Stolen phone. Stolen camera.

I wish this posting could be full of all of my great pictures from Thanksgiving in Chile and the amazing Deloitte year-end party I went to last Thursday and Friday, respectively, but sadly it cannot be. My phone and camera were both stolen on Friday night. I learned my lesson and will be more careful from now on.

Not to deprive you of a good story due to my misfortune, I will attempt to paint a vivid picture of both events, nonetheless. To begin, I will retell the events of my Thanksgiving. For those of you who worried that I wouldn't get to eat turkey and stuffing or spend the day with friends, your worries were all for naught. I went to California Cantina with Jackie, a friend from work, and some of her new friends. They had an awesome Thanksgiving dinner complete with turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie and cinnamon pisco sour! It was actually really good. One of the Chilean guys eating with us had done his research to understand the meaning of this crazy American holiday and retold a rather complementary story about how the even commemorated sharing a meal with the Native Americans who were all dying off from the diseases that the whitemen had given them. The details were a little off what we learn as children, but worthy of a good toast at the end of the story. We all went around (after I pressed the group to do it) and said what we were thankful for. All of the Chileans, and one Spaniard, said that they were thankful that they knew Americans so that they could eat and drink on a Thursday night. Works for me!

The other big event of my weekend was the Deloitte year-end party. It was really something else. The event was held at the Movistar Arena where the Chilean MLS soccer team plays. They had rented out the whole thing for the 1200 guests in attendance. There was a seated dinner, followed by a live band that carried on into a DJ set that lasted until 5 AM. I took off around 3:30 with Lauren, another fellow gringa only to realize when I got home the missing articles from my purse - my iPhone and camera. So sad. I emailed HR on Monday to see if there was a lost and found or anything that was turned in from the evening, only to get a response back saying "Lo siento." My friends and other colleagues I have spoken with suggest that one of the waiters probably stole it. Now I know that nowhere, even a work party, is safe to leave your purse while you dance. Sucks to learn the lesson the hard way. Guess I have some personal Christmas shopping to do for myself. Aside from that, I was really impressed by the party. A friend and I got interviewed for Deloitte TV (haha...ya, they have that). We'll see if I become famous in the Chilean firm when the next episode comes out. If so, I will be sure to post the link.

Thanksgiving in Chile

...might as well be any old Monday. Don't Chileans have anything to be thankful for? Nobody seemed to understand my lack of focus, appetite for turkey or desire to be in front of a TV watching football at work today. I had to settle for chicken breast and fries at lunch instead of turkey and stuffing. Fortunately, good 'ol California Cantina is having a Thanksgiving Dinner tonight complete with sweet potato casserole, turkey and pumpkin pie! I don't know how I would survive without. Although I am thankful for the experience I am having in Chile (duh!), I must admit that today, I would rather be elsewhere. Holidays like Thanksgiving should be spent with family and friends...not in the office with your coworkers. I am going to have to come home for the 4th of July, I think. Sitting in the office in the dead of winter on American Independence Day quite possibly sounds like the most depressing holiday in the world. Then again, Thanksgiving in the middle of summer is quite odd too. It is 82° right now - and it's 7 PM!

I hope you all enjoyed your turkey and have a fabulous 4 day weekend. Gobble Gobble!

Chilean Sea Bass

I finally found it! Amazing Chilean Sea Bass. Depending on how well you know me, you may or may not be aware of my aversion to hoofed animals and consequential love for anything that swims. After eating Chilean Sea bass in the US for so many years, I was really excited about the potential diet that I was going to live off of in Chile. Sadly, I didn't realize that Chile exports the majority of this delicious little swimmer up north to the US. My search for chilean sea bass started on my first day here, when I think I could have eaten something similar at a Peruvian restaurant. It was not anything like the delicious morsels that entered my mouth on Friday night, however. Some friends and I went to dinner at a place called Ox in Vitacura. Anyone who visits me will likely have a chance to go there, because it was AMAZING, and definitely somewhere I would like to take guests to show off the quality steaks (supposedly) and seafood (confirmed) that Chile has to offer. After dining on sea bass atop a bed of truffle mashed potatoes, our waiter brought out an enormous serving of cotton candy! I thought only chi-chi restaurants in Los Angeles had caught onto the gourmet carnival food trend, but apparently I was mistaken. By this point in the meal, the numerous bottles of delicious Chilean wine had influenced our previously classy (okay, that's probably a stretch) behavior. In honor of the month of "Movember" we each fashioned personal mustaches out of the remaining cotton candy.



