Feliz Noviembre!

Just saying Hey and sorry I haven't blogged in 4-Evah.
Write more this afternoon.

Ingrid Betancourt Released!

How awesome is this foto! It's 2008 Pride Fest in Bogota
The caption reads: "Say No to Kidnapping"

So- prayers of her safe released were answered yesterday.

I am as stunned that she is with us and safe as anyone following this story.

I only learned of Ingrid this year when I was working in Chile, and her x-husband came to Santiago to plead for the Chilean Govt. to help in her recovery.

Senora Betancourt is amazingly brave and after our collective loss of

Benezir Bhuto we needed such a peace-making heroine to emerge- safe and sound and back in the public eye.

I can only pray that this means the end of the FARC terrorist regime and a new age for

beloved Colombia y Colombianos. ( I realize some of you reading this may not agree, so please feel free to reply if you like-)

I don't pretend to know a lot about Colombian history and the war being waged as we speak,

but this, if there ever was one, is a wonderful omen for the heart of Colombians everywhere, and for hope.
Viva Ingrid y la gente de Colombia. May you see your beautiful country rebuild very soon.

Esta Esperanza!

Warrior Life.

It's June 24th, so much has happened since I wrote last I can't even begin to tell
you all how many wonderful things...
I'll post a couple images of my new and amazing life.
I have decided that Porque Sipo should stay my permanent blog and to to begin
writing about my To Shin Do martial art practice, both for purposes of remembering the
work I'm doing weekly, but also to share what an amazing group of people I have let
into my life...
I'll try to post a vid of Steven K. Hayes, founder of To-Shin Do from YouTube soon.
But, if you wanna learn more than what I am going to say about my own experience,
you should go to http://www.boulderquest.com/ .
First of all, I have to say that I am really proud of myself for creating a great intention for my future when I was in Chile. Having worked for and along side such amazing people gave me a strength I had completely forgotten was within me. Finalmente, soy la fuerza de mi vida y mundo) -Finally, I am the force of my life and my world; the embodiment of the Warrior I always knew was inside my heart.
I was able to grow and leave behind the negative things pulling my life into dull torpor.
I have Green Tara, God, my amazing family and support system of friends and my own ability to stand up in the face of whatever comes at me with delight and fortitude.

When I arrived home to the States, I found out, most fortuitously, that His Holiness, The 17th Karmapa; leader of the Kagyu Buddhist Lineage- was finally granted a visa to the United States and would be arriving any day. Not only was he coming to the US, he was going to be in my home; Colorado! Finding this out actually braught me to tears, I was sitting in my office, beaming with happiness- just knowing how long we all have been waiting for this blessed moment, to see his intention to teach the Dharma here in the West come to light. Wow. I was ecstatic- knowing that no matter what, I was going to help HH be here on the ground in his seat in the West.
I volunteered, applied, was accepted, given a spot on the security team.
I can't express the joy I had, knowing that I was going to be a protector of The Karmapa...
How meritous- which is dedicated to all.
So, I finally recieved the ticket to the Mackey through the Shambhala Center here in Boulder and met with the group I was to work with.
The group was headed by some black Tshirt wearing people, who immediately, I could tell were held by integrity and love at the same time.
It turns out that the the people in charge were Kevin Casey and Mary Casey; head teachers and owner of Boulder Quest Center for To-Shin Do practice of the ninja martial art.
I was on the steps, having arrived a bit early to find the Mackey, paint my nails, have some breakfast in peac, then meeting the some of the other folks there for security volunteer,when this guy comes up and introduces himself, like, made a beeline for me and came to say hello. That was Mr. Jeffery Falls. -And I guess I was just taken from that moment, or even before that when I saw him walking up the steps of the Mackey.
So, apparently HH The Karmapa saw my intention to have a great life through knowing and being surrounded by awesome people, and gave me an even greater gift of daily truth and joy, love and real living. There are not enough things I could ever do to thank HH enough, I think the one true thing is to continue my Buddhist practice - share my joy of livin' and becoming a Ninja through the practice and teachings of To-Shin Do.
Can I manifest or What! That would be a yes.



A really cool Green Belt class to watch!Jeff and I this weekend dressed for rehearsal dinner.
Senor Daniel Torres and my man; cool mutha fuckahs.

More awesome Green Belts at Boulder Quest.
I somehow learned to cook delicious Asian spicy lime mango stir-fry!
Vickie's baby, Vickie, Jenna and Me; these girls are crazy awesome.

And our beautiful hosts: The Bride and Groom Christy and Josh.

