Day Four Update

Holy cow the Internet is so incredibly fast at the Thurstons´house here! They have their own networks... and even if one of the 8 computers they have might be a little bit slow due to memory being jam-packed, the Internet is still WAYYYYY fast! The broadband connection that we had at the beach house seemed super fast, but really, it is nothing compared to here!!! WOW! I´m stoked. I can upload pics way faster too. That is so sweet. And I am reducing the size at which I am taking them so that it is easier on the receiving end as well. :)

It is so strange to get used to the Spanish keyboard here!!! Symbols and everything is in a little different place, and they have weird different symbols and such. but by pressing shift alt I can switch things in Word back to English commands, for the most part, at least. Everybody is SO amazed at how fast I can type, even though I do have to pause and hit the backspace and DEL buttons more than usual.

I love this feeling that I have right now, having spent a couple days with the family-- Jim, Lina, Mary Jane and her husband Paulo Cesar. I love hanging out w MJ and PC! We have gone to the beach and flown a kite, and we went downtown the first night I was here... just the three of us. They are a cute and fun married couple. So, this update will be long, but I just have so much to tell you guys! I promise not every update will be like this one. After the first month I am guessing, once I have got into the groove of life here, and am not experiencing so many new things so fast, I won´t have as much to update on. So bear with me the first few weeks here as I endulge on explaining all the new things that I´m experiencing and learning...!

I´ve concluded that I am just learning so much at so great a rate that I can´t even begin to write of all the things I am discovering! And it´s the mixture of being not only in a foreign place with new cultural encounters, but also being in a big, international city... one of the largest in the WORLD, as compared to my rural upbringing. It is fun to know that I will even have time to adjust to these cultural things and places and ways of life since I am here for a while, and not just in passing for a few weeks, or even a month... because I get to be here for at least 6 months!!! It´s way past the tourist-y stage!!!

O real quickly I´m gonna relay the first lesson that Jim (and MJ) relayed to me in our first little meeting-weekly session. I don´t know if or to whom I have said this to before, but Jim is making it a point to have weekly meetings to catch up on how I am doing, as well as tutor me in something cultural...etc. It´ll be great. Anyway, lemme let you know what the lesson was yesterday afternoon. (Typically we will have our meetings on Monday afternoons, but as Monday was really my first day staying here and I wasn´t up til 1 pm, Jim just then told me that we´d have our session on Tues. instead just for this week.) Okay. This is probably WAY too much info and probably more than you want to know... so if you don´t have time and feel like this is a chapter book, maybe you had better lay the novel aside for a bit, take a break, and go stretch your legs or something... maybe get some coffee!?! Clara, I know you would love a Starbucks pumpkin-whatever-it-is that you love. (O and they have a Starbucks here, along with almost every other type of fast food- McDonalds, Burger King, chinese food, Pizza Hut, Dominoes... etc. NOT that I will be eating it!!!)

So... getting back on track... the lesson that Jim and I had: entitled: "How to Survive In Santiago, Chile" Reading this will give you a very good idea of, culturally, what I am going through... and will be talking abt in the future, probably assuming that you´ll be knowing what I´m talking about. So you should probably NOT skip this chapter of the novel.

1. times of meals- breakfast is whenever. This is a very light snack...a bowl of cereal or a piece of toast.... lunch is around 1:30 to 2 pm. This meal is very large. Many courses and lots of food. Dinner (however not in the Thurston house) is typically around 9:00 but could be held anywhere during the times of 8:30 to 10. However in most of Chile, they have what is called "once" (if you want to know the reason why, it is really quite cool so just email me and let me know if you do). Once (as in the number 11 in Spanish) is eaten around 5 to 6 pm. This is when the Thurstons eat their evening meal. It is light and one doesn´t have to eat much, but there is enough food there, if one is hungry, that one may eat a lot as well. Desserts are usually fruit, if any is served. (Except during festive times such as the holidays or birthdays, when cakes and lots of extra-fattening sweets are consumed, which I seem to be getting a lot of here so far.)

