Honor... Courage... Commitment: December 2008

Christmas 2008

I celebrated Christmas 2008 with both sides of my parents' families. I celebrated with Dad's side at my brother's wedding (an abbreviated gift exchange because everyone was pretty busy), and my Mom's side came over to our house on the 25th for dinner. On the 24th, my other brother & his wife (and their two large & active lab dogs) came into town for dinner -- collards & ham, mmmm! -- and we headed to the 7:00 church service. After church we made sausage balls & oatmeal cookies, and had a good time rubbing elbows in the kitchen. Christmas morning we exchanged our gifts. I gave my family shoulder bags from Chile (and my brother a dress shirt & athletic shirt), and I got many nice dress shirts & neckties that I'll use for my new job in Annapolis. It was great to be with family and celebrate Jesus's birth.

Here is a selection of photos.

Hello from the USA!

I've been back in the US for 6 days now, and what a full six days they've been! This time last week I was at 35,000 feet heading north along the Chilean coast. I was blessed with four poignant goodbye parties in a row, ending on Monday Dec 15th. I have some great gifts which will enable me to remember Chile for many many years. I'll post some pictures soon.

After arriving in RDU on Wednesday, I visited with my dad and grandmother, then headed over to the campus of NC State to watch them play East Carolina University in basketball. Then Thursday I did some shopping with mom & prepared to head back to Cary for Charles and Kim's wedding. We drove up on Friday, setup the rehearsal dinner, rehearsed, ate some great bar-b-que (and I was able to support U-Chile futbol team and tell Paw Paw's "do nothing for each other" joke!) The wedding went well on Saturday, even though there wasn't a wedding coordinator (I've been in many weddings and now see their value, even if they are sometimes a pain to work with). Sunday morning we went to First UMC in Cary with Gran, and I left after the service and drove up to MD. I-95 in northern Virginia is a beast, but I survived and crossed the Potomac into the much less crowded roads of the Maryland part of the Capital Beltway.

I posted earlier that I've decided to rent a room for my first months in Annapolis, and that I'd been looking for a place on Craigslist. Well, I met him, David, and toured my future apartment. I'll have my own bedroom & bathroom, and of course we share the common areas. The apt is 1400 sq ft, located about 2 miles from campus, and has a nice living area equipped with cable tv and internet. After visiting with David, I ate dinner with my dept chair and his wife, who invited me over to their townhome for home cooking. Monday was filled with meetings at human resources (I think my payroll will be setup in time for my first paycheck to come in early Jan!) and with several other faculty members. I rode over to the AT&T store after the meetings and got me an iPhone (I know, it's quite a purchase, and I don't have a great justification for it other than I want it.)

I'll try to get some photos posted of my last 2 goodbye parties in Chile and of Charles and Kim's wedding. Meanwhile, please have a very Merry Christmas!!

Despedida #2 (goodbye party #2)

Comunidad Cristiana Santiago: cumpleanos otono 2008

The church youth group had their semi-annual birthday celebration last weekend and invited me to join them (since my birthday falls in Sept and is in the 2nd half of the year). We enjoyed a good time of fellowship and then headed outside (remember it's now summer here) to play a rousing game of "red rover". Of ccurse, being located in a neighborhood, we roused the anger of one of the local old ladies, who came out toating her liter of beer in one hand and her dog leash in another, shouting "keep it down" during our fun. We quieted and eventually went inside for some cake. It was a great evening and a good way to end up the semester!

Un-Bolivia-ble

One of the great attractions of San Pedro de Atacama is that it is located at the junction of three countries: the altiplano regions of Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia. I talked with several tour operators when I first arrived in San Pedro about tours to Bolivia, and while they had multiple, all were for 3 or 4 days (and I only had 3 days total in the whole area, counting the time I needed to return to the airport in Calama). But I didn't give up, and on Wed night I found a semi-private (originally private but opened up to more people to keep the costs down) tour to the lagunas of Bolivia.

So, armed with my Chilean identity card, my US passport, and over $100 in US dollars (Bolivia has started charging US citizens a US$135 "reciprocity" fee to receive a tourist visa at its borders), I jumped on the tour and headed north into the Bolivian altiplano.

The Lagunas were spectacular: Laguna Blanca (white lagoon), Laguna Verde (green lagoon), and finally Laguna Colorado (red lagoon). Enjoy these pics!

