TOMORROW'S my LAST day of WORK!!!

I am so excited to be done working!!
Tomorrow is my last day here!! Then I have a break! For how long I don't know yet, I guess it depends on Rodrigo and his job/s. Zoe is going to Minnesota either the end of December or early January and she will be staying there until Ro and I get there. I am going to be sooo sad! I'm pretty sure I will miss her like crazy! My family will have fun with her I know that.
MMM What else?? Well I picked out the wedding dress that I LOVE!!!! Check it out here. It is amazing! Now I guess I just have to wait til I can get to the US to try it on and get it fitted!! I hope it looks as good on me as it does on the scrawny model...probably won't, but oh well.

I guess that's all I have to say today.

What do I even have to write about??

My life, well, it's boring.
This is my last week of work and since Friday is a holiday, I just have 3 days left after today!! Thank God, people here really make me want to strangle myself! Seriously! YAH!!! I am super excited to just take a break and relax. I haven't decided yet if I am going to look for another job right away, or wait a little bit. I'm just not that worried about it. Yes, I probably should be, but why?? I have money to last me for now so why work??
Recently I have been doing nothing. No partying, no going out, really nothing. But I have been able to talk to old friends and family that I haven't talked to in a long time so that has been really nice.
I just don't have anything new to really talk about. Zoe is getting a haircut this week, just what you wanted to know right??
Rodrigo went to vote yesterday and they have to put their thumb print on it. Why? I can't even think of a reason why! Does someone honestly go through every single ballot and see that the thumb print is really of the person that voted?? I think its a waste and then everyone has to walk around with a blue thumb because of course it doesn't wash off right away.
News from MN?? Let's see, Lynn has an appointment on the 3rd to see what her baby is. Carl got ANOTHER deer and is going on a hunt at Camp Ripley today. I'm jealous, there really is nothing like fresh venison. Or Grandma's pickled deer heart. Mmmmm!!
Umm it snowed, but nothing stayed on the ground. That really sucks because I love snowmen! And fresh snow looks so pretty!!
Ryan bought some Guitar Hero something around world something that is almost like Rock Band, but better I guess. I can't wait to try it, I loved the Rock Band game so if this is better than that then SWEET!!
I made meatloaf the other day and the house smelled so good AND Rodrigo actually liked it. Good thing too hahah. Zoe liked it too. Then again Zoe likes anything that we are eating, at least she pretends to. I kind of want to make cookies or something, but I haven't decided what. Maybe I can make some sugar cookies. Too bad I left my box of 300 cookie cutters in MN. I probably have a pumpkin, a bat and a witch so I can make cut out cookies and pass time by decorating them! Oh well. I'll have to bring the good cutters the next time I come!
I'm so in the mood for a good Halloween party! Nothing like dressing up in costumes and having a party in a barn filled with hay! I suppose all I really want are all the Reeses peanut butter cups out of the bowl full of candy. Maybe a few Snickers too.
I can't believe October is almost over already! Time is really flying! But of course it will slow down again real soon. Anytime you are looking forward to something it just slows down time. November, I suppose I can't wait to see who will be the next president of the United States. Of course I will miss Thanksgiving. All the roasted animals!! And pumpkin pie. Mostly the whole family gathering I will miss like crazy!
Well, anyways. I ran out of thoughts.

Well, I guess I am ready to buy my new ticket.

