After 16 years of driving, I have come to realize that I take my understanding of traffic laws for granted. How often do you brush up on the rules of the road since you passed your test the very first time you got your license? If I am counting correctly, I have had a driver's license in four states, and I have never had to retake the test. Just go in with your documents, stand in line, take a picture, and you leave either with your new license or the knowledge that you will be receiving it in your mail box within 4-6 weeks. (Although, I have heard that to become a Minnesotan from out of state you do have to re-take the test... Anyone?)
This month Steve and I have conquered the next step in becoming Chilean: obtaining a driver's license. Let me just say that if you think the US DMV is bad (and let's be honest, it's terrible), the Chilean DMV equivalent (in Antofagasta at least) is horrific. I mean drop dead awful.
Here is my story.
First, let's start with the requirements for getting a driver's license in Chile:
- Being a legal resident in Chile
- Having at least an 8th grade education
- Passing a vision test, a series of psychometric tests, a written test, the driving test
Doesn't seem too terrible, right? Well, it shouldn't be. But, for a foreigner, there are some hoops you have to jump through just to get in the door. Specifically, how do you prove your level of education. Before we moved here, we had to have a bunch of documents legalized and notorized by the Chilean government; this included our college transcripts/diplomas. I have no idea how this was done, but thank goodness Steve's company took care of this. We figured we could just use those since they were legalized by the GOVERNMENT. But, because we live in Antofagasta, and sometimes it feels like it isn't really a part of Chile, that wasn't good enough. We had to track down the office of a man who has some high place in power in the Department of Education in Antofagasta (literally by word of mouth). We looked up online where this man works, and the Dept of Education website gave us 3 different office locations and phone numbers, none of which ended up being accurate... Thank goodness for the expat community, who pointed us in the right direction! We scrambled into this man's office one day 5 minutes before it closed, only to fight with the secretary about why we were there (she was very persistent that he couldn't help us and tried shoo-ing us away). If you've been following the blog, you will probably remember that one of the most important lessons I've learned here is that you can never take no for an answer since everyone straight up lies to you about what they can or can't help you with. So, we naturally kept disagreeing with her until finally she let us through to his office. He at first said he couldn't help but as soon as we pulled out our documents he said oh right I can help you (and let me be clear this was not a language barrier thing - we were very clear about what we needed). He printed up a letter (that was already made exactly for this purpose - just filled in our names), and we were on our way. It took 5 minutes of actual work, but 15 minutes of us trying to convince everyone they could help us. So frustrating!
Now that we had the necessary documents, we could proceed to the Chilean DMV and take the tests. First, we had to study for the written exam. The manual is 165 pages (a pdf document) and it's in English (as is the test, which we severely lucked out on since 2015 is when they launched an English option). What surprised me the most is what you have to know for the exam. Not much of it is general rules of the road, a lot of it is memorizing number. For example, if 1/1000 grams of your blood is saturated with alcohol, how long will it take for the alcohol to get out of your system? If you are going 50 km/hr on a wet asphalt road, what is the braking distance? You also have to know all about the mechanics of a manual car. What is a carburetor? If your car starts doing XYZ, what needs to be replaced? Of course, I'm not a car person, so this was not easy! If you ever have to take this test in Chile, I recommend studying by taking the practice exams (which unfortunately are only in Spanish), but they help much more than just reading the manual since so many of the answers to the questions aren't in the manual.
I convinced a good friend to come with me so we could both take the exams. I will now describe the process and how long each step took. After you read this, you are never allowed to complain about the DMV to me ever again.
