Permanent Residency Visa Approved and Pictures

My visa has been approved!!!!!

I got home from class around 9:30, and as I chatted with the doorman I noticed the notorious brown envelope sitting in my box.  I eyed it as he asked me about my New Year, and after a few minutes I got to ask him for it.

I ripped it open to find out that my visa has been approved and is being processed.  It's such a relief, as last year I got a phone call when I was at the airport on my way home that my visa last year was missing documents and I'd have to resubmit it once I was back.

So what does having a permanent residency visa do for me?  I'm not 100% sure about all of these, but here goes:

1. I don't have to renew my visa for 5 years.
2. I can vote in Chilean elections.
3. I can probably get a credit card here.  (I already have a bank account)

A friend came over, and we celebrated with some drinks, chips, and by playing Wii.

So after my text-heavy last some I wanted to put up some pictures.  So here they are:

Meeting up with Stefanie after our Pichilemu adventures

Some late arriving Christmas gifts

On the bus to Viña del Mar for New Years

Viña del Mar

This looks like a normal meal, but what´s missing?

The mayonaise of course!  They love their mayonaise here!

At the beach on New Years Eve

dinner cooking

preparing dinner

Aren´t you getting hungry?

Yes, that´s corn with mayonaise.

On the rooftop awaiting the fireworks

Some champagne to celebrate

shortly before the fireworks

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

The End of 2011

I´m in a friend´s apartment in Viña del Mar now.

Christmas was a week ago, and now it´s the end of the year.  You would hardly know it here with the summer heat, but at least there´s a breeze along the coast here.

When I decided to be here for Christmas this year, I pictured myself lounging at the beach or at a pool with friends and having the time of my life.  My Christmas in Santiago ended up being much different; a coworker came over for pancakes, eggs, and bacon for brunch on Christmas Eve, and on Christmas I called home, opened my gifts (books that I had on my Amazon wishlist), and then I went to dinner at friend´s house.

It certainly wasn´t the Christmas I was anticipating, and it was very different being away from my family.  The heat as well as the lack of Christmas decorations made me realize how much I do enjoy the holidays at home.

In Chile they don´t take time off between Christmas and New Years, and so I was back to teaching classes on Monday morning at 8 AM.  I talked with my students and coworkers about their holidays throughout the week as well as our upcoming plans for New Years.

New Years is a big thing in Chile, and almost everyone goes to Valparaiso or Viña del Mar to see the fireworks there.  The celebrations are supposed to be huge, with people drinking in the streets all night and into the following morning.  My old roommate Cristian told me that it´s definitely a part of Chilean culture to experience while I¨m here, and so I decided that I wanted to go and see it.

As I talked with friends nothing seemed to work out to go, but then a friend told me he was going to Viña and that one of his friends lives there.  On Thursday he told me that he was going to try to get us bus tickets to go there, but I was doubtful becuase I heard that they had been sold out for over a week.

Then on Friday he sent me a text message asking me when was the earliest I could get to the bus terminal, and I told him 5 PM that day.  When I got out of class at 3 I gave him a call, and he got us bus tickets to go to Viña at 5:30 and to come back on Sunday at 8 at night.  So I rushed home, got a bite to eat, and packed and got back on the bus.  I called Eric at 5:00 when I was almost at the bus terminal, and he told me that he was going to stop at home and then he´d make his way to the bus terminal.

I wondered why he sounded so relaxed when the bus was leaving in half an hour.  It was 5:20 and I tried to call him and got no answer.  He called me at 5:25, telling me that he was about 5 minutes away.  He made it to the terminal with 2 minutes to spare, and it turns out his clock on his cell phone was an hour early.  He didn´t stop home and arrived with a few shopping bags for new shirts he bought, and his roommate is going to bring his overnight bag when she arrives later today.

After arriving we hung out in the apartment, got to know each other, listened to music, and had some drinks.  Around 1 in the morning everyone wanted to go out, but I was too exhausted and stayed in.  Today everyone woke up around 1 in the afternoon, and I went out for a walk with a few friends while the others woke up and others went grocery shopping.

