Amigos, Portenos, y Mas

Look at this guy.

   Hey, ya'll; Matt here.  Hope everyone had a good Easter weekend and/or Spring Break from teaching.  Things are progressing along just fine here.  It rained on Friday (WHOA!) and it's cooling down nicely as Fall progresses, which has been a big help on the sweaty-bastard front.

Free bikes = happy bikers

   Our friends, Davin and Molly, got into Santiago on Easter Sunday.  They'll be down in Chile for the next few months, so that will be a lot of fun.  They stayed in our apartment last week and did some exploring of the city.  We made sure to do/encourage some of the classic stuff: bike-riding, terremotos @ La Piojera, the markets, Cerro Santa Lucia, etc.  It was a tight squeeze with 4 people in our 1 bedroom apartment, but very nice to have friends staying with us.

A mural near our hostel

   Over the weekend, we took a trip to Valparaiso.  Davin and Molly have some friends who live there so they wanted to check it out.  Sara and I went with as we're always up for a trip to Valpo, the beautiful port city of Chile.  In Valpo, we had a whole bunch of fun.  We started the night Friday with a big Mexican (when in Chile!) dinner at a karaoke bar playing hilarious videos.  Later, we went to a party with some English expats who had a killer patio near the top of one of the cerros there; it had a great view of the port.  We explored the city on Saturday afternoon; Valpo is a great walking city, but a damn labyrinth.  Saturday night we had some home-made ceviche, box-wine (mmmm, cheap!), and several rousing games of Bananagrams before heading out to a party on the pier.  We got free entry to a beer-release party for a Tahitian beer that is just now being imported to Chile.  That was a late, but entertaining evening.

A bunch of Canadian boats.

   In Valpo, Sara & I stayed at a nice hostel that was conveniently-located, not terribly expensive, and had a HUGE breakfast.  Naturally, I was enthralled by the breakfast: eggs, fruits, breads, jams, real coffee, and interesting company from around the world.  A lot of people there seemed very interested in what life for expats is like in Santiago and things NYC.  Speaking so much about NYC did make me a little bit homesick, but then I thought of the taste of Rudy's hotdogs and got over it quick.

Picnic lunch, we could see +11 dogs from here

   Sara & I came back to Santiago on Sunday to get ready for the week.  Davin and Molly were staying in Valpo, for at least a little while, as they figure out which city they want to base themselves out of while here in Chile.  Sara & I are hoping they pick Santiago, but definitely understand the allure of Valpo.  After a weekend of little sleep, I managed to get to a good rock concert on Sunday night.  Thurston Moore (of Sonic Youth) was playing with Kurt Vile and The Violators opening.  Many thanks to Richard for the good looks on this show, it was really good.  I spoke briefly with Kurt Vile post-show, nice guy.

2nd breakfast + Chilean semi-photobomb

   So we're back to doing our jobs and trying to soak up the city and country.  A very Chilean experience came last night with a 6.5 temblor (small earthquake) shaking us awake a little before 1AM.  You really feel the motion up here on the 21st floor.  We're most likely heading to a Los Tetas show Friday and then to a birthday party on Saturday for one of Sara's co-workers.  Busy busy busy.

Kurt Vile and The Violators @ Teatro Oriente

   We hope all is well for you and yours.  Keep us posted on how you're doing; we don't hear from you enough.  One final note, I just heard about this Chilean psych-folk group at the Thurston Moore/Kurt Vile concert, Los Blops; they're interesting.  God speed.

End O' March

Watermelon juice & Lollapalooza

My best "Chilean pose" (according to Sara)

Helmet hair, meat, beer, potatoes.

   Hey, everyone; Matt here.  Been a while, hasn't it?  Things are going along just fine down here for me & Sara.  Sara started working with the children again, which sounds difficult but fulfilling (as always).  I'm still tutoring English and giving bike tours.  I've made a few contacts over the intercomputationalweb device to get outside with, so hopefully that will happen soon (I haven't been out since early February!).  Sara & I might actually be getting out of the city a little bit this weekend as Thursday and Friday are a half day and holiday respectfully.  In other nice news, it seems to finally be cooling down a bit; this year w/o a winter sounded nice at first, but I'm tired of being a sweaty bastard (moreso).  

Sara made a delicious chocolate & raspberry cake

Vero, Mashini, and Vale

Charlie knew what to do.

