Great Weekend

We had a super fun weekend! Saturday was the school International Day, called Kermess here. We had to be super effective in the morning -- as we packed up the car for a long weekend. At Kermess we all had a lot of fun volunteering in our booths and participating in all kinds of ways. Aidan got to march at the head of the parade carrying the US flag -- a very special cub scout privilege! The biggest difference from last year was how the kids met up with their friends and went off on their own to enjoy the festival. We are so happy they have made good friends -- although it is sad to look ahead to more goodbyes.

By mid-afternoon we were on the road toward the coast. An hour and a half later we were in the small town of Algarrobo on the Pacific Coast. We had booked a two bedroom apartment at San Alfonso del Mar, a somewhat surreal place right on the ocean with the biggest pool in the world between it and the ocean. If you check out the link, our apartment is even in the pic! Anyway, we spent almost all of Sunday in these heated salt-water pools. The kids have been working on their swimming and they very much enjoyed the increased buoyancy! Aidan even got the hang of his snorkel and decided that he prefers swimming that way!

On the way home, our transmission wasn't up to the first hill and we had to wait three hours for a tow-truck. We were very happy it happened before we hit the big road and while we still had nice places to wait. The tow folks gave us and our stuff a lift home, but now we are car-less for an unknown amount of time. This really sucks -- I was hoping to work a half-day today (for Maggie's birthday), but am out all day due to lack of transport. Oh well.

Tonight -- we celebrate Maggie being 9! Unbelievable. I better go downstairs and start on her cake!

Overflowing life

I know, given that I am not blogging regularly at all, I have probably lost all readership, but just in case....we have lots of exciting news: Zambia, Patagonia, and visits from Mom & Dad, Connie & Steve, Bruce & Helda & Marcos.

We are all super happy that we heard on Halloween that we will be going to Zambia for our next post! I am super happy and I think it will be fabulous. If you have interest and any time at all I recommend checking out this site: http://www.zambia-travel-guide.com/bradt_guide.asp?bradt=170. The author has uploaded most of his travel guide to the internet and it is VERY readable and interesting. In the last week I have decided that while we are in Zambia, we absolutely MUST do several things already: visit Victoria Falls (of course), go on a canoe safari through the lower Zambezi River, and go on a walking safari in South Luangwa National Park. Those are just the start though, as I am sure we will want to explore other places in Zambia and also other countries near Zambia. We may even manage to make it to South Africa for the world cup! Who knows?

Knowing where we are going also makes us suddenly aware of how little time we have here. We hope to leave Santiago at the end of June (after the school year is done) and have home leave in Michigan for the month of July. We will probably spend two weeks in Washington and then we hope to arrive in Lusaka in time for the start of school at the American International School of Lusaka -- which starts on the third Monday of August. The kids had such a better start here in Chile this year than last year. It was infinitley harder last year having missed the first quarter of school. Aidan will be starting middle school and we really, really hope we can make it so they both get to start the year with their peers. Of course, this totally depends on the government and who knows? We are not "entitled" to leave here until October, actually. We shall see.

Anyway, I was writing about our plans to enjoy Chile in the months we have left (which may be as few as 7 or 8). One plan we have made is to go to Patagonia for a week at New Years. We have purchased the tickets already! Our plan is to go to Torres del Paine National Park and backpack/camp with the kids for at least 5 days. Even though it is summer here at that time, it will still be cold there -- getting up to 60+ degrees in the daytime and down to 40 (or as low as freezing) at night. We hope it won't be too much for all of us! In the meantime, we intend to do a good bit of hiking and camping to try to get us and the kids in shape for a trip like this.

No less exciting is the prospect of visits from family! We are super excited that my folks have figured out a way to visit for a couple of weeks at the end of January and beginning of February. We are thrilled. I have just begun to make a list of ideas for what we can do and see together -- the mountains and coasts, maybe a bit of the desert and the northern end of the lake district? Who knows? Definitely some vineyards. The same goes for the Ferguson clan who plan to visit in March. It will be a ball to get the cousins together because it has been WAY too long since they have spent time together (2 years by March -- unless I am confused).

