Spa time!

On Sunday, I got a prenatal massage at the one and only Spa One & Only (yes, that's the name of the spa, and it IS in English).  It was wonderful.  Steve took Sadie to the park and out for lunch, and I took a nice long break from everything.  The only reason I'm posting about this is because I would be interested in knowing how a spa would be different in different countries.  Not that I'm an expert by any means.  However, I can tell you that if they didn't speak Spanish, I wouldn't have known I was anywhere other than the US.  Everything was very clean, nice, dimly lit, lots of candles (and of course Enya playing in the background).  Even the waiting room had pineapple slices floating in glass pitchers of water and plush couches and magazines. I was impressed, and everyone was very professional.  Best part was, it was about half the cost of a massage in the US!

The website of the spa is here in case you are ever in the area :)
http://www.spaoneandonly.cl/armonia/

A whole new world

Steve has always told me his favorite Disney movie is the Little Mermaid.  Great movie.  I would say my top two are Lion King and Aladdin (which should come as no surprise to those of you who know me) - had to throw that in there for the following story to make sense. 

When I saw Sadie's new sweatshirt (pictured below) I obviously had to get it.  We were so excited by it, when Steve got home, I told Sadie to go get it and give it to him.  Upon seeing it, Steve said, "Is that Ariel, I love that movie!" He then proceeded to sing "A Whole New World".  My jaw dropped, and I realized he was a Disney movie fraud this whole time.

 

Waving to herself in the phone "mirror".  So happy.

I visited America today

Today was the day the US Embassy in Santiago celebrated July 4th.  It was open to the public (although if you were not a US citizen you had to pre-register), but lucky for us, we just showed up with our US passports and got in.  They had hot dogs with all the fixins, a military band that played all the America songs you would want to hear on the holiday, and some really American-y cakes (see pics below). We sang the national anthem, heard from some of the key people at the embassy (e.g., the Ambassador), and drank hot chocolate (because remember it's winter here...). 

I'm not going to lie, it made me a little home sick, especially missing sparklers, bbqs and summer by the pool.

 

Being a good sport staying in her stroller (until of course the ceremony started...)

 

A pic of the ceremony's program

 Did I mention Obama was there cooking hot dogs? (Yeah I didn't get it either)

The world cup cake (GO USA!)

Not bad... but a little creepy.  I think they are supposed to be trees... (Sorry, Peggy and Charley, but they gave it a good try!)

 

 

Mickey Mouse on top of red, white and blue - what's more American than that?

Vocab lesson

I've decided to compile an ongoing list of words that I have come to use quite a bit in Chile (in Spanish), that are not ones I learned in school.

Chilean word ------ English word ------- Spanish word (from school)

choclo -------------- corn ------------------ maiz

chao ---------------- bye ------------------- adios (Notably, this has been Sadie's first Spanish word; she pronounces it as just "ch")

aca ------------------ here ------------------ aqui

disculpa ------------ excuse me ---------- perdon

tienes dudas? ------ do you have any questions? ---tienes preguntas?

auto ------------------ car -------------------- coche (In Chile, "coche" is actually stroller)

bombilla ------------- straw (drinking) ------ paja

frutilla ---------------- strawberry ----------- fresa

palta ------------------- avocado ------------- aguacate

ave --------------------- bird ------------------ pajaro

wua wau (pronounced "wa wa") ------- baby --------- bebe (this is one of my faves, and it used VERY regularly)

Baby clothes

For all of you who are wondering (I'm sure there must be one or two), baby clothes here are not bad and there are quite a few of them to be found in the mall as well as the grocery store Jumbo that I frequent quite often. They are, however, more expensive than in the states. Since Sadie has been growing like crazy, and I underestimated the amount of time we would be without our stuff, we had to go buy some shirts for her.  She was beginning to look silly with the top of her diaper being visible since her shirt was always too short (and her sleeves were beginning to be 3/4 length, which is not ideal in the winter!).  The sizing is actually the same as in the states, although it is in Spanish (6-9 meses, 12 meses, 18 meses, etc).  Although, I think the sizes were a little bigger here.  The 18 month stuff I bought is huge on Sadie, who is wearing 18 month in everything I brought from the US.  Here is what some of the Chilean clothes I bought look like (note the English...)

