Ode to Toledo

For those who don't know (or don't remember), I studied abroad in Toledo, Spain my junior year of college.  That experience has been the foundation so far for my time here (based primarily on language).  So, when I was at the Jumbo today and saw the below, I couldn't help but get the warm, happy feeling inside. Yes, it is Spanish ham from Toledo.  Aw.

Ikea, is that you?

As many of you know, Steve and I absolutely love Ikea.  Because we move around so much and need to mix and match to fill our new places (not to mention how our stuff gets banged up from all the moves), over 90% of our furniture and household items are from Ikea.  And, who can resist eating at the restaurant (french toast sticks anyone??) and getting a cone after making it all the way through the store in one piece.  Well, today I was taken to the Chilean version of Ikea: HOMY.  Now, to be quite honest, I have no idea if there is any kind of affiliation, and I could probably Google it and try to figure it out, but it doesn't matter.  The facts are that the store is laid out exactly like Ikea, you walk sort of a particular direction and pass rooms decorated and laid out with tags and prices.  There are little stations around the store that have paper rulers, little pencils, and forms to fill out of what pieces of furniture you like.  Then, there is a whole couch section, a whole table/chairs section, etc. The furniture is pretty modern, but there is a good mix. I have spent quite a lot of time in multiple Ikeas (a whole 7 hours in the one right outside of Chicago, which is a story for another day), so I'm confident in my comparison.  I even took some pics so you could see for yourself.  What HOMY doesn't have is a major cafeteria like Idea does, but they did have a cafe!

 

After HOMY we went to a huge park that had a rose garden, and I took a pretty pic of the Andes overlooking the rose garden.  Just thought I would throw that in there...

Vacunatorio en la Clinica Alemana

As you know, Chile is in the southern hemisphere, which means it is seasonally opposite of the US.  Because of that, and because of the excellent health system in Chile, there is a huge influenza vaccination campaign similar to that in the states.  Just like in the US, many employers provide the vaccine to their employees on a particular day on site, and for those populations who are more vulnerable (elderly, infants, pregnant women), the vaccine is provided for free (it actually may be free for others, but that is not clear to me).  The trick is that instead of a Walgreens or CVS pharmacy, you have to go to a vacunatorio.  The general process to get a vaccine is to go to a doctor, who then writes you a script, and then you take that to the vacunatorio where a nurse administers it.  My understanding is sometimes you need a script for a vaccine (like one for hepatitis A or something), and other times you don't (like influenza).  Either way, I went to my OB here, and he wrote a script for both me and Sadie (yeah both of us...) just so it would be easier for me (i.e., I wouldn't have to try to explain why I was there [as you know, my Spanish is still a work in progress]).

Once you arrive at the clinic, you take a number (like everywhere here - from the pharmacy [even if you're just buying diapers] to the cell phone store).  When they call your number it's like the DMV where it says "198 caja 3", and you take your script and passport to register.  After you check in you wait until you're called to the back (no one can pronounce Shaul, it's kind of hilarious), and you just get your shots.  Whole vaccine process from start to finish took us maybe 35 minutes.  Really not bad, but I imagine it could be much longer if it's more crowded.Worst part is you can hear all the babies and kids crying the whole time...

I bought Sadie her favorite snack mix in the vending machine, so she is in a good mood until she sees the shots... (snack mix is a combo of cheetos, ruffles and potato stix - really healthy I know...)

Another weekend of sun

This weekend was colder than it has been (it is fall after all), but still sunny.  We took the metro to one of the huge parks here (this city has so many parks and is very kid-friendly, thank goodness), and walked around.  We saw some random sculptures, lots of playgrounds, and lots of bikers.  In fact, one of the main streets in the park (which is along the river), was closed to just bikers (and roller bladers.  I guess that's still a thing).  It was great to see the city goers out and about and enjoying some recreational activities.  We also popped into the museum of art, which wasn't very big, but so crowded with all kinds of people (families, singles, foreigners, locals).  Great to see.  And, it was free.

Here is fall at its best, the main road is closed to bikers only.

Sadie pushing her new stroller in the park.

 

Sadie walking towards a completely empty park.  You can imagine her excitement, which is why I couldn't get her to turn around at the camera.

Steve is obsessed with these huge climbing structures, which are abundant in parks around here.  I'm actually happy Sadie is way too small to attempt to climb them because it looks terrifying... She is pretty curious though, as she stares at her dad in awe.

The art museum.  Gorgeous old building.

Sadie's first motorcycle :)  We were at a little cafe that was completely glass and right outside was this old bike (and side car).  I took this picture from inside the restaurant when Steve was walking around with her outside, so it's a little difficult to see.  Still, adorable since she's following in her Daddy's footsteps...

