el setlist

So I saw a poster for an upcoming The Hives concert a few weeks back and I thought to myself, “Oh! I enjoy the music of The Hives. I shall consider attending.” Well the final decision to go was made about 7P last night, two hours before the band hit the stage at a theater across town. So I get some information on how to get there and get home afterwards, run out the door to catch a bus, and arrive at the department store where Ticketmaster has a counter. So I kindly ask a clerk where the ticket counter is and am politely told, “At the end of that line.”

Madonna tickets had just gone on sale. There would be a wait. A long wait.

So I consider just giving up, but then get the idea “Well I can still go down to the venue and see if there are tickets on sale there.” I get there right about the time the band takes the stage and purchase a ticket for lower than what I would pay at Ticketmaster (no fees).

It was a great show. Pure energy from all band members and a superb Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist (pictured above) taking a decent stab at Spanish. It sure blew away the only other concert I have attended while in Chile - Robbie Williams (I accompanied a friend, i.e. FREE).

Absolute great fun.

“Can you teach a class of 10 to 13 year-old boys?”

“Yeah, I think.”

That may or may not be what was exactly said to me about two months back, but what fun has it been. We have covered topics from commitment to friends to decisions and the resources have varied too. You can learn alot about friendships via Shrek.

This past Sunday I had prepared an around-the-world fantasy vacation game, but only FOUR of our six boys showed up. Disappointing, yeah, but like I said, it’s fun. I created the game in hopes that some of the teams of two would overspend and we would be able to lift their mistake in the air and say, “This is why making good decisions is important. You FAILED!” Ha! No, I think the boys have really enjoyed the class. Well I know they have because instead of wanting class to end I’ve been asked by multiple guys if it will continue on.

It’s also been an opportune opportunity to get to know my friends (and co-teachers) Natalia and Aníbal more. We get together to discuss the class twice a week. What encourages me is the two of them also want to continue working and doing the class. I could take up the class and go at it alone, not that I would want to, but working alongside Chileans and helping develop them as well is part of the excitement. Aníbal and Natalia might never have taken the initiative to put themselves in this position unless someone asked/encouraged/pushed, but it’s worth it.

Watching the boys grow closer as a group of friends is cool too. To have to wrangle them together Sunday mornings on the balcony and to stay in one place is a minor hassle, but to watch them develop relationships between themselves and want to hang with each other is just fun.

Well they’re infrequent, but always give you a strange feeling. A small tremor (not an earthquake) just shook central Chile. I was in the middle of chatting with my friend Abel in Rio on Skype:

[5:03:27 PM] Garrett says: there’s a tremor happening now
[5:03:35 PM] Garrett says: like a small earthquake
[5:03:37 PM] abel says: in Chile?
[5:03:43 PM] Garrett says: yeah it just stopped
[5:03:55 PM] abel says: oh……..
[5:04:03 PM] abel says: are you well?

The floor and windows shook. Just a bit odd and a little of a reality check.

No worries. All is well…I think.

I am now an official resident of Chile. I can freely go in and out of the country; I could before, but now I can pass through the citizens’/residents’ line. Woo hoo! The benefits extend beyond that though. Now I have a RUT (aka RUN) which is a national identification number that allows me access to many services available only to individuals who have one.

I asked a friend what RUN (Rol Único Nacional) means? On the first hand, translated, it means “National Unique Role.” What the heck does that mean? Well it’s the national unique identity number, kind of like a Social Security Number. I was thinking how many in the United States are opposed to such a thing. I understand the privacy and logistics issues, but still have not formed an opinion on the matter. As a military kid having a personal I.D. lifelong (or until the end of one’s studies) is normal.

If we look at the crisis the State Department has been thrown in over the increase in demand for passports, it presents us, on a micro scale, with what a nightmare such a mandate would create. Chile is a different case. With about 16 and a quarter million people, it’s a bit more of a manageable situation.

If you did not catch it, the United States with the REAL ID Act of 2005 has already set in motion a national standardization of state driver’s licenses. It has stirred up some controversy, but honestly, if you ever have applied for a job or to be a member of Blockbuster, you had to show your passport, Social Security card, driver’s license, etc to apply.

But a national ID card to vote? (See Indiana nuns lacking ID denied at poll by fellow sister) I don’t know.

Well today was the first time for me to give blood.

My father has always been a bit faint around needles which does not give me heaps of confidence about the matter. A friend’s mother is having cysts removed from her lungs tomorrow and has made a call to all for blood donations. So I decided to go this morning. Set my nerves and personal comfort aside to do it.

