Slow Learners

Today we took Flat Adele with us on the bus to the feria. She enjoyed watching people buying fruits and vegetables. She was able to have her own seat on the bus. We brought our produce home and Adele helped me wash it all. Then we met the sister missionaries from Vina del Mar. They had come down to go to the temple and wanted to go out to dinner with us. They met Adele and said she was beautiful. She liked them, too, and smiled warmly at them.We walked two blocks to a Chinese restaurant we had never gone to, so didnt know what to expect. What we found was a place just like the places in the States. Adele and I had chopsui verdura con mariscos, arroz blanco, and sopa something. Adele didnt eat much, but she smiled throughout the whole meal.  We walked the sister missionaries to where they took a taxi to the bus terminal for their hour and a half ride back to Vina del Mar. As we approached our apartment, I remembered that the Grahams (another missionary couple) had a small computer table for us, so Adele got to visit with some more missionaries. She like them, too, and smiled at them, and sat very quietly while we talked. Just as we were leaving their apartment with the desk, there were three missionaries coming to help us move it. Our elevator has a capacity of 300 kilograms or 4 persons. Three elders and a desk went up on the odd-number elevator. We four (and Flat Adele) took the even-number elevator. The elevator registered floor six, and stopped, but the door didnt open. We could hear the missionaries on the other side, so even though the sign said we were on floor six, we were somewhere near floor five. We waited and waited for someone to help us. Adele waited patiently without complaint. Finally, after about 15 minutes in the stuffy little elevator, it started to move. When the door opened, we found ourselves on the basement floor facing three young elders. They had been running up and down the stairs to keep track of us while the concierge ran around fixing the elevator. Nobody wanted to take the elevator up to floor five. Finally, the men went. Then Sister Graham, Flat Adele and I went. There were no problems. Just as the doors of the elevator opened, the Elders arrived, having run up five flights of stairs AGAIN. We gave them an ice cream bar for their help. I dont know if it was Adele being the fifth person, or the dinner we had just eaten, or if four big norteamericanos were too much for the little elevator. What do YOU think??????

Off to La Ligua

Last week the temple missionaries planned a bus trip to La Ligua, about two or three hours northwest of Santiago. We were invited to go and eagerly accepted. This would be Jay's first trip out of the city and my second.The trip would involve a bus to the Metro subway to a central bus station. Ten of us rode standing up all the way to the bus station because we were traveling at peak morning rush hour. Two of the native-Spanish speaking missionaries (sisters) were going to meet us at the bus station. We looked for them till we boarded and the driver was putting the bus into gear. We saw one of them running, sounded the alarm, and she was able to board the bus. The other sister didnt make it because of miscommunication. That was sad. Several of us remarked that the bus was better than a plane for seating and TV. We passed a lot of little towns, villages and farms. We drove through the foothills of the Andes, high enough in altitude to make our ears pop. We saw avocado farms, grape orchards, lots of farms growing things we couldnt identify. We saw goats, sheep, donkeys, horses and cows in herds.  La Ligua is a town of about 7000. It has a very nice plaza in the center of town with lots of trees and benches. We got a lot of stares because there were eleven of us gringos with name tags. We engaged three taxis and drove five kilometers (three miles) to a village where every tienda (store) had sweaters for sale. These sweaters defy definition! There are every color, combination of colors, and style. There are ponchos (knitted or woven in yarn), shawls, scarves, gloves, socks, hair doo-dads, and on and on.They are all wool and as soft as cotton fluff.  I found three GottaHavs and a whole bunch of Nextimers. Jay found a very nice cardigan in medium dark blue. Those four sweaters totalled about $80 US!!!!!! One sweater was only $12! How could we afford NOT to? There was one little "restaurant" about half-way down the street and we were hungry and it was 1:30. We were the only ones there because it was way too early for the Latino lunch. Jay had a baked chicken thigh (which included the back quarter of the bird) and the ever popular french fries. French fries are offered everywhere. I had beef with a little broth over it - it was a large piece - and french fries. Those fries were soooo good when dipped in the chicken or beef juices. We had Fanta to drink, of course. There were rolls served as appetizers. There was no butter, but I found that when dipped in olive oil and lemon juice, they were really good. While waiting for the bus in the bus station, we bought one of each of the pastries because they all looked good, and maybe we wouldnt ever see them again. We bought twelve different ones, but most of them were filled with manjar and surrounded in meringue. Manjar (pronounced MAN-har) is very sweet and reminds me of soft caramel. Yummy. Dulce de leche. We arrived in Santiago just as the sun was setting, and at our apartment an hour later. We did not have dinner. We went to bed. What a glorious day we had.

