Reislog Archief:
| 3, Yes, just three months away; now Valparaíso |
| Geplaatst door: Felix |
Tijd in Nederland: 21:55 12/04/10 - Tijd in Valparaíso, Chile: 15:55 12/04/10 |
Hola!
Has it been 3 months already? Really?
Time is flying!!
Let me start explaining the quiet, no news in April...Why!
Last time you checked I was on my way to leave Santiago, with Rosita.
I had been there for only a couple of days when we left for Easter fiesta to Valparaiso. This is where her sister, Fresa lives. With husband Antonio!
Amsterdam, 1998.
Fresa, Antonio & Rosita were in Europe, they visited Amsterdam, and stayed with us for a while. Fresa and Antonio stayed longer, about a month, Rosita went back to Paris quickly.
I was young, they were young, and we had a really good time. Back then I used to speak French with Fresa, now itīs more English, and hopefully some more Spanish everyday..
When they ended their Eurotrip (almost a year, Spain, France, Holland and more) they went back home to Chile. Rosita lives in Santiago where she works as a teacher.
Fresa teaches music after school classes, and Antonio works in a park really close to their house, with spectacular views of the Laguna Verde bay area where they live.
12 years passed, they didnīt visit Europe, I didnīt know when I would see them again.
Until I decided to go on my journey! After Asia I wanted to try something new, South America has been on my wishlist for so long, many reasons but one of the most obvious was finally meeting my Chilean friends again!!
Being here has been truly wonderful.
From the first arrival in Santiago, staying with Veronica (mother), Ivan (nephew) and Rosita I felt so welcome, and exactly in the right place.
Last time I saw Veronica was in Sa Tuna, Spain. 10 years ago we spent a good 2 weeks there at Josjeīs friend Delphine. Veronica was living there at the time and my sister Veronica and me had the feeling we had 3 great mothers, what a treat.
When Rosita left for Santiago again last week, to work, I stayed with Fresa and the family, and it has been such a good time.
Fresa and Antonio live on the land of his parents, in their own house.
They have quite some acres, and itīs pretty far from the only real road in the neighbourhood. The gravel path leads through a forest to their part of the hill.
What a wonderful place, totally peaceful, a lot of trees, plants, animals.
Through all the trees, looking to the West, you can see the Ocean.
Right there, everyday when I wake up. Waking up in the guesthouse, which Antonio built, for all lucky people visiting.
So here I am, a short busride South from downtown Valparaiso.
With my friends who I didnīt see for far too long, enjoying many many good moments with them, everyday again!
Meeting Felix and Lucila, the kids, has been spectacular. They are so great, running around all day, playing together a lot, even I have to join sometimes, I canīt stop myself, lovely being small again.
A big family around them, the parents, brothers of Antonio, all their kids, I have met over Easter, birthday parties, itīs a lovely happening.
The small disadvantage which in fact is very nice is that their house has no other means than electricity and water. No phone line in the ground, no internet signal except for cellular, which means, email on my phone only.
Thatīs why you havenīt heard from me, and it was about time, if only to let you know what I am up to around here.
Today has been a different day.
Months of enjoyment have passed, luxurious yes, but here in Chile something was waiting for me..... Spanish classes!
Last week I went to the University first, only to discover there are Summer courses (Jan/Feb). And 5 week courses starting in March & May. So that didnīt help but luckily I did find a small language school only, located close to the center of the city.
Finally I -have to- get up early in the morning, to study!!
Yes, study. And I got homework too already, after my first class this morning. This will be interesting. But it is about time and an absolute necessity. I feel bad for the state of my Spanish after spending months on this continent. I like it here, far too much, so to not be able to communicate on a decent level is just not a good thing.
It is a complete difference from high school, where I had a year of Spanish, but in reality just tried to hide from the teacher, not understanding the greatness in learning the language, yet.
Time to get serious.
Hopefully the last post on here will be in Spanish!
I seriously doubt this, but it would be nice, just some sentences maybe, for the few people that might want to read this, differently.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot, last week I finally managed to get all March pictures up online! So if you havenīt done so already, take a look, some fun Buenos Aires times and Mendoza/Santiago mountains in there.
I will try to get more pictures of the kids and other Valparaiso treats up soon!
Big hug,
F |
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