The night carried on to a night club in Vitacura for some dancing and "tragos" until the wee hours of the morning.

Laguna de Aculeo

Saturday was a peak in my month here so far. I met a really fun group of Americans that invited me to a lake house for the weekend at Laguna de Aculeo. Yay for Gringos! They have all been down here for quite some time and are here for various reasons. One of them owns a local gringo bar (the one I watched Sunday Night Football at my first weekend in town), another two are starting a business that helps ex-pats get their visas (I could have used that 2 months ago), one is a blueberry exporter, one is a doctor, and the list goes on. They were a lot of fun, and totally seem like a group of people that I could be friends with. A few of them were from Texas and California, so I felt very comfortable. Even better - one of them needs a place to live soon! I could have a roommate and really cheap rent by January. Good things come to those that wait.

They had rented a ski boat for the afternoon, which sounded really exciting. Unfortunately, the lake was really choppy and the first group that went out came back within 30 minutes because it wasn't worth paying for the boat. Maybe next time. I haven't waterskied since Camp Longhorn in 2005, so I was a little relieved I didn't have to embarrass myself. They apparently rent houses on the lake, the coast, or down south all summer long. Sounds like it is going to be a great summer if I end up hanging out with this crew. I didn't necessarily come to Chile to make friends with a bunch of Americans, but it sure is easier to have a group of friends that speaks English and comes from a similar background. We had a great big barbeque, engaged in two-stepping at one point in the evening, and ended the night with Catch Phrase and Dominos. Best weekend yet in Santiago, by far. I was totally unprepared again, without a camera, but to give you an idea of what the lake looks like, here is a link to the tourist website: http://www.lagunadeaculeo.com/

Creamfields

I broke in my dancing skills on Friday at Creamfields, a giant electronic music festival. David Guetta and Afrojack were both there, and came on stage together for about half an hour, which was pretty sweet. I wish I had known my evening plans before heading out for the night, because I definitely would have chosen a different pair of shoes. Note to self - when in doubt, DO NOT WEAR PLATFORMS. There are few things more painful than going to a South American music festival in 5 inch heals. I made some new friends, nonetheless, and had a great time. The line up for the night was as follows:

Main Stage:
Rodrigo Laffert
Fedde Le Grand
Booka Shade
David Guetta
Ferry Corsten

Cocoon Arena:
Ricardo Molinari
Mauricio Vargas
UMHO
Seth Troxler
Miss Kittin
Sven Vath

Club Room Lounge Bar:
Concurso HP
Fernando Vives
Paulo Fazio
Love00
Esteban Abdala
Fabián Argomedo
Tweeter
Sanfuentes / Diegors

Cream Arena:
Dorian Chavez
Felipe Venegas
Elio Riso
Joris Voorn
Hernan Cattaneo
Luciano

Alternative Arena:
Roberto Parra
Julian Garvia Reyes
Busy P
Afrojack
Pete Tong
Laidback Luke

Needless to say, the night was one of my most fun yet in Santiago. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me, so I can't share more than this one photo to give you an idea of what it is like to party with the Chileans. The show didn't end until 5 AM. They really do it right here!

Stray of the Day

I never knew how many stray dogs a city could have...until I moved to Santiago. If any of you have ever been to Athens, you may recall the odorous streets, buildings graffitied beyond recognition, immense amounts of Ouzo (if your experience was anything like mine), but most imporantly, the stray dogs. This detail is more prominent in my memory of Athens than visiting the Parthenon. My memories of those dogs have been erased in the past month, however, as a result of the abundant amount of dogs I encounter daily on my walk to work. Apparently, the Chilean government does not have a system for spaying stray animals. As a result, furry (or more often, mangy) little pups are literally littering the streets - pun intended. I thought it would be fun to share my "stray of the day" with you all so that you too can enjoy the puppy love all over Santiago.

