Apartment Post #1: My Apartment!

I still don't have internet in my apartment, so I am taking advantage of the wifi here at La Tetería (one of my FAVORITE places in Santiago) for a quick post introducing my new apartment!

I currently live in Barrio Bellavista, Santiago. It is a bit further downtown from where I lived before, and a much younger area that is basically a nonstop carrete (party) at night, so there's lots of accessible nightlife. This is perfect for me, the old lady that I am who cannot keep up with Chileans that party until 6 or 7am. This way, I can go home when I want -- and I don't even have to pay cab fare!

The apartment building is gorgeous and brand new, and comes fully equipped with a pool, event room, TV room, and lavandería (laundry room), which was lacking at my last place. There was a washing machine in my old apartment, but no dryer, which was pretty crazymaking for my spoiled self. Now my laundry is done in a couple of hours instead of a couple of days! Ah, creature comforts...

My apartment is walking distance from the Cerro San Cristóbal, where you can find a beautiful view, mote con huesillo (a sweet Chilean drink/snack), barbecue pits, and the Santiago Zoo. It's also a good hike...for people who like hiking. My depto is an even closer to walk to Parque Forestal, a beautiful place to sit or stroll, and an area that I can't wait to explore more.

Here are some photos of the apartment as it came -- bare as a baby's bottom. At the moment, it does not look like this -- it looks more like cyclones had made their way to Santiago, specifically to the 10th floor my apartment building. I did manage to get the basics in place (bed, refrigerator, light bulbs), but it is still lacking in the furniture department, and technically speaking, it is a freaking mess. When it is all finished and pretty, I'll post some after pictures. For now, I hope you enjoy these!

Jáppy Jálloween

Halloween in Chile is a gringo-ized holiday. Most of the Halloween traditions here (from what I gather anyway) are the bits and pieces that people put together from what they see of United Statesian Halloween on TV. You can find various orange and black decorations around and about, as well as pumpkin- or bat-themed things for sale. And of course the notorious street vendors will be happy to sell you a witch's hat or devil ears alongside their normal inventory of scarves, wallets, sunglasses, and pirated DVDs. But in general, Halloween (pronounced JA-lo-ween by Chileans) is definitely not as big a deal here as it is Stateside.

So while I did not exactly find myself in a sea of costumes walking down the street over the weekend, Halloween was not forgotten by the gringos. And since Monday was a holiday (por casualidad), there was partying all weekend long!

Personally, I started on Saturday with a friend's house party, which was super fun. Due to things like work, buying furniture for my apartment, and laziness, I had neither the time, money, nor commitment to buy a costume, so I made due with what I had the night of, hence my costume of "fancy pirate." (Fancy because I wanted an excuse to wear my pretty sparkly top.)

When I got there, the hostess was kind enough to replace my oversized scarf for my head with one that fit and matched the rest of my "costume" better, as well as add to it with a rockin' skull tattoo on my arm.

Aren't I the toughest fancy pirate you've ever seen?

You can't see the white pants and black boots that match the black and white headscarf, but trust me, it was awesome.

However, despite the awesomeness, people seemed to have a hard time grasping the pirate concept without a pirate hat or eyepatch (I think the fanciness might have thrown them off), so Sunday night I opted for a different costume. Once again lacking in time, money, and inclination to buy a costume or costume parts, I decided to throw on all my Chile gear and some sunglasses and go as a "gringa tourist."

Complete with my "¿Chile, cachai?" cap, my "I Love Chile" tee, Easter Island earrings, a backpack, and sunglasses (not pictured)...this was still a hard one for people to get without me explaining it. So I was 0 for 2. But people did seem to enjoy my costumes once they understood what they were!