Karaoke in the Park, Online Bill Pay, and Counting Down the Days

While people back home are enjoying an usually mild winter, I am in the middle of summer in Santiago.  The summer weather has afforded opportunities for barbeques and parties in the sun, and I went to an event last weekend.

At first it was only for the Spanish/German language exchange, but then the other language groups got in on it too.  It was at a park near the Estacion Central area of Santiago, and I had a great time.  There was plenty of food and drinks, warm weather, plenty of shade sitting under the sun, good company, and karaoke.  I'm not known for having good singing skills, but I sang 99 Luftballoons in German and then Otherside by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.  It was great chatting with new people and getting to speak a mix of Spanish, German, and English.

Since I'll be home in 23 days, I've started doing the little things to preapre for the trip.  One of those things is figuring out how I'll pay my bills while I'm gone.  Living on my own no one will be there to get my bills.  I considered leaving a statement with the doormen and finding a friend to pay the bills while I'm gone, but then I found out that I can pay bills online here!

While this certainly doesn't sound like a big deal to most of you, it's something really nice here.  Usually you have to do one of two things to pay your bills here:
1. take your bills to a grocery store, input the information into a computer that then gives you a ticket that verifies the account and amount, and then pay when you check out.
2. take your bills to a bill pay center (here most are called ServiPag) and wait in line from 5 to 25 minutes to pay your bills.

I've gotten used to doing one of the two things listed above, but after poking around on my bank account online I figured out how to pay online.  It's pretty similar to back in the States: create a new payee and indicate the company, account number, etc.  (but here you don't indicate the name on the account or address).  Then verify the amount and pay the bill.

There is one striking difference in regards to security.  In order to pay bills or transfer money out of your account, you need a clave de transferencia or a transfer key.  Here's what it looks like:

For each letter and number combination, there's a 2 digit number in each box.  I've covered up all but the top half for security reasons ;-)  In order to finalize any transfer of money out of your account, the website will ask you for 3 random codes, for example J1 C3 A5.  You then input the matching numbes and your transfer is complete!

From the looks of it, the only bill I can't pay online is my internet, but being able to pay 3 out of 4 isn't bad at all.

Now that it's 2012 and less than a month til I return home, I find that I'm counting down the days.  There's actually 22 days left until I land in the JFK airport in New York.  I just looked at my passport, and I arrived back in Santiago February 4th of last year.  This means that by the time I will arrive back home I will have been outside the United States for a year and 2 days.

That will have been (future perfect for those English teachers out there reading this!) the longest I will have been outside the States.  Prior to this it has been between 7 and 11 months at a time, but never an entire year. 

Each day I find myself looking forward to the visit home: relaxing with my dad watching TV, catching up with my brother and sister in law while their cats wander around and vie for affection, visiting my aunts and uncles, spending time with friends playing video games or Magic.  Then there's the things I miss from home: the one stop shopping and seemingly endless variety of products with cheap prices at Target, having a car to get around, good customer service, clean air, TV with clear reception, Panera Bread, In n Out Burger, Philly pretzels, pizza steaks, good clothing at affordable prices.  I'm sure there's more, but I think you get the idea.

On Wednesday I decided to treat myself since I was hungry and craving a hamburger and free refills.  There's a chain restaurant called Mamut that's very Americanized, with burgers, fries, and free refills.  I've eaten here a few times before. 

And here are a few random pictures I forgot to post earlier:

Christmas gifts from some of my students: Bailey's Irish Cream, chocolates from Valdivia, and tea



Metro Tobalaba.  The blue lights and modern appearance makes me feel like I'm in an episode of StarTrek.

 That's all for now.  I hope everyone's 2012 is off to a good start!

The miners in Copiapó and Banco de Chile

So take a look at this sign I found inside the metro:

This is saying that August is the Chile's National Month of Mining, and they had a contest about it starting in mid July until mid August.  With the miners getting caved in on August 5th, I can't decide if this is incredibly appropriate or incredibly ironic.

So it has been interesting following the news of the miners down here.  They are doing very well given their situation, and now they are getting bed frames, hot food, MP3 players, and other things sent down to them.  They have been able to record video to send up to their families.  They have 3 plans in place of drilling holes to get them out, and they will range between taking 1 and a half and 4 months.  Famous musicians are even coming and putting on concerts for the families at Camp Hope (the camp they have set up outisde the mine). 

With the arrival of the bicentennial on September 18th, people have also created cueca dances (the national dance of Chile) that are dedicated to the miners. 

Perhaps the most heartwarming part of the story is that a millionaire here by the last name of Farkas has given each of the families of the miners 5 million pesos out of the goodness of his heart.  This is about $10,000, and the miners usually make around $700 per month, so that is a huge amount for these families.  The families obviously want to share the good news with the trapped miners, but officials in charge of the rescue will not let them tell them.