We arrived at the "DMV" at 7:15am to wait in line. Important note: there is only one DMV in all of Antofagasta. ONE. There were already about 70 people there. It opens at 8:15am. When it opens you stand in line to show a man your documents and then if you have the right ones, he gives you a number. We then waited for about an hour. At around 9:30am my number was called. I go to a desk (similar to in the states), and the person looks at my documents and enters in the information into the computer. She takes my picture. Then, I have to go upstairs to a "Caja" where I stand in line, show them my ID card and then I pay. They give me a receipt. I take that receipt back downstairs to the same lady who helped me (she is obviously with another person). I give her the receipt, and she says my name will be called. At about 10am my name is called, and I proceed to take the psychometric tests. One tests your reactions with fake pedals, and the other two are very difficult to explain. You hold a pen-like device and have to touch the end of a pen into various circles while a disk is turning and try not to touch the disk at the same time. The other test is that you have to guide a needle through a curved line, but the needle is attached to these two levers, which you hold in each hand. The levers only let you move the needle in a certain direction. So guiding this needle through this teeny snakelike path is very difficult. You can only touch the outside of the path a couple of times and you have to do it in 60 seconds. I almost failed. WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH DRIVING? I digress. After the psychometric tests I went back and had to wait for my name to be called again for the vision test. I waited 2 hours more. It was finally around 12:45pm and I was about to lose my mind. People with numbers after mine were being called, so I finally grabbed someone and asked what was going on. She just brushed me off and said don't worry your name will be called. My name was finally called along with about 10 others, and they told us we had to go home and come back tomorrow since there wasn't enough time (the office closes at 1:30pm for the day). Well, I'm usually not the kind of person to make a stink, but I lost it. In Spanish. I probably didn't make much sense, but I was very pissed and basically was not taking no for an answer (yet again). She finally realized how early I had gotten there, and was kind of like, oh OOPS your papers must have gotten put into the wrong pile. She went to the vision guy and begged him to let me take the test, which he reluctantly agreed to. I took the vision test, then immediately after I took the written exam. The written exam was not a great translation, and you could definitely argue that some of the right answers are actually wrong because of how things are worded, but it doesn't matter to me anymore since I passed! I finally left at about 1:30pm. In sum, it took 6.5 hours, and I still needed to take the driving test.
For the driving test, you have to line up your car on the side of a main road kind of in line. I got there at 7am to wait until the teacher arrives at 8:15 to collect the names/papers that show you passed the other tests. I was third in line. When the one worker arrived (it's supposed to be two), people just flocked to her and started giving her these papers. I was 7th, which mean I should have been there for 2 extra hours since each test took about 15 minutes. I was a little confused, since it all happened so fast and my Spanish isn't great still. So, I asked the guy that had lined up in front of me what was going on and how I got such a high number. He said it really wasn't fair, and since I don't speak so well, he went to the teacher and got me moved up to where I was supposed to be. He basically was my angel in white. Literally (he happened to be wearing all white). I was so thankful since he saved me 2 hours! I took and passed the test and now have to go BACK to the DMV with my ID card to pick up the license. So, I guess technically I don't have my license yet, but I am close.
Jeez. What an inefficient, ridiculous system!
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Isla de Pascua (Easter Island)
Never in a million years did I think I would get to travel to one of the most remote islands in the world. Literally thousands of miles from civilization. Easter Island is one of those places I always saw pictures of (you know the place, think big stone heads) but was still a mystery to me. I had no idea it was even a part of Chile. Well, a few weekends ago we were lucky enough to venture westward over the Pacific to this beautiful island of the Rapa Nui.
Brief History
Isla de Pascua was settled thousands of years ago by a group of Polynesians known as the Rapa Nui. The Rapa Nui have since inhabited the island, but their population has vastly decreased to about 3,500 (from about 10,000, but who really knows). There are many theories about what has happened on Easter Island, from famine to disease to rats. The iconic Easter Island heads are called "Moai" (pronounced "Moe-eye") and were sculpted out of volcanic rock (there are 1,000 volcanoes on Easter Island which is about 60 square miles). The Moai are all varying sizes (up to 20 meters) and are sculptures of specific ancestors, or as they call them, "abuelos" (grandparents). Our guide said it was their way of keeping photos. The island fell into the hands of the Chileans in the late 1800s, but wasn't "touristy" until about the 1970s when most of the island became a national park to preserve the Rapa Nui's history. However, as the common tale goes, the native people (in this case the Rapa Nui), have major issues with their sovereign nation (in this case the Chileans). In fact, a couple weeks before we got there, the Rapa Nui took control of the island and "closed" down the entrances to the parks. They basically put up road blocks not letting anyone pass. We were worried this would impact our trip, but as it turned out, it was a very interesting time to be there and learn about the Rapa Nui demands and culture.
Briefly, the island is small, and the Rapa Nui are seeing their culture and people mixing more and more with the Chileans, which means it is getting more difficult to preserve their way of life. Also, there are only so many natural resources on the island, and Chileans are coming to live there with few restrictions. Not to mention tourism is their main source of income, and Chileans have been moving to the island to take advantage of the income. The Rapa Nui are now demanding from the Chilean government more restrictions on those Chileans that can move to Easter Island and for how long.
