Happy Thanksgiving!

It does not feel like Thanksgiving here! It is not wintry at all! For most of the week it has been in the 90's. But I'm not complaining, it is actually really great!

Anyway, we decided to have something I miss more than the turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole - - -Mexican Food (& Pumpkin Pie)! Our friend Katy from Texas joined us and brought some great guacamole!

Hope you all had a good thanksgiving! What are you thankful for?

I'm thankful for my wonderful husband, sweet kittie, friends, family, and God's never-ending provision.

Beinvenidos a Argentina!

A few weekends ago we took the long journey over the Andes to Mendoza, Argentina. Mendoza is only 160 miles away from Santiago, but the trip took around 7 hours (those mountains are TALL)! Even though the drive was long, the scenery was beautiful.

We had a nice time, ate big steaks (for cheap), and had a few nice glasses of wine! Argentina is known for great beef, nice wine (though I think Chile has better) and things being cheap in general. About 70% of Argentinean wine is produced in the region of Mendoza and the vineyards are quite beautiful! We also saw the tallest mountain in both the Southern & Western Hemispheres. Cerro Aconcagua is 22,841 ft (6,962 m) and to the north of where we crossed over from Chile to Argentina.

Here are a few pictures of our drive; I will post more pictures later.

A huge herd of sheep crossing the road & stopping traffic!

A local cowboy, um.. or maybe sheep boy? I'm not sure of the proper name; any suggestions?

Up in the Andes

Beinvenidos a Los Andes (Welcome to the Andes!)

An interesting road sign! This helps to make the drive look extra dangerous!

Welcome to Argentina!
It was cold at the border between Argentina & Chile.
Once we were down in Mendoza, it was 80 degrees!

The highest peak in the Andes, Aconcagua

The view coming into Argentina. I wanted to sing "the hills are alive....."

More photos to come.....................

Birthday Booty

Thank you for all the wonderful emails, cards and gifts! They all made my birthday so special!

A-OK in Santiago

Today in the North of Chile, there was a 7.7 earthquake. The earthquake was centered about 800 miles to the north of Santiago. We just wanted to let everyone know that everything in Santiago is fine. However, in several northern cities/towns 2 people died, 20 were injured, and there is plenty of damage. In Santiago, we did feel some swaying for about 40 seconds - It was like being out on a boat. It was different feeling than the past tremors we have experienced here. Just wanted to let you know we were OK!

Carabineros!!!

Carabineros are the police force in Chile. They are actually a branch of the Chilean military and, unlike some Latin American countries, do not respond well to bribes. They are very identifiable - their vans, cars, motorcycles, uniforms, and even their buildings are green & white. For some reason, I really like the Carabineros! This week, I grew to love them even more when 3 friendly Carabineros (who were guarding a hotel where many Latin American presidents were meeting) allowed us to take pictures of them and their special assistant!

Not only do we have street dogs in Chile, but the Carabineros have
German Shepherds dressed in these official looking capes!

This nice Carabinero had his dog pose for a picture by commanding him to salute.
It was a very good day!

Guest Post: You can spell Chile without "PC"

Brad here with a little story about Chile's casual relationship with political correctness. In the US, the term has become a buzzword for any vexing, superfluous social norm that only serves to formalize what could otherwise be inoffensive human interaction. After a few months, it has become obvious to both Amy and me that this particular annoyance does not afflict the average Chilean.

If you look up Chile on the CIA World Factbook, you will find that 95% of the Chilean population is described as being either white or white-Amerindian. That's right, there are very few racial minorities here, which probably makes things that much more difficult for that small sliver of the population. Many times, Amy and I have observed Chileans gawking (literally) at the sight of an African in public. Amy herself has, on a number of occasions, been the recipient of rather benign but inappropriate comments from men on the street, owing partially to the fact that she is one of the few natural blonds in this country. It seems to me that PC is not so bad after all.

I had never been a party to this kind of behavior, until I found myself forced into being politically incorrect. A few days ago, I met one of the newly-hired paralegals in the office. This young man, who appears to be more Amerindian than white, introduced himself as "Juan José" but then instructed me to call him "Negro." You see, many of the Chileans in my office go by a nickname, and he seems to prefer one that reflects his relatively dark skin tone. Even though this nickname sounds less offensive to the gringo's ear when pronounced with a hearty Latin American accent (NAY-gdo), I still can't bring myself to use it.

I can't. This guy is going to be "Juan José" (or maybe "Juanjo"?) to me, whether he likes it or not.

Full Moon

I know night pictures aren't the best, but it was such a beautiful night here on Saturday!

Perfect for a KU victory over Texas A&M!