While we were out walking, we got a call that a few of the people were at the grocery store around the corner, and so we went to help with the shopping.  When we finished we piled into the car and headed home, and some of them prepared lunch.  Now everyone´s doing their own thing before we go to the beach.

Later tonight we´re going to have a huge dinner and then watch the fireworks from the terrace of the apartment building.  Then we´re going out to celebrate the new year.

An update with pictures will have to wait until I´m back in Santiago in 2012.

So, what are my thoughts about 2011?

It was a year of returning to Santiago and being away from the United States.  It was also a year of moving into a new apartment and starting to teach private classes.  I also traveled and met some new friends along the way.  

This was also a year of personal growth.  I´ve learned to become more independent and not lean on others so much.  I´ve made the concious decision not to worry about things beyond my control and to focus my energy in a positive way.  I´ve also decided to let things from the past go and not to invest time in friendships and relationships that aren´t going to be positive.

It was also a year of professional growth.  I started organizing teaching materials that I use by theme, and now I have 3 large and somewhat organized binders that I used to teach my classes.  I´m still finding great materials and teaching ideas to use, and so I´m constantly adding to and modifying them.  I have made great strides in my understanding of English grammar and ways to effectively teach my students, yet I feel that there´s still a lot to learn. 

It was also a year of financial growth.  I worked hard with my classes, and during the year I was able to pay rent on a nice apartment living on my own, take a few vacations, and also make payments on my student loans.  I balanced working at my institute as well as private classes, and I´ve saved developed savings as well as money to pay back the Bank of Dad for my travels from the past year.  It´s a great feeling to know the growth that I´ve made and to have savings in the bank.

I´m looking forward to 2012 being a great year.  I´m going to keep teaching with my institute as well as with private classes, and I plan to stay in the same apartment.  I want to keep exploring new things to do (rock climbing, making new friends, etc) as well as keep developing my teaching skills. Oh yeah, and I want to travel too.

Thank you to everyone who reads this blog.  Hearing from you gives me the motivation to keep updating on a regular basis.  I wish you all the best for a happy and prosperous New Year!

Permanent Residency Visa and Thanksgiving Weekend

So it's that time of the year again.

What am I referring to, you may ask?  It's time for me to go through the visa process again, but this year is different.  I'm applying for a permanent residency visa.

The word permanent sounds, well ..... permanent.  My plan isn't to be here permanently, but the appeal of being considered a permanent resident and having a visa that is good for 5 years is very attractive to me.  It always seems like the visa process in Chile is never easy, and so if I can minimize the need to go through it I'm more than willing to do that.

So about 2 weeks ago I began compiling the neceesary paperwork.  Here's a partial list:

photocopies of my passport pages showing my previous visas
photocopy of my Chilean ID card
photocopy of my registration with the International Police
a report from the International Police showing I haven't committed any crimes
a report of all travel completed in the past year
recent photos with my ID number on the bottom with my name
photocopies showing my income with the boleta system
a letter stating why I'm applying for permanent residency
my college degrees approved by the Ministry of the Exterior

They also required proof that I had paid taxes and such in April, but by then I hadn't had my boletas and didn't have to file, so I included a letter stating so.  The same thing happened with a few other requirements.

I was anxious about missing some important piece of paperwork due to what happened this time last year.  As I was at the airport going home for Christmas last year, I got a call telling me that my visa was rejected because I didn't include all of the paperwork that they required.  The missing paperwork was easy enough to get, but I had to wait until I was back 6 weeks later to gather it and get my visa approved.

So I double and triple checked that I included everything that they said I needed before heading off to the post office.  I gave the woman there the envelope and asked for it to get certified (as requiered), and she spent a few minutes typing things up.  She gave me the paperwork for the confirmation, and she spelled my name wrong.  I pointed it out to her, and she had me correct it on the paperwork before I signed it and before it was formally submitted.

I've done everything I can, and so now I get to play the waiting game.  Hopefully by the beginning of January I will have the official letter telling me that it has been approved and is being processed, or en tramite.

