (every boy’s favorite past time) and collect various treasures. On New Years Eve, despite the skepticism of my parents, Jeremy and I collected sea salt from the rock faces below and used it as a rub on a wonderful roast destined for the charcoal barbeque – the results were delicious! New Years Eve was spent sipping champagne on the deck overlooking the ocean and watching red lanterns float up into the sky, with the thunder of fireworks in red, white and blue (colours of Chile) bursting over Los Vilos in the distance.

The house was mostly glass and every room boasted a spectacular view, and contained beautiful art objects and collectables, along with all the cultured amenities of home. The couple who owns the house are French (retired from the UN and spending time between Chile and France) and invested so much attention to detail in designing and building their home – it was the first time we really felt comfortable and at home since moving to Chile.

The week in Los Vilos was spent enjoying the views and local walks around Bahia Azul, but also visiting a different beach almost every day in the Kombi, to eat picnic lunches, build sand castles, enjoy long walks and take the occasional wade in the chilly Pacific. One day we ventured northward to Parque Nacional de Fray George, which boasts the only cloud forest North of Valdivia – which is remarkable since it is surrounded by near desert. Unfortunately we sprang a leak in one of our tires on the Subaru while driving the dusty roads of Fray George, but Jeremy impressed us all by changing the tire and getting us all safely to La Serena (about 2.5 hours North of Los Vilos at this point) to get the tire fixed and reinstalled for the equivalent of $6. La Serena is a lovely city with a beautiful historical center filled with squares, cobblestone streets and quaint cafes and restaurants. We enjoyed a seafood dinner there before heading back to Los Vilos and promising ourselves that we’d rent a house in La Serena at some point the near future (especially because there is a Humboldt penguin colony about 1 hour North of La Serena, which would be spectacular to visit). Speaking of wild life, one day we commandeered a fishing boat out of Los Vilos to visit Isla de Lobos to see a healthy colony of 1,400 sea lions. The trip was an adventure in the rough water, but it was worth it seeing the sea lions cuddling, fighting, and jumping in and out of the water as the waves hammered their rocky home. It amazed us how large the male sea lions become and we decided that it was best to keep our distance – although cute from afar, we were not disillusioned. Both William and Jackson loved the visit to the sea lions – the excitement wore Jackson out so much that he took a long yet awkward nap on the way back to port.

It was wonderful to have my parents visiting us over Christmas and New Years. They stayed with us in Santiago until Jan. 19 (last week), so it was lots of fun touring around the surrounding areas and showing them our favorite spots. They toured pretty much every possible destination in Santiago (and now know the city better than we do)… always making it home in time for the kids to wake up from their naps and enjoy a swim with their grandparents. Swimming every day with grandparents has resulted in both William and Jackson growing hugely confident in the water. William can now swim the full length of the pool without water wings and jumps in confidently, always finding his way to the side to hold on when he’s tired. Jackson is the water baby extraordinaire doing summersaults into the water (with water wings), floating on his back and cruising around at top speed with vigorous kicks. William has also mastered riding his bike in the last few weeks and races around the yard without a problem. Jackson is not yet coordinated enough to pedal his bike, but he’s starting to figure it out, as he eagerly wants to keep up with his big brother!

Christmas in Chile

This holiday season we celebrated our first Christmas away from home AND our first Christmas in the Southern Hemisphere. Everything about the lead up to Christmas and Christmas itself was a cultural experience.

1) Christmas Hype: Relative to home, there is very little hype leading up to Christmas - sparse and modest decorations (except in the malls), little if any Christmas music on the radio, an absence of the usual Christmas movies and specials on TV, etc. Also, at home we are accustomed to an endless stream of parties on the weekends throughout December and without friends/family nearby it was very quiet. Combine this with warm weather and it didn't feel like Christmas at all, until Christmas was actually upon us!

2) Work Parties: Our work parties were also very different than in Canada. Jeremy didn't really have an office party and I didn't attend Deloitte's party - long story, but essentially it was late (10 PM-5 AM), far (not actually in the city) and we were not allowed to bring spouses, so I opted out this year - getting lost in the middle of the night in the countryside by myself was something I didn't feel up to risking! Jeremy took William and Jackson to the Kinross kids' party - which was held on two days notice and occurred during the afternoon, on a weekday, in the office. Deloitte had a kids party, but similar to Kinross, it was held on a Friday morning at a theme park and everyone was expected to take their kids for a couple hours, return them to their homes and go to work for 1 PM. Again, I opted out - I couldn't fathom the logistics of doing this for a few hours of benefit and getting myself to work in one piece. Put it this way - we will have a whole new level of appreciation for the Christmas parties when we return to Toronto!