2. hugs and kisses- when you meet for the first time, when one is alone with the person they are meeting, no hugs or kisses. However, if one is being introduced by a mutual friend, between me and a man, I shake the hand and give a side-cheek kiss. Between me and a woman, it is a soft but meaningful side-hug with a side kiss that is sometimes bestowed upon both cheeks.

3. people don´t arrive on the hour... or on time at all for that matter, unless it is a formally-scheduled church service or extremely-important business meeting. (Even then, most will appear late). If you want to schedule a meeting for 4 pm, say you want to meet the person at 3:30. For example, tonight, Jim had a meeting with ppl abt a thing with the ministry, and it was set for 7. He knew we wouldn´t have to be back for the meeting until 7:30. Often times it is later. People blame it on the traffic (because the buses really are unpredictable), but mostly, it is just a more relaxed and open culture.

4. the person who does the inviting does the paying. If I ask a person to hang out or meet me for coffee, whether it is male or female, I will be the one to pay for both of us. None of that American... no United States equal-split-spending thing. (I say United States as opposed to American because I learned that the US is not ALL of America, though we may be the powerhouse that thinks so of itself. We are from the 'States.' Not 'America.' ...since, of course we in Chile are 'Americans' as well!

5. People go to bed late. This is typical for people to rest from the hours of 1 or 2 am to 9 or 10 am. Even children do not go to bed until around 10:30 or 11, and there is constant sound all night long... by the beach, considering the festivities of the holidays, there was loud music blasting from town all night long. At least it is cultural and nice to listen to, not annoying.

6. People go to work around 10 or 10:30 am. Doors at a supermarket and most stores do not open until 10:30, and are closed on Saturday afternoons and all day Sunday, with the exception of supermarkets and malls. (There are two main ones within 20 minutes driving and a few other smaller ones (like the size of Silverdale Kitsap mall) here in close proximity to walk to.) Everything runs 'late' here by US standards.

7. Watch at all times your bag, money, camera, passport, etc. Lock all doors at all times (most doors have no knobs; they have locks and latches to open them... even the mailbox... and one never puts mail to be sent OUT in the mailbox. It WILL be stolen. Or our dog here eats it lol. Pickpockets are common. They work in threes. Especially when they know you are foreign. I hate going out alone with Jim because it is OBVIOUS then that I am from the US. At least when I´m with Lina or somebody else I know here, I am fine. I don´t stand out too bad b/c even tho I am a lighter brunette, I am still a brunette, and my skin is not WHITE WHITE. I am at least tan still, and on these nice days I can easily maintain my tan!!! lol. O and I am not to talk loudly, as most northern Americans do, and I almost always try to speak Spanish. Also, on the terms of security, there are special techniques and methods to riding the public transportation... especially buses. Always stop and wait for your full change when riding the bus, even if there is a line behind you waiting to get on. Most of the time bus drivers will try to short you of yourj bill change.

8. Sickness: wash hands all the time. Before eating, when arriving home... etc. I am VERY good at this. Carry hand sanitizer. I´m good at this one too!!! :) There are more minerals in Chilean water, not bad or anything, but different from US water. City water especially. Since we live on well water I´m not so bad off for the change, and so far I haven´t felt any side effects or anything. The water tastes fine... just more minerals. yeah. O and don´t buy food right off the streets. Only from restaurants and grocery markets where you pay inside.

9. Exchange money. use debit on last resort. they have all sorts of ways to cheat you.

10. Be on the alert for boys and men. They whistle, hoot, stare, and are typically just rude pigs when a taller (than the average Chilean woman), more blonde (and not FAKE blonde), thin girl walks by according to Jim... and plus, see later in my email for proof...

11. Streets at night- always be with other people. After 10 pm on Alameda (one of the main more residential streets) you are 90% guaranteed to be robbed.

12. Typically, there is no TP in public restrooms so always carry tissues!!!

13. You don´t tip at restaurants (unless they are very high-class) or in taxi cabs (they automatically charge you as soon as you hail one, and then have the per-kilometer and time-fees added on)

14. Be friendly on the streets even with strangers all the time. Say hello and smile... etc.

15. Avoid political demonstrations at all costs. Seriously. They pull out these water tanks and spray everyone around with special chemical waters that either smell really bad (and will chemically NEVER come out of your clothes) or dye your clothes (also permanently) and skin (hopefully not permanently!). Demonstrations go on a lot by the President´s house.. which I have been by four times. It is right there on the street.