With having the paperwork completed, I was able to enjoy the weekend without having it hanging over my head.  Saturday was the TeachingChile reunion, and it was great seeing everyone again.  It was on Bruce's rooftop, and there were burgers, snack, drinks, sunshine, a swimming pool, and good company.

It was really great catching up with friends I hadn't seen in a while, and we found it hard to believe that we are going on two years here.  I also met some new people that are looking to stay in Chile beyond their time with TeachingChile.

After a quick stop home I was off to a coworker's apartment for Thanksgiving Dinner.  It was mostly Americans, but there were a few people from England and a few Chileans also.  Here's what we had to eat:

Turkey casserole

carrots and sweet potatoes

spicy potatoes

mashed potatoes

mac and cheese with tomatoes and bacon, based on my Mom's recipe

Needless to say, I had a huge plate of food.  Even though we're far from home, everyone agreed that they enjoyed the dinner and it was a really nice event.  The Chileans and British also enjoyed having their first ever Thanksgiving.

I hope everyone else had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.  For now I think I'm going to go lounge by the pool.  ;-)

Thanksgiving in Summer, Mail from Home, and a Britney Spears Concert in my Apartment

It's hard for me to believe that today is Thanksgiving.  Besides time going by so quickly, the weather has been warm and sunny, with most days being in the 80s.  It's quite a change from the weather back home in New Jersey during this time.

It's also going to be a special Thanskgiving for another reason.  There's a protest happening!  I have been pretty fortunate (and thankful) that I haven't been caught in any tear gas bombs, water canons, or mobs of people, and hopefully it will stay that way.  I doubt that I will have any problems, as I'll be walking into town around the time the protest is starting (but coming from the south), and I only have to cross the main street Alameda once to get to my class.  After that I'll be taking a bus to Providencia, which is out of the way of the protest downtown.

Well, given the spirit of Thanksgiving, what am I thankful for?  Here's a list of things:

my good health
living in a comfortable apartment in a safe area
having hot water and a bathtub (I love taking baths to relax on the weekends)
having steady work with reliable and motivated students
working at an institute with lots of teaching resources and great bosses and coworkers
being able to buy fresh fruit and produce only a bus ride away
being able to afford to eat out from time to time and to travel
being able to pay back my student loans while here
having friends (both Chilean and non-Chilean) to hang out with here
having family and friends that communicate with me (phone calls, email, cards, packages) even though I'm so far away

That last point of thankfulness relates to my next point: mail that I've gotten from family and friends in the past month or so.

One of my close friends is always very good about sending cards for the holidays and any occasion (a new job, moving to a new country, when I need encouragement), and so I got a card for Halloween:

She has also sent me Kit kats from time to time, knowing that it's something that I enjoy and miss from home. 

Two other friends sent me a care package earlier this month:

Included are a variety pack of dry erase markers, Kit kats, post its, stickers, assorted candy, and a People magazine.  I love dry erase markers in different colors because it adds some variety to my teaching, and the magazine is perfect becuase I can talk with my students about pop culture, physical appearances, and what people are wearing.  And believe it or not, even adults like getting stickers when they do a good job on tests and quizzes.

They both came down to Santiago at the same time as me and returned back to the States, one after 6 months and another after a year.  Now they are both teaching at the same school in Colorado.

About a week after that, I got another package!  This one came from my dad and was brought over by a friend's parents from Jersey that were visiting.

This package had dress pants (which would cost over twice as much here and aren't sold in specific lengths so they you'd have to go to a tailor to get them adjusted), more dry erase markers and Kit Kats, a book about teaching German that I can use for classes now, and Zihr face products. 

I've been using Zirh since I was in my early 20s, and they are the one thing that I needed from home that can't be sent in the mail becuase they're gels or liquids.  They are apparently going out of business.  This makes me sad, as they have a great line of products that I have used religiously with great results.  Most people that I meet are surprised to learn that I'm turning 30 in February.

Yesterday afternoon (The day before Thanksgiving) I got home early due to a cancelled class, and I had a surprise package waiting for me.  As I rode up the elevator I was trying to figure out why I was getting a package from my dad now, as I hadn't requested anything.

