Casablanca valley

It is super windy in Valpo this evening.  It was calm last night, so this is new weather.  I feel like hitting the town tonight... or tomorrow.  I had a really good day today and I'd like to spend one more here.
I got out to the Casablanca wine route office in the early afternoon.  We made a plan.  With their help we reserved a taxi to take me to three vineyards this afternoon.  They were delightful.  Tomorrow I will start earlier and visit the rest. Right now supper is on my mind, but first I must change my eyes.
I had a great time hanging out with the hostel folks last night.  Too bad most of them rolled out today.  Breakfast here is great.  We had boiled eggs!  I love eggs for breakfast; they're a staple for me.  I finished off my Chicha, a hard grape cider.  I'll see about bringing some back.  It's a rural artesan brew, so it's not widely distributed.  I got my bottle filled up direct from the vat.  Tonight I'll work on my pisco and cola.  Liquor is good, but I believe in drinking and eating away my luggage.
Three thingsI need to buy: eye drops for contacts, a small padlock, and flipflops.  I'd like to see the beach, and wet sandy shoes are no fun.
Emiliana is an oganic winery.  I know many of my classmates were big fans of organic agriculture. I sure wish they'd read and comment on my travels.
While wandering the strange streets back to my hostel from the bus depot I stumbled upon the cemetery.  It's weird because it's built on a graded hill. This city is so damn hilly and strange.  I guess one could compare it to San Fran.
Now I'm really hungered, so I'll change my eyes and find some food.

Valparaiso and Halfway

I'm in Valparaiso now.  My first impression of the hostel is negative.  The location is hostile to my luggage.  The front door is on a sloped and cobbled sidestreet.  The building itself is full of stairs.  At least I only have to carry my luggage out once.  Also, the staff seems less capable in English.  This worries me since I will naturally need their help to get around.  I had a nasty surprise when I checked in.  The lock was missing from my suitcase.  I believe I dropped it back in the ticket office in Los Andes.  That was my sentimental lock. I had it for about twenty years.  I can easily buy a new lock on the street. Street vendors sell almost everything.  I can use one of my others in the meantime.
The plan is to see the town and seaside tonight and tomorrow, then jaunt out to see the wineries in Casablanca.  I must also find a money exchange.  Of course, this hostel only takes cash and the local tax is 19% on Chilean pesos.

If you've been counting, today is my second week since I arrived.  I said to myself I'd give myself til now to decide to stay or return early.  My business is unfinished so I will stay for now.
This weekend back in Santiago is Lollapalooza.  It is not part of my plan.

*I should also note that I lost a flipflop at my previous hostel.  I left them outside to dry and a one of the dogs must've run off with it.

uh-oh

I have either a spring/autumn cold, or allergies.  Ug, my nose runs.

I went clubbing

I just now arrived back to the hostel from a dance club in Bellavista.  I ran back, as the metro is closed, I don't know the bus routes, and I don't trust taxis.  I believe I passed a M->F tranny enroute (1 of 3 fitting words), possibly up to no good.
The party can go on for much longer, but I have stuff to do tomorrow, so I left when I decided to leave.  In Brazil it can go until 06:00 hours.
I still do not know how to approach and handle a girl on the dancefloor, nor keep my Central Nervous Sytem mellow.  That is frustrating.

Cultural observations of Chile

I've noticed many things here, like fashion, shopping, and the youths.

Shopping:  there are lots of shops.  Within almost every building-block is a shopping center, like a mini-mall,  or a courtyard garden, or a food court.  It is very interesting to explore they shopping centres.  There are many duplicate goods and services, tho, if not the store brand.  There may be several hair salons or key carvers on the same block, or even right next to each other.  This is especially true with the lingerie stores.  There's one particular store brand, Oy Ce´, that will have multiple shops within the same block, or within yards of each other.  The window dressings of the ropa interor stores are pretty awesome, showy, and detailed.  To be fair, the men's underwear shop window displays are equally showy and detailed, but awesome is for someone else to judge.  I've got some pictures of the window displays, but I lack my camera at this moment for uploading.  The mannequins are much more correct here.
I saw the strangest store this afternoon.  The shingle read "Farmacia Sex Shop Galleria."  What a strange combination.  I can surmise the most typical medicines sold there, but I wonder if they fill more mundane prescriptions too.