Since I have to buy a new ticket, which in a way kind of makes me happy because Rodrigo and I get to travel together!! Before, he was going with spirit air and I was still on for my LAN Chile flight, but now we get to go together!! I am very excited!! We are planning on taking a bus from here to Peru with a stop at Machu Pichu one of Ro's dreams. Although I love history and I have never really been in a place that old! From Lima, we will be flying to Chicago. We haven't decided what to do from there because I have enough Skymiles for a free ticket from Delta, but just for one free ticket. The bus from Chicago to St. Cloud only costs $48 each so we will probably do that. We are still unsure about the dates, but with the buses, we don't need too much of an advance, but if we get our tickets from Greyhound seven days in advance, we will save some money. So we are going to give a guess date and if we end up changing the date we will have to do that. Of course this is like a 3-4 day journey, but I think it will be fun for us to just relax and travel. Maybe we can even stay in Chicago for a night and hang out there. Overall, I hope it will be alright with Zoe, my biggest worry at the moment. I just hope everything with my visa runs smoothly and we can get the heck out of here sooner rather than later. I know by April I will be panicking about time and trying to get everything done for the wedding. We won't be in the US til the end of April so pretty much we have May, June, July and the first week of August!! For a typical wedding, this probably wouldn't be a problem, but for us, we have to coordinate everyone's flights, where they are staying, who's picking them up and how we are going to get them everywhere! Then we will have the final fittings for Romina and Rocio, my two Chilean bridesmaids as well as everything for the tuxes for the FIL, three Chilean groomsmen, and one Chilean usher. I feel like it is too early to start worrying about such things now, but it is so exciting I have a hard time locking all this in a box in my mind!


I would like to add this: Ro and I were going home yesterday, he came to pick me up at work and we were in the subway, we pretty much ran to get into the last doors before they closed, well so did a man and woman behind us. We made it in, the woman made, but the guy got pinched in the doors. So this happens all the time, what I thought was extremely hilarious was that the woman almost started crying because she didn't have enough space to stand and hold one of them poles where she wanted to. Like she should get to hold it right where it feels right to her when there are already 15 hands holding on. Of course when she did that little if I slide my hand close enough to that girl's hand she'll move. Well, I am the wrong girl to pick for hat lady! You can make faces at me and try and push my hand out of the way as much as you want, I am not moving for you. The man started yelling at some boys and telling them it was their fault that he got pinched in the doors. Well, the boys were sitting on the floor, but even if they weren't, the lady still didn't have room to hold onto the pole, and the man still would have been pinched by the door. They were the kind of people that stick there noses in the air while saying "look at me, look at me, get out of my way, I am the fucking shit!" Assholes.

Fine Print.....new advice from Shannon! READ IT!!!

So, apparently Lan Chile has this policy where your trip cannot be longer than a year....good to know. I have to leave the country on January 14th. The latest I can leave. I am thankful that they don't have some stupid 120 day trip maximum like some places, but seriously what gives?? Why does the airline get to decide how long I can be gone before I want to come back?? Grrrr!

F**k it ALL (Adult eyes ONLY!)

I will take back what I said about going to the Embassy. I sent an email asking about it just to make sure, and I guess my paper that says I'm waiting for my real visa isn't good enough. EVEN though it says on it, you can do everything that a permanent Chilean resident can. Obviously I can't!! Because a permanent Chilean resident CAN go to the Embassy and it WILL work for them!! Fucking shit! Now I have to wait at the longest until January 6th before my fucking "real visa" comes!! THEN I have to bring the application for the visa to the Embassy and wait 2 months!!! AFTER that, we have to wait ONE month for our fucking interview and then two weeks after that for the visa to be put into Ro's passport! Raise you hand if you know when I will be home!!! Guess everyone, take a big fat fucking guess!!! April 20th, 2009 and that is an estimate using the longest time it will take to get my residence visa here and the shortest time it will take for the application process. I am never going to get home! Ever! Everything has to be a big long drawn out fucking process! I am a citizen of the United States of America! I have the right to marry whoever I want to! Why can't I get my husband into my country without all of this bullshit!?!? NOW, I will be lucky to be home before my niece/nephew is born! I won't even get to see Lynn waddle around like a duck what a rip off!!! There goes my ONE happy fantastic ENTIRE YEAR in the US before I have to come back to this fucking Chilean HELL hole for 2 ENTIRE YEARS! I am trapped, I have never ever been trapped in my life and now I am and it fucking sucks!!

Finally!!!

Yesterday I got home to a nice big brown envelope addressed to ME!!! I'm always excited to get mail but this mail I have been waiting for! I have the papers for my temporary visa!! I am going to the Embassy hopefully of Friday to see now what I have to do for Rodrigo to get his visa!!! 1 step down, probably a million and a half to go! But I am happy things should go faster from here on out!!