3) Christmas Feast: We surveyed friends and colleagues in an attempt to determine what a traditional Chilean Christmas dinner consists of. As it turns out, there is no typical feast - everyone does something different. We settled on a compromise; a traditional Canadian turkey dinner on Christmas Eve and Chilean BBQ on Christmas Day. Our turkey dinner was somewhat sabotoged by the fact that we couldn't locate a fresh turkey on Christmas Eve (despite earlier assurances that they were common), so we settled on a pre-cooked turkey.

Alison's parents arrived a week before Christmas, so it was wonderful celebrating with family in a different setting. We also hosted some friends who recently relocated to Santiago on Christmas day, which also made it special. Despite the worries of the boys, Santa made it safely from the North Pole to deliver gifts, including a cute black bunny rabbit who William named "Nightmare" - we're hoping he doesn't live up to his name! Santa enjoyed the Crystal (beer) that William left with him along with milk and cookies, figuring that Santa would need extra fuel for his long ride.

We hope you all had a safe and Merry Christmas, where ever you may have been! Although we enjoyed our Chilean Christmas, our thoughts and hearts were with you.

Our New Kombi

I decided that I would surprise the family with a VW Kombi for Christmas – there are tons of them on the road here because they were made in Brazil until very recently and they’re a common workhorse. I looked around, did my research and finally found a ’92, former Church bus, but was subsequently owned by a Yoga teacher (from whom I bought it). He hauled his family thousands of km in it from the deserts of the North to the glaciers of the South. It’s in great shape – all accessories work and it’s cleaner than most houses here, and came with lots of good karma. As soon as I picked it up on Tuesday, I couldn’t contain my own excitement, so I put the kids in the back and picked up Alison from the bus stop. I don’t think she expected it.

Wednesday was a national holiday – Conception Day - so I decide it was an auspicious day to take the Kombi for it's first family road trip. We headed for a colleague’s family ranch about 120km away.

Cruising in the Kombi is a great sensation – the kids love it, you go slow, you have a panoramic view out of the windows and seated right at the front. Plus you have to dig the rattle of the mechanically simple, air-cooled engine. The sun was out, the sky was clear and it was the perfect day for a trip to the country.

Well, here is what happened on the roadtrip. I had to take the highway transponder out of my Subaru, but it didn't work in the Kombi; I think the nice people who own the highways are going to track me down for a big fine. Then, I was pulled over in a routine police inspection (they seem to target old cars) and as it turned out, my emissions test is overdue. The cop confiscated my license and gave me 9 days to get the car certified. Ouch! Well, that wasn’t going to kill my Kombi buzz. I'm back in my groove. Cruising at 85km/h I came to a big hill as we were crossing a valley, so I needed to drop it down to third gear. Wow big hill, I say …does she need a lower gear? Okay down to 2 - the engine is at high RPM, and I wonder how much that air cooled powerhouse can put out. Suddenly, something doesn't sound quite right - and the battery light comes on. Smoke starts pouring in from the vents - light at first, enough to convince myself it's from oil on the outside of the crank case burning because the engine got hot on the climb- but then I look back and William is holding his stuffed animal to filter the smoke...I think, uh oh, better pull over. Alison was also freaking out because she was convinced to Kombi was on fire and that it was going to blow up.

Okay okay, I say, I will pull over and take a look. I go around back and open the engine hatch and think, hmm, I think there was a belt between those pulleys...and I look down and by coincidence, there is a perfect belt lying under the engine. How, I ask, does that happen, I don't know. Kombi Gods? The Kombi still could start and run, but the smoooke, the smooooke!

I waited for the engine to cool down, and said, well to hell with this, I'm gonna put that belt back on. And I did, with nothing but a key as a lever (felt like McGyver). But I go to start it and the battery is drained – while the belt was off, the alternator wasn’t charging the battery. Damn.

We sit on the side of the highway, waiting for my buddy to show up (he was going to back to get his truck and some rope to tow me). But he was way ahead, and I was anxious about sitting at the side of the road, so I pushed the Kombi (with the family inside) up a slight hill in the hopes of getting some momentum for a jump start. I almost got there but go too tired.

Well, I did manage to get her started again with the momentum of the tow. We got to the ranch, had a nice day with the horses and barbeque, but I was anxious about getting back to Santiago…would I have more problems on the way home? Would I get back today?

The Kombi started, and I managed to get us on our way. But something happened to the carburator setting because at low idle, it'd stall out. Everything was fine until we had to stop at a toll booth....she conked out about 3m from the payment window. I had to run up to the lady at the booth, pay my money, and say "lo siento, mi Kombi no va, uno momento por favor" and a couple people came out to give it a push and got me through the gate. I got it started, but had to learn to manage the clutch, gas and break at every stop.

We got home safe, and earned about 10 friendly beeps, a bunch of thumbs-up and the kindness of strangers. What a day it was.

