I am a slack blogger

So yet again it has been a while since my last post. So I will again give a run down of the things that have happened.

We went to a lovely wedding for Sebastian's childhood friend in Valdivia- it is such a gorgeous place to visit, although I have been told that the winters there I would not like, very cold. I did not understand much of the actual ceremony at all as it was in Spanish but I was outside with the kids as they were having so much fun playing together and would never sit still in a church for a long service. There were many people who spoke English so my day/night was pretty easy. Valdivia itself was good too, with so many other blonde haired people there Alyssa and I did not stand out, it was a novelty for us.





One of my good friends left Antofagasta for Iquique. She has been a rock of support for me through everything and continues to be so even though she is not in the same town.

So most of you have heard about the big earthquake that occured in the south of Chile in the early hours of February 27th. We did not feel a thing here in Antofagasta but did feel some of the effects in the supermarkets with many items running low or sold out. It also gave me a wake up call to make sure we have an emergency backpack ready to go, which I need to restock and evaluate again. The week prior to the one down south we had a tremmor and have had a few since. This is not something that I am used to nor do I think I will ever get used to. The local expat group raised $200 towards products to be delievered down south. The rebuild effort will take a LONG time to complete and visiting Santiago on the weekend we could see some of the damage first hand in an area that was not as much effected as Concepcion.

Sebastian has been working away at least 1 night a week if not 2 but that means 2 full days or 3 full days away plus the work in town which is late nights. This is hard on Alyssa and I and we are trying to find ways to cope. I am not good at being alone at nights.

Alyssa started school at the local International school and really seems to be enjoying it. She has been the only English speaker in her class up until now as a friend has put her daughter into the school and in Alyssa's class. I think this will help Alyssa a lot she needs a friend she can speak to easily, she gets by with speaking English and the other kids speaking Spanish but this will help her a lot. I am also going in there and reading to the kids in her class on a Monday. So far it has not been too successful they seem to not want to sit still at all- but I speak in English as this is what they are supposed to have. Alyssa is doing well with the tasks and is now even drawing people!! and they are the cute heads with arms and legs stage LOL.




We travelled to Santiago this past weekend with a few things in mind to do, the Zoo with the kids, a farewell to friends returning to the USA, visiting Sebastian's relatives in Rancagua and shopping. It was a packed full weekend and we even got to see some rain, I know to some this may not be exciting but living in Antofagasta where there is NO rain means this was a real novelty for us. It was a great weekend but sad to see some great friends leave, that is the nature of the mining industry and living overseas.





I have been sewing a little bit and crafting which is all on my other blog- http://skipchaseydesigns.blogspot.com/

Well I suppose that is all to report at the moment. I will again try to keep this updated more often but cannot promise anything. Chao for now.

Happy 2010

Okay so I am a little late for a New Years title but I have not posted since mid December. So here is a run down on what has been happening.

--mid december my birthday and Our wedding anniversary (1 day apart) we went to the casino for dinner (Alyssa still points to it when we drive past and says "mummies happy birthday") and the next day we went to San Pedro de Atacama which is about 4 hours away. Sebastian booked a swish hotel and Alyssa loved that there was Llamas at the hotel and one in particular Pepi that she could pat.

-- we had christmas day with some other expats and had a LONG christmas day as we were all enjoying ourselves so much- the older girls ended up getting Alyssa to sleep LOL

--Have been meeting so many more people and spending time with them- Alyssa is enjoying meeting new people- especially new little people LOL

--We held New Years eve celebration here with another couple and their kids- it was a quiet and enjoyable evening- I made LOTS of nibbly foods. Alyssa went to sleep at 11:45pm she just could not hold on for the last 15mins.

-- I have started giving sewing lessons to a friend!! only one so far- but I love to be teaching again and something I sew enjoy (hehe). I have bought a heap of fabric from Etsy sellers (18yards to be exact) so just waiting on things to arrive (still waiting on things from Aus to arrive too)Check out my craft blog- skipchaseydesigns.blogspot.com

--We went to Santiago last weekend for some medical appointments and also used the opportunity to pick up some clothes for a wedding we are attending this weekend in Valdivia- this will be my first Chilean wedding- hope Alyssa is a very good girl.

So many things!!

Well let's see since the last post we have been still settling into the house and getting ready for Christmas, which has totally sneaked up on us this year.

We have had a trip to Santiago for an extra long weekend Fri-Mon. It was a good break away and great to see somewhere else in Chile and not just Antofagasta. We went to the Zoo with Alyssa- she loved it and also went into the centre of town. We should have taken the stroller though as she got very tired out and shopping was not at all like we had planned.





Sebastian's work had their family Christmas party which Alyssa enjoyed- although a daytime event may have been a little easier on us all.