Our favorite park

Here are some pics of our favorite park, which is conveniently located right by our hotel.  Sadie loves it, and there are always tons of kids to play with (or watch).  And, of course, she just LOVES playing in the sand. There is even a bird cage!

 Looking dramatically off into the distance. On Wednesdays there is an organic market that sets up on that stage.

(Not her toys... but the kid they belong to is there every afternoon and she always steals them.  He HATES it but his mom makes him share... muhaha...)

Chi Chi Chi Le Le Le!!!

What an exciting game on Wednesday!  For those who aren't following, Spain played Chile in the World Cup.  Spain was ranked #1 out of all the teams in the Cup, and had just lost to the Netherlands in its first game.  Chile came out and had great energy and pulled off a victory 2-0.  That means Spain isn't even moving to the next round, but Chile is! The game was on Wednesday afternoon at 3pm, and schools were cancelled that day, and everyone was out watching the game.  Sadie was actually napping during that time, and I was in the hotel room watching it.  It was crazy - every time they scored or almost scored or there was a bad call, etc, the city erupted with Ohs! Ahs! Boos! Yays! etc.  The street I see from my window, which is usually bustling with activity was deserted, and after the game it was crazy celebrations everywhere.  Very fun atmosphere.  Sorry Spain!

Then we got the special Chilean donut from Dunkin' Donuts.  Do you see it?

Chicken sushi?

Yeah, chicken sushi is a thing.  But, it's not exactly what you'd expect.  I was very skeptical as well, but being pregnant and loving sushi is unfortunate.  So, when a friend in Antofagasta suggested it, I was on board.  And, it's pretty good! Especially when you can't have the real stuff.

We ordered it again last night, and here is a picture of it.  Don't worry, it's COOKED chicken.

 There are two rolls pictured.  One has choclo (corn), cream cheese (EVERY ROLL has cream cheese.  It's impossible to get away from it), asparagus, and wrapped in avocado.  The one on the right has chicken, chives, cream cheese, and also wrapped in avocado.  Both surprisingly delicious! And, sushi delivery is VERY common here.  As in there are a ton of places that do it.  I ordered from www.hellofood.cl last night and was very pleased with the service! It's basically a service that provides delivery from many different places (pizza, chileno food, comida china, sushi, etc).  You order online from their various menus and someone calls you from that restaurant to confirm your order and they deliver in about an hour.  Great for someone who isn't great at speaking Spanish and likes to look at pictures of what they are ordering.

Sadie is super into the word cup, which we were watching while eating our sushi.

Zoo Day

There are multiple zoos in Santiago, and I have heard that Bruin Zoo is actually the best one.  However, it is pretty far south, and let's be honest, for a toddler and a pregnant woman, getting there and back in one piece sounds horrendous.  So, we ventured to a closer zoo (by the San Cristobal Hill that I have posted about previously).  What is a Chilean zoo like? You may wonder.  I did.  So here are some pictures to try to tell the story.

Pretty basic zoo with normal cages, and all the good animals.  Definitely smaller than others.  The last two zoos I have been to were the Houston Zoo and the National Zoo in DC, so it's really difficult to compare because they were such enormous zoos.  The sign in the above picture says not to feed the animals, which was kind of funny considering the below giraffe picture...

 

 You can actually get EXTREMELY close to the animals here.  Which, I don't know if that's for better or worse, but it's definitely different.  Here is an African elephant taking a drink of water.  We moved to the other side of the cage (can you see the black fence behind the elephant?) that's where we were, but I got a little nervous we were too close to the back of the elephant...

 Flamencos! Sadie loves birds, so she truly enjoyed herself here on Steve's shoulders.

 The zoo was on a hill, with a great view you can see in the background.  The lemurs were just climbing up a huge tree. I guess they are just hoping they can't jump very far.