Fashion and street culture:  Goth-Punk-Metal-Rocker-Emo is quite popular.  Many young people have tattoos of varying size and quality, as well as piercings.  Many young men wear metal t-shirts, and I've seen plenty of Misfits faces and Chuck Taylor sneakers.  Early in my trip I saw a cute Rockabilly couple on the street.
Bottled Redheads are common here.  It is a difficult shade to describe.  Maybe cranberry juice or wine.  I saw the same phenomenon in Italy two years ago.  The young ladies have awesome varieties of sandals and flip-flops to wear.  Imagine a high-top sneaker + flipflop + gladiator sandal.  That's my favorite kind of footwear to see.  There are also pants I've never seen before.  The legs taper down to elastic cuffs, leaving a slight bagginess to the pants.  This is a pretty cool female fashion.  It looks gypsy or harem inspired to me, almost like my Russian peasant costume.  I could hide several racoons in those pant legs.
I did stumble across a few tailors today.  I would indeed like my own uniquely tailored suit.  There is an excellent cobbler at the artesan market in Bellavista.  I may buy two pairs of boots this trip.  I had planned on cowboy boots, but he has some great Rocker boots too.  I do need a new pair after outgrowing my Demonias.  I'd like to believe that the boots are crafted with care by hand, but there's no way of telling as the're not made onsite.  I'd like some custom-fitted boots.

At the Baquerado metro station was a youth ragtime or jazz trio.  A bass, banjo, and some brass that looked like a clarinet.  I listened for a while.  It was fun and happy music. 

Food: I ate a hamburger from a streetcart today.  I was curious how they handle my native foods.  Hot dogs are very popular here.  The toppings are much more varied though.  I think I had sour kraut and a kind of chopped tomato mix on my hamburguesa completo.  Mayonaise and avocado are other very popular hotdog toppings.  I am trying to eat healthier though.  The other night I wandered into a bar for a drink and karaoke, and wound up eating something really weird for supper.  It was drinking food.  It was a chillicanno plate.  It was a pile of french fries and meat bits topped with two fried eggs.  Last night I ate a chicken salad for supper.  I needed a counterbalance.

There is a theatre or museum on a bridge in Bellavista.  There is a show or exhibit tonight at 21:00 hours for $2000.  I believe I'll check it out.  It's a bit of a walk, or I could take the metro.  One of the hostel staff noticed I'd never gone out to party, which is correct.  You know me, I rarely went out when I lived in Athens, and there I could effectively communicate with the populace.  I may check out the Bellavista scene tonight before I move on tomorrow.  Or not.  To my self be true, ya know.

Much better

I feel much better tonight, almost like I'm on top of things.
Earlier I booked four nights in a hostel in Los Andes, starting Saturday.  It has many activities available, such as horseback riding and various classes (what's reflexology and will it alleviate my body aches?).  Getting that booked makes me feel great!
I just came in from supper with some of my friends; a pair of elderish couples from Brazil.  We met last Saturday on the vineyard tour.  Nelsen speaks English very well, and his sister-in-law is good but needs practice.
I am soooo relieved that I can stop ´working.´  All that walking around lost (a handheld GPS or smartphone would've been a great tool) was really taking its toll on me.
In other news, two of the new tenants in my room are cute girls on holiday from Argentina.  They speak English well.  They arrived this afternoon just as I was about to shed my business clothes.  Come to think of it, I'm worried for them.    One of them left her locker open with the key and lock sitting on the bed when they went out.  I hope they were only gone briefly.
Tomorrow I take the day off.  I don't know what I'll do, but it'll start with sleeping in.  Sleep is tricky: I'm wakeful to the noises, but wearing earplugs all night hurts too.

Bi-polar?

My days seem rather bipolar.  Every other day I'm high or low.

I've never considered bipolar to be one of my conditions, tho.

Anyway, I'm done with the offices for a few days.  I'm taking the rest of the week off.  I've visited all of the offices that were easy to find and access.  Crikey, I wish I had a handheld gps or locally compatible cell phone.  I guess that is why smart phones are so popular: they do everything.

Today I had a small, espresso-like coffee at Cafe Haiti, one of those reputable "coffee with legs" joints.

Apparently U2 is playing the Estadio Nacional tomorrow night.  I must ask the people how they are getting to and from the show.  The metro system closes early, and I doubt the buses too.

Honestly, I'm considering giving myself one more week here.  If it is productive and I fee ok, I'll stay.  If nothing turns up, I'll come home.  Really, I cannot believe I booked myself for 28 days abroad by myself!

I had lunch at a nice pub called The Phone Box.  I almost walked away, but I made myself turn back because I was hungry and knew I truly did want to have the experience of eating there.  I had a sandwhich and a beer from Valdivia.  There are Germans and their beer in Chile.

Otherwise my days have been like the LOTR: walking around, haha.

Wednesday, March 23 report

Wednesday was better than Tuesday.  I tackled the offices in the World Trade Center, and met some cool people.  There was one office with a particularly cute and helpful receptionist.
It is the little differences that drive me bonkers here.  For example, the office buildings have no public lobby restrooms.  They are all squirreled away in the offices themselves.  I took the service stairs sometimes, and for a WTC, the stairwells were really crummy.  They did lead to a helipad on the roof, tho.

I mailed a package home via fedex.  It cost about $57, but worth it to not have a broken glass in my luggage.

