December 16, 2009

Yesterday night we arrived in Chile. I had the same experience boarding the plane that I’ve had before. This is a scenario which invariably ends with me screaming in my head, “LINES, PEOPLE, LINES!!!!! It’s NOT THAT HARD,” and maybe shedding a tear or two before simply resigning myself to the fact that, “asi se hace*,” in Chile.

Maybe it’s just because we’ve been back and forth so much in the past year, but the culture shock/reverse culture shock for both countries hasn’t been that strong this time around.

Small talk still gets me. At the bank, a simple “Kyle, that’s an unusual name for a girl,” put me into a socially awkward shame spiral that I stammered and stuttered my way through. I forgot how to say, “Yep, it’s unique, thanks!” the way I used to, without missing a beat. In Chile nobody knows that I have a male moniker and the only name problems I ever encounter are when the people at Starbucks spell it, “Kiaeyulo.” I kid you not, on more than one occasion, Every. Single. Vowel. in the alphabet has been involved in the spelling of my name. Today I was simply, “Kale.” I wanted to tell them, “But Kale is a gross leafy green vegetable that no one actually eats, not my name, EW!”

And in the supermarket, perusing the pop aisle, I was still overwhelmed by the millions and millions of choices. While I do recognize that it’s nice to have more than Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, Diet Sprite, Fanta or Diet Fanta available, I have to wonder — does having 67 soda choices really enrich anyone’s life? Do all these options ever overwhelm normal Americans who live in the U.S.?

Today we went to Parque Arauco to purchase a Mac (yay!). As we stopped at the machines to pay for parking on the way out, there was a girl at the machine next to us who didn’t have change. Seba stopped and forked over a few coins so she could pay. We walked away and he said, “Wow! I’m such a nice guy when I’ve just gotten back from the U.S.!” It’s true. He’s nicer to people, mostly because I’ve drilled into his head, “In my country we DO NOT let the door close on pregnant womens’ faces as they’re entering a building behind you.” Ok, well, it does happen, but at least in the South, only assholes do that, it’s not the norm. Then later on today, he also held the door open for a lady walking in somewhere, because he got used to doing so in Miami. This women didn’t even look at him, let alone thank him. And that was that. I’m pretty sure Seba’s considerate to other people in Chile streak is over.

In other Seba’isms, we had a funny conversation on the way back from the mall:

Me: I hope we can find a nice South facing apartment**. I like it to be dark and cold where I live. Well, except for Florida, I actually like the humidity.

Seba: You’re a fungus.

*That’s how it’s done.

**Facing South means you get less sun, and in Chile, where there’s no air conditioning, that’s a must for me. I hate being hot.

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Back to Chile

December 15, 2009

For not the first, but the second time in a year, I am so happy to be going back to Chile. It was wonderful to spend time with family, even though we didn’t come under the best circumstances. And while we were here, I wasn’t missing home at all, I just focused on the task at hand and getting as much quality time in with my parents as possible. But still, we’ve been away from home, in various continents and countries, the past 4 out of 5 months of our lives.

I wouldn’t say that I need the stability of staying in any one place for more than a few weeks at a time. I just feel like I’ve put down roots in Chile but I haven’t been there to water them at all, so nothing’s growing.

As you read this, we’re probably on a plane heading home. Because we bought our flights so last minute, we’re stuck with a stopover in Bogota. Joy. Right now it’s 4am, I haven’t slept. We leave for the airport in 15 minutes. Can’t wait to travel, yay!

But, by this evening, we’ll be at home, curled up in bed with Papito sleeping. So worth it :)

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About Me, Extended Version

December 14, 2009

My name is Kyle, I’m 25, I love my mutt and my husband, I love to travel, I love fashion, I love to bust a move and sing even though I can’t dance and am completely tone deaf — which brings me to what is probably one of the defining characteristics of my personality –

I don’t care what anybody thinks. I just love being me :)

I love to take crazy pictures and write funny stories, and I love the Olsen twins. No seriously, Mary Kate and Ashley are a huge source of inspiration for me. Their style of dressing is so innovative and unique. People think they’re nuts but really they’re just so far ahead of the curve the rest of us mere mortals haven’t caught up yet. I aspire to be like that in every aspect of my life, but especially in my photography business — creating trends not following them.

Melinda Gates is my other biggest business inspiration. One of my number one goals in life is to become a philanthropist. Like Melinda and Bill I want to give massive amounts of money away — but in an effective manner, truly changing the world and supporting causes close to my heart. Call me naive, call me insane, but I am not too jaded to think that one person can’t make a difference. That’s why my husband and I, with the help of my incredible blog readers, are putting one guy in Chile through college. For now that’s all we can afford but trust me, we won’t stop here. First Marcelo then the world, MWAHAHA!!!!

So that’s who I am and what I believe in. What about you?

And if you want accolades and credentials and all that jazz, here you go — I took first place in the only photography contest I ever entered, my photos are hanging on the walls of the U.S. Embassy here in Santiago and I’ve had pictures published in national magazines in Chile as well as Europe!

Here my husband and I are, December of 2008 in Tampa, FL.
for website

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