In the meantime, I mean to find better ways to moderate my work/family/friend schedule. I am working out the kinks and will learn to balance things better with a little more time, I am confident. Dear friends, please know I love and think of you often.

No News

We don't really have any news, but it has been a while since I blogged...

We have been having a ball welcoming our new friends here in Santiago. Anni likes to walk, which is nice for me, as I don't always like to walk by myself. Maggie and Iida are already fast friends and nearly inseparable. They ride their bikes around the neighborhood every spare moment. Plus, Anni is allergic to animals, so Iida likes to play with ours.

I will start my new job on Monday and I am a little nervous. I have already started a few things going: the knitting club met last week and will now meet every Sunday afternoon. The new book club will start this Tuesday evening at my house. They are small steps, but lots of people seem excited.

Aidan started his new swim lessons today. His occupational therapist recommended a swim teacher who specializes in patience and we think he is great. He speaks very little english, but Aidan's spanish is coming along and they can use body language too. Aidan did great with his first lesson today, spending a great deal of it with his face in the water and working on relaxing. It was amazing to watch. He is really making a supreme effort and the teacher really is gifted.

Doug and I are due at the neighbor's house 15 minutes ago, so I am going to run!

Snow is Falling!!!

Hooray! It looks so gorgeous and it is going to clean the dust out of the air!! I wish the kids were going to be home any minute, but they have activities today, unfortunately.... They will see it when they come. It isn't sticking on the ground in our yard, but it is sticking to the hills all around us.

In other news, I read that we had a small earthquake today, that I did not even notice. I guess it was a 5.0 and made the buildings downtown sway. Maybe we live in a particularly stable valley? I'm not sure.

Also, we have spent the last couple of days welcoming the new family at the embassy that we are "sponsoring". Over the weekend, we got food and house ready for them. Then, yesterday morning we picked them up from the airport and got them settled at home. I took them to the school for a visit (8 year old daughter is fabulous) and then they both came to dinner last night. This morning I helped with more needed items, a transportation contract for school, etc. and this afternoon we will take a trip to the grocery store. They are very nice and it is a joy to try to help them land softly here in Chile. It is also a bit of a shock to be reminded of how overwhelming it is to arrive in a new country and get started on a new life!

What else? Oh, I found a fresh cheese that makes fabulous paneer and we ate a very yummy reasonable facsimile of Malaviya Palak/Saag Paneer last night! I had the maid chop the onions and tomatoes and wash the spinach -- so it was even easy to assemble. What a cool thing.

Okay, gotta do a couple things before everyone needs me all at once!

Cliff-hangers and other forms of torture

Okay, now we are on page 502 and it is more and more difficult to resist the urge to read ahead. I think this one is really good. It keeps us filled with anxiety and laughing at regular intervals. If Harry weren't such doubting Thomas, well, then he wouldn't be Harry, but he wouldn't be half so annoying.

In addition to reading the book today, we managed to do the weekly shopping and do some preparatory things for the family that we are sponsoring. They arrive on Tuesday, so we walked through the house and made sure everything worked and wrote a short list of things for the housing folks to fix. We went to the store and got them their staples too. Tomorrow, we will get flowers, decent ice cream and make them a quiche. Tuesday, we will pick them up from the airport, drive them about (school, etc.) and have them to dinner. Wednesday, we will do more of the same and over the weekend too. We are pretty excited about this -- it is so nice to do this stuff for a new family, as we felt so well taken care of when we first arrived. We have all been looking forward to doing it for someone else.

On the other hand, did they have to arrive so soon?? And right in the middle of #7??? What were they thinking? Actually, it is Amazon's fault, as we got our book two weeks late! Usually, I am such a fan of a place that makes me happy on such a regular basis....

Our only other cliff-hanger at the moment is the List. More about that tomorrow.

Ah-ha -- my own cliff-hanger....

