South American Cruise - Part 1

Wow. What a trip! I don't even know where to begin to tell everyone what we did, what we saw, who we met, what we thought. We left home at 9:30 am on Dec. 6th and arrived at our hotel in Santiago Chile at 9:30 am on Dec. 7th. We had a five hour lay over in Atlanta which is a heck of a lot better than a 30 minute dash from one end of ATL to the other to catch our next flight. We saw a lot of soldiers in uniform in Atlanta. We couldn't tell if they were coming or going. Turns out it was a little bit of both. I spoke to one who was heading out. He said he was heading back to Afghanistan after a two week break. Funny, I thought all our soldiers were coming home from Afghanistan. Or was that Iraq. We have so many wars going on that I can't seem to keep them all straight.

In Santiago, we had no plans except to see as much of the city as we could. We didn't quite accomplish this because we were not staying in the heart of the city where all the things a tourist wants to see are. But we were staying in a very nice part of the city. You could tell the city was still growing and upgrading. It´s a very crowded capital city with lots of people and crowded sidewalks. Worse than NYC. Traffic is worse than Honolulu. There was a lot of construction going on and new buildings going up. Very near our hotel they were building South America's tallest building, the Gran Torre Santiago. According to Wikipeda, it was supposed to be completed in 2010, but the global financial crisis of 2008 put the project on hold. Construction resumed in Dec. 2009 and they plan to have it completed sometime next year. They already had the spot lights playing on the building at night and changing its colors and it rose up into the sky. New Yorkers, please note: this building is only 70 floors, but it is still very tall by South American standards.

We spent our single day in Santiago walking where we could. My dear hubby got us directionally confused (that's a nice way of saying lost) a couple of times. We ended up back at the hotel twice before we got straightened out. Of course, I believe it was my fault for failure to read the map. In my defense though: 1. He didn´t tell me where we were headed so I didn't look at the map from the start; 2. He went the wrong direction; 3. Not every street is on this map, so you have to go several blocks before you realize you are going the wrong way; 3. There are intersections where 3-6 streets merge and diverge so it´s hard to tell which one you are on; 4. Not every intersection was fully labeled with signs; 5. Since not every street is on the map, he thinks we only need to go 5-6 blocks when we really need to go 15-18 blocks so he turns too soon. On our way back to the hotel he was convinced that I had overshot the hotel by three blocks when, in actuality, I brought us up the side street right to the hotel. Note to self: study the map ahead of time and pay attention when we head out so that I can more easily figure out where we are once we determine we are lost.

In the middle of the afternoon, every large shade tree sheltered napping workers. Ah, Siesta! These guys needed the rest. For one thing, it was hot. But they also were still working when we walked back from dinner at 10:00 that night.

We saw a sidewalk repair job (they were working on the pipes underground) that was being done with shovels and pick axes. Men were standing in the trench with their shovels digging out the dirt. No wonder these guys need a siesta! That's hard work!

We ate dinner at Aqui Esta Coco, reportedly the best seafood in Santiago. It was a very eclectic dining experience. We were seated in the front dining room with a view of a very large lighted whale made of seaweed suspended over the bar. Each room had a different theme. In one section there was a wall made of volcanic rock.

Seated at the table next to us was an older couple from Vancouver Canada: Jim and Katie. They had just finished their cruise which began in Buenos Aires. They sailed on the Seaborne line and had wonderful things to say about the trip. Jim has our email address, so now we'll see if he follows up with us.!

While walking around Santiago, we came upon a cultural park filled with flowering trees and statues of various sorts. Park Art is what we always called it in Kansas. All in all, it was a beautiful day. The sky was clear, the sun was warm, and my nose got a bit burned.

From the little we saw of Santiago, it is a beautiful city. I wish we had researched it a bit more before we booked our hotel. Our hotel was very nice, but it was quite removed from the heart of the historical area. 

The following day, we took a motor coach to Valparaiso to board the ship. We were among the first ones on board (thanks to arriving a day early and needing transportation from Santiago.) We did not stop in Valparaiso, but on the drive, we saw some wonderful Chilean countryside with desert mountains full of cacti and other dry climate brush. We saw lots of farms and orchards. One of the most prevalent crops was avocados. We also saw flower farms, and hot houses were strewn end to end. With as much sun and warmth here, I'm not sure why they needed the hot houses!

Valparaiso is a beautiful city with a much older feel than Santiago. I guess most of the more modern developments are happening in neighboring Vina del Mar. We don't have many photos of Valparaiso as we saw it all from the windows of the bus. Part of me thinks I would have liked Valparaiso better than Santiago, but when you can only choose one, you stick with the choice you've made. I don't know if we'll be back to this area again, but there is another cruise through the Panama Canal that begins in Valparaiso, so we might have a second chance at this beautiful city.

Headphones and Cell Phones

I want to write today about the social situation that is developing in our modern society. I see a deplorable decline in social manners as we interact with each other on a daily basis - or rather we fail to interact with each other. One of the first signs I saw that really puzzled me is the prevelance of headphones. What is it with people and their headphones? I see people walking all over town with their headphones on. They come into the caffe' with their headphones on. I'm not sure what they're listening to, and I really don't care. They come to the counter and place their order. I ask a question. They respond, "What?"