Well as I was saying to my new friend Marcelo an the way out of the clinic, he didn’t take a good look at the needle - I did, it was more like a TUBE with a pointy end. Squeezing my hand in to a fist over and over reminded me of having my wisdom teeth extracted - they tapped and tapped and tapped to find a good vein for the IV, I was about to scream.

It was a good experience though. Except for the bout of upset stomach that caused me to have to go, accompanied no less, to the bathroom very soon after the needle was pulled out. I got a cup of free coffee and had some great conversation with the excellent staff of the blood bank.

The temperature has dropped considerably recently and rain rolled in yesterday. So it’s most definitely fall. I’m glad to see the tops of the mountains that back Santiago dusted with snow again.

Smog puro…

Well if you look to the left you can see Santiago, or Santiasco (”Santiagross”) to some, well, it’s under that blanket of smog. Santiago, unfortunately suffers the effects of thermal inversion (a layer of warm air traps a layer of cold air beneath it) which keeps air pollution low in the city. Chile has made environmental improvements over the years, but, as many nations, could do better. I, in particular, am a fan of the transit system, although horrendously jammed

sometimes, it’s a good alternative for driving. It does not possess as many green spaces as some other South American cities, but has lovely parks and plazas. Most recycling is left in private organizations’ hands as a way of generating revenue, but many have yet to catch on. One of my personal triumphs on a very local level has been setting up a recycle system with Scott Emery’s support in the church building. Many of the local municipalities and grocery stores have pushed changing light bulbs for energy savings. I’m happy to see Chileans on a trajectory for a better and cleaner country. If you have been following the news, you may have seen that Buenos Aires is in a bit of a pickle at the moment. The city has been blanketed with smoke from nearby farmers burning their fields. Check out more here.

Well, I am a terrible at blog maintenance. I was just looking at my friends Ali’s and Mark’s blog and feel a little lacking. AH, oh well! Here we go.

At the beginning of March I was graciously invited to attend the Team Banquet. It’s an evening dedicated to looking back over the year and enjoying an appetizing meal together. It also involves awards and videos. I had the pleasure of being a part of the production crew for the short films made in honor of some of the team members. Infomercials, top ten lists, and re-enactments. Oh man! I was bestowed the honor of The Wizard of Wikipedia. I have no earthly idea, ahem, what that’s getting at, but this one is another upon my mantle of titles, next to The Sultan of Slide.

Easter was quite an event this year, I don’t have much else to compare it to because it is my first outside of the U.S. Chile, as many other holiday traditions (i.e. Halloween - trick or treating, Christmas - Santa Claus, snowy images in the middle of summer, etc) has adapted Easter with foreign traditions. The jóvenes (youth) were in charge of Sunday games and Easter egg hunt. One thing that Chile has not is the plastic egg or variety of candy, everything hidden were small chocolate eggs. Delicious, and this year, they were kept our of the sun. For Viernes Santo (Good Friday), we had a progressive play with five scenes spread over the church building grounds. It was really well done and much of the preparation was put in Chileans hands.

Good Friday performers. Christian (no shirt) and Diana (only female).	Birthday cinnamon roll cake after two hours of sleep

Currently I am living with two friends, Christian and Diana, that are to be married this coming weekend. They were kind of forced to move out of his parents’ house in to their old house. Well I got the call two weeks ago, telling me (not asking me), that I was to come stay with them for three weeks. It’s been a lot of fun and great experience. I was living with Jeff and Penne before, who live a bit closer to the church building (i.e. bike ride of 15 min.), but now I get to experience the daily joy of Transantiago, the transit system of Santiago. My friend Rodrigo told me yesterday, “Creo que eres el practicante que ha tenido una experiencia más cercana a la verdadera vida chilena.” (”I think you’re the intern that has had an experience closest to the the true Chilean life.”) or something along those lines. It’s quite a compliment.

I had a swell birthday. I was taken out to eat by my friends Jeff and Penne. We had a lovely dinner and afterwards I returned to the church building to pull a near all nighter working on some presentations for the Deans goodbye the next day.

Oh the Deans! Man was that a day to celebrate, cry, share, and see the change they brought. There’s a hole here now and it hasn’t been filled, because, really it can’t be. Mark is a superb friend. Denise can make you laugh with nothing other than her own laughter. And their precious two children are a delight to be around. I’m going to miss the cooking together, talking about our lives, watching movies together, and just being in their presence. They left on April 2, woo was that a doozy of a send off in the airport. We miss them, but know who is guiding them.

