Brad - The Author!!!

I just wanted to let everyone know that I´m married to an author!

Brad has accepted an offer from the Boston University International Law Journal to publish his article "Reconstructing the Odious Debt Exception" in their Fall 2007 edition. We are excited and I am so proud of him!

It is a very interesting article and I have been working my way through the 40-page article. I think I´m understanding most of it, but there is a lot of legal speak (thank goodness for footnotes)! Last night we went and celebrated at a local place called Liguria where we scored an awesome poster, which will become art work when we return to the states. More to come on that, later!

Congratulations, Brad!

Mercado Centro

Last Wednesday, was a national holiday, the Assumption of the Virgin Mary Day. There are many National Chilean Holidays that coincide with the Catholic Church since 70% of Chileans are Catholic.

Brad had the day off so we went to the Centro of Santiago. We ate lunch at the Mercado Central and explored the fish markets. Brad ate machas (razor clams with parmesan cheese) and I had marisco sopa (fish stew). It was a fun day.

Mercado Central

Llamas out in the front of the mercado - I wanted my picture with them!

Earthquake & Snow!

Yesterday morning we had an earthquake! We had experienced some tremors, but this actually made the news (somewhat). It only registered 3 on the Richter scale. Brad was in his office, so he felt the effects more due to being on the 27th floor. I know it wasn't very strong, but I didn't find it that scary - just strange!

Not only did we have an earthquake, but we had snow in the evening. Of course in the mountains it snows all the time, but down in Santiago it hardly ever snows! When we awoke this morning, San Cristobal and rooftops were still dusted with snow!


View from our window of San Cristobal


San Cristobal from Brad's office

Another round of skiing!!!

This past Saturday we went up to the mountains to ski again! We had a great time and Brad was a superstar! It was amazing to see how much he improved since we went at the beginning of July. We were able to go higher up the mountain and try more difficult runs! I remembered why skiing was my favorite sport! It was so fun & breathtaking!

I found out that La Parva is over 10,000 feet - that must have been why I was out of breath and not from my lack of exercising! Santiago is only 1700 feet, which means the ride up to the slopes is pretty nauseating at times! There is basically one rode from Santiago to several of the ski areas and the road has each switchback numbered, all the way past 45!

Anyway, we had a great time & I felt surprised every time I looked up! See for yourself!


The Chilean Flag in a beautiful setting. This picture looks pretty, but man, was it cold! I think it was around 15 degrees Fahrenheit (-8 C). The flag is flying straight out, so one can see how hard the wind was blowing.


The town of La Parva!




A Chacarero sandwich, filled with meat & veggies. This particular one had green beans, tomatoes, and fresh aji peppers.

Winter Foliage

Santiago has a huge variety of plant life. There are tropical looking plants and regular looking trees that have lost their leaves for the winter. Yes, that's right, even though some of the following plants make it look like we are living in a very warm place, it is still pretty cold. I don't quite understand how all the succulents and palms survive!


This amazing jade grows everywhere! I have never seen jade flower, but it is really pretty. In many of the parks, the jade grows in big clumps, like bushes.



A great, big beautiful palm tree near our apartment. Also, the sky is the bluest I have seen since arriving! No smog in sight!


I believe this is a type of aloe, but I'm not sure!


A huge, monster aloe plant on Santa Lucia! This particular aloe was so hearty that couples had carved their initials into the leaves. Aloe plants grow everywhere, even on the side of the street. Unfortunately, they end up collecting a lot of garbage from pedestrians!