16. Watch when crossing streets anywhere... drivers are CRAZY and ALWAYS have the right of way over pedestrians, bicyclists, etc. whatever. O and there are dogs EVERYWHERE! Live ones, almost all friendly and nice... not always dirty... and then I have seen probably half a dozen dead ones in the three days I have been here. And that wasn´t even like I was out and about all that much!

17. People always have a lot of questions. Chileans always ask foreigners three questions: 1. why are you here in chile 2. what are/have you (been) doing 3. do you like chile. The answers are as follow: 1. I am a missionary/living with friends (by discretion chosing which response depending on the person to whom I am speaking... eg. with a person from a church I would use the first, and with just anybody on the street, the latter.) 2. I am just now discovering the city and looking around 3. and of course, the most obvious answer for this one would be, "Yes of course I love it here!"

18. Latins are friendlier, more open, and affectionate compared to US´s cold, fast-paced keep-to-oneself frame of mind. Upon meeting someone that you know, first you ask about the family (talking about this usually goes on for around 10 min) and then turn to business matters, casually. Things are almost always people-relationship centered, and people are always telephoning, emailing, and dropping in, ALL THE TIME!!! Just today returning back to the city after being out at the beach, we had four visitors... or maybe five. I heard the doorbell ringer once again just a few minutes ago... Dad would hate the unpredictability. I love it!!! I mean, I like being structured and detailed, but to an extent and only in certain circumstances. Relationships and people are a bit different I´ve found.

We then talked about Culture Shock... learning the rules of the game. In short, the evidence of culture shock comes in sequence, generally, but not always: the tourist stage, stage of distrusting everyone, small tension headaches due to the constant processing of language and cultural information (which I´m not sure will be a very good indication of anything with me, as I genetically have them very often anyway), homesickness (with physical evidence as being depression, not wanting to come out of one´s room), being alone, criticizing things aloud instead of just mentally... But for me, hopefully I can catch myself if I begin to feel/observe any of those things happening.

You get a lot of news really quickly here. A store was robbed a block away... on the news and all. we walked to see it this afternoon. It was pretty much cleaned up, but they almost have the whole thing solved already, which is leading to solving other strings of crimes of similar nature that have been going on for the last couple months). Also, it is said that one is within 3 friends of knowing everybody in Santiago. That is how the chain works. Everybody knows a lot.

So. That being said, I want to let you know what I did today! If you want to have another little break to stretch or w/e, now would be a good intermission/potty break time... Unless you are my mother who will probably just stay put, glued to the screen until she has read the last word I write.

Life is just SO different here! And I love learning all about it! Different. So much to explore. can´t make any conclusions now abt city vs. rural and small twon lives of course, and I´m note sure, even after months of living here that I WILL be able to... but it´s so interesting to experience it all for right now at least.

Today, we left the beach around 10:30 am and got home around 12:30... unpacked. O yeah I don´t think I´ve told anyone that the Thurstons have a dog other than my previous mentioning of the mail thing. His name is Tchaikovsky (as in the musical composer), but we call him (pronounced) "Ch-i-cow" for short. He like to eat non-edible stuff. Such as shoes, your feet and/or lower leg, and rocks (a very expensive medical endeavor to remove, might I add). So then, after getting home, I unpacked everything. (whereupon tomorrow I will just have to repack a week´s worth of items.) But I spent most of the afternoon unpacking, putting up photo frames adn such and rearranging my room. Jim still has to put the beds back into bunks, but the room is more "mine" now and I have ideas for decorating. Tomoro we´re gonna go exchange money and buy some crate-ish shelves that I have in mind for my room. It´s great to be organized adn have ideas for my stuff... and cheap little decor ideas. Jim and Lina love to ask if I want or need anything else and they all spoil me here. A LOT. lol. Lina, MJ and I walked a couple blocks to the (extremely large) supermarket (they have them every couple block around here... the larger ones have their own 3 to 4-level parking garages!!! There is a lot of construction for new apartment buildings going on around the block (Jim refuses to sell his land for them to build more in this neighborhood, no matter how much they offer him, which is A LOT!). On the way to the store... I had my first significant encounter with the Latins. (In Quisco (the beach house town) I had a lot of stares though.) Anyway, the men are SO rude! They whistle and hoot and say things as I walk past... because I have blonder hair and am taller than almost every other woman on the street (can you imagine that and therefore the reactions Audrey would get!?). O and I am thinner than probably 98% of the people on the street. Almost everyone is overweight. Even when I was out with Jim later this afternoon, I had men stopping to check me out. I´d sideglance at the reflections in store windows back at them... not turning around, but I could see guys turning around just as they passed to get a second glance. I can feel eyes staring at me everywhere. Especially when I´m out just with Jim. It isn´t so bad with Lina or MJ or Paulo Cesar... but the construction guys are the worst! They will whistle, call out, and stare for as long as I am in their sight!

