A Chile, Chile New Year

Now that we've treaded through a week of our normal lives after a much needed getaway, I'm looking back feeling like our holiday in South America was just a dream. It's a good thing we have almost 1,000 pictures, the remnants of a solid tan and some Frugele (Chilean gummies) in the kitchen candy jar, to refresh our memories.

Let me cover the basics about Chile as I see it.

1. No one, I repeat, no one wakes up before 9 a.m.
2. Chileans eat far too much for lunch, however, that is basically their fuel until the next day at lunch. If you want to eat after 2 o'clock lunch, you can have bread and hot beverages during "Once" -- which is like a late-night tea.
3. Yes, Chile peppers are spicy, however, no one in Chile enjoys spicy food. In fact, they think it's a tragedy. Chileans believe everything that goes in your mouth should be smothered in avocado, mayo, fried eggs, etc. We didn't eat out every meal, but when we did, each restaurant started us out with sopaipillas or small portions of bread with what I recognized as mild, mild pico de gallo.
4. Many earn a living by juggling in front of cars at stop lights.
5. When someone honks at you, it doesn't necessarily mean "move your behind," or, "you suck at driving." There is an entire honking language Americans are unaware of.

There are millions in Santiago who live in poverty, but the city is extremely Americanized. We visited a 5 story mall, bought groceries at a store called Jumbo which looked a lot like a Walmart and their metro system is phenomenal. The buildings went on and on and on. Big cities all over the world are very much the same--the taxi drivers all went to the same driving school and homeless people like to beg with a dog to make passersby at least pity the dog if not themselves.

There are many things about this trip I will never forget, but a few simple moments will always stick out in my mind.

1. We took the metro to a more sketchy part of town--where Dalton served most of his mission--and sadly, we don't have any photos. We were afraid we might get mugged! We met four of the beautiful families who love Dalton so much for what he did in their wards. I will never forget the expressions on the faces of twin brothers Dalton taught as they watched us drive into the parking lot. Their faces lit up as they ran down the stairs to us. I couldn't speak well to them, but they both ran up and gave me hugs and kisses on the cheek, like Chileans do. All the people we met there had such sweet spirits about them, and while I hardly knew them, I felt so loved. Their box-like houses were all connected and decorated on the inside with Christmas knick-knacks in the 90-degree weather. Each of them offered us drinks, papaya soda, Coke and Sprite. They just run around the block to fill up their refillable Coke bottles. The last family we saw was so much fun to be with. Ana started talking to me on Facebook when Dalton was still there! She told me not to marry someone else, but to marry Dalton. It was so nice to finally give her a big hug and see her big grin--minus a few teeth. I immediately loved her.

2. New Year's Eve was unlike anything I've ever seen. We bought Dalton a gold hat and tie, and me a sparkly gold mask. Every few feet a vendor was selling silly string, sprayable snow, poppers, confetti, even shredded paper to throw in the air. We stood behind this little family in the middle of a downtown street and watched thousands of balloons and a few Chinese lanterns float into the hazy night. It was beautiful. Latin music was pounding in my chest and I was laughing hysterically at the little kids in front of me. The older brother sprayed an entire can of shaving cream on his little brother's face and it hung their like an overgrown tumor. Another vendor came up to our little group and started dancing with us while the rest of the Chileans chanted "Chi, chi, chi, le, le, le, viva Chile!" And when the clock struck 12 p.m., hands for miles were thrown up in the air and shouts echoed all around. Finally, after four years, I got a Newe Year's kiss from my love. Last year, right after we got married, we accidentally fell asleep before we could ring in the New Year. Whoops.

3. The Andes Mountains are full of surprises. It felt like we drove 10 hours to reach our destination, but it was only 3, or so. We drove for more than 30 minutes of dirt road to reach the start of the hiking trail down to "the 7 cups" which I guess could also be translated as "the 7 bowls." We hiked from the top of a slowly downward flowing waterfall to the very bottom. Once we could to the bottom of the waterfall, we had to hike toward it over hundreds of boulders. At the top of the trail the water falls were small. Each of the first 6 waterfalls flowed into a small pool that connected to the next, but at the bottom we saw the last waterfall, about 50 feet tall, spread itself into the clearest and coldest secluded pool. Dalton and I couldn't help but strip down to minimal clothing and jump in. We knew it would be chilly, but weren't expecting the electric shock of cold that shot up our spines into our heads. I was in hysterics trying to swim to the other side. I was so cold I couldn't do anything but laugh until I nearly drown.

I'm pretty sure Dalton is making this squinty face in 75 percent of the pictures we took. Learning to hold your eyes open for pictures on bright days is a talent he has yet to develop.

Truthfully, I could probably write a paragraph as long as the previous three about everything we did. I feel so lucky to have these beautiful memories. But there is only one negative thing about traveling: it's addicting. Recently, we've been looking at cruises to Hawaii. Oh, dear.