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May 28, 2003
My brother Thomas set up a new site for me that's easier to update-check it out at margaret.noetech.com. I'll be keeping it up in the future instead of this site.
May 2, 2003
It's official, we're moving to London in June, for at least a couple of years. More details to come! Check out the photos below of trips to the south of Chile.
April 10, 2003
I bought my first painting! It's the most exciting purchase I've made since I got leather pants. It's a piece called "Fragmentos" by a Chilean painter, Alejandro Barrientos. We saw it, and a bunch of others, in a restaurant on the island of Chiloe owned by his parents. I LOVE this painting! Here it is hanging in my office at home.
Lila says it represents our future because it looks like a couple disappearing into the fog of London (one of the people is missing a head). Here's a link to his exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Valdivia. I can't explain how excited I am about this, but my first feeling was, "Grandma will be so proud!"
We had a great time traveling with Lila and Volker in the south of Chile. We went first to Puerto Varas (very charming on a giant lake with a view of giant Volcan Osorno) and Puerto Montt, took a boat across All Saints' Lake, the most beautiful body of water in Chile, visited German villages in the area and ate lots of kuchen besides the trip to Chiloe.
After four days Ryan had to go to London for interviews, so Lila, Volker, and I were on our own. We drove up to Valdivia, where we spent the first night in a hotel I won't name--we called it Hotel Milliyucka. It smelled funky and the doors didn't lock from the inside so I piled the chair and luggage stand in front of the door and kept the tv on but muted all night, so I would be able to see and hear anyone who try to get in through the door, or the window which faced a water tank and ditch. The next day, after minimal soul-searching and a lie to the clerk, we changed to an adorable cabin. It's kind of neat, Valdivia has these two-story cabins, built in rows facing each other like mews, right in the city. Valdivia isn't as pretty as Puerto Varas, but it does have at least one gem: Cafe Haussman, this tiny tiny bar whose specialty is crudos--raw beef spread on bread and topped with onions and lemon juice. Oh boy! We stuck to beer and cooked sandwiches and enjoyed the authentic German setting. In case you're wondering what all the German stuff is about, Chile invited German, Swiss, and Austrian immigrants to come and help settle "empty" (read, native) lands starting aroung 1850. My favorite part of the trip was our outing to the Kuntsmann brewery, where I had a beer tasting and we all had healthy helpings of pork and potatoes. I've become a beer convert, which wasn't hard once I had some good stuff since I associated beer with my first beer (Bud in a can), college keg parties (flat Natty Light), and slightly better grad school parties (Amstel light or Corona). Volker, being a brewer, is very happy to have shown me the true path.
Back in the center of Chile, we spent Saturday getting our butts in shape by hiking up and down the hills of Valdivia, making a stop at Pablo Neruda's house. Ryan came back on Sunday having gotten through the interviews and the 20 hour flight (they put him on business class with flat beds, cry me a river!). He thinks the interviews went well, so we'll keep you posted! I don't know where we would live in London, but I promise to have a proper guest room (I know the old one Brooklyn, a child's bed in the kitchen, won't cut it).
March 24, 2003
I just got back Thursday night from the most amazing trip to the Araucania and Lakes Districts of Chile, about nine hours south of Santiago. My friend Hilary and her friends Alisa and Lucas arrived on Sunday. Well, first Alisa and Lucas arrived around noon. Hilary missed her flight (not her fault, blame LanChile) and arrived later that night. I had never met Alisa nor Lucas, but they saw my sign with her name and I guess we all figured, "a friend of Hilary is a friend of mine." So we picked up the rental car (free upgrade!) and with only one wrong turn ( I am not a good navigator; I talk too much) we made it back to our apartment for a traditional Chilean lunch of humitas (like tamales, but not spicy). Alisa and Lucas are apparently great flyers or have access to great drugs because they were ready to head out and see the sights. The three of us headed to the subway, where Alisa ran into someone she knows from graduate school. Unbelievably small world! Alisa and Lucas especially liked the book and vending machines in the subway station. We went first to San Cristobal, the huge hill in Bellavista, taking a tram up (there's also a funicular cable car thingy, but it's scary as hell.). We were blessed with a rare clear day and had a great view of the city. Alisa and Lucas, intrepid travellers as they are, also tried mote con huesillos, which is a dehydrated peach, rehydrated with sugar water in a glass with sugar water and barley. Very refreshing, very sweet, very weird. Also very popular. I had ice cream and promptly got chocolate on my pants. Back down the hill, it was too late to visit Pablo Neruda's house, but we got a good look at it from the outside. We picked up Ryan for dinner at a small cafe near our apartment. No menus, but the proprietor explained what he was serving, which was delicious, and gave us a free drink to pass around. We have no idea what it was, but it was good. Alisa and Lucas also had their first pisco sours, the national drink of Chile. After dinner we went back to the ariport to pick up poor Hilary, who had had a pretty rough few hours.
