Cerro San Cristobal

I haven't written in a while.. Nothing much has been happening. I am trying not to spend a lot of money because my employment status is still in limbo.( Yes, I am technically working for 2 English Companies, but I do not want to take on more students to teach because I have an interview at a School on Thursday. After Thursday I will know more information about when I would be hired on... then I can decide what I want to do)

This last weekend I went to Cerro San Cristobal.  with my friend Rachel. It was really smoggy, but the view of the city from the top was amazing. I now can't wait to go back on a clear day (I've heard the best time to go is the day after it rains because there is no smog in the air then. We went up San Cristobal using the Funicular. (It's an elevator thing that goes up the side of the really steep hills. Valparaiso has a lot of them for getting to the top of the hills)

View going up the Funicular

View from the top (*Note: That is not fog cover the city.. that is the smog.) 

La virgen (A statue of the Virgin Mary on the very top of Cerro San Cristobal)

We decided to walk back down the hill. It was then I realized that this whole hill in the middle of Santiago was in fact a GIANT Park. It was gorgeous, and a good place to go hiking or have a picnic. A nice escape from the busy city in which I live in. I hope to go back soon to explore more hiking trails. 

On our way down we found the Costanera center. 

Rambling of a Future Cook

I am really getting a culinary education here in Santiago. Who knew I would better my English teaching skills, and gain more insight to cooking. On top of that it's cheaper to dine-in than dine-out... as is probably the case where ever anyone lives. (.... sorry I got distracted by a red light flying through the sky outside my living room window...Thought it was a plane... turns out just to be the crane moving at the future metro station construction site... say that 5 times fast...) 

Learning how to cook in Santiago has been interesting. The stove top heats up really quickly! No matter how low the flame it, it's really hot. It doesn't take too long to boil water or cook anything here... Except potatoes. Those take forever and a day to fry... Or so it seems. I'll have to experiment with them more. 

This is our lovely stove.
Stoves in Chile are a lot smaller than in the U.S. 

 Cooking on the stove top isn't too bad... It gets cramped when you have more than 2 pots/pans on it at the same time, but it could be worse. You also have to light the stove with a match too. They don't have the automatic starting contraption that the U.S. Stoves have. I used to be afraid I was going to blow up the apartment when I had to light the stove, but not anymore. 

  Here is where thing's get a little tricky with cooking.. The middle dial here is for the oven. To start the oven you need to light it by hand as well. I think all stoves are different. For ours you need to light the match then turn on the stove dial to the first flame thing, and then light the oven, and old the nob down for like 15 seconds  then move the dial to where you need it. I haven't done this yet. I am deathly afraid I am REALLY going to blow up the apartment if I do. Hopefully someday I will get over that fear. 

The only down side to this Chilean stove is that there is no temperature setting (in Celsius nor Fahrenheit). So you have to carefully watch what you are cooking in the oven. I made a chocolate cake the other day for when we had friends over for dinner. It had to check it and turn it every 10 minutes to make sure it didn't burn. It turned out really good, and was very delicious, but super tricky to cook. 

Piece of my cake with some ginger ale... Milk is not the greatest here. I miss WI milk

Breakfast one morning

Other than the minor differences cooking is easy to do in Chile. Once you figure out what all the spices and ingredients are in Spanish  it gets even easier. Michelle and I have been splitting a lot of meals and she's teaching me how to cook. I'm getting back into the grove of cooking like I did when I was living in Milwaukee. (Not that I did anything extravagant, but I had to cook for myself)  This past year and a half I have been spoiled by my mom's cooking, and am a little rusty in the kitchen.

I'm exhausted.. This post is just rambling sorry! I'm heading to bed. Until next time 

Chao, 

Lesllie 

   

Jobs, Blisters, Sushi, and Veggies

Hey all!
I've been in Santiago for about a week now. Time has been flying fast. Yesterday I met with an English institute to get information about starting to teach there. I have an orientation for another English institute next Tuesday and Wednesday. Overall getting jobs interviews hasn't been to difficult. I am grateful of that because sometimes at this time in the year it can be difficult to find a job. (Usually people come down here at the beginning of the school year in mid February or early March)

I have an interview at Michelle's school coming up at the end of the month. I don't know many details about the job, but the school seems like it would be an amazing school to work at..