Our Trip
The flights were long and exactly how you would imagine with a baby and toddler, but it was totally worth it. We rented a very pretty house with our friends (a family of four). It sat on this huge piece of land dotted with mango trees, roosters, hens and chicks (Sadie loved chasing them every chance she got). They welcomed us with leis made of fresh flowers and a huge pitcher of fresh papaya juice and bowl of fruit.
The owners set us up with a Rapa Nui guide, who assured us it would be no problem traveling around the island to the different sites even with all the road blocks along the way. He was an older man, and has lived on the island for over 50 years, so he was well-connected. We would learn later that we lucked out! Everywhere we went he brought the "rebels" a queque (like banana bread) that his wife had made. We always passed through the road blocks no problem. Great guy. Full of knowledge and passion for the Rapa Nui. It was only later that I learned he was a Chilean who had married a Rapa Nui woman decades earlier.
The first day we went to some of the oldest sites on the island and got to see Moai from (what is believed to be) the 2nd century. It was a little rainy that day, but it was actually really refreshing because when the sun came out it was extremely hot.
Next stop was to some gorgeous viewpoints of all the volcanoes around town.
We then visited the only Moai on the island that face towards the sea. They are the guardians and represent the various positions held on the island (e.g., sculptor, warrior, farmer, etc).
We enjoyed some park time right by the ocean.
The next day we visited my favorite place - the quarry. This is where all the Moai were carved out and constructed and then transported to various locations on the island. There are hundreds of Moai here.
Below is the only Moai that is kneeling. It is likely this was carved by a different people than the Rapa Nui, but no one really knows.
Next stop, more Moai! These ones were HUGE and very impressive. Right behind them is the ocean (notice looking inward towards the island).
Last stop of the day was Anakana beach. Just gorgeous. Literally, the clouds parted and it became perfect beach weather.
Our final tour day was more Moai viewing as well as exploring the coast and visiting a huge crater in a volcano that inhabits a whole corner of the island. The picture doesn't look impressive, but it is 200 meters all the way down to the water. It was stunning.
One of my faves.
A fully restored Moai - notice the white eyes and the adornment on top of his head.
Our little explorers :)
Wild horses were everywhere!
Brief History
Isla de Pascua was settled thousands of years ago by a group of Polynesians known as the Rapa Nui. The Rapa Nui have since inhabited the island, but their population has vastly decreased to about 3,500 (from about 10,000, but who really knows). There are many theories about what has happened on Easter Island, from famine to disease to rats. The iconic Easter Island heads are called "Moai" (pronounced "Moe-eye") and were sculpted out of volcanic rock (there are 1,000 volcanoes on Easter Island which is about 60 square miles). The Moai are all varying sizes (up to 20 meters) and are sculptures of specific ancestors, or as they call them, "abuelos" (grandparents). Our guide said it was their way of keeping photos. The island fell into the hands of the Chileans in the late 1800s, but wasn't "touristy" until about the 1970s when most of the island became a national park to preserve the Rapa Nui's history. However, as the common tale goes, the native people (in this case the Rapa Nui), have major issues with their sovereign nation (in this case the Chileans). In fact, a couple weeks before we got there, the Rapa Nui took control of the island and "closed" down the entrances to the parks. They basically put up road blocks not letting anyone pass. We were worried this would impact our trip, but as it turned out, it was a very interesting time to be there and learn about the Rapa Nui demands and culture.
Briefly, the island is small, and the Rapa Nui are seeing their culture and people mixing more and more with the Chileans, which means it is getting more difficult to preserve their way of life. Also, there are only so many natural resources on the island, and Chileans are coming to live there with few restrictions. Not to mention tourism is their main source of income, and Chileans have been moving to the island to take advantage of the income. The Rapa Nui are now demanding from the Chilean government more restrictions on those Chileans that can move to Easter Island and for how long.
Our Trip
The flights were long and exactly how you would imagine with a baby and toddler, but it was totally worth it. We rented a very pretty house with our friends (a family of four). It sat on this huge piece of land dotted with mango trees, roosters, hens and chicks (Sadie loved chasing them every chance she got). They welcomed us with leis made of fresh flowers and a huge pitcher of fresh papaya juice and bowl of fruit.
