What now?
Normally I get the most cliché questions possible when I talk to people who aren’t with me. "How is it?" "How are the kids?" "Do you like it?" Seriously, people.
But I can tell you after four months I still have problems lighting the water heater to take a shower and have to ask a roommate to do it, I have fallen a lot, my Spanish is better but still pretty funny, my kids at the club are beautiful and most have great senses of humor, I have never eaten so much bread in my life, my roommate until now has been at 18 year old theater dude from the US, I live in an area called La Granja and every time I tell a Chilean that lives near the center or in the richer parts I get a look of shock and they don’t believe me at first, I see kids play soccer 24 hours a day, I eat meat, my kids come from troubled homes, my kids smiles make my day, it’s hot, I may be going to Brazil to visit my friend Giovanna and for Carnival in February, I am going to the beach for New Years, my house mates are from Switzerland, Colombia and the US, we have 8 puppies right now if you want one, I clean a lot, there is a lot of dust and pollution, everyday I get a new bruise, I have taken a walk with two of my kids before (also my neighbors) where we were queens and pulled each other around in a cart with a crate that we sat in attached to it – it was a blast, sometimes I have really frustrating days, sometimes I have great days, our club is really colorful and one kids says the our back patio is his home because that is where he plays soccer, I want our kids to have a proper swing set, our swing set collapsed the other day, sometimes I need English translated into English, I have learned that German and Swiss German are very different, I still like reggaeton even though I hear it everyday from my neighbors house, it’s hot, I am addicted to buying earrings, I have been to Argentina, Shakira changed the world, I have pictures that say "para Tia Michel" on my wall, I have learned that my name will never be spelled correctly in this country, I know a lot of moms and grandmas of my kids at my club, I think I need to end this sentence.
I have also learned that I am tired a lot, I am about to go on vacations with my kids to Los Andes for a week to a boarding school with sports equipment and a pool – we are also going to museums, etc, the mountains are beautiful and I love it when there is less pollution because then I can see them, my legs got really sunburned in Vina, I am wearing slippers right now made of felt by a kid that I found today cleaning, I still love to dance and am slowly learning to salsa, my kids at the club are some of the best dancers ever, some of my kids live in one room with their family, I can drink the water in Santiago, I don’t like taking care of dogs, I love to listen to the guitar but can’t play it, there are a lot of street dogs, the staff at my club are some of the funniest people I have ever met, I learned I speak German with a Dutch accent, I have learned why when most people come to Chile they fly into Santiago and then go north or south in the country, it’s hot, I am the Liga de Futbol Director for VE Global, I have to wear my ankle brace when I play futbol, I am going to be completely broke when I get back to the US, my kids at the club curse a lot, I have learned that the Chilean accent is not so clear and they have all their own words, I have been to Pablo Nuerda’s house in Valparaiso 2 hours away but never the one in Santiago, being a blonde in Chile means you have to deal with creepy men everywhere you go, I am addicted to coffee and coffee here its disgustingly instant, I miss my friends and family from home – a little, it’s hot, and I really should have been working on Liga things the entire time I wrote this email.
Sorry I’m always out of touch but that doesn’t mean I don’t think about you. Hope all is well and take care!
posted by Michelle @ 5:27 PM