Thoughts on Leavin: And things 7-10

Thing 7:
I guess I should have learned to always look down when I'm walking here after the poo incident.
However, being me, I rarely do that unless I'm in an area- like my neighborhood where there are many dogs/poo factories.
So, I'm walking along the filthy streets of Arica last week when what should jump up and attack my foot?- one of those damned sign posts, but the ones without a post, it's just a clump of rusted metal waiting like a trap to catch any foot or toe that passes w.out noticing. Fucker.
My little toe was gushing blood, mmm, nice. And luckily I was in Arica where literally there is a drugstore, or 3 on Every block.
So, I was trying to explain hydrogen peroxide to the counter lady, and she gave me some iodine, so I gave up and took bottle of iodine and some Tigger bandaids.
Holy Crap. Aaron wasn't kidding when he said that bandaids are expensiver here.
I bought the Tigger ones cuz they were the price of silver instead of gold.
But, don't worry. Later that night I went out w. the cutest boy in Arica. Leo, sigh.
Pizza, wine and fun conversation can do a lot for a girl's ego. :)
So, Thing 8, find a cute boy to dance with! It's great to find really fun Chileans.
I have to say, all the people I know, they aren't boring, they're pretty cool and have great outlooks on life, however different those outlooks may be.
I think things 8, 9 and 10 would include
-sunning; it's just the most luxurious thing to do here, such a great getaway from the craze of the cities. It's great in Arica, playa Lisera is probably nicer than Vina de Mar and very safe.
-head standing and teaching kids headstands on the beach.
-Leave and come back. Whenever I leave Santiago, I'm so glad to be leaving, but within 24 hours I'm always missing home.
I've enjoyed my time here so much and quite honestly, as most of you predicted, as did I, I don't want to leave. I miss my life in Denver, so I'm glad to be going back, but does Santiago have to be so far away?
I'll miss my WiFi cafes and yummy mango juice drinks and hanging out w. new friends here.
I'll talk about my trip to Buenos Aires in another blog, when I can post pix.
Lo siento mucho, pero no tengo mi cosa para conectar mi camera ahorita.
Puedo mandar los fotos muy pronto. ;)
OK, eso es amigos y amigas.
Besos. V.

butts and more.

For some reason my camera is more apt to take butt pictures
than anything else. Lots of butts just present themselves
to me here in Chile, so here's a few. Happy fat caballo butt.

Groddy Vicuna butt. G to the M dude.
Sara missing an arm and Vic w. rabbit toothed smile I think right after eating the best food either of us has ever tasted!
Police round up horse butts in the park. Down here is My Santiago.

Sara w. possibly her 1st pisco sour. ;)

Isn´t it the 1st day of Spring?

Wow. So much time has passed. I feel sated today.
I realized my favorite color finally: it´s Green!!!
I used to say blue, but as a default , because I just didn´t really have a "favorite".
But, now I realize that I love Green Tara for a reason. Not just that she´s perfectly green, but because she Rules!
Oh, and I want to start teaching yoga to kids, I think it sounds like fun. And in Spanish.
I´m sure I could get some sort of grant from ORR for that right? - That´s a joke for my resettlement amigos. ;)
I was thinking about Pascua, Easter is tomorrow and how I used to adore Easter as a kid.
Mom would always have some special new dresses for Sheila and I, life and happiness were finally back with the baby birds, kittens and weird candies that ushered in the Spring.
It makes me miss home, the feeling of people in the city ditching church Sunday morning to go to breakfast instead, egg hunts in tall green grass and the sun. Marvelous warm sun.
Doesn´t it just make you want to play croquet? Yes, yes it does.

I'm here in Valparaiso, I´m so happy here, people are so nice and it´s always such a great retreat from the city. I expect the church bells of the zillions of churches and cathedrals here will be amazing. I try to record them and see what happens. It´s become a fun past time being a voyeur into a religion I´m no longer part of and have no desire to be. It´s like an great cultural education of a history I used to think I wanted to be in or thought I was at times, but always felt awkward at trying to fit into, like a caged bird looking out onto the world. - No comments about Maya Angelou please ladies. You know how I feel about her. Queen of England.
However, even as a non-believer, I , like Sara Silverman think Jesus was majic.
I mean, I do think he really rose up and walked (yes, as a Zombie does) after expiration, but what´s with this shroud business? I guess it´s the same as keeping buddhist relics burried in the Stupas. Kind of. We all like a direct link to our beliefs, don´t we.
Unless we can give it all up somehow and not return to samsara. But part of me loves this struggle thing that is life. That´s what's harder to relinquish. The love of it all. Don´t worry, this isn´t morbit talk, it´s just pontification on how and when we all are ever gonna reach nirvana, heaven, anything above purgatory I guess is pretty good.
I guess I would like to start with creating Free mobile health clinics for women, kids, animals and of course yoga for kids.
Oh yeah, I think I found purgatory on Earth, it´s called a ferry from Chiloe island back to mainland Chile. Frack that sucked.
But, Sara and I did have again some of the most amazing food in Puerto Varas.
Plus I found the rug of my dreams - it´s pink. So, if you ever get to Chile,
Thing 7:
Go to Chiloe island- Ancud, it´s so lovely and stay at the Mundo something hostel,
and of course eat Machas y parmesana... you,ll be thinking you are on that slice of heaven here on Earth.
OK kids, hugs and love. Wish me luck getting the thrust of my work done next week.
Ciao! Vixx.

