Change of Plans...Again

All good things must come to an end, right? Well how about just a little pause. I have been kind of avoiding posting this because I don´t really like thinking about it but it has to come out now! I am moving home. Now before you all start to fret, I am still happily engaged to the hottest Chilean out there and we are still getting married for time and all eternity at the end of the year! But, we have to take a little break from all of the fun we have been having and try to be adults now.

In order for Pablo to come to the States so we can get married, live, etc. he has to have a Visa (which means lots of fees and waiting 6 to 8 months) As we started making decisions like where we want to raise our family, live our lives, etc. it was obvious that in the States things are just a little better. So the next step is getting Pablo over there. Because I can make more money in the US to help pay for this nice little Visa, I am moving home. Yup. Blackfoot, here I come! (Never thought I would say that again...) And the sad reality is that Pablo will be here still. It is going to be a rough few months, but we know that in the end it will all be worth it.

So I hope that answers some questions too...I know a few of you have asked me where we are getting married, if we have a date, etc. and I haven´t really answered because we weren´t sure. But basically we can´t pick a date until Pablo´s visa is approved and we have NO idea when that will be. So stay posted for more when we get some answers. And if you have any good ideas of where I can get a job around the Blackfoot/Idaho Falls area I am open for ideas!

Emily´s Post

This post is long overdue and I am sorry Em! My friend Emily asked me a while ago to post pictures of common things in my life here in Chile to help her visualize them. So here you are Em!

Here is the subway station El Parron where I wait in the mornings to see just how crowded that darn train is going to be. Between the hours of 8 and 10, you can expect to be PUSHED on. Love public transportation!After my subway ride, I get off here, Santa Lucia. The tall building with the mirror windows is where I work--all the way at the top on the 26th floor.
Though it doesn´t look like much, here is the desk I work at as a Research Associate for Albagli Zaliasnik. They are jewish lawyers who work with trademarks. Kind of interesting I suppose. There website is here.

Though my job can be boring sometimes, I do have quite the view from the window.


After work I generally take the bus home (depends on my mood) and that can also prove to be interesting. This picture was taken on New Year´s Day which explains why no one was on the bus and the fact that I was brave enough to take a picture. Not the safest form of transportation...


Here is my view from the bus as I go home. No need for why I shouldn´t be taking out my camera on the bus I think.
When I get off the bus, Pablo is always waiting for me to walk me to his house. This was actually taken outside his house though because I probably shouldn´t pull out my camera at the bus stop either.

This is the street that Pablo lives on. Notice that there is no shade whatsoever! Sometimes I feel like I will die before getting to his house at the end of the street!


And finally I get to Pablo´s house! Where his Mom is always waiting...

Sometimes in the evenings I go with Pablo to class just to spend that extra time with him. This is the building where all of his classes are.

And then off to my home and to my room to sleep!

Mixed emotions...

It has been a LONG day already...Last night we got the news that Pablo´s grandma had passed away. I know a few of you had asked about her and we appreciate your love and thoughts. We are headed back down to Polcura tonight around 11:30 and will probably be back by Sunday.

We also got some good news today too. My younger brother Tim and his wife Abby had their first little guy last night around 1:30 am. I think his name is going to be Dayton (not sure yet...) but he weighed 8 lbs 11 oz. and is 21 inches long! I wish I was there to give him big auntie-like kisses but I am excited for them! Congratulations Tim and Abby!


Daddy with new baby boy!
Look at those cheeks! What a sweetheart!
My nephew Blake and younger sister Laura with new baby Campbell. Blake has been really excited about this baby. Since the time Abby told us she was pregnant, Blake has been saying, "Abby - Baby".

Polcura, Chile

Yep, we have been traveling...again...in bus...all night long...again... But this time it was more of an emergency. Pablo´s grandma (his Mom´s mother) lives in a tiny pueblito about an hour and a half from Los Angeles, Chile. (If you want to check out in a map, the town is called Polcura). Gernara Figueroa, Pablo´s abuelita, has recently took a turn for the worst and we aren´t sure how much time she has left. So last Friday Pablo and I decided we needed to head down and visit her before it is too late. We left Friday around midnight from a packed and crazy bus station in Santiago and got to his Grandma around 7:30 the next morning. We literally got off the bus in front of her house on the highway. It is such a different way of life down there!
We spent a few days in Polcura, enjoying his grandma and all of Pablo´s extended family. We stayed at his Uncle Manuel´s house--who was so nice to take care of us for a few days. His Tio had the nicest, almost gringo-like house and I enjoyed every moment in it! It is such a different life there! On Saturday, the maid killed a chicken right there and that´s what we had for lunch. I was dying. But Pablo just laughed at me.
I did fall in love with the scenery, it was so different from Santiago. It was nice to spend a few days getting to know Pablo´s family and breathing clean air! We hope that Gernara doesn´t have to suffer much longer but I did discover why her family loves her so much. She is a sweet, selfless person who loves Pablo so much.
Here are a few pictures that I took. If you notice I am not in the pictures because my hair did not exactly like the fresh, moist air! But I do hope these pictures show you why I fell in love with this tiny pueblito!

I really do love Chile...