Now, off to the Kombi doctor for a Revision Buena and a trip to the Planta Tecnica for my emissions check - I can't wait to have her back. Whoever comes to visit can have the keys to their own Kombi adventure.

The Story of the Christmas Tree Acquisition

With Christmas now less than one month away, we are pushing ourselves to get into the Christmas spirit, despite the rising temperatures and the magnetic pull of the swimming pool (instead of the mall). William and Jackson are particularly excited; William is hoping that Santa will bring him a black bunny rabbit this Christmas and has been feeding our dog and cat daily to demonstrate that he's responsible enough to have his very own pet.

Thus is the backdrop for the Christmas tree acquisition story.

Jeremy is particular about Christmas trees and refuses to settle for anything but a real tree. Unfortunately real trees are much less feasible in Chile (due to the climate they only grow in certain regions, mainly to the South) and 95% of Chileans have artificial Christmas trees. Determined, Jeremy has been talking about our "tree strategy" for weeks now and devised a plan to buy a potted tree from the nursery at the Sodimac (Home Depot equivalent) to use as a Christmas tree. As such, we ventured out last weekend to pick the tree before the rest of the gringos got the same idea. We spent close to an hour sifting through the wreck of nursery trees, trying to find one that was straight and bushy enough to make the cut to be our Christmas tree. After many debates, we decided on the perfect tree only to discover that we couldn't fit it in our car... so we needed to get it delivered.

We had a very detailed conversation with a sales person, in Spanish of course, about how this tree was specifically the tree we wanted. He put sign on it and assured us that it would be the tree that was in fact delivered to our house. Given how many times we have been burned by terrible customer service here, I gently suggested to Jeremy that we carry the tree to the delivery desk and reiterate the requirement that this specific tree is the tree that is to be delivered. Jeremy insisted that the sign and the diligent sales person had it covered and that I was too pessimistic.... so with two mischievous boys pulling at my nerves I reluctantly agreed to trust that the correct tree would be delivered.

Of course, when the tree arrived at the house the following Monday it was the most crooked (at least 30 degrees off the vertical), "Charlie Brown" tree you have ever seen... they must have searched the warehouse and pulled the worst one they could find to deliver to us. Our gardener was disgusted when he saw the tree and managed to work some magic to straighten it and trim it to make it look somewhat respectable. He then told us that we should have never bought a tree from Sodimac and that he has access to much better trees... but who knew! We considered returning it but decided that the hassle was not worth it.

In the spirit of not sweating the small stuff, we have a pathetic little tree - which has been made beautiful by our family spending Saturday morning decorating it together. It's a symbol of our will to survive here and determination to make the best of things that don't necessarily materialize as planned!

Chile - A Nation of Imports

I think we have progressed from the "overwhelmed" stage of our ex-pat experience into the "aware" stage. Rather than merely trying to survive the day-to-day, we are becoming keenly aware of our surroundings and taking it all in. Jeremy had an "Ah ha" moment the other day which sums it all up:

Chile is a nation of imports. The Chileans essentially shopped around for the best source for all their expertise.

For example, the military was imported from Germany - which was particularly apparent on the 200th Birthday of Chile on Sept. 18 when we witnessed the army goose-stepping to German marching music, in the traditional Prussian uniforms with feathered helmets, just outside our temporary apartment. The navy was imported from England. All practices relating to the navy are inherently British, including the uniforms, drill practices, etc. The police were imported from Italy. The police here are even called the Cabinero and they wear the same brown uniforms.

All this sounds logical and is obvious, but the real revelation for us was when we realized where they imported customer service from - France. Enough said!

Halloween in Santiago

A quick blog post on Halloween in Chile...

The concept of Halloween is relatively new to Chileans and is something that has only gained popularity in the last 5-10 years. As a result, the holiday is far less commercial than back at home and trick or treating is only common in certain areas of the city.

Although the candy selection was very narrow (mostly traditional hard candies and gummies), we loaded up on what we could find in preparation for trick or treaters - as colleagues and friends assured us that Halloween is celebrated in our neighbourhood (Vitacura). Sure enough, the trick or treaters arrived in droves starting around 6 PM - despite the fact that the sun was still high in the sky, and it was hot! A far cry from the dark, freezing Halloween nights that we're used to at home.

We hosted a dinner party with some of Alison's colleagues - a family from Houston with two boys about the same age as William and Jackson. The other mom, Karen, and I took the kids down our street to do some trick or treating... with a crowd of Chilean princesses as our guides.

The challenges trick or treating in Chile:

1) Walls: As I mentioned before, all the houses in Santiago are surrounded by high walls and gated, to prevent opportunistic intruders. As a trick or treater, this means you need to ring the gate bell and yell "Truco o dulces" ("Trick or Treat!") into the intercom, exactly when prompted, so that someone can come to open the gate and give you candy. It usually takes about 5 minutes for this process, so if the house is not participating it can be a bit of a let down.