I´ve taken so many fun pix I´m not sure which ones to share so I´m holding out until I have a more sensible brain.
Feeling a bit like Miranda July in her movie; You, Me and Everyone We Know at the moment.
Trying, however impatiently to wait for someone to call me today.
I don´t know if I´ve ever had the sensation of being "weak in the knees" or "melting like buttah"-
I guess there´s a first time for everything. People tried to warn me that this may occur, I am simply a non-believer in things like this, or I thought I was. Is it possible to dream your going to meet someone and then you just do- like that day¿ - Like I said , there´s a first time for everything.
Mi amiga Sara is here too, which makes things pretty fun, crazy nights with pisco sours laughing so hard your side hurts.
So- all in all - a totally bomb day, meetings w. great people, walking around w. a client figuring out where his new business is gonna be here in Santiago de Chile, and and and.
OK, over and out for this evening.
Ciao. Abrazos y besos. V.

La Lluvia!!! - It totally Rained. :)

So, the rain factor, I think all of us were skipping to work this morning here in Santiago.

This is a pic from our office kitchen window. Yeah for clouds. .. Ciao.

Thing Six...

Go to the beach and eat super delicious Candied Jellies...
Chileans Heart Sweets, and I mean Heart Heart.

So, thought I'd share a couple colorful images I took- and ate-

in Valparaiso. Long live Candied Jellies. My personal Fave.

If I had a Juno, in boy form, he would definately stock my mailbox with all the

Grape Jellies it could possibly fit. ;) Oh, but the dark green ones taste like

that horrible mint alcohol they love as an apertif, aperbarf more like it.

Laters.

Cosas 4 y 5...

Hola Amigos! Feliz fin de Febrero. For all of you in the upper 48, I wish you warmth.

Vicunas con dos cabesas.

This guy lives in Arica selling beautiful posters. Met him at a political rally in Arica.

I think this is my best photo yet.

Senor Samuel Pozo y yo, before a meeting w. one of the PROSIR beneficiaries who is so good at selling stuff, she sold me a bottle of after bath stuff for 7 bucks and some stuff for guys to Samuel!
Wow. This volcano @ Lago Chungara is super high up.

So here I am, in a place where the beauty actually rivals The Himal. Who knew?I got so sick going straight up to 4500meters or whatever. Wow. Wanted to barf my lungs out but instead the locals had me drinking some strong leafy tea and huffing straight alcohol so I wouldn't pass out cold. It actually worked, so, yours truly is still alive and kickin.

Yup, here to cause more ruckus for hosts to refugees everywhere... Little did Chile know who was coming to see them.

But seriously, I'm in love w. this country and I think they are gonna have to drag me onto the plane to depart. It's six weeks away, and the buffer of a week in Mexico makes leaving much easier, but I can't even think about not coming back to my office, or to the cute house with sweet Antonio, my roomy.

OK, Thing 4;

definately go to a concert w. your Chilean friends.

Went to see Journey, and the new singer replacing Steve Perry. Who would think a little Phillipino guy would embody our beloved 80's rock star so perfectly? Wow, what a show. The entire audience was singing Open Arms in unison. WhooOo- WhooOooo- WhooOOOOOOOOO.

Aunt Lisa, don't be too jelous, you got to see the real thing.

Oh, Thing 5: Must must go as much and often as possible to Valparaiso and Vina del Mar.

It's the best getaway. Seriously, and I'll post more pix soonish.

Over and out for now kids. Shout out to Diablo Coty for Senor Oscar. Too cool.

Things 3 and 4 or more.

Kiss an Endangered Animal- The Vicuna-

I figure paying a woman for some pix and some kisses-(of the Baby Vicuna - get your mind out of the gutter) is better for her and the animal because people are killing them for their expensive fur. :(

Very important reference point to this post:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicuna

more pix for y'all later. Ciao. V.