I am pretty sure my next step is supposed to be filling out the application for the visa, but I have that done already. I just need a few more papers from the US and I think I am good to go. Ro will have a medical exam and we have to get all of his papers translated then we can schedule our interview. I can't wait to go home!!!

Group Blog: Hardest Custom to Adjust To

I voted for this topic. I have written and deleted what I have written 3 times now because everything sounds stupid to me. Or maybe I can´t think of only one thing that I had a hard time adjusting to. So I am going to do what I do best, make a list!

1. Let´s see, where to start. I would have to say that one of the customs here in Chile that is still hard for me is the whole family thing. It drives me insane how everyone has to know what everyone is doing and why they are doing it ALL the time. I have been living with Rodrigo´s mom, dad, and little sister since January. Ro and I have our own room which at times I like to think that it is our space, until I get home from work on random days and see that someone went in there and straightened out the closet, washed clothes of mine that weren't even dirty yet, and made the bed. I also enjoy getting together with family, EVERY SINGLE SUNDAY!!! EVERY SINGLE ONE!! When we arrive at Rodrigo's grandma's house for lunch, his aunt comes running out like she hasn't seen us in years and yells "tanto tiempo!" like a week is really that long, like we really need to see her more often! In the US, I saw random members of my family every once in awhile and we were all cool with that. Even when I went home in July after being here in Chile for 6 months, my aunts didn't come out running and yelling "its been so long!" And I thank them for that, thank you for not making me feel guilty for not seeing you at all in the past 6 months. The fact that his entire family needs to know of our comings and goings just drives me insane! Leave us alone!!

2. People always always staring at me. That is something I don't think I will ever be able to get used to. It really bothers me once I notice someone staring I can't just ignore it! I am blond I have green eyes, fine if you want to look at me, but you don't need to stare, I am not going to disappear!

3. Being barefoot is one of my favorite things. Here it is some kind of sin. I love to just let my feet breathe, but here if you don't have slippers on, you will get sick and die. If I walk to the bathroom and back with just socks on, Ro's mom does this sssss sound while sucking in air it drives me insane so I keep my slippers on.

4. Party hour!! In the US, usually you get ready and leave by 9pm. I am not 21 so it's not like I have to get out early so I can be at the bar as long as possible, it is just the way we do things. We, my friends and classmates, usually had to work in the morning so we couldn't stay up til the butt crack of dawn. When I first got here and Ro said hey, we are going out tonight, I started getting ready and was ready by 9:30 and he asked me why I got ready so early. Well, by the time we were supposed to leave I was almost asleep and needed to get rum into me before I really did fall asleep. I am used to it now, but in the beginning it was hard to stay up ALL night partying.

5. Being paid by the month, not the hour. I hate it. I hate it more than anything! I calculate this sort of stuff out just to see what I make an hour. When I first started working I couldn't believe it! I work 176 hours a week. With that, I get paid 1,700 pesos an hour. About 3 bucks!! That was when the dollar was closer to 500 pesos. Now its like $2.75 an hour!! CRIPES!!

6. This will be my last one, it's two combined and it´ll be a bit on the dirty side! Flushing toilet paper after you go to the bathroom is something I was taught when I was 2 maybe 3 years old. It took me forever to remember that I can't flush paper! It grosses me out too! Tampons! The luxury of the US! I never ever in my mind at all thought to ask Ro about this before I came here. Not on something I ever dreamed of asking. I packed a small box thinking oh, they will just take up space and I'm sure I can buy them in Chile. Well, yes, you can buy tampons in Chile. They have about three or so varieties and come in boxes of 8 or 10 and they cost as much as the 20 pack in the US!! Of course my MIL and SIL wonder why in the world I use them all the time, every time and still can't believe that you can buy a box of 100 in the US! Here they are used for special occasions like going to the beach. Now I come prepared. I pack the 100 box along and when I went home, I brought back another box so I wouldn't have to waste my money here on tampons. I am used to all my personal and private things also being shared with the MIL and SIL. Nothing can be kept private. Ro will tell them I have cramps and I don't want to eat. Then his mother will bring in some pills or whatever she thinks I need. THAT'S PERSONAL thank you!!

With the price of the dollar what it is, it's NOT worth it!!