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my heel 

Blisters have formed on my feet from walking so much. Also, it's partially my fault walking 2 miles in flats wasn't such a good idea. Or dancing all night a few nights this past week.. Oh well, I learned a lesson. Treat your feet nicely.  My legs are also really sore. I've been walking a lot more here than in Racine. The only reason I am walking more though is because I have time. Once I start my job I don't think I will have as much time to walk and will probably take the bus more.

La Costanera Center from a distance...
It's foggy because of the smog.

Anyways, I went to La Costanera Center this week to buy a laundry basket and search for an outlet converter. It is currently the tallest building in South America at 64 stories high, it has a mall in the first 5 stories (Which houses the only H&M in Chile...or at least Santiago), and I believe the rest is office space. And there's even a Hard Rock Cafe too.  On my way home... I lost where the bus stop was to take it to Pedro de Valdivia. So, I just walked the 1.5 miles home. It was a gorgeous day out too.

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Michelle and I went to La Vega yesterday to replenish our supply of vegetables and fruits. To get there we took the Red Line from Metro Pedro de Valdivia to the Yellow Line (Metro Los Heroes) and then got off at Metro Patronato. It's really easy to get  to, and we have a little grandma cart we took to put our purchases. There are also a lot of little clothing shops that sell cheaper clothing at Patronato too. I will have to go back when I have money some day. La Vega was a fun experience, Michelle took me on the route she usually goes on, and told me who she usually bought from. All of the veggies there were HUGE! I didn't have my camera so I couldn't take pictures, but the green onions were like 3 times the size that my parents grow in their garden, and we found carrots there that were also 2 or 3 times the size of ones I've see in the United States. We spend around $12 dollars on 2 lbs of tomatoes, 1.5 lb of avocado, cilantro, 2 lbs of potatoes, 2 lbs of lemons, and 4 cucumbers.....  I didn't think that was bad at all. Michelle also showed me the fruit smoothie place that she likes to go to too. I had a pina (pineapple) Smoothie  for 800 Chilean Pesos (a little less than 1.50 USD. It was made with chunks of Pineapple, whole milk, and a lot of sugar... It wasn't the healthiest, but it sure was good.

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After La Vega, Michelle and I walked through a park where the Bellas Artes Art Museum is... I can't remember the name... We just sat on a bench and people watched while we drank our smoothies. The weather was amazing. Warm. and sunny... not at all like the usual winter where it's overcast and cold.We sat outside of the Art Museum, and it was amazing how much graffiti was on the beautiful building. It's actually amazing how much graffiti is in this city.. It seems like there's more than the last time I was here. It just don't know why people need to tag beautiful old buildings. It really ruins the appearance of them.

Some of the graffiti, Can't see it really well though,

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When we finished our smoothies we started to walk. We walked through an old area of the city by Cerro Santia Lucia, and through some sort of flea market there.Then we started to walk toward Baquedano (the center of Santiago, where Plaza Italia is) to head home. On our way home we stumbled across this secluded section of restaurants off of Providencia, between Metro Baquedano and Metro Salvador that had some good lunch deals going on, so we had sushi and chicken for lunch at a restaurant called Ginza Sushi. I had  Chicken Tempora Sushi, and a Chicken that had some sort of tarter sauce on it (Not like US tarter though.. it was different) So, good. Yum. It was only $10 to eat there.

Lunch is Served 

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On our walk home we also ran into a park that an exercise equipment in it. It's human powered equipment. It's not too far away from our apartment so I am hoping to start working out there .

Other than that I am still enjoying my time in Santiago. I have plans to meet some of my Chilean friends soon. I can't wait to see them. It has been a long time.