The owners set us up with a Rapa Nui guide, who assured us it would be no problem traveling around the island to the different sites even with all the road blocks along the way. He was an older man, and has lived on the island for over 50 years, so he was well-connected. We would learn later that we lucked out! Everywhere we went he brought the "rebels" a queque (like banana bread) that his wife had made. We always passed through the road blocks no problem. Great guy. Full of knowledge and passion for the Rapa Nui. It was only later that I learned he was a Chilean who had married a Rapa Nui woman decades earlier.
The first day we went to some of the oldest sites on the island and got to see Moai from (what is believed to be) the 2nd century. It was a little rainy that day, but it was actually really refreshing because when the sun came out it was extremely hot.
Next stop was to some gorgeous viewpoints of all the volcanoes around town.
We then visited the only Moai on the island that face towards the sea. They are the guardians and represent the various positions held on the island (e.g., sculptor, warrior, farmer, etc).
We enjoyed some park time right by the ocean.
The next day we visited my favorite place - the quarry. This is where all the Moai were carved out and constructed and then transported to various locations on the island. There are hundreds of Moai here.
Below is the only Moai that is kneeling. It is likely this was carved by a different people than the Rapa Nui, but no one really knows.
Next stop, more Moai! These ones were HUGE and very impressive. Right behind them is the ocean (notice looking inward towards the island).
Last stop of the day was Anakana beach. Just gorgeous. Literally, the clouds parted and it became perfect beach weather.
Our final tour day was more Moai viewing as well as exploring the coast and visiting a huge crater in a volcano that inhabits a whole corner of the island. The picture doesn't look impressive, but it is 200 meters all the way down to the water. It was stunning.
One of my faves.
A fully restored Moai - notice the white eyes and the adornment on top of his head.
Our little explorers :)
Wild horses were everywhere!
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Lluvia lluvia lluvia
Over the past two days, Antofagasta has gotten TONS of rain. The average rainfall per year is less than a centimeter. Someone told me it was actually 3 mm but who knows. Yesterday and the day before brought inches upon inches of rain. If you live in Texas, it would be like all of a sudden one day getting a foot of snow. in a day. Many homes and parts of the city were destroyed and flooded. We lost power for over 24 hours (moment of silence for the things lost in my freezer including breast milk!!), lost cell phone service entirely for about 9 hours, then lost water for about 6 hours. It was completely insane. I've never seen or experience anything like it. It was part scary, frustrating, boring and of course worrisome. We are all completely fine, but if you pray, please pray for those who have lost their home, their clothes, family photos, etc. This apparently was the worst storm in history. Very sad.
I didn't take any pictures, but you can imagine what it looked like. The water just doesn't have anywhere to go. The drainage systems here aren't made to handle almost any water. Even the roofs of the houses aren't equipped for it. Even our washer/dryer are out in the open (and I'm praying they didn't get completely ruined!).
Again, we are all safe and sound, so please don't worry!
I didn't take any pictures, but you can imagine what it looked like. The water just doesn't have anywhere to go. The drainage systems here aren't made to handle almost any water. Even the roofs of the houses aren't equipped for it. Even our washer/dryer are out in the open (and I'm praying they didn't get completely ruined!).
Again, we are all safe and sound, so please don't worry!
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Grandma's and Grandpa's Visit
Steve's parents were able to spend almost 3 weeks with us this past month, and we had such a blast with them, especially the kids. I cannot thank them enough for all the help they did with cooking, dishes (every night!!), and the best part of all, babysitting. We all really bonded, and I am so thankful for the memories that were created. While, I'm not very great at capturing every moment, here are the ones I was able to get.
The week started out in Santiago, where we visited many sites local to the area (sorry no pics!). Then we went to the Casablanca Valley (see earlier post!) and Valpo. Finally, we flew to Antofagasta to enjoy fun in the sun and surf.
Almost every day, Gma and Gpa would play soccer/catch with Sadie outside in the yard. I'm not sure who got more exercise.
We went to the ruins one day, and Sadie had tons of fun learning about mining history.
Sadie found a gigantic puzzle and child mining vehicle to play with.
Every day before naptime Gma and Gpa would watch Mickey with Sadie. By the end we were all singing Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme song.
There was also lots of park time. Sadie loved playing with Gma on the slides while Gpa pushed Isaac around in the stroller, making Chilean friends.
Not to mention, lots of pool time!
The below pics is one of my faves.
Finally, adults night out! (Thank you, Julie, for making that possible!)
The week started out in Santiago, where we visited many sites local to the area (sorry no pics!). Then we went to the Casablanca Valley (see earlier post!) and Valpo. Finally, we flew to Antofagasta to enjoy fun in the sun and surf.