I'm sorry, but I'm not going to shout over whatever it is you're listening to. Here's my point: If you are going to interact in society, put your other thing on pause and pick it up again later. This habit isn't limited to the younger crowd. I've got senior citizens who walk in with their headphones on. This just blows my mind. I try to imagine they're having an npr driveway moment -- they're listening to something so profound that they just can't pull themselves away.

The same goes with cell phone calls and texting. I know I'm just an hourly worker, but if you want me to serve you graciously, please treat me like I'm a human being worthy of your attention. Face it: I'm handling your food. It bugs the heck out of me to have customers come to the counter with their cell phones, texting away while they place their order. Seriously, are you really that important that a text message can't wait 30 seconds while we conduct our business?

Remember the days when we didn't even have answering machines? If you weren't available to take the phone call, the other person would just have to call back. It didn't take long to learn the best times to catch a person. Then came the big, boxy answering machine. Wow. How great it was to come home and see the flashing light on the machine. Now, my friends chide me when I don't have my cell phone turned on 24/7. I have a friend who won't call me on the home phone because she doesn't want to bother me at home. But instead you'd rather bother me when I'm out and about, either at work or running errands, when I can't give you my full attention? That doesn't even make sense!

I really feel sorry for the children who are neglected because Mom or Dad can't put their cell phones away and pay attention to them. Someone said the other day, "We just aren't teaching our children manners anymore." I disagree. We ARE teaching them manners. We just need to be aware of what manners we are passing along. They learn from imitating the adults around them. This is the legacy we are passing along. What happens when these kids have children? How will we interact in society then?

Or maybe I'm just jealous because I'm not important enough to be on the phone all the time. Nah... not jealous at all. 

Relationship Reassessment

Hello. I am finally starting my blog. A lot of my friends have been encouraging me to start one, and I've always said, "Nobody wants to read what I have to say!" But I think I've finally come to the conclusion that I don't care if nobody reads it. I have something to say, and I always feel better after I've said it.

I have so many different things I want to write about, so I'm not even sure where to begin. I guess I'll begin with something that is fairly recent.

I work for a friend. We didn't start out as friends. I was one of her customers. Once I started working for her, we became friends. It was easy to fall in friendship with her. She was my only boss; I was her only employee most of the time. She looked after me, and I looked after her. Most times I think we put each other's needs maybe not ahead of our own, but definitely close to the top of the list of needs that must be paid attention to.

And now something has changed to upset that balance we had. She made a business decision that affected me. She cut my hours. I'm not sure I really understand why. She gave me a few reasons, but I feel there is more to it than what she says. I'm losing 20% of my pay, which in today's economy is quite a pay cut. Well, I guess even in yesterday's economy, 20% is quite a pay cut. That was actually, quite a ridiculous statement.

Other things have changed along with this. She now treats me as an employee rather than as a friend. I feel like I have stepped through some kind of time warp and found myself four years back in time.

What makes this new development most troubling for me is one of the reasons she gave me for the reduction in work hours is because another, former employee wants to pick up some hours. Generally, I'd try to understand this. But this former employee has been very unreliable lately. She's been suffering from some degree of depression and is prone to fits of anger -- not good traits when dealing with the public and their own levels of strangeness. She's tried to come back a few other times recently, but she keeps deciding after one shift that she's just not ready to reenter society just yet.

At first, this hurt. Very badly. I never expected this or saw it coming. I couldn't believe that she would throw me over like this after all we've been through together. All week I've had a strong negative current running through me. I no longer look forward to going in to work. In fact, I now dread it. I don't like to be there. I don't like to deal with the customers. I can't wait to get out of there.

Several people have suggested that I have a heart-to-heart conversation with her about how I feel. But I know this is not possible for me. I have always been too emotional to have honest, yet difficult, conversations. And this is not a time for tears. Instead, I find myself looking at the signs. With every job I've had, I've known when it was time to move on. There are signs that begin to show. I've been ignoring them for a while this time because I normally really enjoy my customers. But I know the signs have been there. And now I can't ignore them any longer. Her decision opened the flood gates and now the signs are pouring forth. I'm literally drenched in them. I have come to acknowledge that my time there is coming to an end, and it is time for me to find my next endeavor.

I do feel the negative currents beginning to disperse. I still don't like being there like I used to. I do have my passive-aggressive imp that wants some freedom of expression. (I really do understand that passive-aggressive behavior is not appropriate, but he's there, and he does want to play awhile after being in lockdown for so many years!)

What seems amazing to me is how quickly I can reassess my relationship with someone. It's happened before and I thought it was kind of an accident then, but maybe this is the way we self-preserve. I no longer see her as my friend. That part of our relationship is done. She, for now, remains my boss, and I am her employee, but friends no more. I know she won't be looking out for me any more than any other employer would. And that's now OK.