Hope your having a good weekend!
Chao,
Leslie

Odds and Ends of the Week.

Today has been a busy day! It's a feriado tomorrow, or day off, because it's el Dia Del Virgen del Carmen. (Day of Vigen del Carmen). Since this being a predominantly Catholic country they get a lot of Catholic holiday's off. Any ways I digress...

Today I went with M to register our diplomas with the Ministry of Exterior.. This completes the legalization process. It takes only two minutes to do.. After you wait in line. So, if you want to get in and out of there in a timely manner come about a half hour before they open, and wait in the line that forms outside the door.

After that M and I had an  hour and a half to waste before she had her appointment at the Extranjeria to figure out her visa stuff. To pass time we attempted to sit in Plaza de Armas ,but they were "restoring" it and it was all closed off. Even the Cathedral was closed for restoration. But Plaza de Armas is apparently getting Wi-Fi. That should be interesting.

 Now, I have to start getting my visa stuff together... I'm not thinking about that tonight though... I'll worry about that in the morning.

After we figured out M's visa issue she showed me how to get to Chicureo (I had an interview out there). I had to take the Green line to the Yellow line and then take the Yellow line to Vespucio Norte. From there I had to catch a small coach bus (that's not apart of Transantiago o you pay cash to get there). which came every hour. M asked around and this security guy helped us... (down here, most of the time, people like to help gringas... or just stare at them).

 I am so grateful that she came with to the bus terminal! I am actually so grateful for everything she has done for me these past few days. I don't know where I'd be if she wasn't here. I don't know how I'm going to repay her for her generosity and patience as I get my footing here.

Chicureo, Santiago

I arrived to my interview 35 minutes early so I sat at a bench outside and read a little bit... then walked to the place where my interview was supposed to be. The security guard there showed me to where I could wait for the deputy headmaster of the school.

View of Andes from bus

My interview lasted a grand total of 20 minutes. It was the shortest interview I had. The deputy headmaster just asked me about where I got my degree, my experience, and what I would like to teach, and if I was in Chile with anyone. After that she told me that they needed someone to start August 1st right away, and that I need to have a psychological exam, and meet with the head of the elementary school. I also had to write a letter and include my signature on it. I'm assuming it's for a hand writing analysis? But I don't know. .

The whole interview seemed rushed, but they need some one ASAP. I've been thinking about this job... It's just so far to commute everyday by bus... I'm sure I could find some one to carpool with.. I guess well have to see what happens. It sounds like they're going to offer me a job, depending on the psyc. exam, not that I', worried about. it. We will see...

View of the Andes from the school. 

On my way back to the city I had to wait like 50 minutes for the bus to come back. Meanwhile I just sat on the bench with my book, and tried to ignore all of the stares from the male passersby... I'm still getting used to be gawked at by men. And in Chile they don't hide that they're staring at you... You even get whistle at...Oh, to be a Gringa. Eventually the bus came. It was a smooth ride home. Nothing excited happened.



Chao,
Leslie

Llegue a Santiago de Chile (I Arrived at Santiago, Chile)

Flying down to Santiago is one of the hardest flights to make ever. 9 hours and 45 minutes on a plane with limited space is very brutal, but the results of this flight make the trip worth it. I had no problems flying out of Milwaukee. My best friend Sadie came with to help carry my big suitcase. ;) 

Sadie and I before leaving.

My one suitcase weighed 65 lbs. The limit is 50 before they start charging you for the extra weight. The guy who checked me in was saying it was too heavy, but I was willing to pay the extra because I needed everything I packed for this next year. He was like okay, and typed somethings on his computer, and in the end didn't end up charging me. It was weird, but I didn't have to pay the overage fee, and I wasn't going to complain.. I was happy. 

Family and I with the Hebior Mammoth

As we walked back up to the second level from the ticket counter we stumbled upon a Milwaukee Public Museum exhibit of the Hebior Mammoth. It was cool to see my grandparents' name at the airport. I didn't realize it was that important to the museum. 