So, after the supermarket we ate, of course! Today it was very warm and nice out. A typical spring day here. Around 70 or 75. But tomorrow´s weather will prove that it is just going into spring, as it will be rainy and overcast and quite cold. You can tell by the forecast, but also the clouds over the mountains to teh east. Our house faces north, but we can see the mtns out the side windows and out when we are on the street heading towards the supermarket. They are so pretty and snow-covered! They don´t look TOO different from the Olympics. I feel as if i am very good at memorizing directions and places. The Thurstons are amazed at how fast I´m learning things and self-directing my way around already!!! I´m excited to be able to get evertying so nearby. minutes. walking. And I figure if I get up at 7:30 or 8 every morning, the city still isn´t up and going til 10 so I can go jogging un-harrassed just fine! There are nice large parks every 10 blocks around here, and one just one block over, and 2 up from the house here.

I´m not so worried abt the eating and getting fat of the food situation so much for the future... I´ve got something worked out in my mind: I don´t have to eat breakfast. It´s not like I have to eat it b-c it´s not a family meal where we sit down or anything... Lunch is the main big meal, and while I have to be present and eat, I don´t have to have large portions, and I barely have to eat at the dinner meal. So one large meal a day with whatever else I´ll be trying to get the cultural experience should be okay I guess... Hopefully getting back to my normal weight... I weighed myself today... I am 54 kilograms, which is equal to 118 pounds!!! I should be able to work of at least eight once I start drinking more water, jogging, and getting into my routine schedule once I have been here a while and stopped traveling around (when I get back from the North). Plus, I should be okay as we walk everywhere all the time to and from places up and down city blocks.

Then we had dinner around 6:30 (During the afternoon I spent more time arranging my room and talking to Pablo... Paul Thurston, as well as walking back onto the main street in Ñuñoa to the correo (post office) with Jim).It was Paul´s 35th birthday a couple days ago, so we celebrated today. With cake. Of course. Fattening, suger-filled cake. MMM!

After dinner Jim and I drove MJ and PC home. I will have no fingernails for the next month I´m guessing. They were nice and long when I got here, all pink and polished... and now after driving with crazy people (just the typical way they drive here) in the city, they are gradually shrinking! I bite on them and then realize what I am doing!!! It is awful! This morning I had 8 of my 10 fingernails left unbitten. But after tonight´s 45 minutes of driving I´m down to, well, um, 2.5!!! lol.

MJ and PC´s house is SO cute! Small, but perfect for them and adorable. MJ has done a great job decorating. Each room has a simple, modern color scheme. I can´t wait for getting a dorm and decorating my room and for all the apartments and/or houses to come that I can decorate!!!

Well, when we came home, three men had just arrived to talk to Jim about their magazine that they want Jim to incorporate into the Integridad ministry... Lina had me greet them the cultural Chilean way... the firm shake/sidehug with a side-cheek kiss... I had to repeat it three times! Once for each intimidating, taller, sturdy, and guapo (nice-looking) hombre (man)! I´ll learn lol.

O today I met a few other people in the Thurston house.Elias, who works in teh studio from 11-7 on weekdays, and Mercedes, the housekeeper who is treated like a friend adn eats with the family when she is here. She comes around 10:30 am MWF and in the afternoons on T, Th. She does laundry and cleans everything and makes lunches! I didn´t know I´d be getting maid service and not have to wash my clothes (she does even special laundry! and she does it daily!) or vacuum or clean the bathroom or my towel up off of the floor even!!! WOW!

