The end of 2011 had me pondering the infinite wisdom of Charles Dickens´ opening statement in A Tale of Two Cities, It was the best of times; it was the worst of times… During last November, more specifically Thanksgiving Day,…
Among my circle of dear friends in Chile is my beloved English Pointer, Teddy. Teddy was born one month prior to the great quake, and became a family member just as normal life was returning to Concepcion. It was at…
While visiting friends in Mulchen last year, we happened upon a plant growing suspended from a branch, much like the Spanish moss in the southeastern part of the U.S. Commonly known as Clavel del Aire, or Carnation of the Air…
In embracing a move to Chile, I had to close many doors to my former life. The most difficult one to shut was to my position as a marketing and public relations director in oncology. It was the greatest fulfillment…
You’ve gotta stand for something, Or you’re gonna fall for anything… – John Cougar Mellancamp The past days have been grey and bleak, appropriately capturing the mood of the nation. Several months of talks, high school and university takeovers, hunger…
This month marks the beginning of our third year in the apartment, and although I have been living with a strong urge to own a house with grass and soil that I can dig my fingers into, I’m slowly reconciling…
Although it has been a number of days since the ash clouds from Volcano Puyehue had completed a circumference of the earth, it was not until this past Sunday that the wind currents carried the mass to Concepcion. At first,…
In the open pages of “Japan Style,” authors Geeta Mehta and Kimie Tada wrote, regarding the minimalization of Japanese houses and furnishings, “lightness was in part a response to Japan’s frequent earthquakes, and in part to the Buddhist teachings about…
Massive student protests are taking place nationwide today. In Santiago alone, more than 50,000 students marched in protest along Alameda. Although not as large a movement, students are rioting in Concepcion as well. I had postponed going to the office,…
Even though the sun was shining in what was supposed to be the middle of a torrentially rainy winter season, I woke up feeling blue. Not just blue, but expat blue. It was an “oh-my-God-what-have-I-done” kind of blue, when questions…