The Dean Family	Christian and Jenny avoiding sleep prior to 15 hour flight

Some other quick updates:
- I’ve began meeting with two friends from my small group, Aníbal and Micheln, Friday nights to practice their English.
- I’ve been unofficially in charge of multimedia at the church (”button-pusher for PowerPoint”) and am trying to hand it back over to Chileans via hands-on training.
- My computer is currently backing up in Safe Mode. It’s on its last leg.
- I’ve been doing some more cooking. (See previous posts)
- The boy Felipe who had a brain tumor was operated on successfully and doing well. Thanks be to God.
- And my brother Christian and sister-in-law Jenny went to Japan and have some superb photos from the trip on Flickr (click ‘Fli’ for his photos and ‘ckr’ for hers)

Prayer Requests:
- The youth for clarity as we’re looking ahead
- God’s Spirit to lead me in all I am and do
- Christian and Diana in their new stage as a married couple
- Deans transition in to the U.S.

Recent Reads/Listens:
- Transforming Discipleship: Making Disciples a Few at a Time - book - “The very nature of a crowd is the ability to be lost in it. It costs nothing to be a part of the masses. One can either be positively or negatively inclined. A member of a crowd, such as a worshiper in a congregation, can remain lost in the sea of faces, neither having to commit nor declare loyalty… Jesus ministered to the crowd in order to call people out of it.”
- April Update - email from friend - “A seder is a neat experience - a ceremonial meal eaten to retell and celebrate the story of the liberation of the jews from egyptian slavery. It was a lot of fun, though we did do some parts of the meal incorrectly, but I figure we would be some very reform jews, so oh well.”

If you are interested in any other things I am reading or have read, please visit my del.icio.us page: http://del.icio.us/tterrag

Last week was superb. I bought some plants (cherry tomato, basil, and P. de M. pepper) and things started to look up. Tuesday afternoon, the team headed south of Santiago to Los Alamos for three days of relaxation. Oh man it was nice. It was the first place I had been in Chile with water slides, so we had a blast throwing our bodies down the two chutes. Although, I am paying for it now. I banged my head with one of the boys as we rode together and my back is scratched and bruised from hitting dry spots and flying through the air with hard landings. Between the slides, pools, gorgeous nature, disc golf games, devos, homemade food (yellow curry chicken, curry puffs, and fish tacos), and great company it was probably the best team retreat I have been on in my time here. It was the Deans’ last team retreat so after a thrilling game of Charades on our last night, we had an adjective bombardment - saying words that represented Mark, Denise, and the Deans collectively. It was quite good.

Well the day after, I decided to continue on the pain ride and went out with my friends Kani, Andrés, and Paul for a hike in the Andes that butt Santiago. After starting off with the idea to go on a new route, the heat and aridness changed our minds. We judged to go on the tried-and-true path that leads to waterfalls and natural pools. Near the first signs of flowing water were huge blackberry bushes. Oh so good. It takes a few hour to get to the last waterfall. We got off the path..err..lost the path a few times, but eventually arrived. It’s Texas-in-August hot sometimes so frigid ice melt is quite nice. I slipped in an attempt to get to the guys for a group shot and cut open my left foot under the ankle. SO the transit back home - three buses passing me by and having to walk home for ten or more blocks - was not the most comfortable; in the end it was a good time to talk with the Lord.

Yesterday was spent throwing down some new sod in Jeff and Penne’s (my current home) yard. In the evening, the two went out and I, after putting their son Caleb to bed, made fantastic Gai Pad Grapao. It was SPIIIICY, but delicious. Recipe to follow this post.

School has started back up, so things should be picking up with the youth back in Santiago. My prayer is to join God in the work he has already begun and not make my own plans.

Alright. I got my act together and finally I am completing this saga (two weeks after the fact).

Well the next day, it was the day forecasted to have the best weather, we awoke, had breakfast, packed up, and set out. The prior night I stayed up very late copying a map of the park, Huerquehue National Park, from a book I borrowed from our new friend Jörgen, a Dane that has lived in Temuco for over a decade working as a tour guide. He was fun and had some top-notch advice; shame I didn’t take his photo. Anyway, we head out in our rental car towards the park. We tack up a hillside to get to the entrance and on the way I ask Jeff to stop and we get out and have a Sound of Music moment in a field on the hillside. Gorgeous.