 The giraffes.  My favorite.  Sadie love them too, and you can see that this giraffe is very interested in Steve and Sadie.  Why?  Well because in the picture below the security guard is feeding them. So, they must think everyone does.

We could literally have touched the giraffe and the big black tongue was right upon us.  They are such great animals.

Overall a good zoo.  They had some random animals like a white tiger, polar bears and hippos that are generally not found in smaller zoos.  It is still sad to see these wild animals held in captivity when they should be roaming free (there is the free spirit in me, but I'm the one supporting the zoo by taking my child there).  Very nice day to be outside!

We then went to Bellavista for lunch, which has a great restaurant/shopping area.  A recommendation when in Santiago for sure!  Here is a picture of a "Tabla" that we ordered to share for lunch.

And, Sadie was super into coloring, so we could actually eat it!

Happy Father's Day!

There are so many wonderful fathers that have touched my life.  I am so lucky to have a loving, supportive and truly kind man as mine.  I also have two incredible grandfathers that have (among many things) taught me important values about faith, strength and generosity.  There is my father-in-law, who has welcomed me with open arms into his family like his own daughter.  My brother and brothers-in-law who are all amazing fathers, loving my nieces and nephews selflessly.  My uncles and godfathers who are all role model fathers and men.

I am married to a man whose daughter is utterly obsessed with him. She can't take her eyes off him because she loves him so much.  There is no better thing to see.  No better feeling.  I truly am lucky.

Today we honor those people in our lives - we say thank you.  We know it is not an easy road when you are constantly being tested by needs and wants of children, spouses, friends, and work.  This makes you even more special.

I also want to send special love and appreciation to one father in particular, Steve's Uncle Leslie.  I just want to say that you mean the world to us, and you and Aunt Cindy have taught us so much about loving each other, among others, selflessly and deeply.  You have dedicated your life to genuine kindness.  You have made the world a better place.  We love you and we thank you.



And, here's my favorite picture of the day.

Our real kitchen: the food court

As I have mentioned in previous posts, finding a place to eat dinner is tricky with a toddler here since many restaurants don't open until 7 or 8 (which is Sadie's bedtime, and the perfect time for a meltdown).  So, we have been eating at our neighborhood food court quite regularly.  There are TONS of options, lots of them American fast food chains (surprise, surprise).  You get the food quickly, and there is a lot to keep Sadie distracted (i.e., Steve and I can actually finish our meals too before Sadie demands to get a move on). 

We cruised the mall today to buy a few things and had lunch there, so I decided to take a couple pictures to show you what it looks like since I'm sure you are wondering what a Chilean food court is like.  Well, it may be a slight disappointment, but it's really not different at all.  However, what is really great is that most of the nicer malls here (ok, two of them that I know about) have bathrooms for adults (men and women separately) just like anywhere else, but there are also special bathrooms for ninos.  Literally there are little toilets and little sinks for the kids to use.  I wish I had taken a picture of them, but that could have been a little creepy...

Some of the most memorable things about the food court:

KFC is really good and tastes just like back home; however they don't have their signature biscuits, mashed potatoes, gravy or cole slaw.  They just have fries and cheese empanadas (which taste like cream cheese wontons from any Chinese restaurant)...

McDonald's happy meals are called "Cajita Feliz" and still come in the signature red and yellow box of the past.  Also, the sides you can choose from for the Cajita Feliz are cherry tomatoes or fries and all come with apple slices.  The drinks are either peach juice, orange juice or soda.  You can't just get water.

Domino's in the food court actually makes the pizza fresh when ordered (so it takes a little longer), but it really tastes like home (although some of the "signature" pizzas are different with strange combinations of toppings, but still not bad).

Doggis is a major hot dog chain here - very popular.  I've never had it, but Steve has and he warns against it.  Let's be honest, the best thing about a hot dog is ketchup, mustard and some relish, and here all of those things taste funny.

My favorite restaurant is called "Take a Wok".  I wonder how many people get it.