When I got into my apartment and opened the box, this is the first thing I saw:

So I checked out the contents of the box, and here's what was inside:

There's a Santa hat, a Christmas decoration, a Christmas bag with candy, Kit Kats, Christmas cards, and some wrapped gifts.

So I called home to thank my dad for the package, and he didn't believe me.  Why not?

He mailed the package on November 16th, and I received it on November 23rd.

Before mail has usually taken about 3 weeks, and in one case I got a package in 2 weeks.  He thought that it would probably arrive in mid December, but here I am with the package the day before Thanksgiving.  So now I just have to wait a month before I can open my gifts.

Completely changing the topic, Britney Spears came to Santiago on Tuesday.  She's incredibly popular here, and she was performing at the Estadio Nacional 4 blocks from my apartment.  I considered going to the concert since I saw some people trying to sell tickets they couldn't use, but I was going to be getting out of class at 8:30 or so and the concert was at 9.  So I decided to cook, do some work around the apartment, and enjoy the concert with my windows open. 

Granted it was nothing like going to a concert live, but then again I'm not a huge Britney fan.  She's got some great songs and classics that everyone knows, but it wouldn't have been worth the cots for me.  And I was surprised when the concert was over shortly before 10:30.  Perhaps it's just me, but if I'm paying for a concert I'd usually expect it to be closer to two hours.

So besides avoiding teargas and water cannons, how am I going to spend my Thanksgiving?  I have class today from 2 until 8 (my morning class was canceled), and by the time I get home it'd be too late to go out to do any type of Thanksgiving dinner.  So I'm picking up Peruvian food on my way home and will enjoy that tonight.  Then Saturday is the TeachingChile reunion and a Thanksgiving dinner that a coworker is hosting at her place.

I don't know about anyone else, but for me it's very easy to fall into a pattern of feeling like I don't make enough money, I don't have enough material possessions, and feeling like my life would be more complete if I only had (fill in the blank).  It's also very easy for me to compare myself to my brothers and to other people my age in that same way, but I've grown to realize that such an attitude is not helpful at all.  Rather than thinking about what is lacking in my life or what I don't have that I'd like, it's much more beneficial to realize how fortunate I am and focus on what I do have.  And that's one reason why Thanksgiving is a great holiday and is annual reminder for me about that.

Thanks for reading and Happy Thanksgiving from Chile everyone!

Fiestas Patrias

After a 2 month hiatus of updating my blog, here I am again.  It's September, and I have once again survived the cold Chilean winter.  I've formally retired my space heater until next year, and I have changed back to my normal comforter from the down one.  All around there's a sense of relief that the winter is over amongst everyone that I talk to, and we're looking forward to the summer weather.

Today is September 18th, which marks Chile's Independence Day.  Since it's a Sunday this year the festvities started on Friday when most businesses closed at noon.  Tomorrow is also a holiday, and people joke that it's National Hangover Day as everyone recovers.

My celebrations began on Friday with a party in the office where I work.  It included cueca music, empanadas, wine, and good company.  After that a student invited me to a barbeque with his friends.  They speak varying degrees of English, so I was also speaking Spanish a good amount of the time.

On Saturday I went to Roberto and Pame's house out in the country. They manage the office where I work and are great people, and the area was really amazing. There was so much open space, and it was warm and sunny all day. There was good food, good drinks, and even some sack races, tug of war, and other games.

Other than that, life here has been pretty mundane.  The only exceptions are the occasional protests that are still happening and a class of mine taking me out to Starbucks for a change of atmosphere from our usual class in the bank.

Since I've been working pretty hard and haven't been out of the area since February traveling I decided to take a week off.  In about half an hour I'm off to the airport to go to San Pedro de Atacama in northern Chile.  I'll be there for a week, and while I'm there I'm going to see geysers, float in a salty lake, see some amazing scenery, and visit the salt flats of Bolivia.  I'm really looking forward to it, as it's one of the trips I've wanted to take since I got down here last year.

Once I'm back I'll update with pictures and stories of my adventures.  Happy 18 to everyone reading this in Chile!