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