Daylight saving and its logic

Last weekend we were deprived of an hour's sleep thanks to the early onset of daylight saving time here in Chile. Much as I like the idea of a short winter and a long summer, even I feel as though the logic has been somewhat lacking in bringing forward a summer schedule when one is still in the thick of an albeit at times mild winter. Not only is it too early on in the season to enjoy and make the most of long light evenings, but the absurdity of getting up, having breakfast and leaving the house while darkness is still total must be obvious to the most blinkered bureaucrat. Yesterday morning DD1 was unsurprisingly reluctant to be roused at what seemed like the middle of the night (in reality 7am) while only last week she could at least behold sunrise over the Andes while struggling into her clothes. Arriving at school still in the darkness 45 minutes later, it felt as if she and I were attending some nocturnal event rather than just carrying out the mundane school run. As it happened I had volunteered to read a story to the class that morning though it was far from ideal timing from my point of view as the children were yawning as they fought off their sleep deficit. And I would like to know how much daylight saving is actually being met when lamp-posts and other street lighting were on full blast to illuminate commuters' paths and were clearly consuming megawatts of electricity. Not to mention the fact that it is also colder an hour earlier than usual at that time in the morning...

Today was a slight improvement as DH had the pleasure of the early shift. However even DD2 was difficult to wake at her usual appointed time due to the ongoing lack of light outside... It all seems so unnecessary, especially when it was actually a pleasure to wake up with natural light flooding in through one's windows. But that's life, especially in Chile.

The end of 2010

Well Christmas has come and gone quicker than a blink of an eye here in Chile. No frenzied commercial countdown nor extra bank holidays just because 25 December happened to fall on a Saturday. On Monday 27 it was business very much as usual here in Santiago which is maybe just as well, considering our still precarious situation. However things are now looking up and are indeed beginning to move forward at a swift pace. On Monday DH signed the contract for our new apartment which was a moment we thought might never happen at one point. Thus we take possession from 1 January, though of course need to co-ordinate the delivery of our long-awaited container-full of personal effects which have been lying in storage since 5 November. Herein lies a potential problem: the removal company had been slow to respond to our emails and phone calls, originally stating that the earliest date on which they could deliver was 12 January. After another email exchange and phone call to the (very amenable) boss we have now been told they could do it on 5 January after all, two days before the children and I are scheduled to leave for a trip home, thus just giving us enough time to find our winter woollies and pack them ready for the Big Freeze in Europe. Fine, anything at this point would be better than continuing in this limbo of no real home and not being able to get our hands on our things... Oh, and our visas arrived today. Could this be a turning point for us? Out with the old, in with the new...Let's hope so. Happy New Year!

The night(mare) before Christmas

A week ago things were not looking good. DD2 came down with a bug which manifested itself as a raging fever and lasted four long days and nights. As we were all stuck indoors while the sun shone outside, cabin fever soon took a firm grip. Plenty of shopping still needed to be done plus DD1 was of course climbing the walls, quite literally often. We were still officially homeless in Santiago and we had no idea what we would do for Christmas Day itself...

Then gradually some form of order resumed as DD2 slowly fought off her illness and we received the unexpected but very welcome news that we had been officially chosen as suitable tenants for an apartment we liked. Thus most of our problems seem to be over... Of course, we are still waiting for our visas, residency documents and all-important tax codes but have been assured that these will arrive soon. All in due course, no rush, we've only been here for three months.

After being snowed under with work deadlines, DH finally managed to organise himself such that he could look after the children a little while I got on with the important business of perusing the shops, markets and numerous street-sellers. It has been interesting watching the locals, many of whom seem to have done their Christmas shopping mainly in the last few days. So much more festive... Wrapping the presents in the sun was certainly a novelty. We have a tree at last too, of sorts: actually it's the terrace plant decked out with all DD1's colourful creations, strategically placed by the terrace window so Father Christmas can have easy access. Deciding what to leave out for Father Christmas and his reindeer was a bit of a puzzle at first, since here there are no mince pies or Christmas cake or any of the usual indulgent winter goodies. DD1 suggested an avocado (one of her favourite things and ubiquitous here) for FC, with a glass of chilled white wine and a carrot for the weary animals. Luckily DH managed to persuade her a few cherries might be quicker to grab as FC has a busy night ahead of him...

As for tomorrow, we've been invited to our American friends' for Christmas lunch so at least we'll have company. Though of course it won't be roast turkey so it still doesn't feel quite right. But I'm not complaining... Merry Christmas!

Still waiting, with bated breath...

...for some kind of conclusion to the ongoing saga of househunting. A week ago we finally saw somewhere we liked which ticked all the boxes and which was walking distance from DD1's school (one of the most important criteria) and have begun the long procedure of making an offer, leaving a holding deposit as well as a list as long as your arm of the necessary documents to prove who we are, what we're doing here and why we need permanent accommodation. However despite all this there has been a sticking point with the fact that as non-Chileans still waiting for our visas we are not in possession of an all-important tax code which seems to be the crucial key to being recognised as serious people (as opposed to mere tourists) in a country where red tape surrounds one's every move. Exhausting, demoralising, stressful but all part of the experience I suppose, especially as we are not in the advantageous position of having huge corporate backing. Having said all that, there does now seem to be chink of light at the end of the tunnel as we may be able to sign a temporary contract using our passports until we are awarded our visas, residency permits and of course tax codes. Just hope it's not too much longer as I was hoping to be unpacked by Christmas...