Time Change

I find it fascinating that, for the second time, the Chilean government has postponed daylight savings time. Since it is fall here we should have fallen back into the winter time schedule in March. A few weeks before they pushed it back until this coming weekend and now, just yesterday they have pushed it back until the beginning of May. Who knew you could mess with time like that!

Chile is having a minor energy crisis (something about a drought and dependency on hydroelectric power maybe) so the energy branch of the government decided to extend the extra daylight summer schedule of time to save on energy.

It might not seem like it would make much of a difference but Chileans are super energy conscious and they do not turn the lights on in their homes until they cannot see the person next to them. I'm serious. Many times I have been sitting in the dark wondering when they would notice and turn the lights on. They also unplug every appliance when they are not using it. So maybe it will make a difference.

Maybe they should just stay on the summer schedule permanently. No one likes the one hour less of daylight in the winter anyways. It throws off our natural clocks, makes us tired and makes us hibernate. Chileans love to stay up late and sleep late so the summer time schedule makes sense no matter what season it is. I say let it be summer all year long!!!

Cooling Off

As most of my readers are starting to enjoy warmer, Spring weather up there in the Northern Hemisphere, we down here in the South are preparing for Fall. I can tell it's coming. It can still get pretty warm during the days, but at night the temperature drops and you better have a jacket with you. I'm starting to wear my fleeces and sweatshirts around the house at night and this morning I woke up and my bedroom was quite chilly. I think it's time to bust out another blanket.

It's not as if it is freezing or anything but all temperatures here feel more extreme because there is no relief. In the summer, there is no AC so even the 80s feel hot, especially in the sun. Now, 70s during the day is not cold at all, but when it gets into the low 50s at night, my place gets kinda chilly. It's nothing I cant handle and I'm actually looking forward to a new season but I have to learn how to best stay warm here because it is different.

I have some kinda of little wall heater thingy that I don't know how to work. I might need to figure it out, but it is advised to wait as long as you can to turn your heater on because if you are too cold in March then what are you going to do in June or July! Everything is a learning experience here. The most basic tasks I have to learn how to do but I am glad to be here and I am saying "Bring on the Fall!"

It's The Little Things

I successfully made my amazing chocolate chip cookies today. It was a huge accomplishment. Everything I do lately feels like a huge accomplishment because everything is harder or at least has a learning curve. I finally got all the ingredients I needed to make them (or so I thought) so today I set out to do it. If you know me, you know I LOVE cookies. I can do cake, I greatly enjoy pies and brownies and pretty much every sweet, but I am a sucker for a good cookie.

To be able to make these cookies here are the tasks I had to accomplish:
1. Finding a baking sheet. They dont really have those so I got a metal baking pan which worked just great.
2. Find measuring cups/spoons. That took what seemed like a thousand stores to find but Sara finally did.
3. Finding chocolate chips. I hear they exist here, sometimes, but never for me. I had my mom send me some and a friend who came from the US brought me some as well as butter flavored crisco. I know there is another way to cook cookies without these delicious sticks but I sure do love them.
4. Testing out the "brown" sugar. It looked like the right color but it was really grainy. I looked on the back and it said the ingredients were sugar and molasses so I got it. I tastes about the same, the consistency is not, but it works!
5. Figuring out my oven. You would think the pictures would help but I is more complicated. I think I understand now.

So it has been a process but I got them done. You see, I love to eat cookies but I really love to bake them and share them with people. It brings me great joy when they are super yummy and someone else can enjoy them too. This is important to me and something I did not want to give up while being here. Well, ladies and gents, it looks like I dont have to.

I did have to substitute baking soda with extra baking powder and was nervous about the results but it was fine. They taste a little different but not bad. Not bad at all. You have no idea how happy this makes me to be able to make yummy cookies in Chile.

Up next: The Meredith's World Famous Chocolate Cookies.

Excitement

There is excitement all around!

1. I received a care package from my parents at my own mailbox in my apartment building. I am rejoicing that the address I gave works and that I have Girl Scout Cookies to eat!

Example of a great care package- things I needed and things that are just fun and yummy

2. We are legal! Everyone on our team has received notice that we are legally "en tramite," which means that our visas are in process. I am legally in between and with this document I can stay in the country with no trouble. My temporary visa (which lasts a year) should be ready in 3-4 months.


What great joy I get out of such small accomplishments here. Every success needs to be celebrated! How about a Girl Scout cookie?

All About Conce

This is not going to be a short post so stick with me if you can.

On Sunday night we returned from an amazing first trip to Concepcion since we have arrived in Chile. I give praise and thanks to God that it went so smoothly. It was a sweet blessing to have such a wonderful trip under our belts that will encourage us in the months to come, that reminds us that we are not here just to study Spanish, but to share the hope of Jesus with the people of Concepcion. They need this hope.

Hanging in the bus stop, waiting for our late bus

We left on Thursday and took the bus down which took about 6 hours and was quite uneventful. It was a beautiful drive and along the way I took note of the beautiful Andes Mts., the logging industry, the farming industry and the amazing skills of our driver to drive in dense fog. I tried not to watch.

Seaside lunch with our driver Marco

Friday was our driving day. We hired a driver to take us around and he was amazing. His name was Marco and he had lived in Conce for 30+ years so he knew his city. He took us to all the areas of town we could think of, plus the ones he thought we should see. We saw some of the richest areas of town, some of the poorest areas of town and everything in between. Our objective for the day was to just see the city; to get a feel for it, how it is the same, and how it has changed. This will help us think about ministry opportunities and to begin thinking about where we want to live. There are lots of good options for both.