When I initially left to go through security, I cried as I hugged my parents and Sadie goodbye. I started to walk towards the long line and then the next thing I knew my parents and best friend were right beside me... They told me that the since the security line was so long they could wait with me up until I had to go through. It was nice that I got to spend a little extra time with them. 

Somewhere above the I-43 as
I'm leaving Wisconsin.

After I said a final goodbye I headed to the gate to sit and waited to board my plane... It was really uneventful, until a lady made an announcement that anyone boarding in Groups 3 and 4 needed to check their carry on because the flight was so full. I double checked my ticket and sure enough, Group 3 was printed on my ticket... Gah! I thought I could just check at the gate and get it as I walked off the plane in Dallas, but nope I had to check it all the way through to Santiago! I reluctantly gave my bag to the lady... It had my over night clothes in it in case I got stuck at DFW like last time. Guess I'd have to improvise if I got stuck there again.

The flight was really smooth, almost no turbulence. The only thing that made me nervous was when we landed and had to wait 15 minutes to get to our gate because another plane was already occupying it. (I only had an hour and a half layover and I still needed to find my next gate/get there). When we landed I got off the plane as fast as I could, and found my next flights info... Gate D23... I booked it to there using the nifty tram that DFW has. I made it with 15 minutes to spare before boarding.   

The flight to Santiago was very nice compared to the last time... Well, except for the part when we had to sit in the plane for an hour and a half as the maintenance guys fixed a water leak in the galley. The plane was hot and stuffy. Not a pleasant way to start a trip, but oh, well at least my flight wasn't delayed for 17 hours like last time.. (The back up to the back up of the hydraulic pump broke or something... The plane was delayed for 2 hours.. Then there was an electric problem on the backup plane they were going to use.. this forced us to stay over night at a hotel...)

Goodbye USA, Hola Chile

A good thing about this flight was that it wasn't full. This lady who was headed to Mendoza sitting next to me moved to another seat  we had more room. Yes, that is right.. I got my own 2 seats to spread out on, and sleep on. I had the best sleep on a plane ever. I only woke up every 2 hours instead of every hour like last time. I also took Melatonin which helped calm my mind and let me sleep. (I suggest anyone traveling on long flights bring some because it's amazing)

I woke up at 5:30 or 6 and watched a movie on my Ipod... This was my set up on the plane as I ate breakfast:



My brother bought me the book Four, it's about Tobias's life before he met Tris in Divergent. It's a good book so far. My brother knows me well. The food on the plane was pretty good too. I had pasta for dinner and some croissant thing for breakfast. As I was enjoying my morning coffee with my croissant I looked out the window to see my first view of the Andes Mountains.

 We arrived at the Santiago Airport at 9am Chilean time (Right now we are on USA eastern time. Until we go to spring when it get's all funky). I went through customs no problem, played "Where's All My Luggage?" at the baggage claim because my bags beat me their. (Yes, all three of my bags made it to Chile safe and sound.). I then headed over to Transvip to get a colectivo to my apartment. On my way to Transvip this guy tried to swindle me into taking a private taxi to my apartment for like 25.000 (50$USA). Knowing Transvip was a legit safe company to travel with, and was only 6.500 (about 13$USD) I just keep saying no, I need transvip... Bye...

I didn't have to wait long for my colectivo (a colectivo is like a group taxi for people headed to a similar location. They make stops along the way to drop off the people. They take longer than your own taxi, but it's far cheaper). I got in and we left like 5 minutes later... I completely forgot that people don't drive normally in Santiago.. It's kind of like a free for all on the roads.. A lot of people don't use blinkers to change lanes, they speed, they slam on their breaks to stop, and they beep excessively. I swear we almost got into 3 different accidents on the way to my apartment. But don't worry I am okay. I don't normally take taxis anyways, I usually walk or take the metro places.