Saturday is "P-Day"

SATURDAY P-DAY          Today we went to the feria for our week's worth of fruits and vegetables. We're getting better at buying just enough for a week, but we still managed to fill up our cart. The cart will probably hold about four or five paper grocery sacks full to the brim. That's a lot of fruit and veggies. We have learned that the feria will be open all year round, even in the winter, which is approaching. It is like early October here and the leaves are just beginning to change color.We've had one day with a little rain, but now are back to 70's during the days.The feria is on the sidewalk and about three blocks long, so by the time we walk two blocks to the bus stop, walk two blocks to the feria, and then return the same number of blocks, we have covered about a mile.        After the feria, we washed off all the fruits and veggies and set them out on the drainboard to dry while we joined two other couples for lunch and a movie across town in Alto Las Condes. This is quite a ways away so we walked more blocks, then took a couple buses to get there. Lunch was at Tortilla Factory, a Mexican restaurant with outdoor dining. I had a carne picante enchalada with black beans and rice. It was SOOOOooooo good. Then we crossed the street to the big shopping center that is bigger than any in Salt Lake City. On the second floor is the huge movie plex with 12 theaters. We saw something with Vows in the title, I cant remember. It is an American film with Spanish subtitles. They sell popcorn, drinks and candy at the consessions stand.                After the movie, we went down to the lowest level to the jumbo Jumbo. It is larger than Walmart ( lots of walking), although it IS owned by Walmart. I went away from there very happy because we found a WAFFLE IRON, and a router for the computers in our apartment. The waffle iron will be paid for by the church because it is considered as furnishings for the missionaries apartments.             As soon as we got home (it was 6:00), we called the Masons because we had a dinner date with them. We walked more blocks, then hopped another bus, walked another lots of blocks only to find the little diner closed for the night. We walked two more blocks to a Chinese place that had been recommended. The dinner was very good, and we have enough for tomorrow, too. Not being finished yet, we walked across the street to the big Lider for groceries such as bread, lunch meat, etc, etc. We had to walk another four or five blocks to the bus stop where we caught the bus to Temple Square. Two more blocks of walking and we were home.             We are tired. I am also pleased, pleased that we are now able to walk that much and only feel the same amount of discomfort that we felt after two blocks walking three months ago. Yesterday Jay and I walked a lot during lunch hour and I felt quite refreshed afterward.                  The hamburgers are a little different tasting, but I think it's the condiments, rather than the bread, meat or cooking method. I like my hamburgers with the whole works on them and heavy on the onion. The hamburgers here have mayonnaise, tomato, lettuce, and ketchup. My chicken sandwich yesterday had guacamole besides the tomato and lettuce. It was very good, but different. The hamburgers are bigger, the fries portions are bigger so there are a lot of calories to walk off. If you want a McFlurry, you have to go to a completely separate place in the store to have it made and paid for.

KFC for Lunch

Today we didnt have enough bread for sandwiches so we planned to go out for lunch. Jay said there was a Mcdonald's or BurgerKing pretty close. As we were walking, I said there was a KFC nearby and I'd like to go there to see if the chicken and coleslaw taste like that in Logan. We walked six or seven blocks without finding it, so asked someone. She said it was four or five more blocks. I said, Lets go back," so we crossed the street and headed toward the office (and where the McD/ BK was). On the way, I found a yarn shop that I want to visit again. We found a little shop of stationery supplies and bought a box of 24 pens that we like.Twenty four pens might sound like a lot, but they dont last as long as those we are used to. I enjoyed looking at all the shops, seeing what there was to offer. Now I truly believe that we can buy just about anything we can buy at home. Except Miracle Whip, brown sugar,molasses, and fresh milk. We turned a corner, found the McD's and were amazed to see that there were four lines all the way to the sidewalk of people waiting to place their orders. We ate outside under the umbrella tables, sharing the table with another man. He kindly gave me his unused ketchup packets when he saw me eat french fries with ketchup. We were about six or eight blocks from the office as far as I could tell. We felt adventurous, so wound our way around on a different path. We found some nice Chinese restaurants, and a steak house.  There is a very tall, round, narrow building being built near the office, so we used it as our beacon, and found our way back to work. It was nice to get out and walk in the sunshine and mingle with the crowds.

We Broke It

Tonight we went to dinner at La Hacienda with three other couples. Jay and I ordered a salad and steak to share. When they came, I said, I guess we arent sharing. They were both really big. But we really did share because the bill only charged us for one steak plus the salad, potatoes and mushrooms. We brought the equivalent of a whole steak home for tomorrow's meals. When we arrived at our apartment building, there were three ladies who came into the elevator with us. They wanted the third floor, we wanted the fifth. Somewhere near the third floor, the elevator just stopped. The door didnt open. We rang the emergency bell but nothing happened. We rang twice more, and knocked on the door. We heard our concierge on the other side. He managed to get the door open by using a screwdriver and pushing the door really hard. We had come short of the third floor by about three feet! It was soooo funny. One by one we hiked up our skirts and crawled out of the elevator. Then, because the elevator was now out of commission, we had to take the stairs two more flights. I'm laughing hysterically just writing this. hahahahaha

