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.