I arrived and my friend M helped me carry my bags upstairs. We are on the third floor, and live next door to a really prestigious private school. The apartment is spacious for the price we pay. Here are a couple of pictures. I'll post more once I move into my room (There is a girl living in it right now until the end of July.)

living/dining room

the kitchen (there is also a washing machine in here too)

So, thus I begin my journey. My year abroad. I made it down here safely, and I can't wait to see where this next year brings me.

Chao,
Leslie

The Wait is Over...

About three months ago I started to use this awesome app called One Second Everyday. I took videos everyday or pictures and used them to make this "summary" of my past 3 months.. Enjoy!



Remember this isn't a good-bye Wisconsin, it's a see ya later!









Chao,

Leslie



P.S. I'll be sure to blog when I get settled in to Santiago.

Dead Heading Flowers and the Fourth of Julio

I went out to my grandparent's house for lunch on Thursday. My brother and little cousin were cutting grass, and I was cutting all of the dead flowers off of the plants. It was a beautiful day, and it made me think of all the summers I lived with my grandparents during the week while I worked on the horse ranch next door to them or babysat my cousins that lived on the other side of them. Life was less complicated back in middle/high school. Well, no I lie, I was a drama queen back then... very self-absorbed... Nothing like I am now. Yes, I have changed a lot since those days. 

Chickens from the farm! 

Oh, as I was wheeling the cart I was putting the dead flowers in back to the garage, a saw a green blob out of the corner of my eye... I turned and saw a little frog hanging on the handle of the cart. Oh, that little thing scared me. So, naturally I took a little photo shoot of him. (I was just messing with the camera on my phone to see how my pics turned out) 

I am really surprised that Kitty didn't see it, and eat it.. That cat's loosing her touch. 

I am going to look up what kind he is... I'm interested to know.

Yesterday was the Fourth of July. It was a nice relaxing day for my family. We went to the parade. Some of my parent's friends came over, and my friends AF and her fiance C came over. I ate... WAY to much food, but hey not everyday is your country's birthday. AF and C also got me a going away present. I unwrapped it to find a box of a fish tank...

 AF said, "I figured you could have it since I don't need it anymore."
"Okay, thanks..." I said as thought what the hell am I going to do with then.. Then I opened the box to find....

Tampons! Yes, my two good friends bought me about 6 months worth of tampons for my trip to Chile! It was probably the most thoughtful/creative gift I have gotten in a long time. (FYI Tampons are VERY expensive in Chile... and I believe most other parts of South America. My friend told me that they sell a box of 16 for 7$... What!?! Yeah... That's what I said...)  So I should be set until Xmas. :) Now I just have to figure out a way to pack them into my stuff... This could get interesting.


Here's some more pics of my day.

Breezy was VERY tired and passed out in the middle of the party.. She handled the party very well for being 13.5 years old. 

AF and me before she left. 

The famous Kilties always are the very last thing in our parade. They are AMAZING!

It's really starting to set in that I am leaving for a long while... I can't keep saying, "Hey, Let's go do that next week... Oh, never mind." To my friends and family... And now I am starting to realize I have a LOT to do before Thursday... Only 4.5 days until I leave! EEEK!

I hope everyone else had a great and safe 4th of July!

Chao
<3 Leslie

Quest to Summerfest

Not the best pic of the MKE skyline, but still an awesome skyline

I wasn't going to go to Summerfest this year... I'm saving my money for when I move, but when my parents won free Summerfest tickets in a raffle I had to utilize them. Otherwise, they would have gone to waste, and we don't waste Summerfest tickets in Wisconsin.. Nope.. Not at all.


My friend Sadie was going with one of her friends and invited me along. They were going to see Joan Jett and the Blackhearts... I was like "Eh, I have no idea who that is, but I'll join you!" I was also just looking to spend some time with one of my besties before I leave. Even though I didn't know the artist we were going to see (Or anyone else that was playing that day/night except Ludacris.. but I never got into his music..) I still had a good time with these girls.