Almost every day, Gma and Gpa would play soccer/catch with Sadie outside in the yard. I'm not sure who got more exercise.
We went to the ruins one day, and Sadie had tons of fun learning about mining history.
Sadie found a gigantic puzzle and child mining vehicle to play with.
Every day before naptime Gma and Gpa would watch Mickey with Sadie. By the end we were all singing Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme song.
There was also lots of park time. Sadie loved playing with Gma on the slides while Gpa pushed Isaac around in the stroller, making Chilean friends.
Not to mention, lots of pool time!
The below pics is one of my faves.
Finally, adults night out! (Thank you, Julie, for making that possible!)
Casino Enjoy!
Have I mentioned that we have a Casino in Antofagasta? More importantly, have I mentioned its name? Casino Enjoy! (yes, that's it, in English). I drive past it almost every day, but I hadn't been to it until Steve's mom twisted our arms. She's quite a gambler, that one. Just kidding, Peggy, you know I'm just covering up my own gambling obsession! ;)
Now, ok, we've all (probably) been to a casino in the states, so you can fully picture this. Let me just say, it's exactly like you would expect. Huge, very nice spa/hotel/restaurants, slot machines with very amazing names. What's different? A few things: you have to pay an entrance fee just to walk into the casino (kind of like a tax); there's a BMW dealership in the parking lot; and it's located spitting distance from the old mining ruins in town - quite a stark contrast. Otherwise, it was the same. I'll let the pics do the explaining. (Note I didn't take many pics because that's creepy to do in a casino).
Now, ok, we've all (probably) been to a casino in the states, so you can fully picture this. Let me just say, it's exactly like you would expect. Huge, very nice spa/hotel/restaurants, slot machines with very amazing names. What's different? A few things: you have to pay an entrance fee just to walk into the casino (kind of like a tax); there's a BMW dealership in the parking lot; and it's located spitting distance from the old mining ruins in town - quite a stark contrast. Otherwise, it was the same. I'll let the pics do the explaining. (Note I didn't take many pics because that's creepy to do in a casino).
Casablanca Valley
Steve's parents made the trek down to Chile (see future blog), and during their stay, we went to the Casablanca Valley. This is a very gorgeous region between Santiago and Valparaiso that is well-known for its wine. We chose to take a tour at Casas del Bosque. It was a beautiful day and we got to drink lots of wine. What more can you ask for?
Sadie's own moon chair
Just loungin'
Yes, there was even a little playscape for kids (Chile is so family-friendly!)
Main house/restaurant.
All the wine we got to taste :)
Isaac looking at me like he's had too much wine ;)
Sadie enjoying the complimentary breadsticks that came with the wine tasting.
Couldn't have done it without the distraction of Mickey!
Sadie's own moon chair
Just loungin'
Yes, there was even a little playscape for kids (Chile is so family-friendly!)
Main house/restaurant.
All the wine we got to taste :)
Isaac looking at me like he's had too much wine ;)
Sadie enjoying the complimentary breadsticks that came with the wine tasting.
Couldn't have done it without the distraction of Mickey!
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
El Estadio de Antofagasta
Antofagasta has a beautiful soccer stadium. We finally went to tour it (just on our own, and no, we couldn't get inside exactly). They have a pretty nice mosaic on the outside of it (although as you can see it's of someone swimming not playing futbol, so I'm not sure how that's related). They are also currently creating another one (see the pic below). Just some art student sitting on a ladder putting the pieces together.
These women are putting another mosaic together of the names of those who contributed to the art piece. If you look to the right, you will see something that is very common in Antofagasta - a huge bus loading up miners. That's actually one of the better meeting places I've seen. Oftentimes it's just the side of a road blocking traffic.
Here is the inside. We couldn't get in, but we were able to peek through a fence. Pretty professional, I'd say! We'd really like to go to a game here at some point.
These women are putting another mosaic together of the names of those who contributed to the art piece. If you look to the right, you will see something that is very common in Antofagasta - a huge bus loading up miners. That's actually one of the better meeting places I've seen. Oftentimes it's just the side of a road blocking traffic.
Here is the outside of the stadium - looks like a big bird's nest. At night the stadium lights up and is really pretty.
Here is the inside. We couldn't get in, but we were able to peek through a fence. Pretty professional, I'd say! We'd really like to go to a game here at some point.
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