The next morning we piled in the car, our trusty Galant, and headed south, without even one wrong turn! We stopped four hours later in Chillan for lunch. We parked near the lovely main plaza and had lunch at a yummy vegetarian place called Arco Iris. Then we hit the market, for which Chillan is famous. I managed to get through it buying only a rug, but I believe Alisa bought several scarves. Hilary got a rug as well. Back on the road, we continued south and the central valley slowly changed as we reached our destination. We saw several fires along the way, which we believe were intential field burns. By the time we reached Villarica we could tell we were in a whole different region. So beautiful, I have trouble describing it justly. Volcan Villarica dominates the skyline, set among striking hills, lakes, and streams. I'll post pictures as soon as I have them developed. We also had a bright full, or almost full, moon.
After checking into the Hosteria Ecole in Pucon, a place that nicely balances crunchiness and comfort, we had dinner outside at Alta Mar, where we were joined by several stray dogs (yes, I slipped one of them a piece of meat, so it was entirely my fault) and enjoyed a Montes Gran Reserva Sauvignon Blanc for the delicious price of $10. I won't miss everything about my year here, but I will miss the cheap wine.
The next day we drove over winding dirt roads (our trusty Galant did very well) passed free range brown cows to Parque Nacional Huerquehue for a six hour hike. We were joined by Luma the Wonder Dog, who belongs to the woman who runs the refugio (sort of a lodge) at the park. Luma led us up the trail and back down, never tiring and left us as we passed by the refugio on our way down. We have no idea if she provides the same companionship to all hikers, but we like to think she chose us especially. The hike itself was long and hard, at least for me, but we were rewarded with three sparkling green Andean lakes and lots of monkey puzzle trees (aruacaria pines) as well as views of Volcan Villarica. We were hurting pretty bad when we finished, so our next stop, the Termas Los Pozones (natural thermal pools) was perfect. We arrived just after dark, and soaked in hot stone pools under the stars next to a river. Can you picture anything better? Dinner back in Pucon was heavily salted food at a small Mexican restaurant, one of the few places still open at 10:30 pm.
We had thought about climbing Volcan Villarica, but we were all so sore, and the next day dawned overcast and raining. So we had a late start after a good breakfast at the hosteria, and took the Galant for a tour of the small towns of the area. First stop, the beach in Pucon, where we braved strong winds and blowing rain to have a closer look at the black sand beach. I've never seen a beach in such a lovely setting, all green hills around and in the distance, and the volcano too. In Villarica we stopped for luch at The Travellers, a place owned by three people from three different countries. We lingered there for a while, enjoying the fire, but when one of the owners started talking about the impending war, it was time to go. At some point, I can't remember when , we stopped to pick blackberries on the side of the road. In Lican Ray, on Lake Calafquen, we again headed to the beach, to skip rocks. Lucas is a master. From there we again followed winding dirt roads to the Termas de Conaripe. This hotel had kind of a "Shining" feel because it was mostly empty, but the setting was beautiful--a steep green valley. The rain had stopped, but mist still clung to the hillside. One of the pools had a slide. It's a lot of fun to go down a slide into hot water instead of cold.
Back in Pucon, we had dinner at the hosteria and played a game they had at the bar, "Encuentro" (encounter). It was sort of like my job at Outward Bound, distilled. The instructions included such gems as "make sure everyone is seated comfortably," and "create an open atmosphere of listening and sharing." Basically, one person draws a card and another person reads them the personal question on it, such as "if the person next to you were a flower, what flower would he/she be?" (Alisa is a sunflower) or "Describe a fond memory you have of your childhood." Overall, we learned that Lucas' dad made him practice soccer everyday, Hilary is a mesquite tree, Alisa does not believe in reincarnation, and I want an Academy award. We also learned that the bartender, though he uses fresh raspberries, puts too much rum in his daquiries.
On friday morning I had a massage appointment while the others went to La Tetera for a great breakfast. I knew the war had started when the masseuse started talking about how scared she was and blessed me. Not very conducive to a relaxing massage, but well meant.
On the way back to Santiago, we stopped at La Balduzzi vineyard in San Javier. We had a tour of the cellars, including the owner's private collection including bottles from the 1800s, and saw the harvested grapes being separated and squashed. In Santiago, Ryan joined us for dinner at a popular local place, Liguria, where he kept hiding behind me because a co-worker was a few tables over.
