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Published: October 26th 2010
There are lots of pics in this entry! The first ones are the very first pics I took of the apartment, followed by some pictures from yesterday now that I've been living here for a little over a week and have made it into my lovely little home! After those are some pictures of what I've been up to lately.
The Apartment
I found a great furnished apartment on the 5th floor of a really nice condominium that's actually pretty close to the high school I attended while on exchange. It's on Copayapu, a main road that has colectivos (cheap taxis that follow a certain route according to their number) that go downtown (and to Yaya's house) and to the university. A short walk down the street there is a Jumbo (super market), an Easy (home and garden store) and a bank. Just past those is a corner where I can pick up colectivos that go to James's house and other parts of town. The neighborhood is a pretty safe one, and colectivos drop me right at the gate. There is also always a guard in the office at the gate, and we've become particularly friendly with one of
1st Apt. pics 2
the little roomthem, an older gentleman, Señor Rojas, who has been very kind and helpful getting me settled here.
I absolutely love the apartment, and I'm starting to feel really at home here! I still don't have wifi or any sort of internet in the apartment, but that's pretty much the only thing I'm lacking! Most of the things that came with the apartment are pretty new and in good shape, which is a step above a lot of the apartments I looked at. The kitchen came completely furnished and I had to buy very few things. My only complaint there is that, like all chilean kitchens, it's slightly lower than the US kitchens I'm used to. It makes sense because the average chilean is a bit shorter than me, but it makes for a tall gringa with a sore back! The apartment came with a really nice radio and a decent TV.... that only gets four channels, and you have to mess with the antenna a lot to get them to come in well, but the clearest channel is TVN which has the best telenovelas anyway! I really like a lot of the furniture, the living/dining room has really pretty
square ceiling lights and I love the little futon (turns into an extra bed if I need it, which I'm sure I will as I'm expecting many of you to come visit me!)
My view is amazing! I've been told that my first place isn't supposed to have such an great view... but I think I'm ok with being the exception to the rule. I have a little tiny balcony with enough space for a couple people to stand (when my laundry rack isn't up). Below the balcony in one of the houses there's some construction going on, which hasn't been so bad seeing as I like their taste in music, but this morning they were doing loud things when I still wanted to be sleeping.
My New Roomies
I've also been told (by my mom) that a first place is supposed to have cockroaches... So since I don't have any of those, I found something a similar size - baby hamsters!! Is that close enough mom?
My friend Gigi's dwarf hamster had a litter and she gave me two as soon as they were ready! So in this blog I introduce Copi and Rosi (short for
Copihue and Rose, the national flowers of Chile and the US). They are the same kind of hamsters as Chicha, my beloved hamster who traveled all around Chile with me when I was on exchange, but are slightly lighter in coloring. We've been referring to them as "las chichitas" (the little chichas) because now thanks to me about half of Copiapo calls hamsters "chichas"!
As you can see in the pictures, they are ADORABLE!! However Rosi is a bit more feisty than Copi (it's hard to tell them apart but Copi has a more distinct line on her back). Rosi tends to hiss if you poke at the nest and I believe it's her that hisses when they squabble. If their squabbling increases as they get older, James's sister Sheirley wants one anyway.
What I've Been Up To Lately...
Not a whole lot of exciting things going on here... Just occasionally going out with my friends or James's, getting all sorts of little things done and bought for the apartment, and studying. James is really busy with his classes and everything (he only has about a month left of class) so I'm on my own a lot
here, but I've been finding plenty of things to do. I also spend a lot of time at Yaya's house and James's house (his mom doesn't work and so she's in the house all day and likes having company). I'm also studying- working on my Spanish and getting ready for university here. A teacher from the high school I went to on exchange is tutoring me on Fridays and Saturdays and then giving me work and things to study during the week. That's been going great, although some of the material is really tough (I'm on the rules for written accents right now... ugh!).
There are some pictures of making Panqueques with Cami here, which are very tasty! (feel free to email me if you want the recipe). Cami came over one day to make lunch with me and we made Panqueques which are basically chilean crepes. They are filled with avocado and other veggies (and sometimes chicken or fish) or for the dessert version they are filled with Manjar (a creamy chilean caramel).
There are also some really cute pictures of Gary showing Isi how to crack almonds. Yaya has a very fruitful almond tree in the
patio that you can get bags of almonds from by shaking!
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Aunt Christine
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Love from Miami
Tammy, I read with great interest your most recent travel blog and enjoyed the attached pictures. Thank you for affording us a glimpse into your life in Chile. It seems as if this feels like home to you? Congratulations on your new apartment! You have done so much with it already. It looks delightful. You will probably be highly amused to know that Chris is considering renting a tiny efficiency in Brentwood, CA (where UCLA is located; Chris is actually attending USC and working 75 hours a week in an editing house in Santa Monica) for $1200 a month - for the tiniest hole in the wall! The cost of living in LA is outrageous. For now, Chris continues to live with my friend/former colleague Dan and his wife Mary-Ellen in their beautiful home in the Hollywood Hills. They have never had children and Chris is like the son they never had. They don't want him to leave, but they have done SO MUCH for him already - housing him, employing him, paying him, etc. He will probably move in late December. Anyhow, I think you are a very brave, adventurous girl. Good luck with your Spanish tutoring and everything else you are trying to accomplish. We love you so very much and we are equally proud of you! xxx