I wake up at 07:00 in order to use the computers before anyone else.  Well, this morning some dummy had fallen asleep in front of the good one.  His friends eventually came down and found him and took hime away.

Last night I met some Brits.  They were cool.  One was a girl who has travelled a lot.  She didn't understand that I don't like to travel.  I thought more and was able to put to words WHY I don't like to travel: self-reliance.  I only have me to rely on, and I know I'm at a disadvantage.  I don't know how to function 100% down here, and I'm scared to think about that.  Yesterday I counted and realized my trip is for 28 days.  I am only 1/4 through.

This weekend I shall leave Santiago for the countryside.  I plan to make a plan with the help of the national tourism service.  I need good ideas on the small things, like how to get there and where to stay.  The plan so far is to go to Los Andes in the Aconauga wine region.  Once I get to whatever lodging I arrange, THEN  I'll have to figure out how to visit the wineries.  I suppose hire a car & driver.  Ug, I hate all of the little big things I need to arrange.

Hmm, my blog seems to be more of my thoughts than a report on what is happening and what I've seen.  Oh well.

Early morning report on today and yesterday.

Good morning.  I have found the only time to do any good computering is before anyone else wakes up.  Today I must locate FedEx and/or Correo Chile offices so I can mail a package home.  I'd feel more secure with FedEx because it is a trusted brand.  I know there's an office somewhere nearby, but I cannot remember where.
Good news.  I can stay here until Saturday morning.  When I had asked before, I was told they were boooked full.  I checked again last night.  Saturday I will travel to another city to see the countryside.  I need to pick one.  I have a list.  I'm leaving it on the table to travel sooner if I visit enough offices before.  There are a few that are outliers that I might skip because they're so out of the way.

Yesterday was mediocre.  Nothing good happened, but nothing bad did either, except in my head.  Not good is just about equal to bad in my opinion.  Yesterday was difficult for finding the offices because my maps were lacking fine detail.  I made my way to many offices, and some that counted for multiple viñas, but it was tough.
I was thinking a lot about victory and winning attitudes.  I am not 100% behind the idea of me finding a gig and moving here, to be completely honest.  I figured I'd leave Chile with empty hands but a full head, if you understand.What I'm getting at is I doubt my capacity for victory.  It is not so much a question of motivation as it is inspiration and commitment.  Seriosuly, if I land a gig I'll have to look at myself and say, "ok, you're moving to Chile now."  Yipes!  A matter ofinternal inspiration rather than external motivation.
I kept thinking that my time off would have been better served by doing conventional domestic job searching.  I question the value of this trip.  I could more easily have explored North Carolina for a starter wine job.  I feel like I set myself up for adversity, just to humor the voices that said I ought to travel.  I still think that damn guest from New Years was a bitch.  She egged me into travelling with a blowhard adult lecture.  Do you dig that I do not UNDERSTAND the hows and whys of youth globetrotting?  Anyway, I'm quite conflicted and confused.  I'll press on because I feel better than yesterday again.  Yesterday was lousy because I got a late start, despite waking up early.  I kept having to wait or wander around for stuff.  Today I decided to not wait and ounced on the computer with my notebook and maps to devise my plan of attack today.  It is still a drag when the roommates sleep til noon.  I´d always learned to defer to the sleeper out of politeness, but not anymore.  The sleepers were in my way and I must function!
My own idea of the victory scenario looks like this.  I visit an office (or vineyard) and meet an enthusiastic American with rank who is happy to see me, my interest, and impressed by my ballzy plan of action.  I know one office told me their winemaker is from UCDavis.
Literal foreign affairs aren't happening either.  Hell, most of you know I barely have any domestic affairs.  The way I operate, I can only focus on one big goal at a time, and right now that goal is business. Just so you know, most of the girls here are only fair to middling in appearance, or have a man or a child.  It is also difficult to judge age: the young girls look too young and the older girls are clearly older.  Naturally, English language profieciency is a requisite for an affair.  I may overhear people spleaking English on the street, but I certainly don't approach.  We're all still strangers.

Oh, this is funny.  Yesterday I worked out of an internet cafe for about an hour.  The proprietors are Indian, how strange.  There are also plenty of Chinese restaurants around.

Obama´s visit and stuff happened

President Obama was in Chile yesterday.  I didn´t see him, but I did visit my embassy to register my trip.  It´s a very nice complex with a beautiful rose garden.
You may have heard on the news that some shit went down last night, or not.  Some shit did go down.  At least it looks like it.  I wasn´t there.  I may have been across town or in my hostel room when it went down.  There were riotous protests on the streets of El Centro because of the president´s visit.  I saw many carabineros on the street last night in all states of preparedness: riot suits, motorcycles, shields, armored transports.  They were keeping the peace because when the shit went down many things were broken, like glass doors and storefronts.  I have some pictures, but the connection speed is lousy here.  I will share all of my pictures later.