I feel like recently I have had kind of a negative attitude to my cultural experiences here in Santiago...what does that mean? That some things are driving me crazy! Getting shoved onto the subway in the morning, all public transportation in general and of course that silly calefont! But yesterday on my daily 13 minute walk from my house to Pablo´s, I thought about all the things I really do LOVE about Chile and thought I would make a list for you!

1.) Foggy/smoggy mornings. I love it when it decides to be cool in the morning but I also love it when you can see the Andes and Santiago´s skyline.

2.) Once. (Pronounced on-say) This is what Chileans eat instead of dinner or supper--generally a cup of herbal tea, Ecco or in my case Milo (hot coccoa) with bread and butter and if you are lucky, some manjar. I don´t know why, but this is my favorite meal of the day!

3.) Kids playing in the street. Almost every single day there are kids playing soccer in the street. The street are narrower here and not so full of traffic and the kids will play for hours and hours outside. If there aren´t enough for two teams, then just kicking the ball back and forth will do. And the soccer ball is always one that has been used for years now and doesn´t even look like a soccer ball anymore!

4.) Attending church here. There are a few crazy members in every ward that make my Sunday´s just a little more interesting. Oh, gotta love how blunt Chileans are!

5.) Asado. Americans think that they know how to do barbeques but they do NOT. Unless you have half a pig, cow, a few chickens and chorizo on your grill (coal not propane) then you don´t understand!

6.) El Centro. Downtown Santiago where I work is one of my favorite parts. Pablo and I could walk around looking at shops, eating Mote con Huesillo and watching crazy people all afternoon. This was something new to me since this part of Santiago wasn´t in my mission. I wish I could fully describe how fun and entertaining this part of Santiago really is.

7.) Watching subtitled movies in the theater. Last night we went to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and because the movie was subtitled, everyone would start laughing before Brad Pitt had said the punch line (because they had already read it)

8.) I love how after a long, hot day everyone is outside enjoying the coolness of the evening. You can always seem to find a good bargain for a completo or papas fritas and all the old people sit outside and talk until it is finally time to go to bed.

These are just a few of the things I love about Santiago--if you have some others, add them to the list!

Don´t Cry For Me, Argentina!

Sorry for not getting these pictures up earlier, but Pablo and I went to Mendoza, Argentina last weekend! We ended up having to go to, um...well, let´s just say "renew my tourist visa" since it is only good for 90 days. That ended up to be a bit more complicated then I wanted and we ended up (thanks to a stupid bus driver giving us false information) changing our bus tickets and leaving at 10:30 Friday night. Driving time to Mendoza is about 6 hours, but it took a little bit more time because we had to pass through customs at the border (at 2 am). We got into Mendoza about 5:30 and illegally exchanged some money into Argentine pesos and hopped into a taxi to take us to our hotel. It was soooo nice! It was as American as I could have hoped for!
The next day we went for a nice little stroll through downtown Mendoza. Here´s a picture of us at lunch.
Mendoza is a really calm, town and it was so clean! I think that I am just used to dirty Santiago, but it was really a calm little city. (Did I mention they have a Wal-Mart?!) The food was amazing too! Everyone who says that the meat is better in Argentina was RIGHT. It was so yummy! My favorite Argetine food was the Dulce de Leche. I have never eaten anything so creamy! Here´s a nice little picture of Pablo in the old school phone booth in downtown Mendoza.
On Sunday afternoon we ate at this fancy yet delicious restaurant, Don Mario. We have heard so many good things about the barbeque in Argentina, and the rumors are true. We ate the best slice of meat I have ever had. The restaurant was really fancy so we didn´t take a picture inside, but waited to leave. If my belly looks huge, it´s because I had just finished eating!

For those of you who have seen my attempts at Photography, you know that I have a thing for doors. I don´t know where it comes from. But as we passed this door, I had to take a picture. All the different houses in Mendoza were small but so clean and well kept, fresh painted, etc. It was so cool to see them so clean! (The opposite of Santiago)
This picture above I like to call, The Long Journey Home. Wow, the drive was worse during the day on Monday. We had to cross The Andes, and that was an aventure! We started off the drive home with a nice little protest on the freeway. Don´t worry, they were just burning garbage across the freeway. But we took a little detour and then were on our way home. Going up and then back down those huge mountains...don´t think I will do that again for a long time! We did have to wait for about 2 hours in the border again, so here is a picture of Pablo at the top!
All in all, we had a nice relaxing time. We got to swim at the hotel, take naps, eat yummy food and just chill!

Life is like a fountain!

Last night to give me my 2nd ring if you will, Pablo took me to this awesome water fountain in Santiago. (We don´t know the name of the park, just that it was sweet!) I know it may seem kind of silly, but we really enjoyed it. We sat on a bench in front of the fountain for a good two hours, just listening to the water shoot up and fall down and talking about everything. It was way too pretty to not put up a few pictures! As soon as it got dark, the water had lights in it too. It was really sweet! Pablo is always taking me to fun and new places here in Santiago and this one does top the charts!
Pablo getting in the way of my picture taking to flash his ever-so-famous peace sign...
This statue guy signally the water I guess...
You know me and my panoramic pictures! I couldn´t resist!