We arrive at the park entrance, pay (I got the Chilean rate, thank you very much sir), and park. Immediately, as it would be, two dogs from a nearby restaurant/lodge run up and follow us in to the park. We thought after a while they might turn back, but they did not. We decided to call them Rapa and Nui (look it up, if you want to know). Well Nui, the larger dog got scared by some workmen sawing some posts, but Rapa continued on. He was this odd mix, short dog. He honestly must have been an angel guiding us, because he was with us all the way up and back.

Jörgen and the ranger at the entrance both had warned us that there would be snow prior to arriving to the first lake on the hike. Well, after ascending for about an hour, possibly less, we started coming across patches of easily-passable snow on the path. Eventually the amount grew, the trail was buried, and we had to carve our own way. We almost turned around at the worries and pains of one of my fellow hiking companions, but with the spurring of the other and Rapa forging ahead we followed. An it was worth it. We arrived at Lago Chico. Oh it was gorgeous, but very different from the previous visit, due to it being laced and partially covered by snow. Still the water was as clear and still as before.

We continued on, more snow, brief glimpses of the path, and made our way to Laguna Verde and Lago Toro. Oh it was exhilarating. One of the things I love about this park are the Araucaria trees, the national tree of Chile, that fill the forest at higher altitudes. We returned hiking down. Jeff and Mark had a few falls. I had a close call, but we all got back to the car safely and headed back to Pucón. We had dinner again at Café Fresia. Oh so good hummus.

The next day was cold and wet. We walked down to the shore of Lake Villarrica, followed, yes, by more dogs. These were strange dogs - they kissed. We did some shopping; I got a copy of the book Jörgen had let me borrow and the three of us purchased a wheel of locally made cheese. Yum! That evening we walked through the light rain to the bus station and caught our ride back to Santiago. I slept much better this time around. We arrived around six in the morning and the trip came to an end.

This past week Jeff, Mark, and I took a trip down to the ninth region of Chile, Araucanía. “The heart of southern Chile.”

I had about two hours to pack after arriving back in Santiago from the church retreat on Sunday before I needed to be at Jeff’s house. I packed my things, plugged in the battery chargers, formatted the SD cards, and headed out to catch a bus. Well, if you have not heard, Transantiago, the transit system of Santiago, is horrendous. Understandably in the morning and evening commutes, but on Sunday evening. COME ON! Well after waiting ten or more minutes, the first bus arrives - FULL. Fifteen minutes later, another bus, PACKED to the second step. I have two backpacks on my back and front side. There’s no way I am catching a bus. So, cheerfully I flag down a taxi after another full bus flies by. I arrive at Jeff’s, we catch a radio taxi to the bus station and await for our bus. These buses are no Greyhounds or Chinatown Lines (”ahem, Robert”), these buses (TurBus) have seats that fold out in to beds and attendants walking the aisle to serve you a drink and lay a blanket over you.

We arrive early Monday morning to Pucón and walk down Avenida Brasil to Hospedaje Sonia. We get a room ($5000/person/night ≈ $10/p/n) and settle in. I love hostel travelling. We make plans for hiking and sightseeing, visit the grocery store, rent a car, relax by the fire, and get to bed early. Poor Mark, he slept maybe two hours on the trip down.

Tuesday, we wake up early. I am talking about six o’clock hour. Nothing is open, but we head out to see the city and wait for the grocery store (Eltit) to open (we forgot to get eggs for breakfast). We went to one end of the city to see a casino/hotel that completely burned down last month. It was quite a sight and at the same moment and from that point on, we had dogs following us. These dogs were not typical dogs either. There was one, a rather large dog, that picked up a stone and carried it in its mouth as we walked. It whaled and I mean WHALED the whole time. It even tore up a municipal flower box before our eyes in an effort to bury the stone, yet it continued carrying the stone and whaling. Well Eltit opened, we bought some b-fast items, cooked at Sonia’s, and ate up. Mark took me across the plaza near the hostel to Gloria’s flower stand. They were incredible (take a look at the photos to see what they’re made out of). Later in the morning we headed out for Termas Geométricas, but ended up at Termas de Palguín. It was a nice soak and cheap. Jeff had an accident which will forever be remembered. He ripped apart a wood railing in a moment of rage. On the way back to Pucón, we stopped at Salto El León, which was gorgeous. That night we enjoyed a dinner of typical comida peruana at Viva Perú. Try the Seco de cordero; it’s amazing.

More to come…