My new favorite store: Jumbo

You know why?

They have American-formula Dew! At least, they did when we went this time. Jumbo is a store owned by a German expat. They get a lot of random imports, so it's rare that you find the same thing two trips in a row. I would have bought more, but these cans were about $1.30 each, and I could only smuggle a dozen of them past Jen...

Oh, and we're going to Valparaíso tomorrow. Hopefully, we'll have cool pictures to show off.

Jason

Viña del Mar and los temblores!

Jen, Jordan, Matt and I went to the coastal town of Viña del Mar this past weekend. It was about an hour and 45 minutes away by bus. The terrain we drove through was quite beautiful. Rocky, rolling hills and fields of I'm not sure what (including many fields of neat rows of small trees). The views of the city as we approached were really cool -- the coast is quite like parts of California, so there were parts that looked a LOT like images from Hollywood you'd see in the movies.

Once we got there, we walked directly to the beach. Since it was only 10:30, it was still breezy, overcast and not at all looking like a proper beach day. But, we persevered, and waded into the ocean. And then quickly waded right back out again. It was FREEZING.

Then we walked a mile or two north toward some other beaches. On the way there, we (or at least Matt and I, apparently the softies of the group) were nearly given heart attacks. Two small, very cute black dogs, decided that it was a very fun game to run out on the road repeatedly, barking madly at the passing cars and trucks. They would get within about 6 inches of the cars' tires, dodge back, and then attack the next car. It was maddening. But, my guess is the had been playing this game for a while, as they escaped without harm. I'm not so sure about their eventual lifespans, though...

We stopped at a castle-turned-museum called Castillo Wulff. The paintings were all very cool, but the view from the top of the castle, and from a (for those that have... problems with heights) vertigo-inducing-hallway, were exceptional.

We stopped in at a restaurant called Torito Parrilla Cerca de Mar y la Tierra (heck of a name, eh?) for lunch. The waiter was extremely helpful, and made a number of excellent suggestions... We got clam-type things, covered in some kind of cheese, and some kind of shellfish, garnished with mayo and an olive, both as appetizers. Whatever the shellfish was is something that is only in Chile. The entrees were equally delicious.

Anyway, after lunch, we walked to a different beach. Jen and I pretty much laid around, while Jordan and Matt walked around, looking for cute girls.

Also, we experienced our first los temblores! There are two different words for earthquake in Spanish (or at least in Chilean Spanish). Los terremotos is the scary kind, where the earth splits, buildings crumble, bad things happen. Los temblores is the kind that you barely notice. In fact, Jen didn't notice at all, and I wasn't sure -- it seemed like it could have been a large truck driving by our apartment. But I mentioned it to my Spanish teacher that evening, and she confirmed it. Jen was rather disappointed that she didn't notice. I think she was looking forward to making me stand in a doorway...

Jason

Speaking the language OR Utilities suck. And the previous tenant wasn't so great, either.

One of the reasons we rented the apartment we did was because the previous tenant was American and spoke English... Jen has increased her Spanish vocabulary immensely (and I suppose I have too, but she is FAR more competent. I say things like, "Hablar más lindo, por favor" which means, "Speak more beautifully, please" instead of "Hablar más lento, por favor" which means "Speak more slowly, please"), but speaking on the phone is still very stressful and difficult. When we have the chance, we go to talk to whomever face-to-face. So an English speaker to deal with was very helpful. An additional benefit (and one that, as it turns out, was much more important) was that the realtor (corredor?) is an American expat. He has lived here in Santiago for 25 years, so not only does he speak English, but he also knows his way around the Chilean bureaucracy quite well.

Anyway, before she left, the previous tenant told us that she would not cancel her internet service -- it would be up and running for me to work the day we moved in. She didn't cancel the service, but she did that the cable modem with her... and left an unpaid bill behind. It took much work from the realtor to get the ISP to set us up, since they seem to associate the service with the address.

On Friday, Chilectra, the power company, stopped by about 1:30. They told us that the bill had not been paid for the last two months, and that the power would be turned off in 5 minutes. Great... The realtor tried to get us a reprieve, but wasn't successful this time. He did go and pay the outstanding bill out of his own pocket right away (I hope he can recoup it from the previous tenant's security deposit), but Chilectra didn't turn the power back on until around 8:00 that night.

And, to top it off, our internet connection went out last night. We went to the ISP this morning, so hopefully, we will be back up and running soon.

...

I wrote that part yesterday, and we were back up and running yesterday. The ISP sent two guys out, who came and poked at the cable modem for about two hours before hitting on the right solution. Which, unfortunately, they weren't able to share with me. One guy spoke about as much English as I speak Spanish. Which is to say, not enough. So, my connection is back. But it isn't right. Before, it was actually very fast. Now... not so much. Back to the ISP!

Jason

PS -We're going to Viña del Mar, a beach town, this weekend with Jordan and Matt. We should have more exciting things to share when we get back.