Random Thoughts by Ktownbuddha

So I made it.  I survived the trip.  I had an internal goal thinking that we could drink 40 bottles of wine over the course of the trip.  We managed to drink 31, plus a ton of beer, and a bunch of pisco sours.  I also managed to catch a cold upon landing in Santiago, Chile but I didn't let that slow me down and all in all I'm proud of the 31 bottles that we drank.  I have pictures of 29/31 of the bottles that we drank (we drank two of them in somebodies house over lunch, and I thought it rude to take pictures at the dining table), and all of the caps or corks as the case might be.  I am notorious for not taking pictures.  I really tried this trip and I ended up taking roughly 300.  I will post a few, but really I'm not a fan of taking pictures. So favorite part of the trip?  When in Mendoza we did a day tour into the Andes that was amazing.  It was a long day but we got to see the tallest mountain in the southern hemisphere as well as climbed this little dirt track up to

Leaving on a jet plane, but I know when I will be back again.  I'm excited.  I'm giddy with excitement actually.  This trip has been in the works for almost a year.  It was booked back in September and I've been counting down since then.   As I write this I have less than 2 hours of work left.  I will race back to the Villa Coral, have a quick lunch, shower, grab some beer and get in the van.  If everything goes as planned 10 hours later I will be in Canada.   So it is unlikely that I will be posting while I'm away.  I will attempt to catch up when I get back. Bring on South America!!!

This story starts out with a little bit of background information.  We enter visa as temporary residents who have a work permit.  Due to this we require permission from the government in order to leave the country as well as to return.  We receive this document usually a few weeks after we arrive on site and we guard it like gold.  Without it, we can't get out.  Nobody really cares about the getting back in, but we all worry about the getting out.   Currently there are several Canadians who work for other companies who don't have exit permits.  So they are stuck here. Every year these work permits expire and we need to get a new one.  During this renewal period we don't have a work permit or an exit visa.  So basically we are stuck.  This has never been an issue for me at all.  However on of my fellow expat's work permit expired on Sunday.  As he didn't have the new one he isn't allowed on site.  They were hoping that he would have it today and life would go

I had this post composed in my head yesterday afternoon.  I had the best of intentions to put my thoughts on the screen last night.  The thing is a half bottle of wine got in my way.  Since we didn't have our normal wine Wednesday dinner I was feeling deprived of the drink and I made up for it last night.  Nothing over the top, just a few glasses before dinner, then a few beers after dinner and a few cuba libres to cap it off. So I will now try and do my best to re-create what I'm sure was going to be a genius post. As I've mentioned previously there is a very real possibility that we will be losing our LPG that we use to cook with.  Well I found out that there are a few single burner hot plates in town for about $40 each.  Yes that is expensive, but we do have to cook.  So I talked to my my boss and he gave me the ok to go and purchase one for everybody who cooks.  I made a list and off I went. This is where the fun begins.  First we get to the store and have to wait

Alright, well  if you have already read the thread from this morning then I bet you are chomping at the bit to know what happened. I have to admit the whole waiting thing caught me off guard.  I wasn't prepared for it.  I didn't know what to think.  I took the stance of "well I will wait and see what it is, before I give it much thought."  This proved to be easier said than done. What if somebody was dead, sick or on their death bed?  Would I go back?  I'm not so sure.  I really didn't know what I'd do, and figured I'd just play it by ear. So seeing as how we are 3 hours ahead it made for a slow morning.  Finally my roommate woke up and read me the message.  This is what it said: Dear Louis, I hope you are happy and healthy.  We really miss having you in our life.  Otherwise we are happy and healthy.  Our hearts and arms are always open to you.  Love Mom There were also two Canada savings bonds in there that matured in Nov. 1/07.  I think I

So is it bad things happen in three's or strange things???  In this case I have three strange occurrences in past several days.  I apologize in advance as this post won't have my normal writing flare. #1  Azuly Just when we think that we can go out and have a normal evening strange things happen.  They have renovated this old bar and we had started to go.  It was quite, it was clean, and there are no hookers.  So last night we went out, had some beers and then got in the truck to leave.  We were going to do a quick lap around town and see what was happening.  We pulled through the intersection and a cop on a motorbike pulled us over. First off we rarely interact with the police.  Normally when they see that we don't speak Spanish, and they get our vehicle papers they are happy.  Not this guy.  He was yelling and screaming at us.  Of the three of us that were out, I was the one that knew the most Spanish.  So he thought we were pretending to not know Spanish but honest

As per usual this has been an interesting week, and it's not even over yet.  It is official that one of the expats will not be returning after his next rotation. Him and his wife both work here on a 4/4 rotation.  His position has been in jeopardy for several years and it finally has come to an end.  Apparently he was informed this week and they are set to come in this weekend.  We knew it was coming just didn't know when.  We are more concerned with what will happen with his wife.  She has always said that if he isn't here, she wouldn't come back either.  I guess we will find out over the next couple of weeks.  It would be a real loss to see them go. On a positive note there will be a flat screen tv up for grabs.  Here's hoping I get it!!!