   I celebrated my 28th birthday last Tuesday, which was fun.  I did have to work, but I guess that's part of growing up.  Many thanks to Mom and Dad for sending me socks & underwear, my set from high school was just about done.  When I got home from work, Sara had made me a big dinner of steak, potatoes, and spinach.  It was a nice birthday dinner w/ craft beer and bourbon to accompany it.  Sara also gave me a great birthday gift of tickets to Lollapalooza Chile.  After careful consideration, I decided to take Sara with me to the festival this last weekend.

Ina might be allergic.

Pollo, Vero,  and Sara with Rice sneakin' in.

   Before the festival, we had a party at our apartment on Friday night.  It was good fun with our Chilean friends.  People seemed to have a good time and we certainly destroyed the apartment.  This set the tone for the weekend as we would be partying from Friday night straight through to Sunday night.  The company of friends was a great way to celebrate; a direct quote from Mashini, "ARE YOU READY FOR MASHINI?!"  I also received some great gifts at the party: nice tea, a free contract, American (real) newspapers, and the cream of the crop, a quarter lamb (2 breasts and a leg).  Good looks to Charlie on the lamb; I spent a lot of yesterday eating the leg like a king/caveman.

Vale & Charlie photobomb

Even at Lollapalooza, dogs everywhere.

Great birthday gift.

   Lollapalooza went from 11-11 both days of the weekend.  This being Chile, we didn't get there until about 3-4 each day.  However we saw a lot of great music.  There was a good mixture of Chilean, other South American, and North American acts.  Some of the highlights from the South American shows were Los Tetas and Follakzoid (with an umlaut on the first o), both Chilean acts.  Illya Kuryaki & The Valderramas (from Argentina) was one of the best acts we saw, they were a lot of fun to see live.  As for North American acts, Thievery Corporation put on a killer live show; people were going nuts.  Also, Friendly Fires is an energetic live show, the frontman contorts himself passionately to the music.  Gogol Bordello was predictably interesting.  MGMT and Pretty Lights were also a whole bunch of fun to see.

Not a bad job.

At Follakzoid.

Man plays computer, crowd goes wild.

Yep.

Have some illicit rum.  Thanks for the
checkered-flag duct tape, Ma.

  There was also a ton of dubstep and/or dubstep-influenced music at the festival.  This was not only because of the major dubstep names playing, such as Skrillex and Bassnectar, but I guess that is trending at the moment.  We even heard dubstep-esque sound in Bjork's set.  On that, I would not normally go out of my way to see Bjork, but her music was beautiful; strange, but beautiful.  Foo Fighters was exactly what you'd expect, fun and loud.

Thievery Corporation.

  Each night ended with a requisite trip to the bar for a beer, chorillana, and debrief.  The weekend was a seriously good time, but also lent itself to serious case of the Monday blues.  The people on the Monday morning bike tour did not have the most chipper guide.  Trying to go for a cleansing run afterwards might not have been the best idea either.

Despite a lot of protest, Sara insisted on buying this Donald
Duck balloon and getting pictures with this very creepy
Chilean clown.  Walking back to the apartment with this
in no way says, "I'm not from here, please mug me."

   Well, that's about it for news from us down here.  Davin and Molly are coming through on Sunday, which will be fun.  We're excited to hear about their South American adventures and maybe make some together.  OK, I'll let you go now.  As always, please write or gchat/skype us to let us know how you are.  We haven't seen or spoken to you in too long.

Watch Out! Ms. B's back in town!

Matt creepin' behind his Chilean man-friends

Hello Everyone!  The last few weeks have been pretty exciting for both Matt and I here in Santiago.  Probably the most exciting event was hanging out with Chilean Will (aka David aka Hayes) in his home town.  It was wonderful to meet his polola and fellow classmates from business school.  But, boy, do they like to stay up late.  I'm starting to think that's a trend here in Chile.

Maida is a wonderful friend.