I recently calculated that I am being paid equivalent to $491 this month. Nothing near what I was told that I was going to get paid. I find it absolutely not worth it whatsoever to be working here anymore. Thank God I am finished working the 30th of October. I won't even think about working longer here. The bullshit I have to put up with is worth at least $200 more a month! I have gone all week without a program that I NEED, like need to the point I can't do my job without it, and now it is Friday, and do I have that program?? NO! Will I have it at all today?? NOPE! Will I have it on Monday?? "Maybe" Isn't "MAYBE" just wonderful in Chile?? I am sure that "MAYBE" is just a way of saying no that makes life easier for the one saying it. Of course the computer guy will come and be on my computer for hours. I will walk by my office occasionally and see him leaning back on my office chair with his hands behind his head, talking or texting on his cell phone, or just be sitting there with a stupid I-don't-know-what-I-am-doing face. Wonderful. Wonderful. Wonderful.

On another note, Rodrigo went to work last night and got sent home because they didn't have a uniform for him. How freaking organized that place is! How can they not have a uniform for him? They just opened, do they not know how many people they have working for them??? Oh well, he scared the crap out of me when he came home at 12:30, but in the end I got to sleep with him for one more night :o) Hopefully everything at his job runs smoothly tonight for his first night of work. He said the place was crowded with people last night, I would think that it will be more crowded tonight since its Friday!!!

I´m lonely!!

Ro is off to his first day, or I should say night of work. I hope he does ok I had a hard time adjusting when I had to work overnights, but I hope he does better than I did. I can´t believe he has to work 10 hours!! He has to be there 11! ALL night! But, the casino is a good place for him, I hope he enjoys it because it will be a shitty 3 months or so if he doesn't. As for me, I am freaking lonely! I don´t even know what to do with myself! I guess I could go to bed early, but its a little too early and since I slept most of the day, I know I won´t be able to sleep. Anyways, I guess I will read. Or watch Two and a Half Men. Zoe will drive me insane tonight I know that. Ro always rescues me from her kisses and cuddles right in my face when I am trying to sleep so now I guess I will have to fend for myself, but hopefully since she and I get the bed to ourselves she will stay in her space!

Christmas Trees??

So, I went to Lider last night and THEY HAD CHRISTMAS TREES UP!!! ALREADY!! Someone please tell me that the US does not put up Christmas stuff until November!! I am NOT ready at all to think of Christmas. To think of spending Christmas here. Rodrigo works the night of Christmas day, like I did last year, only difference was he was there to spend Xmas with me. So I will most likely be lonely sitting around wishing those clay animation movies were on while my honey gets some sleep before his 10 hour overnight shift. Christmas without snow can't be good. And Christmas without watching Rudolph, Frosty, and The Elf can't be good either!! Ugh. Christmas trees in the first week of October...soon they'll just keep the Xmas stuff up year round!

October....

Bored. Bored. Bored. I have a lot of stuff to do, but it is quite difficult to do any of it when I don't have what I need on my computer to do it!
SO, I am reading a book online, which I am kind of bored of since I have been reading nonstop since yesterday, and its not as addicting as Twilight, which I have now read for the second time. I can't wait for the movie to be in theaters, maybe I will get lucky and they will have it in English somewhere here in Chile. I hope.
Ahhh...what a boring boring day.....

Zoe!!!

Well, here are some new pictures of our little Zoe! Who by the way is getting bath today!!! Hopefully we will get her a haircut very soon!! The first picture is my favorite! She looks ridiculous!! The second picture you can see the reason for her crabby I want to bite everything attitude! Look close at her teeth, you can see her baby teeth in there, but the big ones are working on shoving those teeth out! The third is her passed out on a rug, she loves sleeping on rugs or any sort of material on the ground...the edge of a blanket hanging off the bed, dirty clothes, and the rug of her choice! The fourth and fifth pics look exactly the same. They aren't the same pic though. The sixth is her snarling with her tongue out, the seventh her just snarling, and the eighth would be "attack mode" Cute little thing!!

It has been easy so far, but that can change.

