Flashback Friday, Christchurch version. Handwritten.
Feb 11th, 2010, Christchurch, New Zealand, written on the back of half of my "ticket" issued to me by Flight Center, through which I bought my ticket from Auckland to Christchurch, the extralong layover during which I ate some squash salad with feta and stretched out...
Foreigners not allowed. No Extranjeros!
I am a foreigner in Chile. I'm not from here, will never be from here, will likely never lose my accent, will never look Chilean.That said, my plight as a foreigner is somewhat unfraught. It is possible that someone will look at me and think I'd be fun to rob, to...
Fun with Spanish grammar, a personal anecdote.
He’s a personal, a friend said, describing someone we both know, trying to distinguish him from someone else of the same name.A personal what, you may wonder. A personal friend? Or perhaps a personal assistant? Bodyguard? Chaplain? Computer? Contact? Customer? Member?...
Surprise beach stop in New Zealand, Feb 2010 cycling trip
New Zealand Flashback It is icky and grey out, and I have a non BPA Nalgene bottle in my lap with tea inside, so first it's a hot water bottle, and then a cozy drink. So let's all think back to this southern summer, when long sleeves seemed like overkill and surprise...
One of my favorite windows (Santiago, Chile)
This is one of my favorite windows. Favorite window, you say? but of course. Everyone should have one. Windows are openings, possibilities, glimpses, fresh breezes, cool winds that make you bundle up against the cold. They're neighbor's cooking smells and the sound of...
The case of the hot toilet paper/Going to the feria in Santiago
Toilet paper, tp, papel higiénico, confort, we all use it. And when the tp runs out, or starts to run low, we think to ourselves "I must go down to the shops and pick up some more." What? you don't? Maybe you say, "Uh-oh, supermarket run a necessity, down to the last...
The sound of rain in Santiago (and everywhere)
What is it about rainy days that brings back every rainy day I've ever heard? The pattapattapatta on the flashing on my building sounds like rainy days at college where under the metal roof I sat bundled on my futon (convincing myself that this was comfortable, oh!...
On Visiting Villa Grimaldi
I have mentioned before that I feel like the dictatorship makes people do this: It is not mine to make people talk about, but in places where there's talking going on, you can be sure I'm giving it a listen. So yesterday I tasked myself with going up to Peñalolén, a...
On lapas, limpets, and piggy-back rides in Chile (more language ha-ha)
It's me again. With the language thing.The other night, I was at a friend's apartment in Ñuñoa, a pretty residential neighborhood with probably the swankiest and most pleasant plaza in all of Santiago with a giant fountain and benches and places where you have to step...
No es muy católico
(photo explained below) No es muy Católico (it's not very Catholic) is what you say in Chile (or what they say, I haven't quite gotten my brain around this one), when you're talking about something that's not quite right. The last time I heard it, a friend had...
