Imagine a place so quiet and peaceful that you can hear your own thoughts or choose to totally disregard them, without the conscious need to meditate. That is what I discovered during a four-day/three-night horseback adventure into the Pehuenche region…
After almost three years of continuous packing and unpacking, I have finally come to terms with less being more. It wasn’t easy at first, for the temptation to pack my entire wardrobe was great. The “what if’s” long held sway…
“… Shovel them under and let me work. Two years, ten years, and passengers ask the conductor: What place is this? Where are we now? I am the grass. Let me work.” – excerpt for “Grass,” Carl Sandberg I wanted…
While peeling potatoes, in preparation for yesterday’s St. Patrick’s Day dinner, I contemplated how these Andean tubers had affected the course of several generations in my family, and the irony of moving to the land of their origin. My thoughts…
This Christmas Eve morning, I was contemplating how much Chile has changed the way that I experience Christmas. Celebrations are truly culturally based, and although it is a struggle to accept and adapt to some of the differences, I find…
This past week, we were out shopping for small Christmas presents, and had decided upon children’s books for one toddler. The monetary limit for this small exchange was to be roughly $5 in U.S. currency. Not a problem, or so…
As part of my New Year’s resolutions, I have added the intention to renew my writing and posting about expat life in Chile. Much has happened in the last few months, while I have been mentally pulled away, studying in…
Well, it finally happened. I found myself caught between two languages. While on the phone with a customer service representative, trying desperately trying to track down a purchase ordered from the U.S., I found that I could not give my…
As the trailing expatriate partner in our relocation to Chile, I had left behind a fulfilling career and community activities, which were the foundation for both my personal and professional identity. In the beginning, it was a difficult transition from…
Next month is our two-year anniversary of living in Chile, and I was quite surprised to hear two different people say that I was now “almost a Chilena” (female Chilean). It has given me quite a pause to reflect on…