Tender Moment for Sister Memmott

We saw Sister Memmott this morning during Spanish class. She said she found her wallet. Somehow it slipped out of her purse when she was gathering up all the paperwork at another place. The person behind the desk found it and tried to catch her, but couldnt find her. After we saw her yesterday, she walked back to that place and the lady smiled really wide and produced the wallet. Intact. All her US and Chile information, credit cards, lots of money....
The Miracle Whip turned out okay. I had some on my ham and cheese sandwich (with lots of mustard) and it wasnt yucky, so I guess it'll do. Jay thinks it's just fine, and that's why I made it, just for him.
Happy birthday to Patrick Allen Sogla! Friday the 13th in Chile isnt a scary day, but if the 13th lands on Tuesday, watch out. I dont know about that.
We are having our first rainstorm since we got here. There isnt much rain so far, but there is a little lightening and thunder. It is still warm enough that I am not wishing I had a coat. They keep warning me that we are going to freeze to death, though, so I really want to find a coat. The poor sister at the office was wearing three layers today and was still complaining of being cold. She is quite thin, so maybe it's a blessing to carry around your own insulation when living in Chile in the winter. Oh, yes, we are entering winter now. Enjoy your summer.

A Miracle Happened at 1906 Los Estanques

I made the Miracle Whip! I didnt have any powdered mustard, so just squirted a good amount of regular mustard into the mix. I would halve the recipe, though, as four egg yolks and three cups of oil make a lot of MW. Jay is the MW taste expert and he says it is pretty good. Today I found the powdered mustard at the store and bought a bottle. This afternoon we had an interview with the Area Presidency Counselor. It was an enjoyable experience. We just talked and joked a little, and shared a few experiences about our mission and some of our past history. One of our older sister missionaries was pick pocketed today. Her wallet is gone. Sad.

It's a Miracle

I am googling now. It is so fun. Yesterday I googled Miracle Whip and found a recipe. There are two miracles in the previous statement: I am googling and I found that particular recipe. And all you googling experts are right...you can find anything you want. I call that a tender mercy. I have found songs and words to songs, there are even movies to watch!!!! Just because I had the time I drew music scores and wrote the music, with the words, to Take Me Out to The Ball Game. It was fun exercise for my brain.

MoreFit for The Kingdom, More Used Will We Be

The FHE turned out to be a lot of fun. It was surprising to see creativity come out of the least expected! We have pictures. Yesterday we had Area devotional and I played the piano. The secretary to the Area presidency, Elder Dalton, spoke, and I understood all he said. He is a gringo and spoke slower than Chileno. We left there and got to the office by 9:30, where we worked till 1:30. On the way home, we bought groceries and took them to the new apartment. While Jay put them away, I started cleaning the old apartment. I have to brag that I finally got to clean a place to my satisfaction. It is SPOTLESS. Ten elders from the Chile MTC (which is on the floor below) came to help carry everything across the street and up 5 floors. (They have service hours to perform; we gave them ice cream sandwiches for thankyous). By the time we had unpacked our six suitcases and put it all away, it was 10:30. We were in so much pain that we didnt sleep very well. Sooo....., this morning the power was off. It was dark. We couldnt see,and the place was unfamiliar. We finally used what little light there was to get ready for the day. I looked at the clock and was shocked to see that it was 10:15!!! We left only to find that the elevator didnt work, so we had to hoof it down 5 flights, walk a block and a half to the bus stop, stand all the way to work. As luck would have it, our bus didnt come for 15 minutes at both stops. The ladies at the office werent too happy about our being so late, but we didnt even know it was so late, and we didnt know the power would be off, and we didnt know we'd have to use the stairs. On the way home, we had to stop at the old apartment to pick up my hat I'd left. Surprise! The elevator wasnt working. I climbed 4 stories of stairs, retrieved my hat, and hoofed it down. Surprise! The elevator at the new apartment isnt working. We climbed 5 flights of stairs, making a total of 9 for me. We are going to the temple in a few minutes, so we will walk down the 5, and maybe climb AGAIN after. But at least the power is on. For now. My legs are getting stronger every day. I have pretty good balance on each foot from standing on the moving buses, and with "no funcionan" elevators, my circulation should be improving, too.

Easter FHE

Tonight is FHE for the senior missionaries. Jay and I have the lesson. After three months of rather heavy material, we had a few requests for something lighter. Soooooo, we are going to paint Easter eggs and decorate them with whatever we can come up with. I have been collecting bird feathers from the grounds, and will pick some flowers and leaves that might be useful. Jay will present a little Easter message and then we will get artistic! Some of you saw that I found the golden egg this year. It was in a chocolate store down the street. They wouldnt give it to me and I didnt buy it. It was about $30, and didnt have anything in the center. I wonder if my family will carry on the tradition at home or has it come to an end?