Number Seven

We are have having a wild and wonderful, family-togetherness Saturday of ---- just reading! No, not all sitting in the same room and staring at our own books. Not that. Our final Rowling book came in the mail on Monday and on Tuesday we started a family adventure of ending the series together. We decided to read it aloud as a family. With only one copy, we had thought that we were going to have to take turns, but this is so much better. During the week, we managed 167 pages, after dinner until bedtime and after breakfast until the bus came. Today, we have been reading for hours and hours. We started a tradition of taking a break at the end of each chapter during which we do -- wait for it -- calisthenics. Yup, push-ups, jumping jacks, squats and sit-ups. It breaks up all that sitting around. So far, Doug has been very generous and done ALL the reading. I knit, Maggie draws and Aidan runs in circles.

That's all for now. Gotta get back to the book.

Oh, did I forget to mention that our massage therapist came by the house this morning? Yeah, well, our lives are very, very hard.

Finally Blogging

I have been back more than two weeks now, so I guess I should be feeling settled. I guess I am. I have acclimated myself to winter to the best of my ability. It is very odd to leave for work in the morning and have it be 30 degrees outside – in August! It doesn't feel like any August I remember. I keep thinking that this weekend is the village festival, Harbor Days, in my hometown of Elk Rapids (where we spent our R&R). It makes my head hurt to try to put it together with where I am now.

I am already missing Elk Rapids, as well as all the people in it. I find I am terribly frustrated with not having made enough time to connect enough with all my important people there. That isn't to say that I had a bad time! I had an incredible visit. I just have several things to learn about managing my time while stateside. As with everything in life: live and learn.

One of the things I am missing most about ER is walking around. I don't think there is a more beautiful and walkable place to live. It is so incredible to walk from main street to my parents' home – gorgeous sights and sounds in all directions – river, lake, harbor, flower gardens, breeze. Here, I have to drive half an hour for a pretty walk and I can't incorporate it into doing my daily errands (dentist visit, post office, eye doctor).

The kidlets seem to be settling into school pretty well. They both like their teachers so far (and, as far as we can tell, they are very good and warm teachers). Maggie was sick three days this week, so she hasn't has as much exposure to her teacher. (She is all better now.) Aidan has already presented a Power Point on himself to his class! Both kids have had the great good luck of being placed with their best friends – hooray!

I went back to work last week and managed to work two days this week too. I still haven't started my new job. I have a lot of loose ends to tie up at my current job while I await my security clearance for the new job. In the meantime, I have announced the start of a book club and will soon kick-off a knitting group, even though I haven't started my job yet!

With regard to knitting: I have continued to work on sweater projects with a brief foray into baby hats. My beloved niece is expecting a baby and wanted me to teach her how to knit a baby hat. I had to knit one in order to remember how! It turns out to be such a quick and easy (2-3 hours) project that makes an incredibly adorable item. My friend and I are hoping that the knitting group, when it starts, will want to make items for donation – maybe picking an organization (like an orphanage) that we can donate to regularly. That way, I can make as many baby hats as I like!

We arrrived!

Michigan! It is hard to believe, but it is even more beautiful than we remembered! At the same time, it is exactly the same as we remembered. We are so happy to be here! On our very first day, we were met by both sets of parents, several siblings and nieces and nephews (cousins) at the airport. Traverse City airport is a pretty small place and we just let our kids run ahead of us, through the crowd to their family and the family let up a great big cheer. All the other folks walking through the airport gave us happy glances. Everyone settled us into our cabin on Elk Lake and then my parents had us and Doug's folks and all of the rest of my family over for a big cookout that same evening. The next morning we woke up to cousins dropping by the cabin and bringing extra boats and playing with us. As Aidan says, "so far, zero disappointments!" Other accomplishments so far: breakfast at the local diner, visiting friends from previous jobs, Doug had dinner with his old Rotary club, a lovely trip to the village library where Maggie got her library card, lots of American foods (raisin bran! english muffins! pretzels! klondike bars!), a bonfire on the beach with s'mores and swimming in the lake. Can you believe we have only been here three days??? Actually, not quite three days??!!