We went down to the beach area yesterday and Alyssa had a little ride on her bike. She loved it. It was the Presidential election here and so nothing was open really so the beach ended up Packed in the afternoon, thankfully we went in the morning.




We are getting into the Christmas spirit and decorating the house. I have some things on the way back to Oz for presents but did not post them from here as it was WAY too expensive!!! more then from Oz to here. So a friend is heading back there and is going to post them for me. Hopefully some things get to people before Christmas Day.





I have been feeling very isolated lately and I think a lot of the issue is I don't have things happening like I did in Oz. I was busy with my sewing business and Alyssa also had one day at daycare and swimming on Saturdays. Now I have no business and Alyssa is in no activities, I am sure she gets bored too. I am getting to some Expat activites but they are not all the time

Well that is all I can think of to update at this stage.

Visiting a Landmark.

So we decided to drive out to see the somewhat famous
Mano del Desierto
Here is what Wiki says about it.
"The Mano de Desierto is a large-scale sculpture of a hand located in the Atacama Desert in Chile, 75 km to the south of the city of Antofagasta, on the Panamerican Highway. "
"Description
The sculpture was constructed by the Chilean sculptor Mario Irarrázabal at an altitude of 1,100 meters above sea level. The work has a base of iron and cement, and stands 11 metres (36 ft) tall. Funded by Corporación Pro Antofagasta, a local booster organization, the sculpture was inaugurated on March 28, 1992.

It has since become a point of interest for tourists traveling Route 5, which forms part of the Pan-American Highway. It is an easy victim of graffiti and is therefore cleaned occasionally."

And yes it is 75km away but we had nothing to do (this is before moving into the house). Oh and Alyssa fell asleep on the way to it otherwise she would be in the photos too. There is NOTHING near it at all and yes there is graffiti on it. Here are some piccies.

We are in the house

Yep we have moved in. It has nearly been one week since the movers came to unpack all our things. And what a busy week. We still have unpacked boxes- but had them in SA too (you know the ones that just never seem to be unpacked).

It is a great house and with a few minor improvements will be even better. One such improvement will be a playground for Alyssa- will make my life sooo much easier.

So here are some piccies of the house- thanks to our maid for making it so liveable!She powers on and gets soooo much done!

Moving day is fast Approaching.

We pick up the keys to the house tomorrow YEAH.
Then we have the VTR people coming to connect phone, internet and Pay TV.
On Thursday we have the ADT (security) people coming in to set up the alarm system.
Friday is the BIG day, movers arrive and start the unpack, we also have our new stove being delivered OMG it is awesome.
Saturday is also a move day (who knows how long it will take)
Sunday- will be sorting and shopping for some things we might need (will need).

Cannot wait to be out of the apartment and have all our things- really starting to go a little stir crazy. Oh and cannot wait to start sewing again. I have been busy doing some Photoshop designing whilst waiting to have all my stuff back.

Here is a link to my other blog
http://skipchaseydesigns.blogspot.com/

Oh and a we've moved card that I made.
Hopefully next post will be from the new house.

A little trip away

We had our first little trip away last weekend (it was a long weekend in Chile). So we chose to head off to Iquique. It is 4 hours from here driving so not too bad. That morning before leaving we had an Interview to see if Alyssa would be accepted into the international school here for next year. She is in.

So we headed off- the drive was not too bad and the scenary was pretty good, the contrast of being in the desert by the ocean is truly remarkable and strange at the same time.

All was going well until we had to stop to go into a different region (they have regions like we have states in Aus)- you have to stop to get the papers on your car checked to ensure you are not stealing the car across the border. You always must have the car documents in your car in Chile- because the police will ask for them if you are pulled over. So anyway we look in the glovebox where the papers are always kept- no papers. Rang the car dealership- they have them, took them out when they were putting the reversing sensors in the car and never put them back oh and this was a week down the track with no phone call either!!!!!
So we got talk to the police- really nice one too and he looked up on the computer to see the car was under my name (using my RUT- see a good thing to have a national ID number). So he prints off a piece of paper and goes with Sebastian to talk to the border people and we are allowed through- this is after a very very long wait where I was getting totally frustrated- if this police did not care we would have had to turn around and head back. We still should not have been driving the car. But we went on to Iquique. (the papers were to be sent to Iquique for us to get- then told they wern't then told they were on Monday where we were already back in Antofagasta- yeah Chile).

It is very nice in Iquique much cleaner then in Antofagasta. Alyssa loved the playground and the Radisson was nice to stay at. Most people head to Iquique as it is a tax free zone and there is even a shopping centre for all imported goods (was really not that great). But yes some things are cheaper there and you can have up to $1200 US per person (this gets checked at the border control people on the way out).

So here are some piccies from our very eventful trip