~Cony~

Okay, now that I’ve had time to mourn the loss of my friend I can write about her. So Cony, this is your special tribute. Cony is the daughter of Jose who lives in the US with her mom. She was here the for about the first week I was here, but then unexpectedly and suddenly she had to go home. Which was very traumatic for me. See, she is fluent in both Spanish AND English so she was my personal translator. Without Cony I am forced to actually pay attention to when people talk to me. And I hate to say it, but without Cony my life is just not complete. LOL Cony and I had a different adventure everyday, I’m telling you this girl is out of control. Always wanting to go somewhere and look for an adventure of some sort. What kind of adventures did we have? Hmmm…. There was the surfing lesson, parachuting, and the time we thought the nanny was a burglar. Don’t know that story?

So, I am staying at the house of a doctor and his family, but the first 10 days he and his family were in South Chile for a vacation. So it was just me, Cony, and the nanny. Also, the doctor had his hardwood floor re-done, so we couldn’t walk through the front door. We had to use the sliding glass door to the kitchen, walk through the kitchen, outside to the pool, then into our room through another sliding glass door. We couldn’t lock the doors, because they didn’t have locks or keys. And we were limited to the kitchen, our room, and a little computer room to hang out in the house. Cony’s last day, we forgot the keys and she had to scale the wall to let us into the house, which after she did that made me feel real uncomfortable. I mean, it was rather easy (but incredibly funny to watch) for her to scale the wall, then enter the house with the unlocked doors. Later that night, before Cony and I were leaving to go to Papa Gallo for some drinks all of a sudden the door in the kitchen is pulled shut. Strange. Then the light goes on. Cony is like “Staci, there’s someone in the kitchen.” We totally didn’t think it was the nanny because she always talks to us, so we start freaking out. Not to mention, it was the weekend and we hadn’t seen her in 2 days, so we thought she was visiting family in Bolivia. There’s not much noise being made or anything, but we can see shadows. So I’m like, okay Cony we need to call the cops just in case you know. As soon as she starts whispering in her cell phone, the lights go out. Like 5 minutes later I see shadows in the window of the bedroom of the nanny, so I creep over the window with my mini pepper spray (thank you mommy). And I discovered that it was the nanny in there after all. But…. I mean, who the hell does that? Who the hell comes in late at night when two girls are there and doesn’t even speak to them. I mean honestly, we were scared to death. And we truly did not believe that the house was safe (robberies are pretty common here), so we went to Papa Gallo’s then the beach with friends until the sun came up.

That same night, while on the beach we for some reason decided it was a good idea to instead of walking down the ramp to the beach, we would run/walk/sink down the huge sand dune or whatever it was. Then, we ran up it like 3 times to go back into the house to get a sweatshirt, use the bathroom, etc. Talk about amusing…. Oh yeah, and the nanny apparently not caring about us very much locked the kitchen door from the outside. And took the key. Which meant we couldn’t get into our room…. Unless we walked on across the hardwood floor. So, we did what we had to do. Yeah, let’s see passed out at 7:30 a.m. get woken up around 9:30 by the man who did the floor and get lectured in Spanish….. not cool. I had no clue what he was saying. Spanish + early mornings after late nights = not happening

I’m sorry for all of you who are reading this and not caring. And Kelly, yes I know that I am probably rambling, buuuut Cony I know that you will appreciate these stories. So everyone else either quit reading or enjoy!

Hmmm…. Then there was the day when we were bored, but our feet hurt so incredibly bad that we could not possibly walk around the mall any longer. So we decided to see a movie. The only movie we could see was “Over the Hedge” only called “Vecinarios Invasores” and completely in Spanish. And we liked it…. Not so much the little kids climbing all (literally climbing) over the theater. Over chairs, crawling up and down the aisles….

Then, there was the time at Zofri when we bought clothes and the crazy salesman (who yes, spoke some English just not much and not very well. I mean my Spanish was better than his English, which didn’t say very much for him at the time.) wouldn’t let us leave the store. I think we said 50 times we did NOT want to buy jeans since we had already bought boots & jackets…. And then there was the crazy guy who like I thought was going to like attack me or something. La la la we were just walking along talking about boys and how cheap liquor is here and all of a sudden this creepy guy is like staring at me and walking towards me. And when I say staring in mean like creepy, staring with a passion into my eyes and my face. Like all the way to like 5 inches from my face, but thank god keeps walking in the other direction. “Cony, did we meet him last night with Johana or what? Who the hell is that?” She had no clue….. creepy is all I can say.