2) Pumpkins: Pumpkins are uncommon here, at least in October. We bought a very small one at a grocery store for over the equivalent of $10 US - one if 6 that were in stock. No one has pumpkins carved on display. Also, with the gated nature of the houses, there is no place to put the pumpkin so the kids can see it from the street. We placed ours in the bushes, lit, but we don't think anyone noticed given the blaring summer sun!

3) Religion: Most Chileans are Catholic and the idea of wandering spirits and festivities of Halloween is somewhat contrary to most people's religious beliefs. The princess gang that led us around our street had changed their chant to "Angels or Candy" and gave out little cards with a picture of the Virgin Mary, because their mother did not like the concept of Halloween but didn't want to stop her kids from participating in the fun parts.

In short, like everything else here, Halloween was an education for us. Next year we will know what to expect and wear light costumes and choose different decorations, that stand out when it is light outside!

Hope you enjoy the photos of our little dragon and devil :)

A Month of Darkness

Apologies for the long delay since our last blog post! It was difficult keeping up the blog without having internet at home. After a month of darkness we are now reconnected with the world and feeling much better.

October was a month of adjustment for the Weyland family. We have been working furiously to settle into our house and getting our lives more established here in Santiago.

Here is a brief summary of our progress:

1) Setting up: We underestimated the time and effort required to set-up our lives from scratch, using the bags of stuff we brought on the plane as our base of essentials. It has taken us many weekends to get this far, but our house is now furnished with the essentials and is really starting to feel like home. It reminded me of my first weeks living away from my parents after moving to university - when you decide to make a cake for the first time, for example, you actually need to have the forethought to plan ahead and buy the bowl, the spoon, the pan, the oven mitts, etc. in order to accomplish the task at hand. After many years of being established with all you need, it is humbling to be back in that situation once again!

We struggled with everything from getting our appliances installed, carpets cleaned, garden weeded, locks changed, etc. and now have our bearings on where to go for most of what we need. In the process, we have found some real gems in Santiago, such as the La Vega market (which is like St. Lawrence Market on steroids) and an amazing antique market in Barro Brazil.

Also, after deciding to buy a used Hyundia Terracon and experiencing a lot of challenges viewing used vehicles, we opted to make our lives easier and buy a 2007 Subaru Tribeca from another Canadian family. As a result, the buying process was hassle free but now that we have the car, we are having challenges getting insurance, the necessary transponders, etc. The drama never ends! Note: Incidentally, the family we bought the car from has been a great resource for all things on Chile and even has a lovely teenage daughter who loves to babysit.

2) Kids: The kids have been in pre-school for about 4 weeks now and are loving it - no more tears for Jackson each morning, but both kids are very excited to see Angelica (our nanny) when she picks them up each day at 12:45. William has picked up a fair bit of Spanish already and launches into full sentences in Spanish, without even realizing. Jackson is at the stage where he is a parrot - repeating everything he hears in a perfect Chilean Spanish accent - but only saying a few things on his own in Spanish. This has demonstrated how much easier it is to pick up languages at a young age! The kids' Spanish learning curve is exponential and picking up quickly, so they are bound to surpass us in the next few months.

Our nanny Angelica continues to work out really well. While the kids are at school in the mornings, she has been managing all the contractors/deliveries (furniture, locks, garden, phone, internet, cable, carpet cleaning, appliance installation, etc.) we have needed to hire for various things. In addition, the landlord has installed new windows in the house and is well underway in installing a pool in our yard (we have a giant pit and piles of mud everywhere!), so she is kept busy making sure all that activity is happening as it should, plus cleaning up after the contractors. As a result, she is much more than a nanny - more like our "manager of all things related to home" - so this has taken the pressure off us significantly. She is also wonderful with the kids and has been instrumental to them learning Spanish as quickly as they have been learning.

3) Work: Work has improved dramatically for me (Alison). I am now staffed on a project for a massive retailer here in South America and am working with a team of Americans, as the office here doesn't have much experience in the subject matter. I am learning lots and having to work in both Spanish and English, as we're interacting with a lot of American companies as part of the work, and some of my colleagues don't speak any Spanish. No longer am I the worst Spanish speaker in the office, which is confidence building and liberating! My Spanish is improving a lot as well - my written Spanish and comprehension (oral and written) is now very respectable, and I have come to realize how bad Google Translator really is!!! I am getting much better at speaking as well, but have a long way to go before I will be able to run meetings and make presentations in Spanish.

Work has required less of an adjustment for Jeremy, but he is now starting to transition more into his new role in Projects here in Chile.

That's our update for now! I'll post a few separate posts on Halloween and interesting Chilean factoids in the next day or so. Over and out!