Sadie's latest

Every day is something new, right? Well on Sunday before we left for Antofagasta, Sadie started saying and using the word "off" correctly.  I hadn't even heard her say it before!  She was in the bath tub, and one of her favorite things is to run the bath water while she's in there and wants it turned on and off.  She has previously indicated this to us through motions, etc.  This time was different.  She reached up and pushed the handle down, which turned the water off and she said "off".  I thought I misheard her, but I repeated "Off".  Then we proceeded to turn the faucet on and off and she kept saying "off" after we turned it off!  I couldn't believe it.

After the bath we went to her room and got her ready for bed.  She then walked over to the lamp and turned the light off and said "off".  (the lamp is a push with your foot).  Now, it is her favorite thing to turn on and off and say "off".

It is the coolest! Not only does she say the word but she understands the concept!

I just took the below picture because Sadie was being so good just chillin in her stroller wanting to read to herself.  I love her.

Antofagasta

After living in Santiago for about a month, we made it out to Antofagasta.  Finally.  After all, that is the whole reason we are in Chile!  We took the short flight from Santiago to Antofa (about 2 hours), leaving in hazy rain and landing in gorgeous clear sunshine.  For those that don't know, Antofa is in the Atacama Desert, which is literally the driest place in the world.  While I had heard this and even seen pictures, nothing can really prepare you for the vastness of it all, especially when you land at the airport.  It is just mountainous desert. Everywhere.  All the way up to the ocean.

Sadie did well traveling, all things considered.  It is just a difficult age to be anywhere confined for more than a few minutes....  What is so interesting about Antofa is that it is a city centered around the mining industry, and many of the miners work in "turnos".  That means that they work a few days then have a few days off.  So many of them either travel on their off days or don't live in Antofa full time and go home on their days off.  This meant that on Monday morning when we flew there, the flight contained about 80% men.  Many of them had their hardhats in their laps.  After talking with some of our friends who have lived their for quite some time (one of them was born and raised there), we found out that many of them are Peruvian and Colombian as well. 

The city itself has a population of about 400,000 people.  It is long and skinny nestled between the mountains to the east and the ocean to the west.  The climate is very nice and mild, always between 50 and 70 degrees (apparently), and literally almost never rains. 

We rented a car so we could house hunt.  We didn't see much of the northern part of the city (just driving to/from the airport which is north of the city) - we stayed more in the center and south, meeting with realtor after realtor.  The city is not quite as nice as the area we have been staying in Santiago, but it is very lively with lots of restaurants, bars, apartments, and a long park that runs down the middle.  The amount of construction in Antofa (in all parts north, center, south) is incredible.  The city must be growing like crazy.  We found two places we really like and need to decide between.  One is a nice apartment right by the big park close to shopping, grocery, etc, and one is a beautiful house up on the hills in the south of the city with a pool and yard, but it is a little isolated comparatively. Two very different options, but both very good ones.

Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of the places we looked at - of course I left my camera at home and we saw so many places it would have been difficult.  In fact, I really didn't take many pics at all! So, to satisfy anyone's hunger for a visual of Antofa, here you go... Visitors welcome!

We Delivery!

On a cold and rainy Saturday, there is nothing like having dinner delivered to your doorstep.  In the states, it's an easy phone call, or better yet online.  Here in Santiago, I'm happy to say, it is the same way.  And, much to Steve's and my happiness, they have Papa John's close to the hotel.  But, would it taste the same? Let's be honest, not all pizza is created equal, and "pizza" in the states is not always "pizza" elsewhere.  Two distinct pizzas stand out in my mind: the ones I had in Italy (hands down amazing, although very different from US standards) and one in India.  I have to pause here and state that the pizza we got in India many years ago was the worst pizza I've ever had.  It was just a cheese pizza from Dominos, and Steve and I to this day still think about it with nausea and bitterness.  The cheese was all wrong - so wrong I'm not even sure it was cheese. 