Cony and I almost got beat up by some women at the festival for the Virgin del Carmen in La Tirana. We were minding our own business waiting in line at the church to see the Virgin del Carmen when all of a sudden I get nudged in the hip. This women behind me is trying to get a head of me and Cony because her daughter or something was with other family in front of us. (This line was long & we had been waiting for quite some time) I mean this lady was honestly, rude. We were in line first and she was obviously behind us. She kept nudging me and nudging me, but Cony and I weren’t moving and we had the upper hand because the little fence thing was to our immediate left so we couldn’t be knocked out of place. Then, she nudges me again this time almost knocking me over and I finally turned and looked at her. She rattled off something in Spanish, which I ignored because I didn’t care too much. Then she said something else along the lines of me letting her in front of me and I was a brat and I looked at her just o-so-sweetly and in perfect English “I’m sorry mam’ but I don’t speak Spanish.” Cony & I won of course & walked up to see the Virgin (which wasn’t all that amazing actually)…. If you don’t think that was funny I totally understand…. But had you been there and seen this lady and her face ooo soooo funny. Especially since she knew I spoke Spanish….. it’s the little things in life which amuse me so much.

But Cony…. My favorite memory with you is when your dumb ass forgot to get your change. So, we decide while were at La Tirana to buy some souvenirs, which were like a dollar. We both pay with $20s (the money is different here, but to explain the exchange rate and pesos right now, just isn’t worth it) and bounce. Like 20 minutes later, we decide to buy another souvenir. Except Cony can’t find her money. I’m like, oh god you lost your wallet, someone robbed you. “Wallet, who needs a wallet? I just throw my money in my huge suitcase of a purse and try to find it later. It’s only tough to find when I have a zillion items in my purse and it’s pitch black outside….” So we’re in the middle of the street trying to find her money, her dad and her are going through her purse while Nicolas is holding his cell phone for light and I am silently laughing. Her dumb ass had forgotten to get her change from the woman earlier. So we had to walk all the way back across town and convince this woman that Cony didn’t get her change. Needless to say, she bought a wallet that night.

Cony my love…. Our goal lives on through me & I have fulfilled it the only problem is that your not here to enjoy it with me. But, when I return we will be reunited and create a new goal & live it up ;) MISS YOU!!!!

Zofri & Mall de los Americas

Okay, so Iquique has lots of places to shop here.... which means that I am in heaven. Iquique is a port city and it happens to be basically the cheapest city in Chile. Everything here (or so I've been told) is basically cheaper than any other city in Chile because it's a port city and because of Zofri. Zofri, is a HUGE "mall." There are tons of stores just kind of crammed together, but everything is so cheap. For example, a bottle of Jack Daniels costs ummm $8. They have tons of electronic stores, too bad I'm not into electronics so I can't give you a comparision on prices. But it has to be cheaper because there is no TAX. The entire area of Zofri is duty free.... you can buy a Mercedes, a BMW, and all the other kinds of cars at Zofri, I bought boots & a jacket so far and I plan on buying some jewlery before I leave. Oh yeah, and the other thing that is different about Zofri, the stores are so tiny inside, but all the stuff they sell is on display in the window panes. To cut down on robbery I assume. So it's pretty cool to shop, it is the ultimate window shopping.

Lets see.... then there is the Mall of Americas. It is like our malls. The quality of clothes is better than that in Zofri. There are some clothing stores with decent clothes, but more of the clothing stores in Zofri are kind of cheap with poor quality clothes. (Not ALL but the majority). So if you want to buy clothes you go to the Mall of Los Americas or Ripley. Ripley is like the Chilean version of Kaufman's. And you can't go into Ripley without your Ripley card or you pay like double the price. (Thank GOD I have made some shop-a-holic friends that of course have a Ripley card)

And there are all kinds of small street vendors with local crafts and jewlery that are really neat to look at....

Pica

Okay, I think that I should probably update this blog. I've been lazy with it the last few days because I was kind of homesick and needed to keep busy otherwise I'd think about home too much.

