makin' good

The office was busy today with people looking for work. My "mala mujer" lady was back. I greeted her with a smile as I called her by name and explained to her that her phone number in the computer was mala (bad), and when we had tried to call her this morning, it didnt work. She gave me the correct number which I immediately punched in. She spent a good part of the day there and with Lilia's help, we had a three-way conversation. We discussed Choclo (a big corn) and completos (loaded hotdogs), and my favorite hamburger fillings. At 4, Jay and I were leaving. My new friend got up out of her chair and gave me a very hearty abrazo (a hug and a kiss in the air while touching cheeks). What a way to end the day! I love Chile. Tonight I made empanadas. Last night we had some left-over roast, potatoes, carrots, onions and gravy. I dont have a rolling pin and was wondering how I was going to roll out the pie dough. I got out the 9x9 glass baking dish, thinking that I would just mash it down, when I looked at the empty liter pop bottles. hmmm, just the right size. how do i give it some durability? Oh, I know! fill it with cold water! let me tell you it was perfect! who needs a rolling pin when you can use some recyclable garbage!!

mas joven

People on the bus have been very nice to us gringos. at every bus stop there is a bench built for three people. As soon as we approach, people usually get up from the bench so we can sit. We usually really need it after walking a whole block. It is the custom to offer your seat to people with disabilities, or old age on the buses. We are always being offered a seat, which we usually decline since we will be leaving the bus on the next stop or so. One day last week a lady offered me her seat. We were probably the same age (what does that say about how old I look). I smiled, shook my head, and said, "no, gracias." She asked, "?Porque?" I thought for a second and told her that I was joven (kid, or young). Everybody laughed, and she made me take her seat anyway. What fun we have serving the Lord.

mejor mujer

This week has been one of learning. We learned to roll our rrr's a little. We know which buses will take us most efficiently to and from work. I think I have figured out the phone systems. A cell phone has eight numbers and must always begin with 09 after I dial the nine numbers to reach the cell phone system. Home phones can be directly dialed. I have learned to talk in different tenses appropriately, and to even joke!!! I can understand (slowly) when people tell me phone numbers by saying eighteenfourhundredtwentythreefoursixtyfour, if they give me one set at a time. Today I made a friend out of the mala mujer lady. I understand the system of stakes and wards and branches and corrected the mistakes on the computer. I even know now how to turn the computers off at the end of the day. They have to be completely turned OFF. I can answer the phone ande discern whom they want to talk to and tell them that the person is on vacation and wont be back till Monday. AND...the chilean people are beginning to look like normal now, not like foreigners. Some even resemble people back in the States. One man looked like Varnell Bench, another reminded me of Danny Karren and another made me think of Beverly Winters! Are we becoming chilenos? If this has happened in six weeks, what will we be like in six months, or 23 for that matter????

mala mujer

Last Friday Jay and I were the only ones in the office for a couple hours. Fridays during the summer are almost not worth the trip in. Nobody had come in till about 11 and Hno L. left for lunch. Wouldnt you know it, soon after that the doorbell rang and in came two clients. I did my best to talk to them and let them read for themselve what job offerings we had on file. They kept asking me to make calls for them, and I honestly tried. The phone system is different here, and I never know whether I am making a call to a cell or a home phone. For one, you have to add an extra 09 at the beginning, and the other you dont. So I dial the 9-digit number to get an outside line and then guess the rest. Sometimes I am right. A lot of times the line is busy, or somebody took down the number wrong, or that line has been disconnected. After a frustrating hour with this one lady, she turned toward the bank of computers away from me, and said, under her breath, "Mala mujer." It means bad woman, or poorly function woman. Today she came in again, and wouldnt you know it, the spanish/english speakers were all gone again! Thankfully one of them came back after half an hour! Love the work! This week end Jay and I learned to trill our rrrrrr's a little. I think we are physically different according to the old country we came from. Jay and I cant roll our rrrr's because in England, where our ancestors are from, they dont even SAY their r's!!!!

lemon rinds n lime scale

Yesterday I made lemonade. There is a kettle on the stove, I guess for making herbal tea or something. It was caked with hard water and I didnt want to use it. Who knows what was cooked in there and what that yucky stuff was and what it held. Well, I thought I'd put the lemon rinds in it and let them simmer and maybe the lemon scent would be nice in the apartment. I let it simmer till I went to bed, then turned it off. There didnt seem to be any lemony scent. In the morning I dumped the lemons and the water. What I saw inside the pot surprised me. The lime scale had almost completely disappeared! With a few more hours of simmering today, the inside of the pot is as shiny as when it was bought!!!! What's in a lemon peel that did that?

