Inspire me.

Thursday, September 12, 2013

8:30 PM

Ello lovlies, I'm onboard a plane again, towards the north of chile to a city called Callama. We're headed to the San Pedro De Atacama desert for the weekend. Mums busker friend we stayed with last time is celebrating his brithday tomorrow (Friday) so we figured this was perfect timing. Except I got hella sick yesterday =( I started getting a cold Tuesday night and it came down hard Wednesday so I had to miss the rememberance march for the 11 Sept (40 years since the military coup that lead to a 17 year long dictatorship and murder of President Allende). I was super bummed I missed it but instead I went to the doctor, she was heaps chatty and nice ^.^ I feel okay now, it was just a cold but sometimes my asthma flares up too and I didn't have any prednisone or antibiotics with me.

On the plus side I spent my day on Wedneday with my uncle who I hadn't seen in so long. I like him, he's my grandad's brother, the grandad I grew up with and he always reminds me of him. They sort of look alike and he even has similar gestures and ways of expressing himself, he's a sweet heart. We went with my mum and his and got lunch at La Caleta which is kind of like the fish market but with restaurants too. I was feeling heaps shit though, I had to start using my nebuliser again because I couldn't breath properly, it blows because the action of breathing is occuring but my lungs just aren't capturing any oxygen. Either way, soldiered on, hung out with my uncle and mum and then she went to the march and I went to the doctor with my uncle. OMG but while we were at lunch I got super excited, there was motherfucking SEA LIONS. I didn't ven know they had them in this part of Chile. This is my 5th time coming to Chile and this is the first time I see them here. There was so many! So that made my day haha, plus hanging with mmy uncle and his family after my docs appointment actually turned out nice. He has two daughters roughly my age but we didnt really get along last time. They're both enrolled nurses here in Chile so I talked for ages with the younger one about the differences so that was heaps interesting. I told her we should hang out so I think we might go out for drinks or something when I come back from Peru =)

So I've officially been in Chile for one week so far but bless the internet because it's preventing any home sickness. I've been skyping with the guys and ash, mums almost constantly skyping Marco (her husband) and with blogging, fb chat and uploading pics I'm keeping entertained at home when we've come back from our day out. I suppose we haven't really done any proper site seeing, just observing and trying to soak in with daily life here while we're in La Serena. It's heaps interesting how different some things are and there always seems to be something on, and someone to talk to. Everyone we've ever asked for help or advice has been heaps keen to help and as soon as you get chatting to people they're always keen to explain how things work here. It's been cool catching up with family and deffo feeling less anxious about the entire trip now. I was heaps worried I'd be lonely as fuck, but I've made two friends already who are heaps nice and heaps of my cousins want to hang out with me and take me places, I just havent had the time yet. So i feel pretty set now, I learnt how to catch the bus to the city's cbd and I have numbers for cabs and family members who are willing to hang out with me. I've igured out how to get to my grandparents place by walking there and I know where all the corner shops are. I've sorta figured out where most stuff is in the CBD of La Serena is and I have a little map now. Plus I looked up a couple tour things that I might pay for once mum leaves. There's ones that go to the pisco famrlands and the surround towns that are about an hour away from the apartment we're staying in, I've gone to one of the towns that way before and I'm probs going with mum for 2 days to stay with our uncle there.

So once she's gone I feel like I'll still be able to do stuff and I know where to go eat where it's cheap and tasty + we have a fully stocked kitchen and a massive grocerry store down the road incase I need to buy anything. I think the last things left to figure out before mum leaves in 4 weeks is where to get the bus to Coquimbo's CBD and how I'm meant to shut down the apartment and lock up once I leave. I think I'm going to have to store away all the bed linnen and make sure everythings clean and the gas is disconnected.

I still need to sort out some stuff for the rest of the tours though, I still need to buy a backpack which I think I might get Monday in Santiago when we go pick up my passport from the Brazilian consulate. I need to look up where to buy them though =S I was worried about packing for both extremes but I think I'll be right. This weekends trip I brought clothes to get changed every day for 5 days into a tiny carry on suitcase. So the backpack should be fine. I also neeeeeed, gloves for the south of Chile where we wil be in snowy/glacial conditions. I thought I packed my thermal leggings but I must have forgotten them =( I don't know how much I'll need them, I have normal leggings which don't seem that different to the thermals tbh =S I'm just going to need to layer up I guess. OH and I'm cringing at the idea but I'b getting crocs in Santiago too. They sell some that aren't as fugly but I was reading reviews of the costa rica tour I'm doing and everyone was saying it's wet/raining constantly and shoes don't have enough time to dry out. Hmmm I need a torch for the night rainforest walks. I think that's it.

Ha that was fast, we're ladning I gota put my laptop away.
byeeee

x

& Kitty goes MeOw.

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Español.

So one day I was hanging out with Kurt and we realised that there are some pretty wacky sayings in the spanish language. Each Spanish speaking country has their own sayings, metaphors and similies but these are a few that I have collected over the last year or so. Every time I hear my mum or grandma say a new one I text Kurt XD It has become somewhat of a little tradition for me now =]

Saying: La negrita astuta vende fruta.
Direct Translation: The (Astute, cunning, sly, crafty, fraudulent) cute/little black girl sells fruit.
Meaning: This saying is said as a sort of warning that you are/someone else is a cocktease

Saying: No calientes el agua (si no vas a tomar té)
Direct Translation: Don't heat the water if you're not going to drink tea
Meaning: This is also a sort of warning to someone who is being a cocktease. Kind of like, don't flirt and lead someone on if you have no intention of hooking up with them. It is also a play on words because in Spanish (Chilean at least) the word calentar (to heat) is also used informally as a way to say 'make horny'. So 'estoy caliente' = I'm hot BUT it means I'm horny. If you wanted to say I'm hot (because of the weather) you would say 'tengo calor'

Tongue Twister: Tres tristes tigres trigo trillaron tranquilos tragaron
Translation: Three sad tigers, wheat they threshed (To separate the grain from the straw or husks by mechanical beating), calmly they swallowed.

Tongue Twister:Pedro Pablo Pérez Pereira pobre pintor portugués pinta paisajes por poca plata para pasar por París
Translation: Pedro Pablo Pérez Pereira poor Portugese painter paints landscapes for little money to pass through Paris.

Saying:Buscarle la quinta pata al gato
Direct Translation:To look for the 5th leg of the cat
Meaning: Looking for problems when there clearly aren't any in that situation, so you're over thinking it and overcomplicating yourself.

Saying: Para ser bella hay que ver estrellas
Direct Translation: To be beautiful you have to see stars
Meaning: I'm guessing this is a fairly old saying because my grandad said it to me once, I kind of fell in love with this little rhyme/mantra. It means that no pain is too great to endure in order to look your best, this particularly refers to women having to wear painful shoes (stilettos) because it makes their legs look hot, wearing tight clothing to show off curves, waxing, plucking, dying hair, and I suppose nowadays you could extend that into getting cosmetic surgery. Just to clarify, my grandad wasn't a dick, I remember the saying coming up because we were watching a show with really attractive women and I was in awe of them and he explained that constructed superficial beauty comes at a price =) Oh and if you don't get the imagery, it's based on seeing "stars" when you hit your head/get dizzy, like if you've ever seen the cartoon representation of stars around the head when they get hit.

*To be continued