And just a quick language update...
At this point, I am actually understanding probably a good 80% of what is spoken... that is, when I am paying attention and my brain is turned on to. Probably 50% of the 80% of understanding comes from concentrating and staying in tune to what is going on. The other 30% comes just from from the Spanish I already know. The Thurstons know this too. We have had conversations about it. In fact, we just did tonight at dinner. They know the just have to say my name when they are speaking directly to me, and they have stopped being amazed totally at how much I understand just listening in on their convos even when I´m not an active speaking-participant. But they are helping me a lot with vocab and occasionally sentence structure. It has been nice to have Paulo because I have been teaching him a lot about English. He is really excited that I am here. But their house is a 25-minute drive away from here so I´m not sure how much I´ll see them in the long run. But when I return, they will take me to some youth group and church events at their contemporary, and more youth-oriented church. And they also have scheduled times to have me over for dinner and do stuff with me. They´re awesome. And Paulo has all these methods for getting me to practice speaking. He´s absolutely hilarious.

So, anyway, that was a lot. I need to stop trying to document everything! It´s just that I´m learning so much and having a BLAST! So much is new! So anyway, i hope you enjoyed the novel; hopefully it entertained you.

Note to Clara: You would LOVE it here! We have mashed potatoes (or at least potatoes of some form) with almost every meal, and probably 1/3 of the meals with rice AS WELL!!!

Note to Mom: Kathryn is very in touch with my trip, as I expected her to be very interested in her neice-goddaughter´s life and travel trip experiences. I am a girl after her own heart. She and the whole family check on my website all the time, and ALWAYS respond to my emails! So no worries, she and I are in touch. And until yesterday when I had been eating a ton of oily foods and not specifically watching what I am eating, my skin was EXTREMELY oily. Today is the first day that it really wasn´t too bad. O and the first couple days I was here eating all the food and not getting to wash my face as often as I am accustomed to (which is 3 times a day), my acne got way worse. It´s better today. Luckily the humidity here is about the same as in Sequim, if not less, so that helps. I want to put a post up on my blog in the future on types of food here. There are some really interesting ones you should try that I´ll tell you about later.

O and everybody check my pictures out! (There is a link to them on the menu to the right.) I am uploading more really quickly since the Internet is so fast here! It´s sweet!

Well, that´s all for now. Love you all! XOXO.

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From: "Don & Carol Lichten"
To: "Lara "
Subject: FW: keep in touch
Date: Tue, 19 Sep 2006 19:31:05 -0700

Lara,

I sent the following message to Kathryn with her response. I couldn’t help but laugh. I’m sending it to you so you get a “heads up” from the “horse’s mouth” so to speak about what to expect. You might want to ask her some cultural questions about her experiences. Even though she was in Paraguay, there are cultural similarities, I’m sure among the Latin Americans; i.e. beware of men.

Mom

-----Original Message-----
From: Don & Carol Lichten
Sent: Monday, September 18, 2006 10:44 PM
To: Kathryn & Russ
Subject: keep in touch

Lara has a blog recording her experiences in Chile. I think she included a link in her email that will take you there. In her posting for today, she mentioned about the food being high in fats, fried and generally high in calories. I thought of you in Paraguay, and that first picture of you in your garden in overall looking almost twice the size you are now. You had described the diet there just as Lara does. Fortunately for Lara it sounds that these foods she’s eating now are special holiday foods for Chile’s national holiday this week. I hope she’s right.

Carol

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From: Kathryn Carpenter
Sent: Tuesday, September 19, 2006 10:50 AM
To: 'Don & Carol Lichten'
Subject: RE: keep in touch

Carol,

If I had been twice the size I am now, then I’d have weighed 260 lbs! I think the most I weighed was around 150, but you could see it in my face. The biggest problem was the heat and humidity plus fatty foods made for the greatest show of acne ever! I still think some foods have some influence to skin. I will be checking in with her blog from time to time. Too bad this didn’t exist when I was overseas.

Kathryn