ARE YOU STILL OUT THERE??

...or have I lost my faithful readers and followers of my trivial daily activities? I'm thinking you've probably all gone on to greener pastures (and/or websites) looking for your thrills...

What can I say? I'm sorry. As family and close friends know, Floyd and I went to Chile with Mandy and Jorge for three weeks and I didn't like to advertise that on the internet. But we're back, the trip was awesome and I'll try to get back into the blogging habit again...

Before I tell you about the trip (Reader's Digest version), I just want to say something to a couple of people (hopefully they'll come back to read this...). First of all - Erin. Thank you so much for what you said on your blog on the International Women's Day. They were very kind words and, even though I don't feel worthy of the tribute, I do thank you. Mandy, Jorge's Mom, his sisters, and I were all honored on the day by his Dad (okay, he just said, "Happy Women's Day" - ha ha... but it was nice!). Secondly, Chloe - once again, I feel I have let you down by not replying to your email. Our internet time in Concepcion was very limited and I just didn't get on there as much as I'd wanted to. But I should have written... Email coming your way, Chloe.

Okay, the trip was wonderful and a photographer's dream come true. I went berserk with my camera and was nicknamed "Papparatzi" by the family (sigh). My biggest frustration was the "pictures" I saw in my mind (as I walked the streets or rode in the buses and cars) that I missed. There were many times when it was just not safe to pull my Canon digital out of it's hiding place and start snapping pics. Jorge was very diligent to let me know this and so concerned for my safety. I discovered, as well, that my love is for nature - flowers, streams, forest shots, etc. (besides I don't have adorable kids hanging around my house like Tanya does!). I just love looking at different angles for the shots. I was so amazed at how many times I was just about to take a photo of a flower and a bee would land on it!! It's like they wanted to be in the shot! I learned so much, as well, about my camera! Let's hope I remember - ha ha....

Here's the shocker...ready? I took SO many photos!! I figured, why not? Wasn't costing me anything! But I forgot the cost of my time when I got home to have to go through over 2000 (hee hee) photos to pick out (a) the 400 I'm going to print to show friends here, and (b) the other 400 that (someday) I hope to scrapbook!! Yeah, I know, it'll probably never happen but the thought is good! So, after a week of (literally) working on them night and day (nightshift at work), I have narrowed it down to 1280 that I'm keeping. I have the orginal 2000 on discs that Jorge made for me anyway, so it's not like they're gone forever. I had over 6 GB of photos!! Ha ha - gotta love digital!! I'm going to put some on my photoblog today and tomorrow...watch for it!

Re the trip...I've decided to, instead of going into a loooong drawn-out daily description, just give you a brief overview and then some points that I found interesting about life in Chile....

First of all, I love the country! I'm so glad that we are forever bonded to it through Jorge and his family and that we will always have relatives there to visit. It is very "northamericanized" in many ways, in that you can find the same stores/products, etc., in any big city as you would find here in Canada. But in the small towns you can still capture the history and charm of the life a hundred years ago. So many old buildings are still standing - almost like ghost towns - but they look so beautiful covered in the incredible flowers. Floyd and I learned a lot about the recent history (turmoil of the '70's) that we didn't know before and it helped us understand more of what the people are going through. The people are so loving and friendly and it felt funny coming back here and not greeting everyone you meet with a kiss on the cheek! We spent a lot of our time with Jorge's family and venturing out on day trips in the Concepcion area. We also drove about 5-6 hours to Pichilemu (where Mandy and Jorge are now with YWAM) to show Floyd the quaint little surfing town, and to find a place for the kids to stay when they returned there. We were delighted to find a lovely little cabin - brand new - for them to rent. That was such an answer to our prayers.

We also took (the four of us) a trip south to the tourist area surround Villarrica (means "rich valley") and Pucon. We rented a cabin for 5 days and had a ball. Adventures included white-water rafting (first time for all of us!), a three-hour horseback ride through the Chilean Andes mountains, mud baths at thermal hot springs, and lots of shopping!! That and the thrill of living so close to an active volcano!! On return, we got ready for their second wedding in Tome. A dream come true for Mandy, the ceremony took place outside on a little patio about 20 feet from the beach! Then we moved inside for a marvelous reception, then on to a photo-shoot on the beach (I can't take credit for those photos when you see them - a friend of Jorge's borrowed my camera to take the shots - he did an awesome job!), and the day was topped off by a family "party" at his grandfather's ranch out in the country! We had a blast. It was perfect day #2 for them both. God is so good. The only downside to the whole day was that Marco and Monica (Jorge's uncle and aunt) had an accident coming into Yumbel (the town where the ranch is). The car slipped on water on the road and spun around a few times before crashing into a pole. Their two teens were in the back seat and got thrown around a bit. Marco and Monica were bruised and sore from their air bags and seat belts, but we were all so thankful for the Lord's protection! They weren't able (obviously) to attend the party, though, and that was disappointing for everyone.