Well, Rodrigo starts work this week. The real start. The casino opens on Wednesday and Rodrigo works Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 9pm to 8am, 10 hours overnight with a one hour break. I am glad that he is working now, but at the same time what the heck am I gonna do?? He will want to sleep all weekend, he says he won't, but I have worked overnight, I know how it works! The other part that sucks is I won't see him from Thursday morning when I leave for work until Saturday morning! Yes, that is a long time!! Ok, so I spent 3 months without him, but that was different, for one I was not his wife at the time! This will be happening EVERY week. :( Then of course I have a feeling that he will want to sleep on Saturday so I will be very lonely and probably run out of things to do to keep myself busy so that he can rest. I don't want to sleep without him 3 nights a week! That's not going to be fun at all! Zoe will try to cuddle up to me like she does to RO, which he does not mind at all and I mind VERY VERY much! I do not like to breathe in puppy hair all night!! I will go insane! I just really hope he doesn't get so tired that he gives up on this job.

As far as the visa stuff, we are still waiting for a receipt saying that they received my application for a temporary visa. If I don't get it by Thursday, I think I will ask Rodrigo to call them on Friday just to get things going along. I might make him call every Friday, I guess when you keep calling they just want to get your stuff done so they don't have to talk to you anymore. That's what I have heard anyways.

This weekend we took some really effin funny pictures of Zoe and I wish I had them to put on here. Maybe tomorrow. She had this smile on her face, but when we tried to take the pics she looked ridiculous!!! She is now 6 months old!! SO that means she can have a bath and a haircut!! I can't wait! Her hair is getting to shaggy in some spots. I will let the front of her head grow because she looks cute with a bow or butterfly in her hair! But, the rest of it needs to be trimmed, I think she will get to hot in the summer if we don't trim her hair. I can't believe how big she is compared to how she was when we first got her in June. I should have taken a picture of something with her when she was a pup to compare it to now!! Oh well.

In the words of Palin, the debate was "a heck of a lotta" fun!!

Last night was a very nice night! I met Rodrigo in the subway and then went to another station to meet Jessica. We went to the Basic Bar which was full of lively gringos! I had never been to the basic bar, it was great! I had a nice big burger and some really really good fries! Rodrigo helped me out with both!! The debate...well, I have to say that Palin has a nice way of talking about her experience in Alaska. So nice of a way that she pretty much just danced around the questions. I think the Biden is a very good speaker and did a very good job. I tried to pay as much attention as I could to the debate, but I was so distracted by the number of gringos in the place! After the debate, I had a nice talk with Isabel and her mom (she was adorable!) and of course Sara, a fellow Minnesotan. I finally got to meet the people I have been in contact with through this blog. We exchanged numbers and will have to get together often in the future! Rodrigo had a good time too! We decided this was going to be a NON worry about money night. It was nice to just have fun and not worry about how much we were spending. Though in the end, I was shocked to see that we spent about $40. $32 on my burger, 3 Coronas, a jag bomb, and a jack and coke. The rest we spent on the cab ride home. I really liked that bar, I just might have to go there again!! I don't think there was anything disappointing about the bar at all. I had a second of questioning to myself and Rodrigo when they brought me a can of Red Bull, a shot of Jag and an empty glass. Not quite the kind of jag bomb I was expecting. Not that I should know what a Jag bomb is because I am not legal in the US and of course I would never ever ever drink at a bar in the middle of hick filled Pierz even if they let me in.....:o)
Hopefully the weekend is super fun, I made plans to go out to coffee with Sara on Sunday, so that should be fun!!!
I guess I'll send a big good luck out to my brothers who will play their Homecoming football game tonight. And really good luck..Pierz...hahha!

Waiting...is very boring!