Back to the point: Papa John's in Santiago.  While it should have been an easy process, I encountered two main issues when ordering a pizza. First, calling a landline from a cell phone here (all Chilean based) is not as straight forward as you would think.  Even after googling it I still had no luck.  The trick is the extra 2 that was added as a city code just months ago.  (I could also go into a rant about other dialing practices that I have still not yet mastered.  For example, if it's a cell phone you have to insert a 9 after the city code but before the main number.  Separately, if it's a number that's only 7 digits you have to add another 2.  What??)  So I ended up having to ask a local how to do it and it finally worked (woo hoo!).  Then my next major hurdle: actually talking to the person taking my order.  In Spanish.  However, I was very pleased that the person was nice and friendly (and even spoke a little English!).  The only thing that I was completely puzzled over was when they asked me what type of crust I wanted.  Who learns how to say crust in Spanish class? (In case you're curious, it's "masa" in Chile, which I always associated with tamales...).  But, the good news is that the pizza I tried to order was what arrived on schedule to my hotel room without any issues. And, it was really good! The flavor was spot on, and it even came with that delicious garlic butter sauce (that was imported from the US - I checked).  Many happy Sadie hugs and kisses were had.

 The pizza box. Look familiar?

Here is a great pic.  The pizza arrived looking exactly like it would have in the states.  I opened the box in our teeny kitchen to take a pic, and Sadie rushed over to try to get to the pizza (she was hungry, so she's blurry), and of course my baby belly is so huge it made it into the picture.

Some local products

Before I left the US, I went to Target and stocked up on all sorts of toiletries and other things I thought would be difficult to find here.  Some things I was right about, some wrong, and some things I just plain forgot to get!  I decided today was a good day to showcase some local products (by local I mean I bought them here - they may not be made here, but they are locally available).

(1) Shoes.  I love them, Sadie loves them, even Steve loves them.  The quality I have heard isn't as great, and they are just as expensive as in the US.  While I was smart enough to bring a size larger for Sadie (her feet decided to grow overnight), I only brought one pair of shoes that now fit her.  So, being the cautious person I am, I decided to get her a back up pair.  I searched the mall, and there are many "local" brands of shoes.  No pedipeds, which are my favorite :( but I decided to buy her a pair of shoes from Bata (if you have ever traveled in Europe you might have run across a Bata).  They were about $20, and seem like a pair you might find at a Target.  Note the awesome brand name.  Also, if you are ever trying to buy baby shoes in Chile, make sure to try them on your kid first.  The sizing is quite different.

(2) Yogurt. Sadie and I are huge yogurt eaters, and we were definitely spoiled with the richness and creaminess of that found in the US.  After trying many brands here, I finally found one that wasn't basically flavored milk (don't even get me started on my incredible sadness for losing fresh milk).  If you ever need a good yogurt fix in Chile, I recommend the below.  It's very tasty, and while it's not as thick as the Greek yogurt you would get in the states, it is the same thickness as you would find in a regular Dannon or Yoplait yogurt, which is good enough for me!  Important: note that strawberries are not "fresas", they are called "frutillas" in Chile.

(3) Books. The books here are expensive (what else is new?).  But, I found a good one to read for fun, and a good one that will hopefully help us with our Chilean (I'm not even going to call it Spanish anymore...)  Let's hope Jared knows what he's talking about...

(4) Face soap.  This is one of those Target items I forgot to get.  Now, I'm not one of those people that needs to buy fancy face soap, but I do like to use a special soap designed for my face on my face (as opposed to bar soap).  So, naturally, I went to the Jumbo to get some.  They sold no face soap.  Plenty of bar, hand, body soaps, but no face soap.  I went up and down the aisles a bunch of times feeling like a moron because clearly they had to sell it.  Nope.  I had to go to the farmacia to find anything related to the face, and then it was behind locked glass doors.  I felt silly asking to have it unlocked for me so I could buy it.  The cheapest I found was $8.  I will let you know if it's worth it.  I may be switching to bar soap...

I imagine in the next few weeks, months, and even years, I will be kicking myself for my purchases now.  I'll have to revisit this post after awhile to see if things changed over time.

'Merica

Yesterday was a huge America day.

We went to get a burger at lunch at Johnny Rockets (yes, they have it here). Not the normal amount of fries that comes with the burger.

Sadie's ketchup bear...

