Christmas in Chile

Chris writing today.

A True Christmas – Much less commercial – We gave each kid $10k pesos – about $20 and said go spend this on Christmas presents for the family.  They went to the hippy markets by the beach and got neclaces, braclets, trinkets, scarfs, T-Shirts, etc.  They had more fun watching each kid open the little presents then “Getting”.  In fact the “Got” very little.  Santa did make a special trip on the night of the 23^rd just for our family but it had to go in a suitcase.  No tree, no stress, no presents for everyone, etc.  Just having fun.

We also spent an afternoon and went with the missionaries up into the slums and gave away a bunch of stuff that we couldn’t fit in our suitcases.  Clothes, etc.  I could see it really made an impact on Trae and Alexis.  Read Trae’s blog post.  It was cool to GIVE instead of GET.  Christmas night Trae was on Facebook and I could see he was upset.  I asked what was wrong, he said, “Read this, I can’t believe it!  Some of my friends are complaining because they didn’t get much!  Are you kidding me!!  They should see how people live in the slums!  We have so much and they have so little.  It just makes me so mad that people would complain about “only” getting an iPod touch or a skateboard!”

It was great to see that he learned a very valuable lesson on his own.  I didn’t have to try to tell him how blessed we are and how wrong it is to be ungrateful – he just figured it out.  Cool experience.

Christmas Day in Chile.  We had dinner and some great friends house on Christmas Eve at 11:00.  We got home at 1:00 a.m.  The next morning we got up and went to church.  After we went to a baptism.  At the baptism there was a 16-year-old boy named Carlos that Trae had become friends with and also an older lady and her son.  It was very cool.  After the baptism they had a member of the bishopric and a YW bear their testimonies.  After they did, the lady said she wanted to stand up and testify.  She stood up and said, “I know this is right and true.  I feel it throughout my whole being.  My entire soul and spirit feels so clean and pure right now.”  And she sat down.  It was one of the purest testimonies I have every heard.  THAT was a cool Christmas.

After that the missionaries came over to Skype their families and make a cheesecake.  We had 4 missionaries at our house for 2 or 3 hours.  It was fun!  The are really a lot of fun and the kids love having them there.  It’s cool here you get to know the missionaries so well.  We then went to a dinner at some friends that are not mormon who invited us over.  It was also a lot of fun.  The best comment at that dinner was when Bryson asked for a drink, the guy said, “All we have is milk, water and alcohol, what’s your choice?”

This Christmas was about remembering Christ, going to church, seeing some convert baptisms, family and friends.  It’s one I won’t forget like most past Christmas seasons that all blur together in my memory as a lot of stuff, stress and toys.

The Fish Market

Check out Bryson’s posts about the trip to the fish market – it was fun.  http://jaussigang.wordpress.com/bryson-miah/

 

Another great week in Chile

Well, I haven’t been keeping up with the blog. This past few weeks went by a little fast. We went to Santiago to get our ID cards. We took a taxi to the bus station. We ran into a bunch of missionaries who were being transferred. They were little shocked when we started to speak english to them. We always get the blank stare for a minute. We then loaded up on the bus, arrived in Santiago, then took the subway down to the Center of the City. It was Hot. We did not want to walk anywhere. We got our cards, then took a taxi. We ended up at big shopping mall, we ate lunch then decided to was too hot to go to the Zoo as we had planned. So, we wondered around and then went back to Subway station. Rode the subway and it was crowded and hot. We made it back to the bus station. This is where we said “good-bye” to Chris. He was flying to another town for a meeting. So, the kids and I hopped on the bus and headed home. We were so happy to go back to Vina. We could feel the breeze when we arrived. WE then got on a local bus. We were so happy to be home. We had a long day of taxi’s,subways and buses.

On Thanksgiving, we didn’t have a big dinner. We went to the beach instead. Chris had to speak at a local University that day. So, the kids and I went and played. It was nice.

