Festive season begins

Just like last year the festive season is getting underway in earnest as the sun gets hotter, the days longer and clothing skimpier... Santiago is gloriously full of mauve-flowering trees which from a distance appear to have purple leaves and are very distinctive, colourful and gay. Nature's tinsel perhaps...
Last week we were treated to the end-of-year music recital for which DD1 was the sole recorder-player in a vast group which included boisterous boys strumming guitars and angelic girls singing in the choir. The organisation as usual was less than slick but proud parents clutching cameras didn't seem to mind as the music teacher apologised for the confusion and lack of chairs (which eventually materialised). DD1 seemed very nervous as she took her seat near the teacher, importantly adjusting her music stand to the lowest height and taking it all very seriously... We couldn't help but smile when the music teacher introduced the song "Whatever" as the jingle to a famous soft drink and without mentioning the original authors but certainly enjoyed the rendition, mispronunciations and all... Next week we have the Christmas songs concert to look forward to which includes such spiritual classics as "Santa Claus is coming to town" and "Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer" so not quite the traditional carol service then...
Meanwhile it's been a hugely important week for DD2 too as she celebrated her fourth birthday both at nursery and at home. It was the perfect opportunity for a garden party in December, with outdoor toys, games, races and ice-lollies as well as the usual birthday fodder. Having now had two birthdays in what can only be described as the heat in Chile, DD2 is now under the impression she was born in summer though I keep explaining that this was not in fact the case. Her birthday now over, we tried listening to some carols today but to no avail; they just sound wrong when one is dressed in short sleeves and the sun is shining in full force. Having failed to find a simple Advent calendar with doors leading to exciting images of Christmas paraphernalia, I relented and bought them a chocolate one each, only to have to keep them in the fridge which does rather defeat the purpose. Which brings me on to the next burning issue: what to do for a Christmas tree. Back in days of old we used to insist on real, potted trees which could then be replanted but here it is of course impossible to find a fir tree in summer. Most people and shopping malls opt for the unabashed fake tree but I am managing to resist this quite easily for now, promising the girls that we really can make our own eco-friendly tree ourselves with all the old toilet roll and kitchen roll cylinders we've been dutifully keeping for just such a project...

Birthday party

Another huge milestone reached, celebrated and survived last week: DD1's long-awaited seventh birthday. For me the very fact that my daughter was turning seven was already a meaningful and emotionally-charged event. As for the birthday girl herself, she had been counting down the days quite literally for over a month and was getting more and more excited at the prospect of inviting her friends to her very own birthday party this year, planned for the Sunday afternoon following her actual birthday itself...
I may or may not have mentioned that children's birthday parties here in Chile have little in common with those I recall from my own childhood. It might just be a sign of the times though culturally I am sure that even thirty-odd years ago Chilean children did not indulge in some of the traditional delights we enjoyed such as the birthday tea and party games. Most of the children's parties we have attended here in Santiago have been held either in a special themed party venue such as Chuck E Cheese or Let's Fun (sic), in which case the children have been busily and noisily engrossed in slot machines and similar, or else in upmarket country clubs, often belonging to the military and set in luxuriantly verdant surroundings towards the outskirts of the city, in which the families concerned have provided drinks and snacks and usually a bouncy castle, though sometimes one or more entertainers are also involved in keeping the little guests amused. In all cases so far the food and drink on offer would certainly raise more than an eyebrow in more health-conscious environments as fizzy drinks, sugar-laden juices, sweets by the barrel-load and alarmingly brightly-coloured crisps and processed snacks are the standard fare, with sometimes a hamburger, hot-dog or slice of pizza thrown in.
Much to my relief DD1 didn't want her party to be of the same mould and was quite happy to innovate amongst her Chilean classmates. Thus we held the party at home but downstairs in the "Sala de los eventos" and outside in the communal garden complete with the godsend of a playground. We even managed to have a few party games such as Musical Chairs and Pass the Parcel (accompanied by a live accordion) although these required considerable and lengthy explanations beforehand in my still far-from-perfect Spanish. Still they kept the little people busy while the music was much appreciated by all age groups. Alongside the biscuits, fairy cakes, mini-sandwiches and cheese stars the table was also laid with carrot sticks, cucumber and cherry tomatoes. And of course cocktail sausages on sticks, which went like hot cakes... The children tucked in and enjoyed it, finishing every last carrot stick. Not the cucumbers though... only the British contingent went for them.
And last but not least we adopted a Chilean custom which I have since discovered is popular in many parts of Central and South America but had never seen in Europe: that of the "piñata". A large and attractively-painted box or container is filled full of sweets (no avoiding them here) and small toys, hoist into the air usually by the obliging father, while at the same time a lever releases all of its contents which spill onto the ground. Eager children, each armed with a recipient, then scrabble around on the lawn in search of bounty, picking up every last lollipop, chocolate coin or whatever it may be... DD1 certainly enjoyed her afternoon of glory, as did we with increasing relief as the party mood and spumante took hold.
Lessons I have learnt: all children enjoy a good party, regardless of cultural expectation. Remember to take the jellies out of the fridge. And Chileans don't go in for RSVPs...

