Hola Todos!! As you know, I traveled down to Patagonia last week and this week my Rotary Club sponsors Richard Williams and Vicki Arndt arrived for their week long visit. Many of the T.O. Rotarians will be following my blog this week for updates, so I will blog and post pics from Patagonia next week.
Vicki and Richard (now know as Ricardo or Ricky Ricardo) arrived late Monday night. Aside from being smashed by the elevator door and a little rain storm today, Vicki and Richard’s visit is going great thus far. Upon their arrival in Vina around 10:30 p.m. which is the exact time Chileans eat dinner, we did as Chileans do and headed to a dinner spot around the corner. Vicki tried some Chilean wine and Ricardo an Escudo (Chilean beer). He said it was a little sweet, but nonetheless drank all of it.
DAY ONE: Jessica and I picked them up and headed to the new Starbucks to grab coffee before starting our long day. Our first stop was at my university, La Universdad Catolica de Valparaiso, where we met with one of my favorite professors, Fanor Larraine. He speaks great English and has an extensive background in Chilean history, politics and culture. The charla (chat) lasted about an hour and a half and it was a great introduction to Chile for Vicki and Richard.
In the evening we all headed to the Rotary Club meeting of Playa Ancha. It was a great meeting with a delicious pineapple dessert. Eugenio our designated chauffeur for the week took us on a mini tour through Valparaiso on the way home. Vicki took some amazing pictures and we learned a lot about the history of Valparaiso.
Vicki and Ricardo headed out to experiment with the Chilean vino and Jessica and I went to bring stuff up to Gina’s house. Vicki brought some books in Spanish, games, puzzles and toiletries for the kiddies.
As I’m writing this I can feel my eyelids getting heavy, so I think I should head to bed. I will keep you all updated on our adventures.
Buenas Noches!!
Vicki and Richard (now know as Ricardo or Ricky Ricardo) arrived late Monday night. Aside from being smashed by the elevator door and a little rain storm today, Vicki and Richard’s visit is going great thus far. Upon their arrival in Vina around 10:30 p.m. which is the exact time Chileans eat dinner, we did as Chileans do and headed to a dinner spot around the corner. Vicki tried some Chilean wine and Ricardo an Escudo (Chilean beer). He said it was a little sweet, but nonetheless drank all of it.
DAY ONE: Jessica and I picked them up and headed to the new Starbucks to grab coffee before starting our long day. Our first stop was at my university, La Universdad Catolica de Valparaiso, where we met with one of my favorite professors, Fanor Larraine. He speaks great English and has an extensive background in Chilean history, politics and culture. The charla (chat) lasted about an hour and a half and it was a great introduction to Chile for Vicki and Richard.
After that we went for a walk through the local fruit and veggie market. Vicki was the hit of the town. A vendor gave Vicki a cherimoya for free and we even took a photo of with him (see below). Meanwhile, all the other vendors teased him for being so popular with the gringas.
Then we walked over to the National Congress where there was a large protest taking place. Currently, in Chile many of the professors and public health workers are on strike. The presidential election is less than a month away and the workers are trying to demand drastic changes before the current administration leaves. I was actually really glad they could see a protest in action because protests, marches and strikes are a big part of the Chilean culture. It is the method of choice to initiate change. We didn’t stay long…no need to look for trouble, but it was cool to watch for a few minutes.
Then we headed to the port for lunch. We ordered ostiones parmesanos (scallops in a parmesan butter sauce) to share. Vicki and Ricardo ordered conger eel for their main dishes and Jessica and I had the Reineta. It was delicious. Vicki and Ricardo headed back to the hotel for nap time and Jessica and I met up with Gina to buy her new refrigerator.
Around 7:00 p.m. Vicki and Ricardo came over to my apartment for dinner. I cooked my famous casserole. Then we had Once at Lily’s house. It was lovely welcome event. Vicki and Ricardo were introduced to Pisco Sours. Vicki calls them Piso Sours which means either floor sours or piss sours…hilarious. They also had some Chilean pastries and the all too popular in Chile, potato chips. I was very impressed with Playa Ancha’s turnout. Of the 16 members, I think all but two were present. Some members brought their spouses and even the head doctor from the Consultorio (Clinic) stopped by to meet Vicki and Ricardo. Jessica and I did most of the translating which was cause for some funny moments throughout the night. I was very surprised at how many of the members of Playa Ancha tried to speak English. They did an amazing job and the effort was truly sincere.