On Friday, we went to the beach for lunch. The kids and Chris ended up staying at the beach all afternoon. Well, they all got a little too much sun. They all got sunburned. We had a small turkey dinner. It was actually kind of nice. We asked our kid what they were “thankful for”. What a bunch we have. This is what they said.
Trae-”Grateful for Technology, so he can skype and text his friends.
Alexis-”grateful for our Car
Bryson-”grateful for Money”
Miah-”grateful that we can live in Chile”
My kids keep me laughing. It was a fun dinner. I’m truly for my little family.

Well, On Sunday was the primary program. Yes, everything is in Spanish. I was so proud of my kids. They participated and tried their hardest to sing in Spanish. They were glad it was over.

On Monday, we just worked on school work, then we went to the beach to clear our heads. Homeschooling is not fun! enough said.

On Wednesday, Chris went to Santiago. So, the kids and I went down to the Centro. They have some cool little shops. We bought some souvenirs and went had dinner. The dinner was awful, but as Trae said “Mom, it is all about the experience.” Love that kid. We then met up with Chris and we walked to the church to play basketball. We played soccer with some kids, then basketball. It was fun.
On Thursday, we met a guy who lives in our building. He is from Canada. He offered to take us to the fish market. Oh, what an experience. When we arrived, the fisherman were still unloading their boats. They were these little boats. We went out to the pier to watch. Down below there were about 20 sea lions waiting for leftovers and fish guts. On the beach were 30 or so Pelicans and seagulls all waiting too. An old guy came walking down the pier with some fish guts. He threw them over and all of the sea lions waddled fast out of the water. One big one laid on top of the heap. The rest barked away the pelicans and seagulls. What a site too see. I told my kids this is better than Sea World. We watched as the sea lions fought over the guts. We then walked over to the part of the market where they skin and clean the fish. Some of these men could gut and clean a fish without even looking at it. They would talk away and their knives did all the work. We took some fun pictures that I will have to post. We then walked over to where they sell the fish. Fish of all kind. We ended up buying some shrimp, some white fish and some mussels. SO CHEAP! We were excited for dinner. What a treat it was to go to the Fish Market. My kids loved it.

events of the past week..

We have been in Chile for over 20 days now.  There have been days that seemed long and some that seem so short.  I have had my days of I love it here and days where I would love to be in my own home.  Overall, We are really enjoying our time here.

Last Friday, I went to get a manicure/pedicure.  I put on my running garb and ran to the salon.  I then walked home.  Nice little break from the kids.  That night we went to the Church with Trae and Alexis.  They were having a YM/YW activity.  They were teaching the kids how to Salsa Dance.  I even joined in.  We had alot of fun.

On Saturday morning was the Feira, which is the fruit/veggie market.  Trae and Alexis wanted to go with me.  So, we got on a Micro(local bus) and off we went.  We were dropped on in the middle of the city, which was a little crazy on a Saturday morning.  There were street vendors everywhere.  We eventually made our way to the market which is in an empty River bed. It was crowded. I was in heaven.  Fresh fruit and veggies of everykind.  Alexis was a little overwhelmed.  Trae was amazed at all the produce.  We bought our produce and then made our way back to find a bus home.  We had our backpacks full and we had a big bag to carry home.  I really wanted my car.  We went home  and made smoothies with all of the fresh fruit.

We then went to the beach.  That night Alexis had a dance class.  It was a dance workshop.  She did not want to go because it was in Spanish.  I went with her.  It was little out of her league, but she stayed and had fun.

On Sunday, We went to Church.  I really tried hard to understand the speakers.  I had a headache after Sacrament.  But I did feel the spirit.  I then went to class, but I kept leaving to check on the little ones.  They did not want to stay in Primary. When I dropped them off to class, the kids were running around and being crazy.  But they stayed.  They were practicing for their primary program.  Bryson did not want to sing in Spanish.  He stayed but was not happy.  We survived church in Spanish.

On Monday, we played catch up with homework.

Then on Tuesday, the kids had Spanish class again.  They love their teacher.  They are actually learning some basic things.  We then went to Val Paraiso for some exploring.  We rode the bus over which took forever.  But, we found some neat places to take some pictures.  We rode a tram thing up the side of the hill.  We then shopped at some little street vendors.  While, we were there, there were some schools on a field trip.  The girls were going crazy over Trae.  They kept saying “Hi”,  “I love you!” or “Rico”.  It was funny.  Trae finally turned around and said “Hi”.  I thought the girls were going to fall over.