More on Smog - technical

My associate, Bonnie Quezada, and I spent some time yesterday morning doing some basic research on air quality. We wanted to share some of our results with others who may be interested. Here is a version of the email we sent to friends and associates (I wasn't able to keep the charts, so you will have to look at the links). I know this is messy, but we are in a hurry to leave the country!

Overview
Terminology:

• Several abbreviations are used that can be confusing – Here are some of the terms used and what we believe (based on our research today) they mean:
• AQI = Air Quality Index (calidad del aire): this number arises from an analysis that looks at both particulate matter and ozone content; here is a brief explanation.
• PM10 and PM2.5- Particulate Matter – of the inhalable variety has a range of sizes. PM10 refers to the largest that are inhalable (10 microns across) and PM2.5 refers to the most dangerous PM as it is only 2.5 microns wide (very small). The annual geometric mean of particulate matter is called the ug/m3.
• O3 and PPB – O3 refers to ground level ozone and PPB refers to the annual mean of ozone.
  Advisories and Warnings using AQI Different Indices are difficult to compare as they refer to different standards. The U.S. AQI is a composite index using ozone, particulate matter and many other pollutants. The EPA has a good explanation of their AQI composite index at http://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=static.aqi. This page also shows the chart used by the EPA.

In Chile

How do you find out the current air quality according to Chilean authorities? You can see their reporting here. If you are interested in the history of smog in Santiago, go to statistics on air quality. Their Chart is based on a rating figure called the ICAP, explained below. This index seems to be based only on particulate matter. Chilean authorities gauge the ozone levels separately. The Chilean Advisory Chart looks like this.

Their definitions used in defining their ICAP (Indice de Calidad del Aire Particulado):
ICAP: Indice de Calidad del Aire por Partículas. Es un indicador creado por el artículo 1, letra g, del Decreto Supremo 59, de 1998, del Ministerio Secretaria General de la Presidencia y la Resolución 369, de 1988 del Ministerio de Salud, basado en la cantidad de partículas respirables (PM10), medidas en microgramos, presentes en un metro cúbico. Derivado de la función lineal segmentada definida por los puntos 0 ug/m3 = 0 ICAP, 150 ug/m3 = 100 ICAP y 330 ug/m3 = 500 ICAP.

As a basis for real comparison, the EPA also has a chart for quantities of just Particulate Matter: It seems that the U.S. EPA has a much higher standard based on this chart. The U.S. standards do not even reach 300 (Chilean Pre-emergency), nor 500 (Chilean emergency levels).

Other Good Sources of Information:

Ministry of the Environment (Ontario, Canada)
American Lung Association has some very clear fact sheets:

• Fact Sheet on Ozone
• Fact Sheet on Particulate Matter Pollution
• Overview of Information on Outdoor Air Quality

U.S. EPA

• Air quality guide for Bangkok levels are based on PM and are well below Santiago, currently.
• China -- Beijing is currently at 194 based on particulate matter.
• Mexico City – skies are currently much clearer than here in Santiago.
• The Indian air quality index and standards.

flu and FS culture

Doug and I are valiantly battling the flu bug, but I am afraid that I, at least, will be its next victim. I hope that Doug will not because he actually got the flu shot. Of course, that may have been total crap; they may have given us some stupid north american shot from last fall while some super virulent strain massively annihilates the southern cone. Did I mention in my last blog that 17 out of 23 students in Aidan's class had become sick? Luckily, Aidan seems to be recovering: he is still coughing and above average temp, but he says he feels more than 100% better than he did earlier this week. He even put on clothes today (sweats and a t-shirt).