On Friday, we took a walk up cobble-stoned, tree-lined Pedro de Validivia, and then took the subway downtown. After visits to the cathedral and post office on the Plaza de Armas, we visited the Museum of Pre-colombian Art. We had lunch at a place near Santa Lucia that apparently specializes in heavy sauces, and then it was back home to finish packing. My travel companions left for the airport at 4:30, giving me the weekend to recuperate and prepare for our trip to Puerto Montt this Wednesday.
Lila and Volker will arrive Wednesday morning and we all leave for Puerto Montt that evening. We'll explore that area for a few days before Ryan leaves for London on the first of April. Lila, Volker and I will remain in the south for a few more days before returning to Santiago. Ryan has a job interview in London, wish him luck!
January 8, 2003
Seven months have really flown by. It's summer finally, and Santiago is hot and dry, but very green. Ryan and I have had one bad sunburn each. Apparently there isn't much of an ozone layer down here.
Work is going ok for Ryan. He still likes his work, but he is increasingly frustrated with his coworkers. He had to tell two of them to stop looking at porn on the trading desk, and it seems he's constantly objecting to anti-semitic and racist jokes. It's really frustrating for him, since they just laugh. It can't be easy to work in a place where everyone has an issue with you. It seems he had the bad luck of being stuck with a group of yahoos--apparently other departments in the bank are much more professional.
School is going well for me. I've taken Criminal Law, Evidence Law, Criminal Investigation, and Forensics so far, and soon I'll be starting Interrogation, Criminal Intelligence Analysis, Open Source Intelligence, and Criminal Profiling.
I've also been writing (using the beautiful antique writing box Ryan got me for Christmas) a lot. I'm working on a murder mystery, a story or maybe a novel, about how people often think they know their family members well, but discover, in the aftermath of a murder, that they didn't really know them at all, only the roles they played in the family.
Wanting to keep busy, and somewhat involved in my field, I've started an online research service at RaiseYourHand.info. I don't expect it to be profitable, but it's fun. I've also taken up needlepoint, a nice portable hobby.
Ryan and I have also semi-adopted a stray dog named Digger (for what he does most). He hangs around in a park where we workout in the morning. Ryan brings him dog food and he follows Ryan and obeys commands. This morning Digger let me comb him with a stick. I'd like to pet him, but he has a flea problem. He's one of hundreds, maybe more, stray dogs in Santiago. It's always funny to visit the presidential palace and see a half-dozen stray dogs hanging out in front.
Two nights ago we had an earthquake of 4 point something. It was the biggest and longest lasting one we've had since we've been here. Ryan and I held hands and stood in the door frame, but to tell you the truth, I kind of enjoy them. They're like mild amusement rides.
Christmas was sort of odd here, because of the warm weather. We made pizza and opened presents and spoke to family on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Day we went over to a friend of a friend's house for a few hours in the afternoon. For New Year's Eve we went to Valparaiso (coastal city) with Ryan's friends Marco and Jacqueline and had dinner with her family and family friends on a naval frigate. It was nice, and pretty cool to be on a naval ship (one of the four Chile has). We stood up on the tower of the ship to watch the fireworks on the harbor. I still love fireworks as much as I did when I was a kid. Ryan and I made resolutions: he wants to master five songs on his guitar, and I want to be able to do a pull-up. Shallow, maybe.
Sites Around Santiago
Our Neighborhood
Photos of Pucon Trip with Hilary, Alisa, and Lucas
Photos of Trip with Lila and Volker to South of Chile
Photos of San Pedro de Atacama
Photos of Santiago, Vina del Mar, Valparaiso, and Santa Cruz
Ryan's Work
Peg's Work
 La Moneda, the presidential palace, where Salvador Allende died during the 1973 coup. Ryan works two blocks from here. |
 This is the Plaza Baquedano, near the Natalislang School where I took Spanish classes. |
 Plaza de Armas, in the downtown section of the city. |
 This is Cerro Santa Lucia, a popular place for young couples who want to make out on park benches. |
 Valparaiso, a central coastal city, once one of the most important ports in the world. |
 The road to Valparaiso from Santiago passes through vineyards such as this one. |
 On October 5th we drove through the Cajon de Maipo, a valley southeast of Santiago with mountain villages and beautiful scenery. We stopped for lunch at Cascada de las Animas , a resort with its own nature reserve. We may rent a cabin there for the weekend some time and do a little hiking. |
 This is the restaurant there, overlooking the Maipo River. |
The Central Bank of Chile (site in Spanish and English)
