I told April we could meet around noon to explore today, but I still wasn't really awake when she Skyped me at 11:45. "Do you want me to walk there?" she asked. "I'm feeling restless again." It was a good enough plan and gave me time to get dressed, even if I didn't actually use the time to put on street clothes. Surprisingly, the concierges stopped her from getting on the elevator. She wasn't exactly sure what they were asking her, so she called me again. "They won't let me up." When I told the concierge that she's my sister, he responded with a tone of realization, "Ahh, yeah. She looks like it."
I fed April a sopaipilla - essentially fried dough, the closest thing I can think of is a Mexican tostada, but they are much softer - and gave her tea, a thing she remarked made me seem like a Chilean mother. Our quehaceres (to-dos) for the day included 1) buying a cell phone and 2) a hair dryer, 3) riding the micro, and 4) checking out the artesan center.
We got a super good deal on the phone and found a cheap hairdryer... still it hurt a little to spend so many bills in such a short time. We actually ended up going into two artesan centers. As always, I love the sort of stuff they have in them. I spoke briefly with a lady who crochets, and also had a nice conversation with a metalworker. He suggested a Chilean movie for me and I complimented his work. The necklace I liked only cost $6, but April is a really good influence on me; I didn't spend the money. Instead we splurged on some honey-roasted peanuts, arguably a necessary cultural experience.April has been getting along pretty well with her host family, who is also conveniently Manuel's family. We've been eating lunch there together - Manuel, April and I with Manuel's mom, Maria, and his brother, Pato. In this manner April has been tasting a lot of extremely well-prepared Chilean food and I've been able to spend a lot of time with everyone.
I think I should also mention the barbecue we went to on Friday. I'm not sure how I got the impression that we were going to have an asado at Diego's house as a sort of welcome party for us, but I was wrong. The asado was put together in order to watch the Chile vs. Uruguay fútbol game. We weren't too disappointed: fútbol is more important than a lot of things here, and we got to eat Manuel's famous steak anyway. April got to meet everyone, we reminisced a bit about last year with the other gringos, and of course I had a few piscolas.
Really the only thing that is missing now is Bauzá. Because of the volcanic ash over Buenos Aires, Continental cancelled his flight a few times. He is now in Buenos Aires, and we're waiting for a friend to help us send him here. Hopefully he'll be here tomorrow! It's going to be a busy week: we have to pick him up in Santiago tomorrow, and on Tuesday and Wednesday we'll be getting April ready for school. It's amusing to think that she'll be going to a Catholic girls' school, but I think she'll make friends quickly and be too busy for me soon enough. Hopefully the summer comes quickly, it's almost too cold to do anything here! Despite the cold, we're so happy to finally be in Chile.
Thanks for the update! Glad to hear about how well you two are doing. How's April's spanish? The girl's school should be fine. Catholic schools are generally a pretty good education and cheaper than other private schools, plus they're often more open minded than other religious schools. Or at least that's how it is in the states. The mention of Manuel's steak made my mouth water. Can that be on the menu for when I visit?
ReplyDeleteSending my love to all of you, give Bauzá a poke and a cuddle for me when you see him.
~Lena