The first thing that Rodrigo and I are waiting for is a mailed receipt telling us that they have my temporary visa request. I guess after that is the real long wait.
SO what to do to entertain myself while I am waiting??
First, I am reading. Anne of Green Gables, the whole series. I never ever finished it, but it's nice to go back to something I used to read a long time ago. I would read the Little House on the Prairie, but I think Anne is a bit more interesting to a 20 year old and I read the Little House series at least 10 times. If you are thinking that I have the lamest habits, I won't disagree with you! I am a nerd, I can't help it.
Second, I am putting together a 2000 piece puzzle and to make it challenging, not that a 2000 piece puzzle of Van Gogh's Starry Night isn't hard enough! I have to keep the puzzle in the box while I put it together because it is HUGE and takes up more than half the dining room table. SO when I am home alone i dump out the pieces put together what I can, stick the put together part in the box and the left over pieces in a bag til next time. Of course you think this is also stupid, how am I supposed to ever finish the puzzle?? Well, the family leaves for the beach in December and that leaves Ro, his dad, Zoe and me in the house. SO therefore I can use the table because there only needs to be 2 spots open for Ro and I to eat.
Third, I am working on a few things. First I am trying to stay at this job and do interviews online by a Skype call. Still waiting for the results of that. I am also trying to get a job with elearning where I will be giving English classes to people in Spain via Skype. Both of which I will be able to do while in the US. It'll be nice to have the $1000 or so a month put into a Chilean bank account for Ro and I to come back to after a year :o) Which makes me think we will be stable enough that there could possibly be a cute bundle of joy in the near future, or should I say bundles! I think Zoe can have up to 4 pups in her first litter. That should give me something to do!! Taking care of one Yorkie is a challenge adding 4 new ones ought to be a challenge! I just hope that with the profits of that Ro and I will be able to have a bundle of joy of our own, of the human species!
Fourth, I love to dream. Haha I think I go to dell.com everyday just to pick out what computer I want for the day. Since both of my jobs require internet and a computer, I will be able to or should I say we will be able to purchase my very first laptop/computer ever!! Yes, what kind of world is this where a 20 year old American has never had a computer? Haahaha. Anyways, my current choice is a Spring Green 15.4 inch Dell Studio laptop. I can't wait til I can actually buy it though!!
And lastly, to keep myself from being bored I look for tickets. From random different locations to other randoms. I have almost everything planned out for when I can finally put Rodrigo's tickets on my Amex card! The first part of the trip, which we haven't figured out the details yet, is from Santiago to Lima, Peru. Possibly a bus. Lots of hours! With advice from Lydia, thanks!! I looked into a flight from Lima to Chicago for dirt cheap!! Check out Spirit Airlines!! And for the last leg of his journey I thank myself for signing up for an American Express Delta Skymiles Gold card. Yes, after 2 years I can use my miles for something good! I have about 29,000 skymiles, not much, but all you need for a flight from Chicago to Minneapolis is 25,000! SO I guess I will use it now! SO free ticket, cheap ticket, and an unknown part of the journey! So far the total is about $500! I am amazed with myself. My mom raised me a good bargain hunter!! Thanks mom!
And of course, Rodrigo and I have decided that we will use the Amex card for EVERY purchase we make while we are in the US and pay it off every month. We get 2 skymiles for every dollar we spend on gas. With gas where it is imagine the miles we will rack up in one year!!! :o)
So, for now I am keeping myself busy, Rodrigo too, and Zoe who is working on getting her last four big doggy teeth in and losing her last puppy teeth so we are all working hard! Tonight we will be going to the Basic Bar to watch the debates! I can't wait! There are going to be a few fellow expat in Chile bloggers going and I can't wait to meet the faces that go behind the blogs!! Not to mention the fact that we get drink specials if we can prove we are from the US, which is not that hard, pop out the passport and into the party!!!

I should have thought to put this in, but firsts for us have always been hard to remember! Today Rodrigo and I have been married for one month. I suddenly remembered an hour ago. Of course after our first month of dating, we didn't celebrate because neither of us could remember the exact date. Yes you may find this odd, because usually with girls, they write it down somewhere, I'm not as obsessed as the ones I used to see in high school that actually kept track of the number of DAYS they had been dating so and so. Anywho, after one month of being married I would say that we are very happy. Everything is now falling into place, maybe its the springtime that just makes everything seem so wonderful, but maybe its the fact that we are both saving money now, before when we were only talking about saving money of course it didn't seem like anything. I am glad that I chose to marry Rodrigo, I know I am young, but why can't we have longer to spend the rest of our lives together then apart.