I had a really nice morning. I have met a couple of friends (one who leaves forever in three weeks) and we occasionally go out for morning coffee or shopping. Sounds so blase and middle class. It is super fun. This morning we talked about acculturating to the foreign service -- is its own culture. Ellen got me thinking about this when she said that FS folks often have a particular type (very nice) of art collection (third world art gallery, I think she called it). I love you Ellen. (Ellen is an anthropologist.) Anyway, Julie and Shelly and I got to talking about what we are noticing about our new culture (as all relatively recent to the service, although this is Julie's second post). We talked about things that distinguish this culture from other cultures - both experiences and constraints. Ellen, please feel free to comment as I have forgotten the vocabulary of anthropology. Some of the things we came up with include:

• we all have the same furniture (thus the art collections)
• the experience of arrival in a new place with just the nuclear family unit, over and over (tight family units result)
• the language of FS -- yes, the acronyms, but also all the different community members we have: there is a whole set of roles (filled by different individuals in each place) in the community that we all depend upon -- people who fix things, people who acquire the things, people who set up the social gatherings
• everyone in the community knows people all over the world
• normalcy around family separations - of up to or more than a year
• social gatherings where at least 3 first languages are present

I am sure we could come up with a LOT more. We also talked about how the culture of the FS is even more distinct for our kids than it is for us -- babies growing up in this could be said to be "from the Foreign Service" more than from any one place. I shared that this has been the bigger cultural adaption for me -- much bigger than adapting to the San Diegoan culture of Santiago. Anyway -- I invite your comments. It was great to be out with girlfriends waxing philosophic.

Gotta' go -- Doug made a lovely pot of tea!

Smog is Back,but...

Well, the smog came back, but I bet the general air quality is better. I took a few pictures when I went for my walk this morning, because it was so incredibly beautiful this morning. I guess I will have to take pics of the smog too sometime, but I find it so depressing.

Here is the view from the neighborhood playground, before the smog returned.

Clear Skies

Aidan is still quite sick and I learned yesterday that almost half his class is out with the flu. On the bright side, yesterday's rain cleared the sky up here and we even have frost this morning. Here is the view from the sewing (guest) room window. Hopefully, I will slip out for a walk later this morning and get some better pics before the weather changes or smog returns.

Rain!!

How lovely the sound! We are so incredibly happy it is raining! Now, that may sound silly, but it isn't. We haven't had rain in Santiago since March (when our friend the Malaviyas were here). That is a VERY long time to go without rain in a smog pit. When it stops raining and the sky finally clears (baruch hashem), we are going to be able to breathe and see and do all those normal things that other mortals do everyday. On top of that, we hear that we will be able to see the lovely (now) snow covered Andes that loom over us invisibly most of the rest of the time.

Do I sound a little dark? Well, let's just say that it was hard to come back here after being in Argentina. We were thrilled to get back to the kids -- three days was almost a day too long for us! But, ugly, dark, smokey Santiago itself wasn't all that inviting. If you are planning to visit us, I do not recommend May until August. The other reason that I found myself unwilling to return has more to do with culture. Chile is weird, is the shortest way to put it. While we were in Argentina, we felt like we were in a Latin America that was happy to be Latin American. Check out the Chileno blog, as he explains is very clearly -- Chile seems to have more of an identity complex. It doesn't really want to be part of South America. Like any identity repressed, it comes out in all sorts of twisted and not fun ways. The thing that bothers me the most is that the rich folks are even nastier/snobbier/ruder than they are in other places. Of course, after eight months, I can't speak definitively on the Chilean people nor after three days can I speak definitively on the Argentine people -- but I can't help but have my impressions. Rich Chileans make you feel like the scum they just wiped off their boots; or, I should say, they act like you should feel like the scum they just wiped off their boots, whether you feel that way or not (I do not -- I have a healthy middle American sense of self and sense of guilt at the same time). Entitlement does not even begin to cover it. What I saw and felt and met among the Argentines was self-contentedness, joy and enjoyment in their own ways, but not any sneering superiority - the kind that we bump into regularly from Chileans. (Not our friends of course, just most people on the street, in the stores, in cars, and in airports!)

Okay, now I am sounding very discontented. In general, Chile is a fabulous first post for us -- we speak Spanish, we can drink the water and find most of our favorite foods and the kids have been relatively satisfied and comfortable here (forgetting the bullying for a second). I guess I am really ready (emotionally) for a visit back to the states. Preparation-wise, I am not ready AT ALL. I haven't even started to feel overwhelmed (saving that for the weekend)! In nine days we get on the plane for a five and a half week trip. I better start to think about it.