separation and dating

these past two days, Jay and I have agreed to separate. It was a mutual decision. Yesterday on the bus coming home from the office, Jay asked me if I could go home by myself and he would continue on for two more stops and pick up his suit from the dry cleaners. I agreed that this separation would be for the best. I did get the apartment out of the deal, though, as he handed me the keys. I took pity on him, though and waited in the lobby for him to come. I took him upstairs for a meal and a soft bed. Today we went to the feria for fresh fruits and vegetables for the week. We went with two other couples and met another couple already there. We decided we would like to go to a movie this afternoon. Jay didnt want to go. He cant hear the movies. This movie was in English, but I think the sound gets all mushy while making its way through his hearing aids. I met the other couple just outside the gate, and Bro. Berthrong was there, too. His wife wasnt feeling well and decided not to go. So we were two couples and two half couples. We walked the mile uphill to the bus stop, rode for 10 minutes to the shopping mall where the movie was playing. Afterward, we walked across the street to a Mexican restaurant. The food was really good. I had a chicken empanada with black beans and chilantro rice for $8.00. We asked for separate checks and that meant two couples, solo, and solo. We made the waiter laugh trying to explain that one. Another 10 minute bus ride, and mile walk (downhill this time) and there I found Jay in my apartment. Thats okay, though. I think I'll keep him. The movie was called Warhorse. It really made me cry. It was the warscenes that got to me, not the horse story, although I cringed each time he picked up more barbed wire. It was having a son just back from a war that bothered me. I didnt realize I was so affected. It was a much needed diversion from the everyday frustrations of no being able to understand and speak the language. Back to the grind on Monday. Love it, though, and am glad we are here!!!!!

Reading Aloud (allowed?)

Ever since we received our call, I have been reading at least one chapter a day, aloud, in the Book of Mormon. I am really enjoying this and look forward to getting home from the office where I relax with my favorite book. At first, the reading was slow because I was basically sounding out the words, although not like a first grader. I just finished chapter 57 in Alma today. I am reading quite quickly now, maybe as quickly as reading it in English. My comprehension is improving each day as I recognize verb endings we have studied lately. From the beginning I was able to get the gist of the story and know which story I was reading, but now there is more understanding

today we separated

It has been a long week, with bus travel, hair coloring, losing Jay's suit at the drycleaners, and going out to eat for Valentine's Day. Odd that we never went out to eat on that day till we left home..... Well, it WAS Chinese, and it WAS good except for the egg rolls. There is no sweet and sour sauce, and they put cinnamon in the egg rolls. Well, today is Friday and I was soooo tired in the morning. We dragged ourselves into work, I was all alone at the desk for the third day in a row. Hno. Lamartine and Jay were in their offices. There's this lady who comes in every day looking for work and stays ALL day. I think she likes the air conditioning, cause she reads the paper, makes a few calls (that is, she hands me a number and I make the call). Hno. Lamartine came to me and said that he had a meeting at 3, and he was going to close the office at 2. At 1:30, we had five people there at computers and phones, but he said to go anyway. So we did. As we were riding home on the bus, Jay said, "You think it would be okay if we separate? You go to the apartment and I will check on my suit at the drycleaners." I thought it would be okay, so when the bus got to our usual stop, I got off and Jay continued on for two more stops. They found his suit. So now you know the story of our separation and reunion. didja think any other thing???? I did get the apartment in our separation cause he gave me the keys. hahaha

just a simple color job

Well, after eight weeks, the roots were showing pretty badly. Lilia said she could color my hair on Saturday. I had already bought the color. Tonight when I opened the box, I was dismayed to see all the instructions were written in Spanish! Now why should that be a problem? Well, Kelli has been coloring my hair for a number of years, and before that, it was Charon. I didnt really remember the details. Luckily, I googled for translation, typed out the instructions letter by letter and let the computer tell me what it said. Funny thing, though, is that sometimes the translation is a little odd. "OK," I say to Jay. "Here I go." He says ,"Good luck." I begin, then realize that one, all the towels are white and belong to the hospedaje, two, the sinks are really little, three, in order to use the bathtub to rinse my hair, I have to strip naked. Oh, well, here goes. It turned out really well and my skin isnt brown from having to immerse myself in a tub full of hair dye. I guess I could really pass for Chilean if it had dyed my skin. haha. It worked. The hair looks better, if not as good as my two good friends have done for me! Now I have to figure out a way to find someone to cut my hair. Some of the sister senior missionaries cut hair, and I have been told that there are hair salons everywhere..... Should I worry so much about how my hair looks? Probably not.