A show and a party, all in one day

Strangely enough I am now feeling much more philosophical about our current lack of a permanent home. Of course I would be delighted if we were to find the right place and move this side of Christmas but am no longer tearing my hair out about it. Two of the deadlines for doing so have come and gone (1 December and DD2's birthday two days later) so now it's just a question of whenever...

Last week DD2's birthday happened to coincide with DD1's end-of-term show for the parents. Oddly this was scheduled for 8am, apparently to enable those who work to catch it before clocking in for the day but it was a rude awakening for some of us, especially considering the bun fight on the metro one has to contend with to travel across Santiago at 7am (DH has kindly been shouldering the morning leg of the school run thus far). DD2 quite enjoyed the novelty of getting up early for the first hour or two; by the time the show was over and we still had to haul ourselves back across town on unbelievably busy metros and pick up her birthday cake before going home, she was beginning to lose her cool. Luckily she had a nap while I rushed around getting things organised for her party later that day and of course it had all been worth it to watch DD1 cavorting around a stage holding an enormous toffee warning everyone of the detrimental effects of eating too many sweets... Not quite the traditional nativity play or carol service but it was never going to be.

Throwing a party, even that of a three-year-old, is always exciting, fun, stressful and exhausting in equal measure, and this was no exception. Househunting in fact had had to take a backseat for a few days as I did all the frantic preparations for this huge social event and milestone in DD2's life. In the end once the food was done and laid out it was plain sailing as three-year-olds do not need much to keep themselves amused. If anything I was busier making sure DD1 and the other older child there didn't get too fed up as the average age was between two and three... I still can't believe DD2 is three already and thus in theory past the first phase of development. However she herself told me with some surprise that in fact she is still a baby, for now, although also a big girl...

The mystery of the disappearing mountains

It's been a week of mixed fortunes: getting used to the school run and making some friends, but also three out of the four of us going down with savage colds as the weather veers between powerful sunshine and cold winds... All this has taken place amid increasingly frantic househunting, pretty much done single-handedly so far while DH has been busy with a conference. At least my Spanish is coming along in leaps and bounds, especially the vocabulary associated with houses, buildings, apartments and rooms as I sift through the classifieds, sending off emails and making faltering telephone calls to various baffled estate agents around Santiago. Squeezing in the viewings into the slim margin of time after school and before we have headed back to our current location has required some careful planning and negotiating, but after taking both children backwards and forwards across town and back twice in one day I decided not to repeat the mistake. DH has been kind enough to try and make it along to the viewings in between his important work commitments so that as well as getting the benefit of his opinion I can actually have a good look around myself without running after DD2 all the time on unfamiliar territory, a particularly important point when faced with low balconies on the twelfth floor and other unexpected delights... It has been a steep learning curve and in less than a week I have narrowed down the area, description and orientation to an ideal, though whether we shall actually find it or not is another matter...

Today also saw DD1 attend her first children's party, something we'd all been looking forward to more than usual given the novelty of the situation. I don't think I'll be feeling the same next time, though the children thoroughly enjoyed every moment of the pandemonium, chaos, din and amusements on offer at Chuck E Cheese, a US import with machines apparently offering all sorts of entertainment but which in reality only issued paper tickets with which you could then "buy" something of your choice from the shop. Still, it was worth it to socialise with DD1's new classmates and of course meet their parents who were very friendly, welcoming and hospitable with as much pizza and soft drinks on offer as one could stomach... Even more appealing than this was the location of the venue, obviously on the outskirts of town nearer the better-heeled communities and set amongst a literally breathtaking spectacle of snowcapped mountains looming larger than ever after the rain of yesterday had cleared away some of the omnipresent city smog.