So..life down here in Chile always has its share of surprises and I'm sure my mouth has dropped open just like Wyatt's on a few of them. Here's just a few.1. We JUST got Dr. Pepper in grocery stores...last week!!..! Now, I was a Diet Dr. Pepper fiend in the States and craved it so bad during my pregnancy here..but could only taste the high fructose corn syrup in my dreams. We only have the real DP down here, but I will happily settle for the extra sugar to have the all too familiar maroon can around. I might have been so excited when I saw it on the shelves last week, that I may have happened to have caught the eyes of the nearest stockboy and blurted out "Dr. Pepper!" in a giddy school girl voice. He replied with a bored "Si"...I have the feeling that I wasn't the only expat with the same reaction. I might have even pointed out the cans to Wyatt as if they were a caged animal at the zoo.
2. Another incident at the grocery store....(I'm there alot)....but "Every Rose Has a Thorn" was playing on the speakers...and the elegant white haired Chilean woman buying nutmeg next to me..knew EVERY word. I find that happens a lot..80's soft rock lyrics are easily quoted..but most people that I encounter don't speak English.
3. Let me set the stage...Apparently this is the coldest winter in Santiago in 98 (!) yrs...but it is pretty mild with what I've experienced before in Texas. Last week, I was walking Wyatt to a park nearby and it was a beautiful sunny day. It was probably in the upper 60s/low 70s..and so I wasn't wearing a jacket...just a long sleeved T. Anyways...as I was walking, I came across a guy walking up the sidewalk toward me selling balloons. When he got closer, he said something to me that I couldn't understand. (Note: Chileans say that they are the worst Spanish speakers in South America. They use a lot of slang and talk VERY fast.) I assumed that he was asking if I wanted a balloon..so I told him "No tengo dinero." He repeated himself again..and after he repeated himself..and much slower...I realized that he was telling me that I needed a jacket. I must have smiled or something..and so he said...(in Spanish of course).."Seriously, you need a jacket...it's really cold outside." (!) I guess my parents will be happy to know that even in another hemisphere..people are still checking on me.
