Two weeks pass

I told Regina I would name my next blog "I love Regina" or something to that extent. Who is Regina? She is my newfound bestie, and without her, I would not have survived this experience so far. I mean that both figuratively and literally. First of all, it is amazing to have someone to relate to in this new place. We share a similar sense of humor and we are always laughing - besides Chile supplies us with all the comedic inspiration necessary for a regular dose of hysterical laughter. Second of all, she is my wing woman. And I guess that makes me her wingman, not that she would ever need it here. When she unleashes her blonde hair, the Chilean men "swoop like a hawk" as a Chilean friend of mine observed. Together, we divide and conquer like the Spanish once did. Poor taste with the conquistador reference? Maybe. Third, and most important, we sleep together every night. That is not as exciting as it sounds. Is anything sexual going on? No - I wish. The real motivation you ask? It is so fucking cold at night I think one of my toes is going to fall off from frostbite. See my previous post on Chilean heating. The cold is actually quite tolerable with someone else heating the bed. Also, her room is quite a bit hotter than mine to begin with.

A funny story from earlier this week comes to mind. My host was talking with me, and the told me to shut a door in the middle of the house. I asked if he wanted to keep the dog out. He explained, "I like to keep this door shut so that the heat stays in that part of the house." My room, however, was in the other part - the part shut off from the heat. I laughed, but he did not see the irony. I don't mean to sound like I am complaining. My host is amazing. For that matter, all Chileans are amazing. Hospitality seems to run in people's blood here. It's honestly indescribable. Not to mention that the home I'm living in is a very special one - but not for its architecture nor its location nor its material things. It is a very special home because it is that of a very famous guitar maker. There is a waiting list for his instruments which sometimes takes years to ascend, and that is worldwide, not only in Chile. So, famous musicians stop by to play his guitars and hang out. Regina and I received what ended up being more or less a private concert this week when Marcelo Vidal came by the house. I have never heard an instrument played like that, and a beautiful thought came to my mind, that music is Gods greatest gift to man. I think this might be true. Anyway, I didn't mean to get too deep there. I only meant to say that this has been a very special experience. I will post a link below, but just know that he jammed out a hundred times harder for our private concert.

I want to return to the topic of hospitality for a second to tell everyone about my experience today whilst apartment hunting. The story actually begins last night, when Regina and I went to see an apartment. There is a family living in the apartment currently. I think back to the times when potential renters came to see places where I was living. All I could think was, "Get the hell out of my space!" and, "no you may not see my bathroom." This family was exactly the opposite. They welcomed us into their home. They spoke with us forever, taking time to piece together my broken spanish, they offered us information about the apartment. But it did not end there. They said they wanted to drive me to the owners office, because it was difficult to find, and that I should join them for lunch afterwards. Sure enough, they took me to the owners office, which would have been very hard to find, the next day. After receiving the bad news that the apartment was already promised to someone else that morning, the daughter (who is coincidentally gorgeous beyond words and loves extreme sports such as rock climbing and snowboarding), walked around to all of the neighboring apartment buildings in the downtown area with me, helping me negotiate prices and options. Once lunchtime rolled around, we walked back to the house and ate lunch with her entire family (mother, brothers, father, and her), who were all the nicest people I have ever met and coincidentally also were all beautiful. We talked for hours until her mother gave me a ride to the supermarket that is right by my house. Oh, I forgot to mention that her brother invited me to play soccer with him over the weekend at the courts near my house! Anyway, I'm hoping to continue to be friends with this family and, as the mother offered, exchange more meals with the family for table-side English lessons.

My second week report is positive, thanks to some very special people. I also miss everyone back home. Save up. If you raise the funds for a plane ticket, I'll show you the time of your life.

Last, I have noticed from Chris's blog that people like lists. Here is mine.

Observations:
1. Jumbo is the South American version of Walmart.
2. Chilean people wear watches but rarely use them.
3. Chileans like to say "po" on the end of every word.
4. Not comfortably speaking the same language as someone and carefully helping one another understand is a pretty sexy thing.
5. There are kindhearted, beautiful people in every part of this world and possibly more per capita in Chile.

This is Marcelo playing one of Raphael's guitars:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yC5l9L-cgzQ&playnext=1&list=PLA9F54F5136F3AC50