Upside Down in Chile

Many Things feel upside down to me in Chile. We are now living a life at the bottom of the world - south of the Equator - when I have lived my entire life north of the equator. I was an Autumn girl, born in October, which I've always believed affected aspects of my temperament and personality - a certain wistfulness and introspection beneath the showy parts.

     Well here, October comes smack in the middle of Spring, with all its bursting out and hopefulness. So who am I? Here we are, headed for summer and hot weather, which will be hitting us about Christmas time. None of my crocheted scarves for presents. I may have to attempt the crocheted bikini I saw in the window of the yarn shop. Attempt to make it, that is, not wear it.
   
Then there is the matter of where Chile is located on the planet. We are two ours ahead of North Carolina, which means it lies on the west coast of South America, but EAST of North Carolina. That disoriented me for a while! And you go south for cooler weather. The heat is in the north.

One morning, I was drinking my coffee, when "Mother in Law" by Mr. Ernie K Doe came on the radio. "This is improbable," I thought. Ernie K Doe in Chile? Thankfully that had not been dubbed into Spanish! Chileans are crazy about old US rock and roll, and you hear it everywhere! I try hard to avoid the 80s fanatics.

Ok, to wind this up, I seem to have grown taller in Chile! Fewer people are taller than I am, and G-man is taller still, towering over most people! I still come out on the short side next to the women who wear those mile-high platform shores, which are the rage here. Oh, have I said that other than a couple of Mormons, we are the only Gringos in San Fernando? We are different alright, and something of a phenomenon as we stroll through the market.

Adios! Trying to right myself in Chile.

 Oh, in writing Spanish, you put your question mark and exclamation point upside down at the beginning of a sentence in addition to right-side-up at the end. What's that all about?

I Take my Coffee with a Side of Novacane

We were in Santiago last week, a city of about 7 million people, crowded, busy, but still very Chilean with their unfailing good humor and politeness ... friendly greetings in the elevator, people stopping to help when you are standing at the corner looking puzzled. And everyone in shops and everywhere wishing us " Que le viya bien", which is a kind of blessing on your leaving - Enjoy yourself, have a good time kind of translates it. Just in case you think this is a kind of Utopia, I will say those good feelings all but disappear when they get in their cars!! I would not drive here. Pedestrians do have the right of way, unlike some countries I have visited, but that right is observed somewhat grudgingly, and they always drive like their house is on fire! While in Santiago, G-man arranged to have some dental work done and I tagged along. Dr. Strauss' office was plush to say the least. We arrived to find him engaged in friendly conversation with a couple in the waiting room. "Personal friends, I thought. Not so, for soon it was our turn. He had previously met G, so he greeted me warmly, inquired about my health, and so forth. "Quires un cafe?" he asked. It was so unusual that I didn't understand at first. "Would you like a coffee?" he repeated in English. "It's real coffee." In a country that runs on Nescafé and tea, this kind offer was a no brainer for me. Soon one of his assistants served me a fine espresso with steamed milk in a China cup and saucer on a little tray. "Do you need anything else, is the temperature comfortable, would you like the TV turned on?" I was there long enough to see all visitors warmly greeted and royally treated. G-man says that in the procedure room, they were gowned and masked like the OR, and the preparation of a sterile field was elaborate. The whole experience left a wonderful impression on us. I'm working on my philosophy of travel, it is of course a work in process. I have noticed , of course, a tendency in myself to gravitate toward the familiar - things that seem the same, or like home. It's natural to safety-seek as a default mechanism. I think to fully experience this adventure, I need to shed that skin and try to embrace (ok, test the waters,at least) things that are different. Sometimes they are better. Sometimes not so good - Mote, a dessert consisting of wheat nuggets swimming in juice with a reconstituted dried peach. And I will say absolutely that Nescafé will never make an adequate substitute for my morning coffee, and Yerba Mate? That's just nasty.