DAY 2: Although it was rainy and cloudy today we had a fun filled day of Rotary activities. First we went to the Puertas Negras Consultorio (Black Doors) in Playa Ancha. The clinic is the poorest out of the 13 public clinics in Valparaiso. It is located at the top of the hills in Playa Ancha and has the highest rate of drug addiction, crime, prostitution and delinquency in the Valpo area. They are only open until 5:30 p.m. because it is too dangerous to be open past those hours. Puertas Negras is basically the one stop shop for health care. They treat all ages and all sicknesses including dentistry and mental health. They provide primary care, health education and many other services. The treatment is completely free of cost. There needs are great, but the staff does the best they can with what they have. They’re goal is to transform themselves into a more modern clinic so they can increase not only the quality of the treatment they provide but also the number and types of patients they can treat. We walked through the clinic and met with the Director, Ernistina, and the head doctor, Alejandro, to discuss a potential project. The staff is extremely dedicated and it is obvious they don’t work there for the money. As we walked through the waiting area was crawling with mainly babies, children and women. It was quite a sight to see.
Then we walked over to the National Congress where there was a large protest taking place. Currently, in Chile many of the professors and public health workers are on strike. The presidential election is less than a month away and the workers are trying to demand drastic changes before the current administration leaves. I was actually really glad they could see a protest in action because protests, marches and strikes are a big part of the Chilean culture. It is the method of choice to initiate change. We didn’t stay long…no need to look for trouble, but it was cool to watch for a few minutes.
Then we headed to the port for lunch. We ordered ostiones parmesanos (scallops in a parmesan butter sauce) to share. Vicki and Ricardo ordered conger eel for their main dishes and Jessica and I had the Reineta. It was delicious. Vicki and Ricardo headed back to the hotel for nap time and Jessica and I met up with Gina to buy her new refrigerator.
Around 7:00 p.m. Vicki and Ricardo came over to my apartment for dinner. I cooked my famous casserole. Then we had Once at Lily’s house. It was lovely welcome event. Vicki and Ricardo were introduced to Pisco Sours. Vicki calls them Piso Sours which means either floor sours or piss sours…hilarious. They also had some Chilean pastries and the all too popular in Chile, potato chips. I was very impressed with Playa Ancha’s turnout. Of the 16 members, I think all but two were present. Some members brought their spouses and even the head doctor from the Consultorio (Clinic) stopped by to meet Vicki and Ricardo. Jessica and I did most of the translating which was cause for some funny moments throughout the night. I was very surprised at how many of the members of Playa Ancha tried to speak English. They did an amazing job and the effort was truly sincere.
DAY 2: Although it was rainy and cloudy today we had a fun filled day of Rotary activities. First we went to the Puertas Negras Consultorio (Black Doors) in Playa Ancha. The clinic is the poorest out of the 13 public clinics in Valparaiso. It is located at the top of the hills in Playa Ancha and has the highest rate of drug addiction, crime, prostitution and delinquency in the Valpo area. They are only open until 5:30 p.m. because it is too dangerous to be open past those hours. Puertas Negras is basically the one stop shop for health care. They treat all ages and all sicknesses including dentistry and mental health. They provide primary care, health education and many other services. The treatment is completely free of cost. There needs are great, but the staff does the best they can with what they have. They’re goal is to transform themselves into a more modern clinic so they can increase not only the quality of the treatment they provide but also the number and types of patients they can treat. We walked through the clinic and met with the Director, Ernistina, and the head doctor, Alejandro, to discuss a potential project. The staff is extremely dedicated and it is obvious they don’t work there for the money. As we walked through the waiting area was crawling with mainly babies, children and women. It was quite a sight to see.
After the clinic visit we headed to a local elementary school. My host Rotary Club of Playa Ancha does quite a bit of work with the local schools. At this particular one, they started a gardening program. They teach the children gardening along with the importance of eating healthy and working with the land. The teachers have been on strike for about 3 weeks so the garden looked neglected, but when the strike ends they’ll resume the program.
In the evening we all headed to the Rotary Club meeting of Playa Ancha. It was a great meeting with a delicious pineapple dessert. Eugenio our designated chauffeur for the week took us on a mini tour through Valparaiso on the way home. Vicki took some amazing pictures and we learned a lot about the history of Valparaiso.
Vicki and Ricardo headed out to experiment with the Chilean vino and Jessica and I went to bring stuff up to Gina’s house. Vicki brought some books in Spanish, games, puzzles and toiletries for the kiddies.
As I’m writing this I can feel my eyelids getting heavy, so I think I should head to bed. I will keep you all updated on our adventures.
Buenas Noches!!
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