un momento, por favor

The office was very quiet today. Lilia was tired, I was tired, Jay is always tired. Roberto was talking to his friend on the cell and Hermano Lamartine was in his office. Stephano Lamartine was there because school is On vacation and he was bored at home. He is 18 and in his last year of high school. Lilia, Stephano and I were at the reception desk using the computer to converse. There is a place on there where you can type in English and it will translate to Spanish, and vice versa. We were getting a little silly, saying such things as, "My grandmother eats elephants and onions and you can smell her a mile away." The telephone rang. It was my turn to answer. "Centro de Empleo. Buenas tardes." This lady starts talking a mile a minute and I dont know what she wants. I say, "Un moquito," and hand the phone to Lilia. She starts laughing so hard she cant say anything. Stephano is doubled over, laughing. Well, I just told the lady, "a little booger, por!" At least she didnt hang up.

un momento, por favor

Today was a very slow day but we didnt care. Lilia was tired, I was tired, and Jay is always tired. Roberto was talking to his friends on his cell, and Hermano Lamartine was in his office. Stephano Lamartine is 18, and came in for the day because school is on vacation, and he was bored at home. Lilia, Stephano and I were at the reception desk using the computer to converse. S. is learning

english, Lilia wants to, and I am not very conversant in Spanish. There is a program where you can type in what you want to say and the computer writes it in the other language on the other side of the screen. We were practicing such things as, "my grandmother eats elephants and onions. You can smell her a mile away." So we were being silly and laughing when the telephone rang. It was my turn to answer.

WHO/WHEN/WHAT

Jay and I have been studying verb conjugation all week. We feel pretty confident right now. I have been able to say the right combinations several times at work. There are 10 personal pronouns in Spanish: I, thou, he, she, it, you, we, thou plural, they and you-all. All verbs end with -ar, -er, -or -ir. Each pronoun has its own ending, depending on how the verb ends. Not too bad? Okay. Now bring in the past and perfect tenses with all their matching endings. Uh-oh? Yeah, then as you experts know, there are the conditional words (could, would, should) with their matching endings. And now add the irregular verbs that each have their own rules, and some of them dont even spell anything like their mother-verbs (like the verb ser: how do you get fue or fuera out of THAT!!!!) That's why we are here for two years: they wont let us leave till we get it right! haha. Love it! You have to try it! You'll learn to enjoy pb&j, and sparkling water and packed buses and finding jobs for people and placing Books of Mormon. All your friends are the cream of the crop.

mission:possible

I think i am responsible for saving a few families from an eternal rice diet. This morning the office was very quiet. Jay and I had nothing to do till after lunch. Then the rest of the people in the office left for lunch. While they were gone, the phone rang. I thought, "This will be easy, I can just tell them that nobody is The lady on the other end said something about a job opening. I said,"No hablo mucho espanol." "Oh! English," she said, and then told me that she needed 20 people to work for her company, Banco Chile. She kept telling me more info which I was only half hearing because I was trying to think of how to tell her she needed to talk to somebody else. Finally, i was able to tell her that Lilian would call her at 2:30, and asked her for her phone number. Lilian came in about 10 minutes later and was pretty excited. The jefe was excited, too, when he heard. Roberto gave me the high five. The rest of the afternoon was very busy. We started looking up the names and numbers of all the people who had registered and were qualified and calling them. I dialed the number, got the person on the line and handed the phone to Lilian who told them about the jobs. By the time we left, we had informed about 12 people who will apply! We will continue with it tomorrow! Yea! Someone will eat chicken with their rice!

Mission or Vacation?