Feliz Cumpleanos Mom!!!

Paulo, Antonio(my roomy) and Samuel!
Que buen hombres para conocer en Santiago de Chile!



Here's to you, Mom!
Wish you could be here to enjoy this yummy Chilean vino with me, alas, we'll have some when I get home...
BWT, this glass was so heavy I could barely hold it up! Yeah Chile.
She- you'll have to give mom a gigantic birthday hug for me.

I really can't believe today is my mom's birthday and that she sooo young! No, I'm not giving away her age, that's rude, but wow, you should write a book about your secrets mom, but later, when you're better... Anyway, I'm blessed with such a great parent. Gracias.

I'm gonna be like 80 when my kids are my age, yikes!



Anywho- family if of upmost importance here, for Chileans, Colombians alike, it's the main theme I think of everyone's lives here. It's very refreshing. What's more, families get together here, a lot. My Chilena amigas told me that people really more or less live with their parents until they have enough money to move to their own place, not always with a significant other.


It seems like living on your own would be really difficult here, much more difficult than at home. My very awesome roomate, pictured above, lives by himself, until came along said gringa, Via mi companero de trabajo(co-worker). Everything- basically (minus said mani and pedi-) are expensive here, just as much, sometimes more than home.


I refuse to make any large purchases and I find myself constantly asking "is it expensive?"- to which I am replied- "Yes, it's reeealy expensive", either in Arica or Santiago, but Chile in generaly, bring your spending cash.



Sorry, I digress. Yes, still ADD. Thanks public school.


Familia. When people get together here they actually talk about cool stuff.


I don't know, maybe it was my weird extended family dynamic, but we never talked about cool stuff like politics and life and what kind of political system works.


Chileans are very open about their political views and not afraid to ask you point blank.


It's so nice, there's no talking around things, there's just frank conversation. It's great. People really want to know what we think up north, and often they are suprised that I am a very left thinking person. -Not so much an imperialist, too boring and one dimensional.


So, in the bus or on the sidewalk or in the cafe you can always find yourself engrossed in a really interesting conversation- in Spanish, where you get to explain your point of view.


Entonces, Vamos Barack y Hillary. (Secretly I know my mom really wants Hillary to win) but we both agree that together they would be an amazing and dynamic force that would bring peace and hope not just for us northerners, but for many many lives that at this moment are hanging in the balance.


Oh, and I found this super cute street kitten that if I had been in Denver would totally be mine, but instead I coaxed her out of her hiding place from the body of a car with some tuna fish and decided to take her to the cementerio where there are lots of kitties that look pretty good for strays. When I got to the cemetary I asked the flower lady if she thought it was OK, she said she would take her but she had 3 chicititos already, and yes, she had 3 cute fuzzies sunning themselves. So, I took Street Kitty into the gigantic cemetary for a "re-homing" effort. After I had her touch her paw to the Madonna I took her out of the box and let her free. I think she'll be fine.


(on a side note- I really wish someone would start up a mobile vet clinic to spay and neuter cats and dogs here, the animals could use the relief.- ) My Chilean co-worker Samuel and I think it woudl be a great micro enterprise!
Gotta go, buenos tardes a todos. Abrazos. Vic.

Dia por los Muertos, Arica, Chile

Familia. Possibly 4000 yrs. old
Inspiring and perfect.
I heart bananas.
Gatito.
Mosoleum en Verano.
Buenas Tardes.
At last I was able to find some solitude today. The calming waves cannot be heard above the cacophony of the city streets and it's bustling people.
So, amongst the olive branches, mummies and the dead I finally found my breath.
Somehow, today, I feel much closer to the people here in Arica and it's history.
To make a gesture of homage is important, no, essential to existing where you are.
Peace and love.

10 things you Must do in Chile: Thing 1 and Thing 2.

Carnaval.

Hola Amigos- Carinos a ustedes-

So many things to explain. First, I'll try to put up some pix for y'all to see.

And yes, I am a very big fan of using Porque Sipo!
It's so damned useful, in like so many ways and it's cuter than "pues" or what ever else.

So, I have had this crazy life- vida de collamity here in Chile... Seriously, it's like one weird messed up thing after another. Pero- but- really it's just making me like this cooky country even more, because I get to laugh at the messed up things that happen to me...

por exemplo-

I love clean clothes, clean house, basic cleanliness, si? Si. Porque sipo.

I'm staying at a house up north here in Arica where it never rains, and was feeling pretty blue today; work, vida, corazon, amigos, familia, ya know, just everything( yes, I'm a chic).