On Wednesday, the weather was really cloudy.  So, we decided to go to the movies.  I had so much fun.  We went to see “Real Steel”.  The kids really enjoyed it.

Thursday was cloudy again.  So, we worked on school work and swam at the pool.  My kids have been bummed out this week, because we have not gone to the beach.  But it has been either really windy or cold.

Friday was Spanish lessons for the kids again.  After our lesson, we went to an Empanada bakery and we toured around Val Pairiso again. This time we went down by the port, where the big ships come in.  We had a fun day exploring again.  On Friday night was the stake youth dance.  Trae wasn’t sure if he wanted to go.  So, we decided to go with him.  He went and said he would call if he wanted to go home. Well, it was like a prom dance.  All of the girls were in dressed in pretty formal dresses.  Trae ended up staying.  We even watched or you could say spied on him.  Things start later in Chile.  The dance didn’t really start until 9 or so and it didn’t end until 1:30.  We ended going home around 10:30.  Trae came home with some new friends.  He didn’t get home until 12 or so.  He loved the dance.

Saturday- we were feeding the missionaries today.  So, I got up early to prepare the food.  I had a Relief Society activity to go to.  They were going to a Botanical garden with some activities.  It was a self-help activity.  They had Yoga, some dance lessons, a motivational speaker and some classes on making healthy food.  When I returned home, the missionaries were here eating lunch with my family.  My family actually did well.  They had to cook what I made and serve them.  I was impressed.  After lunch, the kids went to the beach with Chris.  I stayed home to try and make homemade cookies.  We were invited to dinner.  We were going to family from our Ward’s house.  They all spoke english.  We ended up renting a car today.  I was tired of riding the bus.  We were in heaven.  I forgot how nice it is to drive in a car. (so funny).  We had a great evening at their house.  We had amazing food and the family was great.

Sunday- we drove to church.  So nice.  I did not enjoy walking to the taxi stop last week in high heels.  I really tried hard to listen to the speakers.  I understood some of the speakers but not all. My head was hurting again.  After Sacrament, Bryson started to cry.  He did not want to go to Primary.  I felt bad. I went to class with both of the kids.  They were practicing for the primary program again.  Miah and Alexis are really trying to sing in spanish.  Bryson just sat with me.  He was a little overwhelmed again.  I enjoyed listening to the kids sing.  After Church, we took a drive up the coast.  The ocean is amazing. I will never get enough of it before we have to go home.

After we arrived home, we decided what we will do for the holidays.  We are going to stay here until New Year’s and then we are going to travel to the South of Chile for a few weeks in January.

Sorry this post is so long, but I had to catch up.  I really want to remember all of things we did.  Life is good!

Trae is 14!!

cannot believe that our oldest is 14 today!  Time does fly.  What a way to celebrate your birthday.  In another country.  He requested that he could take surfing lessons with his dad.  So, we packed up and left for the bus stop.  We hopped on a crowded and crazy local bus.  Chris kept saying, “I haven’t been on a bus like this since my mission!”.  These bus drivers are crazy!  I felt like I was on a bus in an Indy 500 car race.  They go so fast and stop just as fast too.  We made it safely to the beach.  We went up the coast to a beach called Con Con.  It was beautiful.  Black sandy beaches, no crowds,  and just perfect.  Chris and Trae found a surf rental/lesson place.  They came out with their wet suits on and a surfboard.  They were excited.

The other kids and I found a spot on the beach.  Miah was so excited, the beach had seashells.  Off she went to collect shells.  Bryson and Alexis took off for the water.  Right then, this older lady came up to me and started to go off in Spanish.  I thought she was getting mad at me, but she was telling me to watch my kids in the water.  The riptides were strong.  I was pretty happy that I actually understood most of her conversation.  I enjoyed the rest of the afternoon, just laying at the beach. My kids and I built sand castles, found more shells, played in the water and just enjoyed ourselves.  We had a fun day.  Chris and Trae had fun too.