Poorer area called Pedro de Valdivia Bajo

Richer neighborhood with large houses

A nice middle class area in San Pedro

Marco also drove us to see some of the earthquake destruction in Conce and then took us to see the destruction of his city, Conce's twin city, Talcahuano. This one of the major cities that got hit hard by the earthquake and tsunami. There are many people still living in temporary housing a year later but a lot of recovery has happened as well. I felt sad for them and that same day Japan was rocked by the huge earthquake and tusnami as well, which, I'm sure, brought back lots of memories. Later that day Talcahuano was evacuated for fear of a tsunami hitting them. There was no damage done but I could just sense their nervousness.

The famous building pictured often in the news, still not cleared

One of the many temporary housing areas in Talcahuano

Friday night we were blessed to have dinner with a sweet family that we have connections with and met last time we were in Concepcion. They are Marco, Kathy and Valentine (their cute son) and they were so hospitable to us. We just ate pizza and talked for a long time, catching up on their lives, asking them questions about Conce and hearing their earthquake stories. When we left them they said if there was anything they could do for us, anything, to let them know. They also offered their home for us to stay in and to accompany us to find homes because they know the area better. I think they meant it. I hope they know what they are getting themselves into because we need a lot of help. :)

Eating pizza with Marco, Kathy and Valentine

Saturday was a more relaxed day that we just spent walking around the city and discovering things for ourselves. It was a beautiful sunny day and it was so fun to see Chileans out, enjoying their Saturday.

We walked through the park, soon to be one of our favorite places

We stopped at a garage/antique sale at a plaza

We visited the University of Concepcion campus

We stumbled upon a storyboard of photos of the earthquake and saw how far they have actually come, it was powerful and humbling and such a blessing to have accidentally discovered

Saturday night we had lunch with a new friend Jaime and he took us to a University of Concepcion soccer game. It was a very fun experience. The crowd was small but excited and the view from the stadium was amazing. I have no pictures but we had a great time. Jaime was a great host and had a lot of great insight and encouragement for our work in Concepcion.

Sunday we packed up and headed home. The ride home was interesting. We probably stopped at least 15 times to pick people up in the middle of no where. By the time we got to Santiago there were people standing all around us without seats. This is not what I expected the trip home to be like and we later learned this was probably not legal. I felt the culture shock rising in me as the trip went along, just wanting to get home, but I also had to laugh at how different traveling can be here.

Overall, the trip home was a huge success and a great encouragement to me and my team. Conce is different in so many ways but it is also still the same city and people that I know and love. I know that God is working among them and I am excited to join that work.

Conce Here We Come

We are going to Concepcion for the weekend!!!!!!!!!! We have not been there since our survey trip almost two years ago and we are anxious to visit the beautiful city of Conce that we fell in love with. We are leaving on Thursday and coming back on Friday and I am excited. Pray for a refreshing and encouraging weekend and that God will show us where he is already working.

The team in Conce on our survey trip

They Were Not Lying

Everyone told me but I just could not believe it. They said it would get worse and I would respond "worse, how could it get worse?" They were not lying. The rumor is that on Sunday 250,000 cars came into Santiago, returning from summer holiday. 250,000 cars. Just think how many people were actually in each of those cars and think of all the people who do not have cars that came back to town also. It is back to work and it is very clear. Traffic is awful and the metro is nothing like I have ever experienced before. I have had two bad days of public transportation and it makes me want to avoid rush hour like the black plague.

What I experienced today was a little nerve wracking. I have been in some bad car traffic jams and I know many of my readers know what that is like, but a human traffic jam is way worse. I was in no danger of physical harm and because I was expecting it I just toughed it up like all the Chileans were doing, but wow, I have never been in such a tight space with so many people before.

I headed home with Sara and Mer around 6:30pm. To get home we had to take one metro line (red line) 2 stops, get off and change lines (to the green line) and then ride one stop. Where we change lines is a major metro intersection where tons and tons of people pass through. When we got to our first location of boarding, the train that stopped was very full. There was just a wall of people at the door way and I was going to get on but the people did not move and I chickened out. So we waited for the next train and I watched other Chileans shove their way on so I did the same. It was elbow to elbow, butt to butt, face to face, full.

So we rode two stops and got off and followed the huge mass of people to the green line. When we got to the green line platform the crowd just piled behind us and when the train came, we waited until the people on the train exited and then people started cramming on. I almost did not have a choice but to go with the crowd of people who just kept boarding and boarding and boarding. I really did not think I was going to make it but the people behind me kept pushing until I got on. I was afraid the door might shut on me but then this other man got in behind me, grabbed the handle bars and pulled himself in, pushing me further into the crowd, to where it was only his body keeping me from popping out. The door closed and I just focused on staying calm and not panicking. I could not move my body and there were other bodies touching me all around. I was concerned that we might not be able to get off but we just pushed and said "permiso" and made our way off the train to freedom.

Wow. That is normal here but to me it was unbelievable. The horrible thing is that people have to do that twice a day, five days a week for a much longer ride than I had and they have no choice. I did not believe that the traffic (car and human) could get worse, but they were not lying. I just got worse.