¡Chao Chile!

Our time in Chile has come to an end!

Vegemite is empty! Time to go home!

In a couple of months we would have celebrated our first anniversary and I can’t believe time has gone passed so quickly. It feels like we only left Australia a few months ago. So much has happened, so many up and downs, we were so busy with our adventure that time had no meaning in our lives.

La Costanera- Valdivia

We met such a variety of people, we know we will always remember. We have learnt so much about the Chilean lifestyle, their customs, their food and their culture. It is a completely different culture to ours, it wouldn’t be exaggerated to say they are worlds apart. I have to admit we struggled to understand and to accept their ways. And that’s exactly why I believe this was the best decision we could have ever made; to move to a completely foreign country!

Cueca- Chilean national dance

What I can take home is, what it really means to treat people with respect and to be open-minded. Witnessing so many incidents has tested my patience to its absolute limits and in return I believe I am in the process of being less judgmental and more accepting of others. People I have met, worry every day to prove their social status by making sure to direct people where they socially ¨belong¨. People are obsessed about status, about another’s person last name, if they are from the country or the city, what degree they have, how much they earn, how intelligent they are or what sexual orientation they might have. It is so easy to fall into such insecure mind-set, where in fact the focus should be to care and treat people in a respectful manner. The farmer once said to me ¨you cannot demand respect but only earn it!¨; I can only hope, that I can take this experience and benefit from it by improving myself in being a better “me”.

Talking about patience, even though we are leaving, we are still being tried. I see it as our “Chilean farewell present”, one very last time we have to put all our energies into place and fight. Preparing our family to leave this country has become a massive challenge. Every possible complication you can imagine has occurred from the moment we decided to move back home.
My mum told me my Colombian grandfather always used to say “tenga cuidado con el paquete chileno”: translated, be careful of the Chilean present – beautifully wrapped with the most extravagant paper and ribbons, but once you opened it, you realize it is just an empty old box. I think in English there is a similar saying “a wolf in sheep’s clothing”. And we definitely now realised how this saying came to existence. We didn’t get scammed but we have a fair idea how things can become out of hand and us being culturally brought up differently, having a “rebellious mind” of questioning decisions is a very unusual trait to have.

our family

But you know what they say, everything bad makes you stronger. And that is definitely true. We are very thankful for this life changing opportunity in Chile and we will always look back with a big grin on our faces.

It’s time to move on to “appreciate” our better future. The farmer now has to hang up his working boots and join the city lifestyle. He landed a great opportunity back home in Sydney and he can’t wait to rip in!  No need to mention, I am excited!

See you all very soon!

Mrs KRP xxo

P.S And yes, it is not a myth! There are Pumas in Chile. Ask the farmer, he is the one who has all the stories 😉

Puma Markings

Puma Markings 2

“Cowabunga!”

We are finally connected to the internet. It ONLY took us six months to attain internet and we most probably faced any hurdle you can imagine that would be able to interfere with the outside world, but we stayed strong and we are now officially back in the 21st century. So here we go……

You might wonder why it took us so long. Firstly we lived in an area where we had no access and now having moved to the city, we are lucky that the farmer’s company was able to help us. Being a foreigner and waiting for temporary visa approval you are very limited. All Chilean residents need to have a national identity number, which is linked to everything you can imagine and everyone needs to know this nine digit number by heart. They call this number RUT and without it, your hands are tied.  Where ever you go, supermarkets, clothes stores, chemists, the cashier asks you for your RUT. For the last 6 months we only have been able to buy groceries and small things. If you need an exchange of clothes, shoes, electric goods you need to supply your RUT, you are screwed without it. We can´t have bank accounts, can´t rent a house, can´t connect gas, electricity, water, internet and mobile phone and can´t buy a car. Going to the doctor means paying in full and claim it back later. Being RUT-less makes things hard and complicated.

Hopefully this month we will get our temporary visa granted and we can finally join the Chilean lifestyle, which also means we are not undercover anymore… Better start watching my shopping behaviour…

Valdivia – Fish markets 7 days a week

VIP guests at the fish markets

daily fresh fish

Our new house is located in the outer suburbs of Valdivia, it sounds far but it is only a 10 minutes’ drive to Valdivia CBD. Remy and I already had the courage to use public transport, which is the bus, into town and I was pleasantly surprised. Taking the bus means you don´t need to wait at the bus stop if it is not close enough to you. You can just wave the bus at any corner as long you are on route and jump on. Same when you want to get off, you just tell the driver to stop even though the station is only a few meters away. The ride was quick, I have to say I enjoyed it and it is definitely not as dangerous as in other South American cities. Paying only 400 pesos (80 cents) for a ride makes this a good transport option. Taxis are a bit more expensive but compared to Australia and Europe, I am more than happy to pay $3000 pesos (AUD $6) for a more convenient ride into town. Great alternative when you go shopping, which the majority of Valdivians do. All supermarkets have their own taxi lane with a taxi coordinator.

Valdivian Buses

Sometimes it feels like we travelled back in time. Back to the 80s to be exact. Radios play 80s mixed with Ranchera, very rarely a newly released song makes the playlist. I love the fact that people have their car windows wound down, have their elbow hanging out and cruise to “Papa don´t preach”. Being a 80s girl myself, you can imagine me screaming out while the farmer is driving “Oh my god, I haven´t heard this song in ages!”