Then, for dinner, I found a good American tradition.  Not healthy at all, but couldn't resist a taste of home.  Sadie approved!

 

Realtors...

We have officially been in Santiago for 3 weeks - it sure has gone by quickly.  While so much has happened it seems in just these few weeks, we are now faced with the task of settling down.  This means we need to get ourselves to Antofagasta.  So, we have planned a trip for next week (Monday-Thursday).  The flight is short (about 2 hours) and direct, so hopefully it won't be too much of a pain to get there.  Once there, we have rented a car and will be driving around the city in search of a new home.  We have been doing our research, looking at neighborhoods and even houses/apartments online, but even with lots of pictures, it doesn't necessarily give us a good representation what we will find.  Plus, looking for a place to live in Antofagasta is quite different from looking for a place in the US. 

In the US: Find a realtor or 2 and meet with them, and eventually you will end up with just one who will show you all the properties you want in the MLS, even if the property was not listed under their name or agency. 

In Antofagasta: Find a property you think you might like, contact the realtor to show you that property (and maybe one other one they have).  Then, find another property, contact that realtor, and so on. So, you could be contacting 10 realtors to see 10 properties.  It seems completely inefficient and wrong, but I can assure you, this is how it's done.

As you can imagine, it has been a bit of a mess and is testing my organizational and language skills.  So, please wish us luck next week finding a good place for our family!

I will make sure to post lots of pics of the city and the areas we are thinking about since I'm sure you are all curious :)

$50 toys, $10 snack traps and no baby pouches!!!

Baby stuff is CRAZY expensive here.

That is what everyone kept telling me before coming.  Today, I went to the small Infanti baby store at the mall where they sell strollers, car seats, toys, pack n plays, etc, to get a better idea of what I'm in for.  I've decided that baby stuff isn't CRAZY expensive here, it's OUTRAGEOUSLY CRAZY expensive.  For example, the things that stick out in my mind are below (notably, I didn't look at the strollers or car seats, so I can't comment on those right now - although you might remember my post about the stroller from before...)

$8 for one of these:
http://www.amazon.com/Munchkin-Snack-Catchers-Colors-Vary/dp/B000GB0NZK/ref=pd_cp_ba_0
(as you can see, $4 for two on amazon)

$50 for this (in Spanish):
http://www.amazon.com/LeapFrog-Shapes-Sharing-Picnic-Basket/dp/B004560BPY/ref=sr_1_7?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1401824183&sr=1-7&keywords=leap+frog
(as you can see, <$20 for it on amazon)

$20 for one of these, made by Chicco, that's actually worse quality:
http://www.amazon.com/BABYBJORN-Soft-Bib-Pack-Yellow/dp/B000CSBP3G/ref=pd_rhf_se_s_cp_6_FZ92?ie=UTF8&refRID=18BQ7XE9QHGEP0PC76AQ
(as you can see you can get 2 for $16 of the coveted Baby Bjorn ones.  Notably, I thought I lost the one that we brought and I about had a heart attack. If you have ever used one you will completely understand why.  Thank goodness I found it and now chain it to myself everywhere I go.)

It's disgusting.  You people are so spoiled with Babies R Us and Target!! I'm beginning to think that it may be worth the shipping charge on amazon.com...

But, what I really miss that I can't find anywhere are baby meal pouches (Ella's kitchen, HappyBaby, PlumOrganics, etc). They do have some applesauce ones, but that's not what I want.  I always had a few of those in my bag since Sadie loved them and they felt healthy (organic lentils, tomatoes and spinach as an example).  All they have here are jars of non-organic baby food (is the snob coming out in me?) that are just chicken or beef. Not really meals.  I officially have 2 left, and I'm saving them for emergencies.  So, if you ever want to visit, bring pouches!!

Now that I have ranted about this, I would also like to add another perspective (I'm a Libra, right?).  It seems obvious that the reason these items are so expensive (or non-existent), is that they are clearly unnecessary.  Babies have been getting on fine without them for centuries in many different places, including the US.  I guess I have just been spoiled!