Last week and this week, I have been reporting to Santiago College to set-up my classroom and prepare for the arrival of the students.  As I mentioned before, SC has moved into a brand new campus on the outskirts of the city.  It is a beautiful space that has literally transformed before my eyes the last few weeks.  All of the buildings are finished and the outside space is shaping up.  It is a gigantic campus with multiple buildings, a beautiful cafeteria (called a casino down here; unfortunately no gambling), many patios and play yards, a futbol field, hockey field, and a sports facility with a pool and basketball courts.  It really is tremendous.  Last week, I met many of my students and their parents.  I promised myself not to do much comparing, but I will say it is a very different environment than PS 64.  We will see how the schools and experiences compare once I'm in the swing of things.  I actually start school with the children tomorrow!  Feel free to leave a comment about what you think I should wear on the first day - suggestions welcome.
As promised, below are some pictures of my classroom.  The room was quite hospital-like when I first arrived.  I hoping it's a bit more colorful and child-friendly now.

Calendar, Schedule, Time Area
(All homemade!)

PYP (SC's program) corner

Math Area

Gigantic whiteboard with projector! 

Supply Organization

I will be sure to post more pictures of my classroom & the campus and comments are always welcome!  I'm really looking forward to this school year.  It is going to be a big change from my past experiences, but I hope to learn a lot from the children and my fellow teachers.  Santiago College uses the International Baccalaureate PYP Program as its basis.  It is a very student-driven, exploratory, and whole-child approach to learning.  These concepts and ideas have always been familiar to me, but seeing them in action is amazing.  Last, but not least on the SC front, "Ms. B" is in temporary retirement.  At SC, the teachers go by their first names or simply "Miss."  So, now, I am "Ms. Sara."  Gotta say, doesn't have the ring that Ms. B does.  

Matt has picked up a few more tutoring classes, which have kept him busy.  He also consistently gives bicycle tours every weekend.  Saturday and Sunday mornings can be quite rough, to say the least.  We continue to try new foods and visit new places when the time permits.  We routinely visit "La Vega,"

our fruit and vegetable market, on Sundays and cook at home throughout the week.  In addition, we celebrated our 3 year togetherness anniversary last Friday.  We went to the local Chinese restaurant and had 2 for 1 cocktails.  We like to keep it fancy. 

No whiskey, had to settle for rum.

Pisco Sours

Looking forward, Matt's birthday is creepin' up real quick (next Tuesday, the 27th).  He loves when I remind him that he'll be turning 28 and I'll still be 27.  He likes to think he's dating a younger woman.  On the 30th, we will have friends over for a little Happy Hour with cake.  That weekend, we are going to Lollapalooza, a weekend-long music festival to continue the celebration.  We hope we have "Maquinaria luck" again.  

Happy Birthday Vale!
(Charlie loves signing.)

As always, please e-mail us, snail mail us, skype us, gchat us, telepath us to let us know what is going on in your lives.  We constantly think of you all and love hearing from you!  Saludos!


Matt here for one final addition....enjoy!

"Ass Cheese.....hhahahaha"

Sara loves puppies & other Chilean adventures

Introducing American friends to the terremotos of La Piojera

Hey everyone!  Long time, no blog- it's Sara here.  Things here in Chile have been quite exciting lately.  During the third week of February, I had a visit from a fellow bookclubber and her friend.  Rachel and Gina were wonderful guests who were up for anything!  Matt and I definitely filled their time here in Chile to the max.  

Rachel, Gina and I arriving in Valpo

As soon as the girls arrived, the three of us jumped on a bus to Valparaiso.  There, we explored the hills, ate delicious seafood, checked out the local bar scene (completely dead at 10:30- we were too early), rode the funiculars, took in the many boats and walked up and down many, many steps.  
The following day we checked out of our hostel and took a bus over to Valpo's sister city, Vina (with a ~) del Mar.  There we hung out on the beach and dipped our feet into the Pacific.  We also all burnt ourselves.  Who knew one hour on the beach could do so much damage?  Lesson learned!

Post-crisp on the beach in Vina del Mar

Upon our return to Santiago (which included an hour-long conversation with my bus mate in SPANISH!), the four of us went out to a couple of bar/restaurants (in Chile, they are called resto-bars) in our neighborhood.  

We first went to "The Clinic," which is a famous bar/restaurant here in Santiago that leans left politically.  There we ran into two travelers us girls met at our hostel in Valpo.  They were wonderful company for the night.  We proceeded to return to our apartment and dance to most of Girl Talk's "All Day."  As it was Monday, our neighbors weren't too impressed.  But, as I always say, "How can you not love Girl Talk?"

