Hosting In My Home

I hosted for the first time in my new home on Sunday. The team came over for church and then we ate dinner together. It felt so good to have friends sitting comfortably and warm in my new home. Everyone had a chair and everyone had a place to sit at the table. That is something to be thankful for coming off of living in a tiny apartment in Santiago with no room for everyone.

The next night I had my first Chilean friends into my home for a meal and that was very special too. The family I lived with my first 3 weeks here came over to deliver some packages that arrived for me and I used that as an opportunity to show them my new house, enjoy a meal together and catch up.

These were just two simple evenings of food and talking but they meant a lot to me. I love hosting and serving my friends and I see this as just the beginning of many many meals to come.

It Has Arrived

The ash from the volcano way down south has finally arrived in Concepcion. I am pretty sure I read that it went all the way around the world and came back to Chile and now it is in Concepcion. I think the volcano has slowed down but is still going.

Looks just like a normal foggy day in Conce. Nope! It's ash!

From what I can tell on the internet news sites there is not much to be worried about. They have canceled flights in and out of Concepcion, and it may cause a little respiratory problems but they are only telling the very young and very old to be cautious. People are out walking around, children are playing outside so no one seems to worried. To look outside and see it, if you didn't know it was ash, you would just think it was a little foggy. Or if you were in Abilene you would think it was a little dust storm. But no, it's ash. I can see a slight dusting of it on the floor right in front of my front door but that is the only effects on my life.

This is a really horrible picture I know but you can mainly see it if you look at the tree line and how fuzzy they look.

No need to worry. I think it will pass soon and I can say I survived my first volcanic ash!

Bienvenidos

I am finally moved into my home and have enough of the basics to survive and even cook a meal. I am really excited to show you. Welcome to my home. Let me show you around.

The outside of my house

My street. I pray for these people every time I walk by.

Come on in. Have a seat. Haha. This is my living room and dining room. I just ordered a couch and table so I am looking forward to having something to sit on besides camp chairs.

This is how I heat my house. It might seem intimidating and it is a little bit of work but it works soooo well. I have the warmest house on our team!

Here you can see the stairs to the upstairs bedrooms and bathroom. One of those rooms will be my guest room (you are welcome to visit any time) and the other holds all my boxes and suitcases. See the towels hanging? It is so wet here and this is the only way they can dry, next to the fire.

Here is my bedroom and my feather comforter to keep me warm at night.

My little bathroom.

My little kitchen, now complete with stove, refrigerator and dishes. Soon to come: washer and dryer.

Speaking of a stove, this is how I fuel my stove, with a tank of gas that I have to walk outside to turn on when I want to use it.

Another inconvenience that I am getting used to, my water heater. It heats as it goes and when I want to use hot water I have to turn the gas on (see the little yellow knob) and then light it with a match. It gives me wonderful hot water though so I can't complain.

My backyard. I can't wait for it to be warm and dry so I can eat on my back porch. Right now it stores my wood.

And speaking of cold and wet, these are worn almost daily now.

And just so you don't think I havent been doing anything, this is what it looked like when I first moved in.

My office: camp chair, computer on a box, as close to the fire as possible.

So ladies and gents, senors y senoras, that is my little home. I look forward to the day, very soon I hope, to have new Chilean friends over to warm by the fire, cook a yummy meal, sit on my comfy couch and share our lives together.

Interesting Observance

Since being in Chile I have gone to the movies three times. I love going to the movies and not many things makes me feel more normal than sitting in the dark with a bunch of strangers, eating popcorn and enjoying a good flick. I most recently saw X-Men and thought it was really good. It was very interesting and exciting and just a good story. I really like prequels.

Anywhere I go in Chile I cannot help but observe and attempt to understand the cultural occurrences around me. I pay attention to the way people enter and exit the mall, how they stand in line, how they interact with strangers, and where they sit in the movie theater. Two out of the three times I have gone to the movies there were tons of seats available, in front of me, behind me, all around me, and yet they chose to sit right next to me or right in front of me.

In the US everyone wants to get a good seat, but not at the expense of sitting to close to someone you dont know. If someone has a good spot in a row you like you either sit a few seats down the row or a few rows in front of them. Of course if the theater is full you will sit wherever you can find a spot. Not here. I am not sure their reasoning, but they just sit right next to you even if there are tons of other good spots to choose from. I am pretty sure it never crosses their minds that it would be odd to sit directly next to a stranger when not necessary.

I am not saying this is a bad thing....just...interesting. And it does not just happen to me. It has happened to my teammates and Chileans do it to other Chileans. The same X-Men night, there were tons of seats and people not only sat right next to me, but they did the same thing to each other. To them, it just is the way it is and I find that fascinating. Every outing is a learning experience here.

One Reason I Love Living In Chile

The fresh produce is awesome! There is a wonderful market not far from where I live that is open every day and is full of fresh fruits, veggies, eggs, meat, fish, and cheese. It is even bigger and better than the one in Santiago. The family I am staying with took me there on Sunday and it did not take long to convince me that I will soon be a regular there.

Beautiful!

Great prices all around (those are pesos, not dollars)

Lot's of people. This is the place to be.

I like this. Need to buy eggs and CD's in a hurry? Here you can get them both!

Small and Simple

We had our first church in Concepcion Sunday night and I just had to document it with a photo. This is what we are here to do and this is the beginning. It was nothing big, nothing fancy, but it was significant. We started out small, just the 5 of us. We started out simple, sitting on the floor next to the glowing heater.