I guess we do seem to be having too much fun to be "on a mission." Really, all the coming and going is just our finding our way around, navigating the buses to and from the grocery store (Lider), and the office. We do get hungry at lunch time and one day we did divert from the usual peanutbutter/jelly sandwiches to go to McDonalds. It was a wonderful change! It's hard to stay in a two room apartment after being so independent (think three cars for the two of us). And we are doing everything joined at the shoulders and hips and that is a change, too. Saturday's trip would have included both of us, but Jay was really sick with the Revenge again. Pomaire is a indigenous (Mapuche) Indian name for the town we visited with all the clay pottery. They had everything there from piggy banks to roasting pans to 5' pots to patio furnaces. I just looked. Lunch was a HUGE empanada that filled my whole dinner plate. I couldnt eat it all. Back to work, though. Imagine that you are waiting for a very important phone call from someone who needs a better job so he/she doesnt have to work 12 hours just to put rice on the table. When the call comes, you say some words that the boss said you must say: Centro de Empleo. Buenas dias. Then you hear a voice, but none of it makes any sense. They are just jabbering into your ear and you cant get a word in, even if you knew a word to say. So you say, Un momento, por favor. Yo hablo poquito espanol (sorry, no tilda for the n). And they keep on talking, or just hang up on you. Boy, you think you have just ruined someone's life! We had six people ring the doorbell at the same time this morning. It was pretty crazy, but Lilian did a good job while I mostly sat waiting for the phone to ring so I could ruin somebody else's life. Lilian and I studied spanish/english for an hour, and I helped Roberto write a job resume in english. He's a volunteer who just got hired last Friday. Then the jefe (big boss) took us home to FHE and dinner. It was SOOOOOOO nice and they were SOOOOOO nice. We had completos (these are huge hotdogs with mayo, ketchup, diced onion and tomato, guacamole) One is a complete meal. I played their electronic keyboard , Stephano played, I played some more just cuz. Tomorrow morning at 8 we are going to the devotional for the Area Presidency and the other senior missionaries. I have been asked to play the piano for the meetings because Sister Dahlstrom is going home soon. Lucky me!!!! Ciao for now. We have to make our PBJ sandwiches and go to bed.

Mission or Vacation?

Separate Saturday

The group of senior missionaries planned a day trip to a little town named Pomaire. I think it means something like perfumy air. It is the place where clay everything is made, from piggy banks to furnaces for the patio. The trip consisted of a bus ride to the big bus terminal, a big bus ride (like greyhound) for an hour to a little town. We walked from shop to shop for three hours, looking at the clay-based products. I didnt want to buy anything today, so just looked. One of the sisters was chosen to sit at the potter's wheel with the potter and actually be one of his hands as they made a nice little pitcher together. Then he gave it to her. Unfortunately, when she went back to get it after lunch, it had fallen and was no good. I got some nice pix, though. My family will be glad to know that of all the piggy banks available (and some of them are very cute) I just took pictures of them. Maybe some day closer to the end of our mission I'll buy one. We had lunch under a grape yard/vinyard at the back of a restarant. I had an empanada as big as a dinner plate. I could only eat a third of it. On the way back, the forest fire we has seen just starting in the morning, had become massive. The flames had to be 100 feet high, and the fire was ready to go over the top of the mountain. There didnt seem to be anyone fighting it, though. There were no planes with red buckets. Ironically, there is a firefighter school nearby. Jay stayed in the apartment as he is still fighting The Bug. Me, too, but not as bad. I hope he's proud of me for going shopping for a whole day and not spending more than bus rides and lunch.

Piano, etc.

Every Monday the headquarters has an early morning devotional. Every first Tuesday the Area Presidency, Mission Presidents, Stake Presidencies have a devotional. Sister Dahlstrom has been playing the piano for these meetings, but is going home in April. When the Employment Center head ( heard that I play the piano, he and Bro. Alfaro became very excited. Bro Alfaro immediately called the Area President and talked for a few minutes. Then he came out to where the rest of us were talking and said that I was being slated for the spot! I am thrilled to be able to play piano to invite Elder Lamartine) the Spirit into a meeting. This is a tender mercy on my side of the mission. Bro Lamartine has an 18 year old son whom he wants me to teach to read music. This kid plays Debussy and Chopin by ear!!!! We have been invited to their home for FHE on Monday. Should be interesting as the wife and kids speak very limited English. Dad does very well, though.

Missionary work observed

A young woman came into the office this afternoon. When I am at the receptionist desk, one of the things I have to do is take down their names, some numbers that pertain to them, their phone numbers, occupations. I also have to find out if they are LDS or not, as the Church wants to be able to see who comes in, and who gets help. When I asked the lady if she was LDS, she said no, but she knew a little about the church. Since I am not conversant yet, Elder Alfaro was assisting her. She was talking about Joseph Smith, and probably was not sure about his calling and experiences. Bro. Alfaro eventually asked her if she would like to read the Book of Mormon. Unfortunately, we didnt have one in the office. I will be bringing our extra one to work Monday just so that doesnt happen again.

humanity amidst humans

This evening while waiting for our bus, there were a couple of pigeons working at a piece of bread. They were having a hard time getting hold of it. Soon I noticed a man move toward them. He quietly and gently picked up the pieces of bread and started mashing them onto the stone seat till he had a nice little pile. He moved back a couple feet, and soon the pigeons found the prize. He stood and watched with the most sweet, tender look on his face. As the birds finished up their snack, he moved back in and smashed another pile of bread, stepped back, and the pigeons had their fill. I was able to get a picture of the birds (and managed to get the man in it, too)

Commuting to Work?

