Tuesday, May 29, 2007

My New Boyfriend

The end of fall and the beginning of the Chilean winter has arrived. Leaves that changed colors a month ago have started to fall to the ground and each morning brings a cold breeze and frost on car windshields. Under normal circumstances, I would say that it is mid-October or November in the United States. Instead, however, it is the end of May in Chile and as many Americans have just spent their Memorial Day weekend outside, I am inside huddled around an electric heater.

Unlike many houses in the United States, most houses in Chile do not have central heating. This means that typically, houses are the same temperature inside as they are outside (or colder, as demonstrated by the Ictinos house). As Winter progresses, I am finding it a growing task to escape from the cold.

My fellow Chile Associates and I have found many ways to keep warm. Natalie learned to knit back in August and has advanced to knitting each of us head/ear warmers that we always wear in the house. Scarves have been a must for us when walking out of the house. We have certainly got our money’s worth out of the tea kettle and despite the dental effects, I can always be found with a cup of warm tea in my hand. Wool socks have also become my new best friend. Bed attire is not complete without a thick SMC hoodie and flannel pajama pants. Those who know me well know that my natural body temperature is higher than the average person, and thus, I am a cold sleeper who needs several blankets on my bed regardless of what season it is. I jokingly laughed the other day as I realized my bed now contains two fleece blankets, a down comforter, a sleeping bag, and my t-shirt quilt I made and brought from the U.S. in order to combat the chill in my room.

Despite all of this, I have found that my salvation from a chilly night is the presence of my new boyfriend Guatero (pronounced wa-tair-o). No, this is not a public announcement of a new relationship nor an attempt to discredit my claim that I will never date Chilean men. Guatero is the Chilean term for “hot water bottle” and my Guatero has developed a life and personality of his own. It all started when my housemates realized my ritual of boiling water before bed symbolized my attachment to the object and my inability to go to bed without it. The joke is now that I am going to bed with my boyfriend and all subsequent jokes about my boyfriend providing warmth, etc. follow. In response, I tell them that my boyfriend is continuing to serve his purpose as any good boyfriend should. ;-)

I am told that the cold has just begun and this is nothing compared to what I will experience come July or August. If this is the case, my thoughts of Guatero make me feel like Rick Blaine at the end of Casablanca: “this is the start of a beautiful relationship…”




















My new boyfriend, Guatero, and me

Monday, May 14, 2007

Earthquake in Chile

The first time that I felt a tremor was in Bolivia, early in the morning before class. It was slight, about 10 seconds or so, and not strong enough for any significant damage. All I heard was the “clink” of my glass of water against the glass plate under it and my door ever-so-slightly rattle in the door frame, with a small moving sensation in my chest.

The second and third time I felt a tremor were in Pocuro, also early in the morning. Again, nothing large, just enough to wake me slightly and for me to realize what was going on.

The fourth time I felt a tremor I was in the worst possible place – sitting in a dentist chair in Santiago, on the 12th floor of the building, while the dentist was cleaning my teeth. This tremor was a little stronger this time and due to our location it was definitely felt by all – so much so that my dentist stopped his work and went to the door frame, leaving me in the chair with the small hose continuing to suck the water out of my mouth. Real nice guy he was.

At this point, I considered myself no stranger to tremors. They were common, a part of Chile, and ojála (God willing), I would not experience anything stronger than a tremor throughout my two years.

God was not willing. All 7 of the Holy Cross Chile Associates were sleeping in the Pocuro house after a long weekend of packing in order to move to Santiago the next morning. Although it will be remembered as the last night that Holy Cross Chile Associates were in that house, it will also be remembered as the night I was awoken by a 5.2 earthquake at 6:30am in the morning.

It felt like a tremor at first. I felt my bed moving and a hanging picture bang up against the wall. As it became stronger and stronger, I wondered how long it would last, whether anyone else was aware of what was going on, and if not, whether I should wake them. I heard a few pots and pans shift in boxes and heard a loud crash outside (source still unknown). This was legitimate, this was real. I jumped out of my bed, still in my sleeping bag, ran (okay, hopped) to the doorframe and it stopped. Was it a tremor?

After my heart stopped racing, tears came streaming to my eyes. That was scary.

Little did I know, I was completely along in my fright. Natalie, Caitlin, and Emily all felt what I felt, but were not scared like I was in the slightest. The boys all slept through it.

We learned the next morning that there had been a large 6.2 earthquake the night before, 1,700 miles south of Santiago that caused severe damage and mudslides. What I felt happened around 6:30am (I distinctly remember looking at my clock after it happened) and we were roughly 150 miles north of Santiago. What I felt had to be late aftershock – wow, what an aftershock it was.

Four days later I found this article and thanks to the very last tiny paragraph, I now know that I was not going crazy!