 We walked around got all the free stuff, ate dinner, saw the Comedy Sportz show, listened to some music (duh?)... It was a nice grand ol' time. Except that the weather was kind of bad... Cold, overcast, windy, drizzly rain that wanted to fall but misted down instead... I just kept telling myself, "Nope, this could be worst.. I could be stuck walking around a temperate rainforest in the pouring rain for 3.5 hours in Southern Chile... With no poncho or umbrella." After a while the spitting rain stopped, and we found a place to sit for the concert. 

Most recent pic of Sadie and I! Bffs for going on 13 years? Love this girl!

 We perched ourselves on this concrete grass containing wall barrier.. We were going to move to the bleachers, but just stayed where we were instead. It was a good place, we could still see the stage from back there even with everyone standing.

Our seats!

So, we sat and waited for the concert to start... Of course it didn't start on time.. Do they ever? But They opened with their song Bad Reputation, and then it hit me.. I knew who she was.. Or at least I knew the song.

She also played her new song TMI. It's about how everyone puts everything the internet and its TMI... Oh, it was amazing!


But was even better was when she played her song. "I Love Rock N' Roll". I taped a snippet of it, and discovered my phone has incredible recording capabilities. The picture quality isn't that great because I zoomed in so far, but the sound is amazing. I would have taken more recording had I known this.

 

(You can totally hear Sadie sing along!) 

Overall, it was a fun night. A great way to spend my last Summerfest for awhile. I don't think I'll be able to go next year... since I probably won't be back yet.

Happy early 4th of July if you're from the States!

Leslie

Travel Craft Idea

The beginning of my collage.. I still have pictures to add:) 

Who says you need to picture frames to show off you're amazing pictures? When I traveled to Chile the last time I brought pictures to help with my homesickness, and created a cool collage to hang in my room. So I decided to print off recent pictures, and make another one.

All I did was glue my pictures together, and tape them to my wall. Pictures are easy to take with you, and they're cheap to print off. It's also easy to bring home with you when you're done traveling, all you do is slip it into your suitcase.

Have an AMAZING WEDNESDAY!

Chao,
Leslie


8.5 days until takeoff

EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!

baby and  mom

2 posts in one day... Wow I have no life. lol jp I do have a life. Just have some down time and am trying to document my life as much as I can. Actually, just wanted to write a post about one of my most bestest friends in the world! A.G. We'll call her. I met her when I worked at McDonald's and we started hanging out. She just had the cutest baby 3 months ago and I can't believe I'll be missing him grow up this next year. Good thing technology let's us share things almost instantaneously these days.

Today we walked 4 miles to the park with her younger brother. It was such a beautiful day for a walk. Not too hot and not too cold. Here's the pics from today.

selfie! Gotta teach them young. ;)

It's starting to set in that I am leaving next Thursday... Time has flown by so quickly these past few months. 

Chao, tenga un buen dian! 

Leslie

The Final Countdown...

"This is the final Countdown Post!" Complete with video see the right side of your screen.

Yes, I am a dork.. If you haven't figured that out already... well then you haven't been reading the right blog. Anyways.... 10.5 days until I leave the wonderful State of Wisconsin and make my way down to just as wonderful Republic of Chile! Yes, I'm super excited! No, I'm not sure if everything work out as planned, but hey I signed up for an adventure.

I am paying off my student loans today.. and my credit card too! I'm officially going to Santiago debt free when I click the submit payment button. My goal of being debt free when I go down to Santiago will be achieved! :) woot! *jump up and down*

Now... I just need to get a move on getting rid of things I won't need, things I don't want, and things that are necessary to take down to Santiago. Yes, I have 10 days.. But with all the activities and all the "See you laters" I have planned this next week and a half... it doesn't leave much time for going through things. Not to mention I have to pack my life away  in a suitcase, backpacking backpack, dufflebag, and a regular backpack. That all have a weight limit.. This should get interesting.