So, last weekend I went basically to the middle of the Atacama Desert with a Rotarian and his wife. For those of you who don't know, the Atacama Desert is the driest desert in the world. It gets like no rain ever. We went to the Huasco Valley where a friend of theirs lives so that I could see what life in the desert is like. Their friend is an anthropolist professor in Iquique, but on the weekends he and his wife drive to their house in Huasco. Yeah, if you thought West Virginia was boring and in the middle of nowhere definately re-think that one. This guy lives in a FOR REAL ghost town. Waaayy back in the day there used to be more water in the area and a society lived there. So he is studying how they lived. On my pictures, I took a picture of what looks like trenches or ditches in a row, that was their system of irrigation. I understood about 3/4 of what the guy was telling me about the desert which was pretty interesting. But I don't want to type it out just in case I misunderstood. I'd hate to put my foot in my mouth and mis-educate everyone.

That night we stayed in the town (there is a town about 10 minutes away from that guy's house in the middle of nowhere) at a Rotarian's house. The next morning, all I wanted to do was take a shower, but apparently when you're in the middle of nowhere they don' t have hot water.... so I was dusty and gross all day. Sunday, we went to Pica & Matilla. Neighboring towns that have natural hot springs & like natural hot water pools. The towns are sooo small though, not much to do & I am not so much a fan for the middle of the desert. I give major props to those brave souls that live there because it is so hot, not much color, & definately nothing to do.

I have pictures posted from Huasco, Pica, & Matilla on my webshots, so check those out because it just takes way to long to put them on my blog.

When I get back....

Things that I plan on doing ASAP:

1. Eat a gigantic steak salad w/ lots of ranch dressing
2. Eat onion rings w/ ranch dressing
3. Eat french fries w/ ranch dressing
4. Lie in the grass
5. Play golf
6. Go to Bent with my girls, drinkWashington Apples & Pineapple Upside Downcakes
7. Wear stilettos & a skirt to Bent
8. Play with my kittens
9. Eat Fettucini Alfredo
10. Take a nice, hot shower (these showers here are killin' me... now I'm in a house w/ 3 other girls and I'm always the last to take a shower)
11. Eat a Ceaser Salad
12. Call all of my close friends as soon as I land in D.C. (at 6:45 a.m.)
13. Can't wait to sleep in my bed
14. Drink too much with Randi
15. Go out with George to my favorite bar
16. USE MY 21 ID
17. Drink Captin & Ginger Ale
18. Be scandolus with Patti
19. Spend time with my family & friends just talking about everything I missed
20. DRINK MILK & LOTS OF IT (the milk here is totally different and sucks!)

Missin' ev'ryone

Two nights ago I went to a party with my friend Carlos and his friends. So far everyone I've met has been so nice and understanding with my Spanish. Some people have wanted to practice their English and others have helped me fix my mistakes in my converstaion. Until Friday night... I met two guys who had the audacity to say to me "I don't understand you, speak English." You know, their English wasn't that great, but I tried to understand them. In that moment, I started to miss my friends. My slang.My cuss words. My 3 Olives Cherry. My clothes. And yes, my stilettos. The girls here don't wear stilettos & they never have on skirts or dresses. Jeans & cute tops. I'm sick of my jeans and shirts. I want to get dressed up and go to the club with my girls. I want to wear my stilettos and fall all over the damn place.

I miss Patti & her popped collers... I miss phone calls from people (like Baker & Maggie) begging me to come to the club... I miss Randi getting me to drink more than I should....I miss my "sanctuary"....I miss my big and her boy stories.... I miss Jennifer's random comments.... I miss talking to my close friends (and you know who you are) & complaining & speaking English .....I miss the food of the Pines (just to clarify, I don't miss the work or the situations that I have to deal with daily)... but I do miss my co-workers (my fellow slaves) & my managers & my favorite members that are so nice to me everyday I'm there.... I miss the mountains & the grass & the river.... and I miss seeing a NORMAL hot dog....I miss my family & my pets....I miss drunk texting & getting drunk dialed.... I miss my seXI's....I miss Bent & Vice & Lizard & RANCH DRESSING

I am having a good time here, I just want you all to know that I really do miss you. A lot.