Enjoying Escudo with new friends
(excluding the strange man in the background)

We managed to wake up at a reasonable time on Tuesday for our tour of La Chascona, Pablo Neruda's house- one of his three Chilean houses and the only in Santiago.  We learned a ton about Neruda and his many "lady friends."  At this point, Matt had to run to work, so Rachel, Gina and I walked around the Bellavista neighborhood and through Parque Forestal with a stop at Emporio La Rosa.  Rachel and Gina especially enjoyed the Dulce de Leche helado.  That night it was off to Argentina for Rachel and Gina and back to "the real world" for me. 

Adorable on our mountain bikes

Rachel and Gina returned from Argentina on Friday afternoon.  After hanging by our rooftop pool (yeah, you just read that), we headed over to La Piojera for some terremotos and pure Chilean people-watching.  You can always count on the characters coming out at La Piojera.  We then ventured to the Bellavista neighborhood for some Escudos at the many outside tables that litter the sidewalk of Pio Nono.  Rachel and Gina were very popular among the Chilean men, even having to refuse free meat and beer.  After a quick stop over at our friend Canuto's apartment, we made our way home.

Early Saturday morning, us girls were picked up for a Wine and Bike Tour in the Maipo Valley, about one hour away from Santiago.  The tour was organized by Matt's company, La Bicicleta Verde.  Unfortunately, Matt had to work, so he wasn't able to come with.  But, we had a lovely tour guide, Jose Miguel, who was exceptionally knowledgeable.  We rode through some easy and some tough terrain throughout three different vineyards, learning 

about grapes, the wine-making process and what makes the Chilean countryside special for wine production (it's the weather, duh!).  We ended the tour at a great family-run restaurant in the town of Buin.  There we tried three different wines from the wineries we visited.  (No biking and drinking!)

Obviously my favorite part of the tour- happy puppy!

After we returned to Santiago, Rachel and Gina had to pack up and ship out- back to the good ol' U S of A.  And, of course, Matt and I went back to the routine- giving bike tours and teaching English classes.  Thankfully, that only lasted one more week for me- I finished my private tutoring/English classes last week.  I will miss the students and the work was not so bad, but the commuting was terrible.  I start at Santiago College TOMORROW for meetings and classroom set-up.  The students and their families will come for a tour of the new campus on the 14th and classes will start on the 19th.  I can't wait to see the new space, meet my students and get back to teaching (little kids that is).  Matt continues to give excellent bike tours.  In fact, he is mentioned (with a photo!) on Tripadvisor.  He has also taken up a few more tutoring classes, which helps out the wallet.  

Matt at the sculpture park

On a rare day off together, Matt and I were able to take our bikes out to see some sights around Santiago.  We first went to the Pedro de Valdivia Sculpture Park, where we enjoyed some interesting pieces of art and a practicing trombone player setting the mood.  We then moved onto the Museo Nacional Bellas Artes to catch the Matta exhibit there.  But, we missed it by just two days.  Major bummer.  Fortunately (at least for me), the day was rescued by spying some new puppies in the park!  Matt was nice enough to endure about 30 minutes of my "ooohs," "awwwwws," and "hey buddddies."  I plan to visit those little guys again this weekend and maybe stash one in my bag when Matt isn't looking! 

I continue learning and practicing my espanol with my bi-weekly classes with my wonderfully patient teacher, Romina!  As she says, I'm coming along "poco a poco."  Looking forward, we have a few visitors coming in the next month.  Chilean Will will be home this upcoming Sunday.  It should be a fun time chilling with him in Chile (get it- chillin' in Chile?  Matt loves my jokes).  In addition, Matt's good buddy from home, Davin and his girlfriend, Molly, are coming to Santiago at the end of the month.  We both can't wait to show off our new city to them.  

As always, Matt and I both think of everyone in the States quite often.  We miss you all and would love to hear from you.  Shoot us an e-mail or comment on the blog to let us know what you have been up to!

I really, really love puppies.

*Don't forget, if you click on the pictures, it will enlarge them.  I know you want to see the puppies in full screen.*

Ides of February

Well-worth $100CLP/$.20USD

The Costanera Center, which will be the
tallest building in South America.

   Hey, ya'll; Matt here.  How've you been?  We're doing OK: working, getting out, seeing folks - you know, the usual.
  Sara has been working like a maniac on multiple fronts in preparation for the coming school year.  She's been tutoring Santiaguinos like a madwoman the past few weeks to build up cash reserves.  On top of this, she's been bettering herself and her experience here by taking Spanish lessons.  She now commands enough Spanish to be a danger to herself and others; she's loving it.