Stray #1 - Alfalfa

Hogar Crescendo

On Saturday, I decided to give back to the city that has been giving me such a great experience so far, and did some volunteer work with a local expat church called Santiago Community Church. We went to a home for adults with learning disabilities in a part of town known as Nuñoa. The house, Hogar Crescendo, was badly in need of a new fresh coat of pain throughout. I took on the task of painting one of the bedrooms a lovely peach color with the help of Janet, a Deloitte colleague from Chicago, and a man named David who has lived in Santiago since 1971 (before the military coup). David had some interesting life stories to share about the differences he has seen in Santiago over the years, in addition to his experiences serving in the Peace Corps in Guatemala. He makes me look like I am not adventurous at all.




Painting the walls peach

 

We spent the morning painting the house yellow and peach and spending some time with the residents. One of the women, Adriana, was blind and kept on coming up to me and introducing herself. I think they may have let her choose the colors of the walls. Despite the pastel color choices, the house looked much better once we were done, albeit a little bit like an Easter egg.



Hard at work



I had to duck out early to return to my apartment to wait for the cable guy to come which required my first experience using the Santiago bus system. Fortunately, one of the women who worked at Hogar Crescendo took a look at my map before I left, and decided to redirect me to a different bus stop. She was so kind as to take me to the bus and wait with me to ensure I got on the right one. It is a good thing, too, because without her standing half-way in the middle of the street trying to flag down the buses as if they were cabs, and asking each bus driver if he was going to "Plaza Egaña" (which I thought was "Plaza Caña" until I arrived there), I likely wouldn't have made it back in time to meet the cable guy. Regardless, I still don't have internet. If you think that it is difficult to deal with Time Warner in the US, try dealing with VTR in Chile. I have waited for them 3 times thus far to get my internet set up, and still don't have it. Today will make my fourth attempt at getting it. On the bright side, I get to leave work early in hopes that the guy will show up and set up my connection. Cross your fingers for me! If he comes, the posts will likely come more frequently in the future.

Viña del Mar

In celebration of All Saints Day, we had a four day weekend last weekend. I figured it was a good time to take advantage of the proximity of Viña del Mar, and headed out to the coast on Sunday afternoon. Claire Baker, a friend of mine from El Paso who I had not seen since 8th grade, lives there with her husband and 20 month-old son, Lucas. It was really great to see her and meet her new family. René, her husband, is in the Navy, so they live in Navy apartments up on a hill in Viña. Although the coast was covered in a cloud (or marine layer) all weekend, there was still a nice view from their apartment.




View of Viña del Mar from Claire and Rene's apartment


When I arrived in Viña del Mar, they picked me up at the bus station. We then went for a snack, also called "el once" at a local place and had some Pisco Sours and Empanadas. After that, we went to their house to pack up for the evening before heading to Olmué, a nearby town. René's extended family had rented a house for the long weekend in Olmué. I met all of his siblings (or at least most of them) and had my first experience at a Chilean asado. I hope that my spanish improves as much as Claire´s obviously has after living her for a while, because I had a hard time understanding anything René's family said. They talk so fast! Claire, on the other hand, despite her gringa background, was able to participate in the conversation just like one of the family - even with a Chilean accent! I have a long way to go until I sound remotely similar to a Chilean.




René, Lucas and Claire


Monday morning, we got up and had breakfast. After breakfast, we went to Reñaca, a beach town just north of Viña del Mar. We looked around the shops to find Lucas a halloween costume which was lots of fun because he is the cutest child in all of Chile. We settled on an adorable Tiger outfit which he wore for the rest of the day.




Cutest kid in all of Chile

 After walking along the beach, enjoying Dulce de Leche helado, and seeing a bit of Reñaca, we returned to Viña for lunch. Claire made delicious pollo arvejado, which is chicken with peas and carrots. Then it was time to head back to the bus station for the trip back to Santiago.