I went to the Wines of CHile office yesterday and they were as helpful as they could be.  They did indeed have a list of the addresses, names and phone numbers of their members readily available.Using that list and my my basic knowledge of the neighborhood, I visited all the offices in that neighborhood.  I got quite lost going to one office because one street sign had been printed backwards; the street numbers ascended in the wrong direction.  My mission is challenging.  Even when I meet receptive people, I still cannot understand what they are saying.  I think their word for "resumé" sounds very much like "curriculum."  I thought they thought I needed school credit or something.  Today I plan to tackle more of Los Condes neighborhood, and the World Trade Centre Santiago.  I must compare my address list to my google map points before I venture out.
I like waking up early to get stuff done, except for the waking up early.

I've also got a problem that will probably reoccur.  I went on a winery tour Saturday and got a glass to keep.  I don't trust glassware in my luggage.  I am considering FedExing it back home.

It has been nice living here at this hostel, but I must check out Thursday.  They are fully pre-booked that night.  There are plenty more hostels nearby, and I think that I'll only need a night or two before I take a bus to another city to stay and visit the vineyards.

People things today

Some cool Brazilians and a German dude.  Marcella is the chica next to me.  She works on a cruise ship out of Baltimore.

Me and Simone´.  She is one of my favorite hosts at the hostel, and has been very helpful.

I guess I should mention that my hostel is Che Legarto, Santiago.  I think it may be a Brazilian chain of hostels.  It's a pretty cool place.

Big news!

Today I got to kiss a girl on the cheek!  I think she was a friend of the staff coming to visit.  I was hanging out at the desk after breakfast and she came up to me for a greetings kiss.  She smelled very nice.
I don´t think she´s staff b/c she hasn´t been at the desk.
Within minutes I leave for the Concha y Toro vineyard tour.
I just had lunch.  It was a pizza, but moreso.  The square footage was small, but it was literally piled with sliced beef and tomatoes, and cheese.  It was awesome!

First posting. Day 2

Cool.  I´m writing a blog from Chile.  Alright.  Contrary to my Facebook doubts, I will blog as much as I can when I have the opportunity.
However, I´m tired now.  It has been a long rough day and computering in the common room is also tiring.
Some highlights, then.

There´s a food phenomenon here called "coffee with legs."  In an effort to get people to drink good imported coffee in Chile, the guy behind some cafes made it so pretty women in short skirts served coffee and flirted with the patrons.  It drew business.  It´s kinda like Hooters or Tilted Kilt.  I´d like to order a coffee and some photos, but I´m no smoot Derek Jackson of a photographer.  There are also seedier cafes that have no windows, and probably lousy coffee; you know what I mean.

I went on an adventure today to visit my embassy and the Wines of Chile office.  I learned how to ride the buses and metro here.  Alas, I was late to both destinations.  It turns out that hours for public reception are very early.  The weekend is now, so I must wait for Monday to try again.  I must visit the Wines of Chile office soon, for they may have the best resources to help me visit the other winery offices and vineyards.  To bide my time I´ve signed up for the hostel tour to Concha y Tora vineyards tomorrow.

Uh-oh.  A family with some rowdy young children has checked in as I write.  I am opposed to rowdy young children.  Haha, both girls are wearing princess costumes.  How strange.  I don´t understand families hostelling.
I suspect a few Aussies have also checked in.  I ought talk to them, in English.

My first two nights at Che Legarto hostel were on the top floor in a private room.  I wanted time and space to myself to get my bearings.  I decided to stay longer, so this morning I downgraded to a shared dorm until Monday morning.  This hostel is nice.  The infrastructure is weird and old, but I like how the place is run.  I will tell you that towels and handsoap are perks of the single room.  Surprising, but I have my towel like a good galactic citizen.  I prefer to eat supper in-house, provided enough other lodgers signed up; there is a minimum, or nothing happens.  Last night was fun.  We had Chilean supper and St. Patrick´s DAy drink specials.  I had to exlpain the holiday to some Israelis and Germans, a few of whom were cute girls.  There´s a group picture that they ought to email to me soon.
Did I tell you that CHile uses European power outlets?  They do.  I was not prepared for that, and I already owned a European adapter from my Italy trip in 2009.
After frustrating trial and error with several ATMs, I found which bank will accept my card for withdrawals.
This is weird: pay in foreign currency or credit cards at lodgings to avoid a very high sales tax.  Soooo, that means after I withdraw Chilean pesos, I must turn some of it back into dollars to pay my bill.  Seriously, avoiding the 20% tax is mathematically worth it.

That´s all for now.  I would write more, like about my flight in and airport experiences, but I´m tired of the common area commotions.  And I´m not sure, but people might be waiting on me to vacate the computer.