The Search for a Magic Stroller

This post is likely not interesting to the majority of people reading it.  Like the name suggests, it will be about a stroller.  However, not just any stroller, one that has taken us what seems like years (or a week and a half) to find.  As I mentioned earlier (I think).  Baby stuff here is expensive, not abundant and generally lower quality than in the states (there is no Babies R Us or the like to run to). Ever since our first weekend, when we realized there were few elevators in the metros and lots of stairs in most of the attractions around Santiago), we have been searching for a very small, light-weight and cheap umbrella stroller (or coche paraguas - clever name, I know.  As an aside, cars here are called autos and strollers are coches).  You would think, oh just run to the nearest Target and buy a cheap umbrella stroller, but no Targets around.  We have been to many stores, etc, and finally one of my friends called me to say she found one at none other than Lider.  What is Lider? Well, it's WalMart.  Literally. As in it is owened by WalMart and they sell Great Value brand items.  Well, of course that was obviously where we should have looked first... Anyway, the stroller has changed our lives in that we can now move about the city and all its sights easily and efficiently.  So, bottom line, in a big city with kids? Get a cheap very light weight coche paraguas.  There are no pictures in this post, but in the next one you will see the amazing $20 purchase.

el dia de las glorias navales

Today was el dia de las glorias navales (or Navy Day), a public holiday.  The best part for me was that Steve was home from work, so that meant a day to explore another part of the city.  We took the metro to el cerro Santa Lucia, which is an old fort turned into a park on a large hill in the middle of the city.  It seems much of the original fort is in tact (or at least has been preserved) since the 1800s, and there are lots of stairs to get around (which was not great for the stroller... again).  However, there were some gorgeous views from the top, and the view of the Andes over the city skyline was really impressive.

 Castillo Hildalgo on Santa Lucia Hill

The Andes, towering over the tallest building in South America.  Our hotel is actually very close to it.

Sadie having a ton of fun seeing all the sights.

Sadie passed out after a grueling walk up the hill. (Steve actually carried both Sadie and the stroller, thank goodness...)

I don't often get a chance to see Sadie in such a calm and stationary manner, so I enjoy it when I can get it!

Next, we walked over to Plaza de Armas, which was pretty disappointing only because it was under construction.  As in the entire plaza was completely fenced in by huge temporary scaffolding.  Too bad, so no pics.  The upside was that we found a fun place for Sadie to play in, HappyLand.

After HappyLand, we went to the Mercado Central, which is the world famous fish market.  Pretty impressive, but I didn't get any pics of the fresh fish.  Very crowded and the smell was... well... fishy, so naturally I let Steve go exploring while Sadie and I went to the center of the market where there are many restaurants and good ambiance.  If you are ever in Santiago, definitely a good stop.

Learning about general logistics

The past few days have been very informative, and it's crazy to think we have been here almost a week. This post is about what we are learning about every day necessities.

Grocery stores: There are plenty in the city - from small corner convenient type stores (one is called "Big John" and I keep wondering why they didn't just say "Juan Grande") to huge groceries (one even owned by Walmart called Lider).  The Jumbo is a huge chain that I'm frequenting that I would rival any grocery store in the states.  In addition, it is similar to Target, in that it has lots of household items, including clothes and baby stuff as well as electronics like TVs, but definitely less so.  The good news? They sell lots of chocolate.

Diapers:  Size G diapers in Pampers are size 4 in the states.  On the package they say G, but when you open them, they have the "4" on the back of the diaper just like in the US.  I was surprised to see this and wish they would have just put it on the package so I didn't have to convert Sadie's weight to kilos. What I'm still trying to find are night diapers... more to come on that.

Eating an early dinner with a toddler:  Everyone eats dinner here late, and restaurants typically don't even open until 8.  This is difficult when your child's bedtime is at 7 or 730.  The advice I have received and through our limited experience here are to frequent the restaurants in hotels since they are open all the time.  There are also quite a few cafes that sell salads, sandwiches and the like that are open for early dinner.  There are also apparently a lot of companies that do delivery options from a plethora of restaurants at all times of the day, but I haven't tried that yet.  Sounds like a good option!  Tonight we went to the restaurant in the W Hotel, called Coquinaria.  It was pretty good and great ambiance - Steve compared it to Kramer Books in DC with fewer books and more cooking supplies.

 

Hospitals:  While I haven't gone myself yet, I have heard by many that the best two are Clinica Las Condes and Clinica Alemana.  The latter of which someone said was Chile's Mayo Clinic.  Both are apparently world renown, but I'll judge for myself when I take the tours.  The best part about both are that there are specific departments dedicated to catering to international patients.  You simply email the address on the websites and within 24 hours someone gets back to you.  I have had this quick turnaround with both hospitals, and both places offering to help make appointments, find the right physicians who speak English, etc.  Clinica Alemana does charge a fee for this service, but Clinica Las Condes does not. So worth it when I'm not fluent in the language! 

Sadie's latest: Last night I noticed the 4 canines coming through (FINALLY!), so she has been a little cranky, poor girl.  However, she is starting to talk much more and recognize things and their names.  Her newest words are bus and bird (both mostly just b sounds), but she gets so excited when she sees them.  Best part of the day? When she demanded to eat peanut butter by the spoonfuls straight from the AlGood PB jar.  Yes, I spoil her.  She is in front of her favorite cabinet in the kitchen (that's empty), which she loves to climb in and out of and play peek a boo.  Pretty adorable.