We then ventured home on a bus again.  We made dinner and a cake for Trae.  We enjoyed our dinner and cake, then we started to laugh.  The laughing was so crazy, that I started to cry.  The laughing cry is the best!!  I’m finding that being together all the time can have its moments, but overall it has been so much fun!  I just love this little family of mine.

over a week..

well, we have been in Vinha for over a week.  What an adventure it has been.

Monday was a lazy day for all of us.  Lex was still kind of sick.  We didn’t mind though, we are still catching up on our sleep.  On Tuesday, Chris went up to Santiago for a few meetings.  The kids started Spanish lessons.  They are taking lessons twice a week.  They have realized that they need to learn some Spanish.  I hope that they will pick up on the language quickly.  We then went to the beach.  This is what we love to do every afternoon.

Yesterday, we worked on school work and then I took the kids to the mall for a treat.  We ended up at Starbucks.  WE found a real brownie, blueberry muffins, and chocolate chip cookies.  This was a treat for us.  Don’t get me wrong.  We are loving all of the food here, but it was just a little comfort food from home.  We then ventured over to Lider.  This is a version of Wal-mart.  I have a like/dislike for this store already. I have to go there about every other day.  We have to carry all of our food home, so we buy in small increments.  Plus, a lot of the food is sold in small packages.  The kids were excited today. We bought a boogie board, a paddle ball game for the beach and a skim board.  We now had toys for the beach.  We went home and ran to the beach.  When we arrived the beach was packed.  Alot of the schools from Santiago are having their end of school parties.  So, there were alot of kids at the beach.    I think we stared at them and they stared at us.  They knew we were not locals.  Pretty obvious from the minute my kids open their mouths.

We went home, cleaned up and found a bus.  We thought there was a YM activity at the church.  When we arrived, we found out that it is on Friday.  We did get to meet the Mission Office Missionaries.  We then walked back to the shopping mall.  It was quite a trek.  It was worth the walk.  We ate an Italian restaurant.  We sat and laughed, because it was so empty.  The reason is because most people don’t go out until 8 or 9 for dinner here.    By the time we are leaving the restaurants are just filling up.

Overall it has been a great start to this fun adventure!!

my kids..

I love what my kids have written about our journey into Santiago. It was a little crazy. From riding the big bus into the center of the city and holding my little ones hands a little tighter as we walked in the center of the city. I was more worried about losing one of them. It was lunch time and it was crazy walking in and around people with our crew. We went to the Start up Chile office, then we went and found lunch at a little restaraunt and laughed because we were trying to figure out the menu. We did okay. The kids actually liked their steak sanwiches. We then went to the police station and then walked to another office. This is where we had our fingerprints done..so fun. We then found a taxi, which took us to the subway. That was a little scary. It was rush hour on a Friday night and the subways were packed. I literally pushed my kids on and said “hold on”. We had a lot of stares. Probably because we have 4 kids and they were all speaking english. I was glad to arrive at the bus station. We got on our bus and went back to Vinha.

On Saturday, we went to the beach. It was a nice warm day. The beach was crowded. I think my 14 year old had a little too much to see. There were plenty of girls wearing their little dental floss bikinis. I forgot how the swimsuits are pretty tiny in Latin America. Bryson and Chris were playing with our frisbee, when a stray dog jumped up and caught the frisbee. He then ran off. We had everyone on the beach laughing at Chris and Bryson chasing this dog. Then they literally had to drag the dog into the waves to get the frisbee from him. Good times.
Later that night, Chris and I went to dinner with some of his friends from Start up Chile. We went to a city which is close by. It is a really neat place. It really reminded me of San Francisco. The houses and restaurants are on these hills. There are little elevators and stairs to get up to these places. I loved all the colors and the architecture. There was a lot of cool art grafitti all over. We are hoping to go back with the kids to take some cool family pics. We rode a city bus home that night, that was an adventure. I couldn’t believe how fast the drivers go. I felt like we were in a car race but on a bus.
My kids were not excited about going to church. They were worried about everything being in Spanish. But I was so proud of them. They did really well. No tears, even though I knew that their tears were at the surface. I’m grateful for the 2 missionaries who went with them to primary and helped them understand some things.
Off to a new week..wish me luck. We are officially homeschooling and we are starting spanish lessons with our kids. Should be fun!