Chile, part three: To the Beach!

For the weekend I was invited to the beach by a co-worker and his family. On Saturday night we had a barbecue at his house and I spent most of my time playing with his two daughters, Haviela (8) and Connie (4). They would hide a stone in their hands and I had to guess. At one point Havi was playing with my hair, pulling it back into a ponytail and she said "Eww, sexy!" I was shocked. An eight-year old in a small Chilean village using the American word sexy. I guess Justin really did bring it back.

So on Sunday we drove to the beach at Iloca, a less popular, more secluded beachfront. The kids started to play with the sand and I thought it would be cool to be buried in the sand. I mean, I've been buried on the sands of Lake Michigan and the Gulf of Mexico (both thanks to Katie!), so why not the Pacific Ocean? Then I learned that creepy little bugs lived a foot below the sand, so I didn't say anything. Another little creature I affectionately call "Bubblehead" was sticky and royal blue and kept washing up on the shore. As I was inspecting it in my hand, I felt a sting so I flung it to the ground. You can see a picture of this tiny beast in my photos. Does anybody know its real name? The tide was pretty strong and the waves were pretty big (10 feet) so we went swimming with no fear of the little creatures. Yet to this day, I am still finding sand in my ears.

Chile, part two

Most of my time spent in Chile was either for work or driving to/from work. I'm really glad that my job set me up with a nice rental car and hotel. Each cost around 60 dollars per day. The hotel was a bargain. All the amenities you can think of and a great cafe. My first meal was a fresh salad with raw salmon and goat cheese seasoned with sesame seeds. The fruit plate was great too because everything was in season. Somehow I always start talking about food.

In the cafe, I met Alastair, a guy from the Falklands which only has around 5000 residents, mainly sheep farmers and penguin tour guides. He was in Chile because his son needed medical treatment. I asked him why he didn't just fly back to the mainland - Argentina. According to him, the Falklander's distaste for Argentina is so great that they don't have any flights to or from Argentina. Maybe its similar to the Taiwan-China affair. Besides this chance encounter, I mainly felt disconnected from people, largely due to the commute. Next time I travel to Chile (early March), I plan on staying at the farm's guesthouse and traveling by bus. This will also allow me the opportunity to know more people.

Chile

Hola! from Santiago, Chile. I am here for the next week to evaluate our melons and the efficiency of the Chilean's pollinization technique. Today is my first full day. I am really happy that my Spanish is fluent enough to talk with all of the workers. I've already caught myself thinking in Spanish. Each day I have to navigate to the station (45 min) in my Saab Peugeot economy car. On the way to work, I heard Shakira sing in Spanish on the radio. Only some of you know how special that was for me.

I am really excited about being in the Southern Hemisphere for two main reasons: I can watch the toilet flush in the opposite direction and I get to look at new constellations. Hopefully I can see the Southern Cross before I fly back north.

Yesterday for lunch I had "porodos granados" which was a yellow soup made with corn, beans and something like potato. The salsa was called "aje" made of hot pepper which was very tasty. For dinner I had two empanadas which are kinda like hot pockets, except with better dough and ingredients and they are handmade, not microwaved and ... anyway I had a Sicilian (cheese, tomato, and tuna) and a typical Chilean empanada which had sauteed onions, beef and cheese. It was strikingly familiar to a Philly Cheese Steak! At first I was disappointed because I wanted another unique Chilean taste experience like my lunch. I didn't want to eat some sandwich thing I could pick up in Philly, but then I was reminded of eating Philly Cheese Steaks with my cousin in Philadelphia and I smiled.

Locked-n-Out

Last week I was talking to Meg on the phone in the parking lot of IN-N-OUT when I suddenly decided that it was much too cold outside to be talking in the car. Can you believe that I've had to scrape ice off of my windshield this week? Plus they are calling for snow! I hate global warming. Anyway, as I was walking in to get my burger I realized that my keys were locked in the car! Meg let me go and I walked into the burger joint to get a coat hanger. The clerk was a little surprised, yet handed me the hanger free of charge. As I unwound the hanger I wasn't really worried because I had broken into my car twice before. I was just glad that this time my car wasn't running.

So I'm working the hanger when all the sudden I hear a loud engine rev. Looking up I see a large white truck with its lights pointed straight at me from about 40 ft away. Thoughts of hicks and gangsters race through my mind. Are they do-gooders wanting to stop a car theft? Do they want to steal my car? I keep working. They drive away. Within 10 minutes I'm eating my burger with my keys securely in my pocket talking to Meg on my cell phone.

Sandhill Crane Festival

Every autumn Sandhill Cranes migrate south to the California Central Valley. These birds stand 5 ft tall and have a wingspan of 7 ft. Lodi hosts a festival to raise awareness for these endangered species and to raise money for their wetland habitat. The Cosumnes River Preserve is one of these habitats and is only a 15 minute drive away. Local artists were invited to capture the moment. I really enjoyed their perspectives. Here you can see a painting the was not quite finished. At dusk hundreds of birds flew in from their feeding grounds. What an amazing site it was to hear and see these majestic birds. Sorry I couldn't get any good pictures.