We have seen many dogs. The first one was the one sniffing our companion's purse. she was trained to sniff out contraband fruit. It was so endearing to see this sweet-looking black lab gently wandering around the baggage, quietly touching suitcases, then moving on. Then she stopped, kept her nose on the purse, and started wagging her tail. It was SO unthreatening, yet so efficient.
Outside the airport we saw the first of the many paired dogs that people walk on a leash. They usually are cocker spaniel types, with a few Dachshunds, poodles, and maybe a yippy dog or two.
On many street corners here in Santiago, there are dogs. They are homeless. There are no dog pounds or animal control officers or animal shelters. These dogs, for the most part, look pretty much the same. A few are different. They are very tame. For the most part, they are ignored by the passersby. They are not healthy (worms, ticks, fleas, etc.) but look good. One day as we waited for our bus, the doors of another bus opened and out walked a dog! He seemed to know exactly what he was doing. He came over to the bus stop, waited a few minutes, then started toward the next bus! Unfortunately, it didnt stop, and he looked just a little puzzled, like he was going to be late for work. On the corner just outside temple square there are three dogs. They have taken it upon themselves to control traffic. When the light changes, they gang up on a car and escort it around the corner till it takes up speed. Then they stand right in front of the car waiting for the red light to change. They bark, just daring it to start before they give it permission. As soon as the light changes, they move out of the way with a loud warning to behave!

gum wall in Seattle

Every day we take the city buses to and from the office. We arrive late and leave early because we try to miss rush hour traffic. This hasnt proven very effective yet. The posted capacity on the front of the bus says 164 persons. I bet it habitually holds way beyond that during rush hour. One day, on the way to work we got on the crowded bus. There are never any seats, so we expect to stand and hold onto something as the bus jerks from stop to 30 mph to stop over and over again as the driver shoves through the streets. At the first stop, just a few people got on, so we all shifted together a little. At each of the next stops, more people shoved in and no one got off. At each stop, no one got off and five to ten people shoved in. Soon we were so packed we didnt even need to hold onto anything. We were a solid pack of flesh, just like the bubble gum wall in Seattle! When we arrived at our destination, I tried to move. Nothing happened. Jay was just as trapped. From somewhere inside me, I felt something rising, and suddenly I said in a loud voice, "Necesitamos salir!" Those near me looked with surprise and said, "Aqui?" The wad shifted a little, four people got off the bus to let us out, then got back on. We called, "Gracias!" The next day we planned our strategy: move to the exit door and stay put. It works.

uh-oh!

After my last blog, my computer started giving all the instructions in Spanish. Yeah, I AM trying to learn Spanish, but not on the computer! I cant even get this thing right in English! This is the third time I have typed this very same story because it keeps disappearing suddenly in mid-type! So, since I couldnt understand the Spanish version, I frantically e-mailed Lynette, who told Randon, who quickly gave me instructions on how to change back to English. Time went by and I didnt open the computer. There is a 23-year old volunteer at our office who speaks English and knows computers like any other young man that age. It took him about three minutes to fix it. I hadnt logged in!!!!!! I hope speaking Spanish isnt going to act like that! We actually ARE beginning to pick out a few words in peoples' conversations, so I guess we are making progress. Last Sunday's talks were given by two gringos in Spanish. I understood ALL of it! Now, if I can just break apart the speed of the chilean spanish.......

uh-oh

being inept at the computer is not a good thing, especially when you are half-way around the world from all your computer saviors. After my last entry, all the instructions to this site showed up in Spanish. Yeah, I Am learning Spanish, but I'm not ready for total immersion on the computer! Heck! I cant even do it in English! I sent a frantic e-mail to Lynette, who told Randon, who then e-mailed me with instructions. Time was hard to find, so after a week without my fave.site, I took it to the office. There is a young volunteer (23 yrs old) who looked at it and interpreted it and showed me how to get back on. SO! Here I am and glad to be here.

uh-oh

My internet all of a sudden came out in Spanish. Yes, I am trying to learn the language, but am n ot ready for total immersion! I couldnt figure out what to use to write another blog. I e-mailed Lynette who told Randon who immediately answered. Time was hard to come by for a few days, so I didnt get a chance to even open his instructions.