Hey all-
I figured that I should probably update sometime soon, especially since we've now got guests and I'll probably be "busy" the rest of the weekend...
For starters, I'm all better! My tummy decided that it wanted to behave after all which means that I'm able to eat anything I want! Granted, I'm going to be staying away from mall food, anything fried, and tap water, but that doesn't limit my intake in the slightest. :)
Alright, I suppose I should get to part one of the title: Visa!Fail. The whole day was full of fail (and frustration), we'll just start there. Bonnie and I were sent/taken to Illapel to get our visas. According to everyone else, this should've been a relatively easy process: maybe three or four hours. Ha. Try from 10:AM to 5:PM. And we didn't get anything accomplished. >:(. It started with us getting there. Our Regional "Support" (biggest effin' lie EVER), was there to meet us. The first thing she asks is what we're supposed to say when we get to the ExtranjerÃa office. I'm pretty sure that my eyes bugged out of my head. This awesome level of preparedness lead to us visiting the office not one or two times, but four times. The first three, our "Support" kept trying to talk about things that she knew nothing about, making the office worker super defensive. That was fun to deal with.
After the second visit to the office, I called Claudia, our CIEE guardian angel in Santiago. Even though she's SUPER sick, she was able to get things taken care of. The first words out of her mouth when I explained the situation were "she's stupid."
Before our third trip to the office, our "Support" decided that we needed to go the biggest flea market/yard sale that I've seen in awhile; that way, Bonnie and I would be "entertained" while she went home to "make lunch." After wandering around and then chilling in the plaza, we got to go to her house and eat "lunch": vegetables, vegetable broth, and juice. ... Yeah. After this disappointing interlude, we went back to the office (mainly because "Support" poked and prodded). After another failed attempt at becoming legal, I called Claudia back to let her know what was going on. She wanted to talk to "Support," which pissed "Support" off. From my end, it was full of superlolz but she didn't seem to see the humor in it. Oh well.
Once she was off the phone, she showed us where the other two offices were and explained that the next time we came (hopefully to actually get our visas), we would have to do it all on our own. ... Waitwaitwaitwait. You're supposed to be our REGIONAL SUPPORT. You're supposed to support us while we're here, not leave us to complete government processes that we know nothing about. ... The end of our day came when Bonnie and I were unceremoniously kicked out of "Support"'s car and told to run after a bus so we could catch it. Awesome.
We were pretty much furious when we got home and, after dropping off Bonnie at her house, I got the distinct pleasure of explaining the whole ordeal to my family. My mom was not happy; she told me that when we have to go back, she's taking us because she has friends in the PDI (the Chilean FBI). It's no longer a joke... My family is MOB. :)
Alright... Now, (in the words of the immortal Paul Harvey) the rest of the story. :)
The whole acid trip thing is the experience that (so far) is the Chilean Bicentennial. Everyone here has been preparing for this weekend for at least the time that we've been here (almost two months). God only knows how long before that. When I say...write...prepare, I don't mean the crappy preparations we do (i.e. we get a day off of work [if we're lucky], so let's make sure that we have some sparklers and shit). No, these folks are going all out. Every house has decorations and the mandatory Chilean flag out front. Add to that the ridiculous amounts of food and alcohol that people have been purchasing and you've got the makings for one hell of a party. I'm actually intimidated. :S I know, I know, you're probably thinking this has nothing to do with a freakin' acid trip but it does! Well, at least part of it does.
Last night, there was a light show put on by Pura Energia, Puro Chile. This group (company? I'm not too sure) used the Moneda (the Chilean version of the White House) as the backdrop for a tripped out light/music show. Whoever dreamt it up was either on acid or high. Really, really high. Don't let this description trick you, though. It was honestly one of the most beautiful things I've seen in a very, very long time. There were quite a few points where the breath was literally taken away from me. That pretty. My favorite part, though, was the Pablo Neruda/Victoria Parra mashup. Freakin' GORGEOUS. If I can find it on Youtube, I'll post it. It honestly almost moved me to tears.
If this is the start of the Bicentennial celebrations (the festivities don't "start" until tomorrow), I'm a little scaredexcitednervoushappy about what's to come. :)
Alright, I've gotta jet, so that's it for now. If I get a chance, I'll post pictures, but if not, you can find them on Fbook. I've got them all over the place there. :)
Loves to all. :)
Cb.
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