San Pedro de Atacama

Last week, Dec. 2-5, I visited the other of Chile's most famous destinations for international travelers: San Pedro de Atacama. (I consider Torres del Paine to be the first must-see destination for visitors to Chile.) San Pedro is situated mid-way up the altiplano ("high plateau"), at 2300 meters (or about 5000 ft) in elevation. The town itself is very small, with only a few hundred permanent residents and perhaps another thousand or so people working in tourism. The structures are all adobe-style clay, which make them pretty effective climate stabilizers, protecting against the hot day-time sun (highs routinely between 80-90F) and the cool to cold nights (below 50F and occasionally toward freezing). However, neither the weather nor the town itself is the reason San Pedro is a "must-see" destination. Instead, it is famous because just a short tour-van drive from town is an abundance of natural wonders: volcanic geysers, salt lagoons, and deep canyons, just to name a few. I only spent 3 days there, but was wowed by all that I saw.

Here are a few photos, as always. Enjoy!

6 a.m., federal agents, and a crazy day

So today the governor of Illinois was arrested at his home for allegedly trying to use the prestige and power of his office illegally (including peddling the recently vacant US senate seat formerly held by Obama). I'm pretty sure this was the first time anything like that has happened in my life (or at least my post-childhood memory). It's crazy for me to try to picture the 6 a.m. wakeup call he received from the federal agents. We'll see how it plays out and whether he is convicted on all the charges. Some of the allegations don't seem to hold too much water... i.e., the NY Times says he "sought to parlay it into a job as an ambassador or secretary of health and human services, or a high-paying position at a nonprofit or an organization connected to labor unions", which I guess is only illegal when you actively seek - and explicitly state - the exchange. Politicans always seem to "scratch each others' backs" with returned favors (i.e., how many former congressmen and senators currently work as highly paid consultants, or serve as ambassadors?). Anyway, Illinois has long had a reputation as a tough place for politics, and the evidence continues to pile up!

Getting all packed

I spent most of today, the Immaculate Conception holiday, relaxing (an a.m. jog in Parque O'Higgins, return to the park in the early afternoon to do some reading, then an afternoon nap). I also, however, started sorting and packing. My largest suitcase is now filled to 24 kg (its limit is 23 kg), and my 2nd largest suitcase is nearly full. I have 3 piles of clothes sitting around: (a) definitely pack; (b) pack only if space available; and (c) leave behind in Chile.

I've bagged up the best of the (c) clothes and will put them out by the street soon. Santiago has quite a few "dumpster divers" who are very serious about their work, so they'll probably be pleased with my donation. I'm reminded of my move-out in Norman, when I also put some reasonably good items out by the dumpster in the mid-afternoon only to find them gone an hr later.

This week will be short (only a 4-day workweek), plus I'm not officially "on the clock" (my last paid day was Nov 28th), so I'll take care of what I need to take care of and not be pressured for more. I have 3 goodbye parties this weekend: Friday with colleagues from work, Saturday with my church group, and Sunday also with the church group. Then Monday I'll spend cleaning and organizing, and Tuesday I'm off (AA flight departure at 10:20 pm Tuesday, arriving in Raleigh-Durham at 11:50 a.m. Wednesday).

After many moves over the past 7 years, I've got quite a bit of experience packing, saying goodbye, and looking forward to the next destination. I spent 3 months in Monterey, CA in 2003; I house-sat for the Karoly's in summer 2005; I lived on Barbados from 2005-2006; I house-sat for the Bluestein's in summer 2006; I lived in Austria from 2006-2007; and I moved to Santiago in late 2007. So since Feb 2003, that's 7 addresses in 5 years. Anyway, the point is that even though I have done this a lot, it doesn't get any easier. It's always bittersweet saying goodbye to new friends and not knowing the next rendevous point. The "grupo de jovenes" gave me a very nice goodbye party on Sunday (which was a total surprise; I thought we were going to eat something, haha!), and I was reminded of how hard the life of "vagrancy" is. Hopefully I'll put down some long roots in Annapolis and see what that feels like for a change!

Apartment-hunting

Since my last post several people have asked me where I plan to live once I get to Annapolis. I've thought about it quite a bit, and here's my idea 'du jour' (I guess I should use "del dia" since it makes more sense to me!). I'm currently scanning classifieds, most notably craigslist, for roommate-wanted notices. It's a little tricky contacting people since I don't have a US phone number (I'm considering shelling out $10 for skype-in for this month). But I think it's a good idea to room with someone for at least several reasons: (1) I don't know Annapolis, it's neighborhoods, etc., so rooming with someone gives me time to get to know the city; (2) I don't know anyone, either, in Annapolis, so a roommate is at least one contact; (3) Annapolis is expensive to live in!; and (4) most of the places I'm looking at already have much of the "big furniture" items like sofa, refrigerator, etc.