Here's some of my points noted of "life in Chile":

- you will never have tomatoes served to you with their skins on! They are always peeled (a messy job, if you can imagine) before eating/serving.

- there appears to be a shortage of toilet paper because any public washroom will be out of it - unless you go to one where you pay to use the facilities. Then there will either be someone there who gives you a rationing of paper, or else it will be available in the stall. Ha ha. At first I thought it was weird to have to pay to use the bathroom but soon looked for those ones because you knew there would be paper in it and it would be clean!

- another toilet-paper related issue... Their sewage system cannot handle the paper, so there is always a little bin beside the toilet - in everyone's house, restaurant, no matter where you go - for you to put the paper in after you wipe! It sounds gross and was, at times, a little disturbing, but the bins are changed frequently and you get used to it! I'm still looking for the bin after I go here!! Ha ha.

- jams, mayonaise, ketchup, etc., are all sold in bags! You just put the bags out on the table and squeeze product out through a round opening. Different....

- the forests in Chile are dominated by pine and eucalyptus trees that they have imported years ago from Canada and Australia, respectively. They've planted so many and you constantly see new forests cropping up. Both trees thrive well in the soil and climate, so a lot of the scenery of the foothills of the Andes is very similar to the Rockies because of the pines.

- they do not call their police "police"! Ha ha - they are the Carabineros of Chile and drive in green and white vehicles. So, if you are looking for the policia there, that's who you need to look for! A far cry from the renegades running around in camouflage in Bolivia, Chile's police force is well respected and trustworthy. Apart from various neighborhoods in the big cities, a person is very safe in Chile - much like here in Canada.

- every day at around 5 p.m., they have a meal referred to as once's (the word "eleven" in Spanish - pronounced "on-says"). To quote a website: "In late afternoon, between about 5 and 7 pm, it is common to take onces (afternoon tea), which usually consists of a sandwich and some kind of dessert or pastry, plus tea or coffee. Dinner is rarely earlier than 9 pm and often runs as late as midnight. These meal times reflect the nature of the Chilean workday; Chileans usually begin work at 9am and finish in the late evening around 8pm after taking the long lunch in early afternoon. " The funny part about this is that, one day, I was helping Mandy make onces for us four and it hit me that the English translation would be "elevensies" - a term I had not heard since I was a child!! I remember my Mum and Dad talk about having elevensies, which consisted of a light snack of tea, bread and jam, jello or fruit but, instead of the afternoon, it was taken before lunch! To quote another website (just so you know I'm not making it up!): ''Elevensies'' is not just a hobbit term, it truly is a British tradition of partaking in tea and cakes following breakfast, but before lunch." When I mentioned this to Jorge, he reminded me of the strong European influence that is still prevalent in Chile.

- almost every neighborhood as it's little gang of street dogs! They are usually poor starving things that roam the streets at night and lay around in the sun during the day. They are mostly friendly but you have to be careful, because if you acknowledge them (which, I confess, I often did!), they'll follow you all day. Poor things.... At night, laying in bed, it was the dogs barking and fighting that you heard, not the sirens or police helicopters that we're used to here...

- in every bathroom or kitchen, you'll find a little propane thingy (for lack of the correct word...sorry) with a pilot light, that you have to light with a match, so that you can have hot water. It's instantly hot (not like memories of England, where you had to do it an hour before you wanted hot water for a bath!), heating the water as it comes out the pipes. When you were done, you would turn the pilot light off until you needed hot water again.

- they have "superstores" that would put ours to shame! One such chain is Lider and the one we went to was huge! It carried anything you could possibly want - from groceries to hardware to clothing. There were (are you ready?) 77 cashier tills!! And they were all manned by staff!! Incredible.

- all the children in school wear uniforms. As a result, when the people go "back-to-school shopping", as they were doing when we were there (it was going into their fall), all the main store chains would advertise which schools they supported and had uniforms for! So, the kids' and youth departments in the stores were filled with school costumes for the different schools. There was other clothing as well, but it seemed strange to see rack after rack of the same pants/skirts/shirts/blouses, etc....

Well, if you're still reading, I'm really impressed! I had meant to make this more of a condensed version - but it still came out long.

Bottom line? I left part of my heart in Chile (my baby's there...) as well as a lot of dear family and friends. I can't wait to go back again...wanna come with me??