I don't quite understand their reasoning with that.  I imagine that the miners are very worried about their families being able to pay their bills since they are not working now, and this news would be a big relief to them.  I don't know how much of the miners is being covered in the news back in the States, but if you want to read about it check it out at http://www.cnn.com/ and then click on the tab for Latin America.

After wandering through the Banco de Chile located in downtown Santiago, it was very familiar to me but couldn't pinpoint why.  Then I realized it looks a lot like Union Station in Los Angeles.  Here are some pitures to illustrate my point:

The first picture is from the ground floor and shows the areas where you can make transactions as well as an old fashioned clock. The next picture shows the elevators. When you get inside, there are men dressed formally that operate the elevator using a lever system. It's pretty cool, as I feel like I step back in time whenever I'm at Banco de Chile.

I cannot believe that I am already in my seventh month here.  Next week I am off to Easter Island, and when I return Dana will be visiting me for the bicentennial.  There are already lots of stores that are selling flags and items to celebrate the bicentennial, and I already got a few memorial mugs at Lider.  Needless to say, it will be an exciting month.

The beach, ATMs, public transportation, and new friends

So today I started out by going to the beach at Copacobana with Kristie and Ben, the English couple that I explored with yesterday.  It was surprisingly easy to get to using the bus.  It really reminded me of the beaches in New Jersey with the water especially.  We took turns in the ocean so that we could always have an eye on our things, and when we were all together we had good conversation about traveling and our lives and how different things are here in Rio and back home.

When I asked them what time it was, I realized it didn´t mater at all, and we all laughed.  We then debated what time we thought it was.  Seeing that we are traveling now, the time of day, day of the week, or month are pretty meaningless to all of us.

After getting some ice cream we packed up and headed back to the hoste to rest.  We all discovered our sunburn, with Ben and Kristie having it over most of their bodies (they opted to stay in the sun almost the entire time), but me only being burned on my knees a bit and on my tops of my hands a bit.

I got a bite to eat at a place specializing in chicken dishes, and I got Chicken Bora Bora.  It was grilled chicken breast with some seasonings along with rice with fried potato, egg, onion, and ham.  I was only able to eat about half of it so I got a doggy bag.  I didn´t have my camera on hand, so I will post a picture of what it looks like once I eat there again.

A bit later others at the hostel told me about a big party happening in Ipanema, and an Autralian named Luke offered to help me get to a bank to get more money.  It turns out a few others also needed money, so the journey began.  Bank 1 was closed. We waited at Bank 2 while a young guy took about 20 minutes to complete a transaction, and after all that we figured out that the ATM didn´t allow you withdraw money.  Bank 3 didn´t accept visa, but with the tip of a young guy who spoke English we made it to Bank 4 and were able to get money.  I sure hope this won´t be as difficult for the rest of my travels.

Around 7:30 we headed out for Ipanema for the party.  We met a bunch of Brazilians that were starting the party in the metro, and they were friendly.  I asked if I could join them (since that is the way to truly appreciate another culture), and they offered to take me under the wing.  They seemed interested in me being American and loved hearing me sing Linkin Park and Beyonce, and we were communicating between English, Spanish, and Portuguese.  They bought me a Carneval shirt and took me along with them, and I was really surprised (but in a good way) with their hopsitality.  We took pictures all along the way, and they gave me their email addreses so we could stay in contact.  As they helped me get a taxi back to my hostel, we promised to meet up at least once more before I leave for Santiago.

To end this entry, I would like to share the philosopies of both taxi and bus drivers in Rio.  These are based on my observations and experiences over the past few days:

Taxi driver rules
1. Variety is the spice of life, so treat red lights the same way.  The first time you encounter one, go completely through it at full speed.  The next time, come to a quick halt, even if it minds jerking you and the passenger forward.  The third time, approach cautiously and go through it only when it is safe.
2. If other cars are stopped or in your way, this is by no means a reason to slow down or change lanes.  Changing lanes is acceptable only at the very last minute, and of course without the use of a turn signal.
3. Driving as fast as possible between cars that are halfway in your lane on each side is not only acceptable but encouarged.  One way or another somoene will move out of the way.

Bus driver rules
1. Brakes and brake pads are to be abused.  Passengers need to be tossed around as much as possible.  Stop as abruptly and as often as possible. 
2. Consequently, passengers should hold onto hand rails with the jaws of life with both hands until seated.
3. Pedestrians are a nuisance that need to be taught a lesson.  If one tries to cross your path, do not slow down.  In fact, speed up a bit.

I just heard that there is another party going on tonight, and I´m debating if I should go to it or not.  Will update with pictures soon enough.