I've made one contact and am waiting for several other replies. Stay tuned!

There's a first time for everything I guess!

Today, while returning to my apartment from my morning walk, I encountered a small red auto en the crosswalk with Toesca. And by "encountered", I mean the driver hit me with her car. It wasn't a bad collision, but it did knock me sideways and cause me to twist my left ankle. I probably should have waited for the cars to cross (that intersection is notoriously bad for people running the stop sign... which she definitely had on her side), but I was in my walking pace and didn't necessarily want to slow down. Anyway, maybe later I'll head out and take a picture of the intersection.

Also, this afternoon, I'm going to San Pedro de Atacama, probably northern Chile's most famous spot, for 3 days. I hope to be able to see the geysers, watch the sunset in the Valley of the Moon, and head into Bolivia for a short trip to a thermal lake (Laguna Verde). I'll try to remember my camera this time (recall my trip to Buenos Aires & Montevideo were photo-free due to my bad memory!). And I'll try to post photos sooner than the ones I'm slowly loading from my trip up in the far north of Chile.

Is 15 years really justified?

Three things.

1- I read yesterday that the NY Giants player Plaxico Burress was formally charged in his shooting accident over the weekend. I went on to read that the prison sentence for those crimes ranges from 3.5-15 years. Seriously-- 15 years in jail? For shooting yourself? Maybe some of my more intelligent (or legalistic) friends can tell me why that sentence is justified!

2- The stock market dropped around 10% yesterday and no one seemed to really even notice! A one-day 10% drop is pretty bad. But I guess that now people are growing accustomed to such variability.

3- I noticed something that reminded me of home recently in the park near my apartment, Parque O'Higgins. The grounds-keeping crew has planted new trees on the grassy observation hill, and the other day I noticed that over 20 of these new trees are none other than the southern magnolia! Sweet home, the American south, comes to Santiago. The flowers are just opening, and I look forward to their smells for the next few days.

The driest place on earth. Or, my trip to northern Chile.

Here is a selection of pictures from my stay in Arica, Chile, from Oct 14 to Nov 7. Dave Rahn and I drove to the Altiplano on the afternoon of Nov 7th and saw the sunrise over Lago Chungara on the morning of the 8th. Then we began a LONG drive back to Santiago (over 2,200 kms, or about 1370 miles, equivalent to the distance from Greenville, NC to western Oklahoma. Keep in mind the road is two-lane 90% of the way!).

** Captions are ABOVE the picture! **

I lived at the Hotel Arica for nearly 4 weeks. It was nice enough, I guess (although living in one room for 4 weeks is a bit draining), and they did give us a healthy breakfast each morning: fresh fruit and eggs. I could have chosen sweet rolls and other breads, too, but decided not to.

A view to the south and south-east. Notice the sea fog (i.e., the low stratus deck that we were studying during the project) just behind the rock outcropping.

Tennis, anyone? The seabreeze makes for some interesting shots!

Another view of the stratocumulus field and the coastal boardwalk. Nearly every morning we awoke to stratus, which burned off daily by noon, leaving the afternoon cool (highs near 75) and sunny. Arica is called the "land of eternal spring", and for good reason.

A zoomed out view looking south of the hotel toward the desert.

The statue atop "El Morro". At the bottom are Jesus's words: Amaos los unos a los otros como yo os he amado. Love one another as I have loved you.

View of the port of Arica near sunset. On this particular day, the marine layer had built back in by sunset.

From the downtown plaza, looking back up toward "El Morro".

Looking east along the main pedestrian street in Arica, 21 de Mayo.

Walking to lunch after the 10:30 a.m. briefing.

Mmmm. Lunch at "la picada".

Me with 2 of the students from Andres Bello University (center) and their advisor Marcelo (left).

Another good lunch, this time at a fairly nice place!

La bandera Chilena. The flag of Chile.

Me after running up to the top of the Morro (from sea level pretty much straight up to about 400 feet... not an easy jaunt!)

The view from atop the Morro, again looking south. The Hotel Arica is over my left shoulder, in the foreground.

Some of the relics from the Battle of Arica, between Chile and Peru in the late 1800s.

On the top of the Morro, near the museum for the Battle of Arica. The Jesus statue is in the left-side of the picture.

Another view of Arica taken from the top of the Morro.

Lindsey, a phd student from Univ of Hawaii, and I on our "lunch trip" to Tacna, Peru. (We basically went there for lunch and got back in time to attend Juan's bar-b-que).