In the meantime, Aidan is now down with some nasty bug, possibly the flu (fever, sore throat, cough) and home from school. He seems to be coping with classical music, tea and good books. You gotta admire good taste!

Noche de Arte

Just a quick snapshot of our new painting!

Smog

Today's News:

Smog emergency declared in Chilean capital

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) -- Authorities on Thursday declared a smog emergency in the Chilean capital city of 5.5 million people, ordering some 320,000 vehicles off the streets and 414 especially polluting factories idled.
The normally bad air pollution in Santiago has been aggravated in recent days by an unseasonable lack of rain and wind and because some factories have been forced to burn oil due to a steep drop in the supply of natural gas from neighboring Argentina.
Authorities also recommended that schools suspend gym classes.
The temporary ban covers all cars without catalytic converters and a fifth of more modern vehicles, based on their license plate numbers.
Officials said vehicles, industries and the massive use of some polluting home heating systems are the main sources of pollution in the city.

The really weird thing is that it is very pretty outside right now. I just did some shopping with some girlfriends (getting ready to go to the states, carrying presents!), and we could see the mountains as we drove about. It is very nice and warm right now due to it being sunny and I think that makes the smog worse sometimes (sunlight does something that activities the ground level ozone or something; very bad for you).

NPR mornings

I love non-working days, mostly because of long leisurely mornings. So many of my favorite things are best done in the morning: listening to npr, drinking coffee, making lists, doing yoga, pollution-light walks, or knitting/sewing. What's wonderful is the lack of hurry. Sometimes I wish I was someone who jumped out of bed and rushed joyfully into the day. But I really love to start slow. By a certain hour though, I tire of lolling about and need to accomplish something or at least get out with other people.

This brings me to a topic that will become a recurring theme on this blog: the help. Namely, our housekeeper, Maria. Now, when I have a little more time, I will give a little of the background. For now, in relation to NPR mornings, Maria is a master at the disapproving glance. If I stay in my bedroom and pop out for more coffee in my jammies, say, after 8:30 am, I get a disapproving glance. The later in the day, the quieter and more critical she becomes. This is a very weird thing to live with and very much interferes with my joy in laziness. I keep thinking that I will learn to ignore it, but I haven't yet and it has been several months.

bye! Gotta go look for some souvenirs to take back to the states -- I guess my leisurely morning is at an end!

Travels

We are going to be travelling a lot in the next few weeks. Doug and I have a big, romantic weekend away to Mendoza, Argentina this weekend. We have a friend that kept offering to watch the kids for a weekend and we kept demurring and finally she said, "I leave in a month. If you want a chance to be just the two of you, go!" We said, "yes, please" and promptly found a deal for flights to Argentina. We will celebrate our anniversary a little bit early by staying in a B&B, drinking lots of wine ("wine-tasting" officially), eating big beautiful steaks and wandering around looking at things made of leather. We may even buy some shoes -- it's the done thing in Argentina.

The funny thing is that just a few days ago, Doug got his R&R approved and we will be going home in a little over two weeks! We will get back from Argentina on Tuesday and have just a week and a half to turn ourselves around and back out the door. Doug will have 2 weeks out of South America (very little time, really), but the kids and I will have 5 and a half weeks. If you are in the States but not in ER, please come up and see us! We will be staying for three of the weeks at www.wandawoodresort.com and another week in a house in the village as well as a week or two with my lovely parents.

Gotta go downstairs and finish sewing badges on Maggie's Girl Scout vest for her meeting tomorrow. I think she will be better enough for her meeting!

Some more pics of Maggie and Maxine

Being a mom

Today I get to focus on being a mom. Maggie is feeling a little more like herself -- her fever has come down enough that she feels less sleepy. I am so happy to be with her today. It is so much fun to just be the two of us together home on a weekday. It is too bad that she has to get sick for us to have this special time! I think I might be coming down with her cold too, but we will lie around, play games, do puzzles, read books, listen to music and take it easy together. I am so lucky to have Maggie in my life. Maggie says we will also have the kittens for playmates.