*muah*

La Comida

I think that I have spent sufficient enough time here to have formed an opinion about the food. First of all, it’s extremely difficult for me to go out to eat because I have no freaking clue what the menu is saying. Yeah, I can speak Spanish and read Spanish, but specific names of fish, and meat, and dishes that is a whole different ball game. Annnnd, so far all the restaurants that we have eaten at the menus don’t have descriptions of the food. Just the name and the price. So, I typically just take a whim and hope for the best. For those picky eaters, I think you would starve to death.

With every meal, there is “Ensalada Chileana” and it is sliced or diced tomatoes & onions. Sometimes it is a little spicy (which is how I prefer it), but most of the time it’s just normal. I love tomatoes and even more onions, so sometimes that’s my favorite part of the meal. Their “salads” don’t have dressing. You get a plate with lettuce & whatever vegetables comes with the type of salad you unknowingly ordered. I couldn’t eat the one “salad” with cauliflower, carrots, broccoli, and lettuce because I NEEDED dressing. All I want is a little Italian and I would be okay…..

I’ve eaten a lot of different variations of meat, and they’ve all tasted normal. I had a really good kind of fish the other day. But my favorite so far has been Empanadas. Emmm…. I had one with cheese, one with like meat, onions, and egg or something like that, and one that had seafood in it. (an empanada is basically bread folded over something like cheese and then fried a little bit) The seafood one I didn’t care for much, but it was worth a shot.

Let’s see…. I’m going to talk about the combinations of food. Like, for example when I think of hot dog I think “chilli, onions, ketchup, mustard, maybe coleslaw, relish” something along those lines. Right? Right. Here, nope. It’s more like “salsa verde, tomatoes, avocado, mayonnaise, maybe ketchup or mustard, salsa, hmmm what else, onions.” Just imagine how weird that would look. Now, look at the pictures. Yes, a hot dog fast food jammie @ the mall, and yes I ate one of those things. With avocado, tomatoes, salsa verde, & mayo and surprisingly I didn’t throw up. Actually it was quite delicious. For another combination, try ketchup in your rice. Or mayonnaise. Or both. Quite good once again. Let’s see… last night I had pizza with hot dog, pepperoni, chicken, the normal cheese and marinara sauce, and pineapple. Not so good…. I have to draw the line somewhere with the obsession with hot dogs. I mean, hot dogs aren’t even real meat…. Blah… I’ve eaten pizza that just had cheese & ham & tomato on it (no marinara sauce)… it was okay. Honestly right now I could go for some BCW pizza right about now (Kelly can you hook me up w/ some from Curly’s pleeeaaazzzze?)

I am obsessed with “manjar” on my bread. I could try all day to describe it, but I would never do it justice. It’s the texture of peanut butter, but it’s sooooo sweet. Almost like honey but not as sweet. Basically it’s my heaven on earth of Chilean food right now.

Don’t drink the milk. It’s gross. It’s so different than US milk, they sell it in cartons & it’s warm. You treat it like juice, only refrigerate after opening. Either drink their COLD chocolate milk or only put it in your coffee. Their juice is really good. They have tons of juice in all different flavors and it’s completely natural. My fav is Pineapple. Emmmmm…..

They have McDonalds and KFC here, but I haven’t eaten there. I really don’t care for either when I’m in the USA, so it makes no difference to me if I eat it now. Apparently, in Santiago there are more American restaurants.

Enough for now….

K-World Ltda.

The pic on the left is of their warehouse, and the right is Karina with a huge shipment of clothes. She's 5 months pregnant :)
















I have finally found out where all the clothes go that the Goodwills can't sell.

Yesterday I hung out all day with Karina & Jonathon Rameriz. They're really close friends with Jose and they have their own business of import/export. They buy used clothing, shoes, toys, etc from Goodwills and Salvation Armys and then sell then to people in Bolivia. The people in Bolivia are very poor and buy the stuff like hot cakes. But, the won't buy the high heels because the mountains are so hilly.

I helped Karina out with some business today because she need to talk to an American guy in NC & I did the talking/negotiating for her. She wants me to help her out when I get back to the US. She needs someone to find new suppliers, check the quality of the shipments, and negotiate prices. Pretty cool..... This kind of job is down a lot over the phone and threw e-mail and involves some traveling. Who knows, but it is pretty cool that I got a job offer and I haven't even graduated yet.

This picture is of the high-heels that they throw away because Bolivian people won't buy them.