Sara loves this.

Making a fly out of own beard hair = time for a haircut

  I've been working a decent amount doing bike tours as a full guide.  Most of my students have been on vacation in late January/early February, so this is really my only source of income currently.  It's paid well at times and fairly poorly at others.  I really lucked out this last weekend and got a couple of Americans who gave me a fat/phat tip.  Interestingly enough, they were landscape architects from CT who knew about the city I grew up in (Guilford, CT).  The small-world aspect of this was well summed-up by one of the guys as I told him about sandwiches at Deli Unlimited on Route 1, "I can't believe I had to travel to Santiago, Chile to find out where the best sandwiches in Guilford, CT are."

Looking towards Volcan San Jose
in the Valle Engorda near Banos Morales.
Chilean-engineered bridge.

  Sara & I have also been making sure to find time for ourselves to find good food, drink, and times.  On Pio Nono, in the Bellavista neighborhood, there are usually street performers at night for the string of beer-bars which line the street.  These include rock/blues musicians, one-man-band boys, comedians, clowns, mimes, etc.  Sara's current favorite is a dance-tastic transvestite.  He/she is a spectacle and naturally chooses people who look like they'd be uncomfortable (me) as targets.  I was able to delight several Santiaguinos by breaking out my finest lower-lip-bitten & eyes-closed dancing for him/her.  We've also gotten into the habit of having lunch at La Vega when we do our fruit/vegetable shopping.  This has provided plenty of opportunity to try many new dishes like chupe de mariscos (cheesy seafood chowder) and lomo salteado (french fries, steak strips, peppers, onions, rice).  Hanging with friends has been good as well.  A few weekends ago, Charlie took me along for a day of trout fly-fishing in the Yeso River in Cajon del Maipo.  While I didn't catch jack-squat or even get a nibble, it was a lot of fun and a great way to spend a day: steak, beer, fishing.  I've never said that I was a good fisherman, just that I enjoyed fishing.

Near sunset at 4900M.

Hundreds of goats, no chupacabra in sight.

  On the note of food, I've been perfecting my peanut butter recipes and so far have gotten mostly approval of the results.  The merquen (accent on the 2nd e), oregano, and original blends are pretty damn good right now.  Honey, almond, and cinnamon-raisin still need some work.  If you have any good ideas on how to make an idea of this sort work, please shoot me an email and fill me in.

Excellent place to end a 5 day journey.

  And now for something completely different: I had no students to tutor last week so I made a trip out to the southernmost 6000M peak in the world, Cerro Marmolejo.  This mountain is about 50 miles outside Santiago and is on the border with Argentina.  It was a gigantic mountain and unfortunately turned me away after 3 days of approach ascent to 5000M.  However, on my way back to the small village of Banos (with ~) Morales, a hot springs, I ran into a former Chilean Military Mountaineering Corp. member.  After speaking for 1 minute, he invited me back to his sister's house for the following 3 hours where they showered me in pisco sours and snacks, despite my smelling absolutely god-awful.  This was one of the most hospitable things that has ever happened to me and was greatly appreciated.  It made the defeat on the mountain far more manageable.  As always, if you want to see more pictures from this trip go to http://getserious.shutterfly.com.

Chilean Kenny Powers.  I couldn't get a front shot,
but trust me, this dude is the damn spitting image of
the man.  He was only missing 40lbs. and jean shorts.

  Looking ahead, we have a lot coming up.  Sara's friend/Fabulous Lady's Book Club member, Rachel, will be visiting us for a few days.  My buddy, Davin, will be heading down to hang in South America for a few months.  It will be most excellent seeing folks from stateside and catching up.  Also, there will be some great music coming our way really soon.  Roger Waters, of Pink Floyd, will be performing "The Wall" in the beginning of March and Lollapalooza, the 2-day music festival, happens later in the month.  We're also hoping to make a small weekend trip near the end of March for my 28th birthday (a fact which Sara seems to love reminding me of).
  We hope that all is well with you and ask that you Skype/Gchat/facebook (only Sara)/email/snailmail/etc. us to let us know how you're doing; we think of you all the time (only good thoughts).  Big news, small news, mundane BS - we would love to hear it, please share!  Ciao, amigos.

Cerro Marmolejo.  I was stopped by massive penitentes on
the glacier 100M higher.  3 hours spent looking for a route.