So our office is connected to the house, very easy. Walk upstairs when it's lunchtime to the house- there's water- everywhere. Awesome. I almost broke down right there in sobbing tears, instead, I decided that the house knew what a crap day I was having and decided to have a sobbing fit in my stead. Aw- so sweet.
Sweet maybe, but I had to mop up all the tears with the broom for about 30 minutes.

Of course I started laughing at how mad I was about everything.

Mostly because I really really felt like Wong Kar Wai had his sneaky camera on me making a sequal to Chungking Express.

BTW- WKW- if you're reading this, yes, that is an open offer to call me for your next flick.

Entonces: Thing 1:

Lava los ropas- wash the clothes, it can bring necessary effects and affects.

Thing 2:

Definately, definately, treat yourself to a manicure and pedicure.

Whenever I'm in another country I always try to do this. It's a great way to get to know people and have them get to know you. The two women working on my feet and hands tonight are Angelica y Veronica - I think.

Wow- the first pedicure I've ever had, btw, and just sooo wonderful. Never had somebody actually take a neumatic drill to my poor feet before.

I feel like a million bucks, tip included- all for less than a 20 spot. Nice. whoever says things in Chile are expensive, dinner yeah, mani and pedi- no.

Do it. Before and after you climb those mountains, it's just the best.

Enjoy the pix. Miss you all, especialmente Rhomie and Twoey. - and you too Ell.

Comida de Chile

I first have to applogize to all the non-Spanish speakers, cuz I realized I really want to blog in Spanish- Castellano, for my Chilean friends.
First of all- Seriously, I have met some of the most amazing, sweet and wonderful people here already, this is in spite of my purse getting stolen on let's see, day 17 or something.

Ahora, conozco una familia de Angeles! Sipo, es verdad.
(I think Sipo will always be part of my language now, just like y'all is from living in Dallas those months some life ago.)
Bueno, ellas son de Santiago, y muy muy linda y simpatica, piasas con migo!
Se llaman; Loreto, Natalie and I don't remember their mom and tia's names, better ask...

Anyway, met them in the most amazing town here, Valparaiso and no, don't have pix because yours truly forgot her camera in her closet in Santiago- nice.
Oh well, that just means I get to go back, again and again.
This is the dog poo story;
So you know that super cute pic of the cleanest and cutest streetdog I've seen here in Chile? Not so beautiful when you realize they leave packages everywhere for youl.
Well of course when the family of Angels and I are driving up the beautiful coast coming back from an AMAZING almuerzo at a little place called La Gatita ( the kitty cat) in Con Con, wow, Macha Parmesana!!!!!! Definately better than most things you can think of on this earth.

Somehow before entering the auto to go back to the Playa in Vina Del Mar, Victoria somehow steps in a nice pile of freshie. Mmmmm.
I don't actually realize it until Loreto, who is driving us around in her car says " Hey, who stepped in Shit!?" I can't smell very well here, or hear for that matter , so I'm looking down, And of course, nice sploosh of crap all over my shoe.
We all start laughing, but I'm really disgusted and immediately take my shoe off and hold it out the window of the car so it won't be near us anymore. The whole way back to Valparaiso I'm holding a Shit shoe out the window- bout 10 or so Km. Dumbass.
Yup, I'm still clumbsy Victoria in South America too. Thanks Mom. ;)

I'm here up north in Arica. I'll post some pix after I get back from dinner or sometime on tuesday after work life slows down, have a crazy schedule of work, sightseeing, Carnival, more work, more meetings. Wish me luck.
Love and Peace. Vic.

One of the super cutest Peros en Chile-

Can you believe this little guy. There's dogs all over Santiago, hanging out in the shady spots.

Had to post this quick before work starts today. Ciao.

Premero Semana a Santiago de Chile

Hola Amigos!

On the plane to Santiago I sat next to a 12 year old kid from La Serena, Chile; Chris who told me all kinds of things about this beautiful city, it's people, games and a whole lot more.
I have heard( he oido) that Chileans say "Sipo" to mean "si".
And -to this I always scratched my head and said - but Why!-


Of course one of my preguntas (questions for gringo amigos) was of course,
"Claro, pero, porque sipo?" And the kid shrugs and says, "Porque Sipo!" So, then I realized I would have to give up my Americana ways of having to know everything about everything and just smile and accept the crazy difference of Chile y Sud America.
This is one of the grafitti-free pixx I took Saturday of the Museum of Belles Artes. Wow, what a building.
- I have yet to actually say "sipo". :)
Hasta luego mis amigos.