The Last Six Months

You know, I've been trying to figure out things that I want to tell you about Santiago... but I can't think of anything that really stands out to me. I guess that's a good thing - it's pretty easy to live here, so we don't have a lot of complaining. I mean, if the worst thing about living here that I can think of is that maple syrup costs $30 per bottle, I think we're probably okay. (No, we don't buy it. It's $30 a bottle.)

So yeah, things are good. Here are some individual Ridenour updates:

ZOE
Zoe has finished her first "semester" of preschool. She started on August 1 and finished today, just in time for Christmas. Here, the schools follow the same idea of a summer holiday for schools... it's just that summer break here happens to include Christmas too. She'll have a summer program starting January 3, and it includes going swimming every day. She's looking forward to that. We've really seen her blossom at school - her body is stronger from climbing and running (Jeff was literally chasing her all over the grocery store the other night, and he had to move quite a bit faster than he did before!), and her language ability has skyrocketed in both English and Spanish. We're really proud of how social she is - she yells "Hola!" at everyone we pass on the street, and she does a great job of communicating with kids on the playground. She is currently very excited about the presents under the Christmas tree, but we think she might be disappointed when she finds out that they're not ALL for her. Life can be so hard when you're two.

SHANNA
I got a job! I'm working at the Embassy in sort of a events planner/info resource/communications person for our Embassy community, both ex-pats and the Chileans who work at the Embassy with us. I started back in November, just in time to throw together a couple of holiday parties that went pretty well. I (fortunately) work with another spouse in this position as a job-share, so we've got two brains to figure all this out, too. It's working out really well. I work the hours that Zoe's at school, so I don't miss any time with her. I feel a lot more connected now that I'm the connector for other folks. My Spanish is getting better (I think), and I'm feeling more at home here. We've also been enjoying short road trips on the weekends to discover more about Santiago and the surrounding areas. Our neighborhood is a bit of a bubble - lots of wealthy Chileans and ex-pats - so we try to get out and eat some street food and shop in farmers' markets. That's when it feels like we actually live in another country!

JEFF
Jeff continues to (mostly) enjoy his work, but he REALLY enjoys getting out on his bike on the weekends and exploring. It's getting a bit hot now, so he can't do as much as he'd like, but he still enjoys it - especially when he and Zoe find a cool new place. Currently, I think his favorite place to go is a huge farmers' market called La Vega. He's going there tomorrow (the Saturday before Christmas) to get everything we need to make a huge holiday meal since we're having some friends over for Christmas dinner. We're both hoping for leftovers. :-)

Anyway, that's sort of how our lives are going at the moment. Sorry it's more like a report than an engaging story... but from my experience, "normal" is usually more preferable than any possible alternative when you're overseas! And that's where we're at right now. It's nice.

Happy holidays from South America! May you have a healthy and happy New Year!