For a little preview of local country music please click here. This music is played at all BBQs, parties, family get-togethers and even in the shearing shed… wherever, whenever, all the time!

As you can see we are doing just fine…

MrsKRP xx0

It all takes time..

lunch with a beautiful view!

So much has happened since my last post so I better start writing my thoughts down before I forget what I wanted to write about. In such short time we have been experiencing many emotions from extreme happiness to sadness, from confusion to amazement. It´s been definitely a ride and one thing I am sure about is that we haven´t arrived at our destination yet. There is so much more to come…

Since my last post Chile has now a new president. Voting is non-compulsory and only 40% of Chileans voted, therefore a second round was scheduled which finally established the winning lady Michelle Bachelet. I was amused by the necessity to educate the public on national news ¨how to vote – what you need to know¨ for 40 minutes airtime by demonstrating four different shapes, colours and sizes of voting cards, most importantly how to fold and how to use the stencils provided to avoid a ´donkey´ vote. The voting process appeared to me scary. Thank goodness no one expected me to vote, I would have been more nervous to do it the right way then who to vote for… But maybe this was the cause of only 40% of people showed up to vote at the first time, who knows?! But to lighten up this serious matter, a festival was held to reunite all politicians and it was great to see the two fighting ladies dancing together on stage.

Shearing Shed – Work in Progress

Cabaña San Pedro

Of course I won’t forget to mention our excitement that Chile and Australia are taking part in the 2014 Soccer World Cup in Brasil and who would have imagined, even in the same group! Go Australia and Vamos Chile!
One thing we are also wondering about is that in Chile you can´t get fresh milk anywhere. You buy long-life milk and we don´t know why. It is one of the main agricultural industries but we only assume because of the lack of infrastructure.

Julie and her best mate Cocheca

We have faced a few challenges and I am sure this adventure will shape us for life. There is a big culture difference and we are learning every day. Being Austrian with a Colombian/ Welsh and Austrian family background I slightly knew about class differences but now we are confronted with it every day. To a certain extend I would say we were naïve and sheltered. In the last few weeks we are going through emotions of holding back tears while it happens in front of our eyes. Incidents which are not necessary and more like a game of power. The farmer, being from a country where classes are almost not existent, I am proud to say refuses to adapt to these ways but people are not used to be treated as an equal from someone above and worry when someone is. Slowly we are getting used to each other but as it happens some take advantage of kind heartedness, which we weren´t expecting either and left us in a few awkward moments.

It is all a learning process and we are happy, which is for me the most important thing in the world! We had our first Christmas in Chile and I am so thankful that my beautiful mum was here to share it with us! She has been amazing and helping us immensely to settle in, I am hoping that time won´t go too fast as I wish she could stay here with us forever!

Work Christmas Party

I am wishing you all an amazing 2014, I hope it will be full of dancing, laughter and love!

Mrs KRP xxo

In loving memory of my Tia Nubia. (01 May 1942 – 16 December 2013). Family members say we were much alike and even though I didn´t get to see her much, we were very close indeed. I remember her handwritten letters to me, written beautifully creative and vivid. I can only hope that I can be as captivating as she was! I will miss her dearly. R.I.P

Ají ( Salsita) Recipe

This little dish is just too good, I have to share it!

It is everywhere in Chile! Every restaurant serves this with fresh homemade bread while you are waiting for your order to arrive. My Colombian mum taught me this recipe years ago and it’s so easy – Thank you Mama xx

I now make it every day and my two boys absolutely love it! Last night we had this Salsita with Chilean salmon, fresh out of the waters caught by the farmer and the little man. YUMMY!

I am one lucky mum, he loves fish!

 

Ingredients:

2 large tomatoes

½ large red onion

½ bunch of coriander/ cilantro

1 juicy lemon or 2 lime (I prefer lime but it´s sometimes hard to get)

½ shot glass of olive oil

Salt & Pepper

Tabasco or crushed chilli or Aliño Completo( chilli mix) – These options add the hotness to the whole dish, you can add as less or as much as you want. I put a little bit aside for my little man before I add the spice.

Chop the tomatoes into the smallest cubes you can, onions as fine as possible and add chopped coriander without the stem. Add lemon/lime juice, olive oil and season it well, don’t be shy… Cover and let it rest for ½ hour in the fridge. LISTO!

If you can’t be bothered chopping everything finely, you can also use the blender but I prefer to see the different colours in this dish.

People here also use Ají to marinate steak, fish or chicken and use it like ketchup. The options are limitless! As you can see it´s a food essential and trust me, it is absolutely to die for!

Let me know if you have tasted this all-rounder 🙂

¡Buen apetito!

And so it begins…

It’s been awhile, due to our move and current limited internet access but I think with a Pisco Sour in front of me I am ready to start to share our adventures. First of all, our plane trip was surprisingly pleasant. I have to admit I was very stressed about this long trip and googled tranquilising possibilities to calm down my little man. My friends who know me, can only imagine how obsessed I can get when I need to find the perfect solution… but in fact I didn’t need it at all. A massive difference between travelling with a one and a half and two and a half year old. Bliss!

The only thing I can recommend is to have a good friend to help you check-in when travelling by yourself with a little one as this was the worst part of it all. I am lucky to say I was blessed with a very patient and solution finding friend on this day! xxx

Flying into Santiago was mind-blowing, we were greeted by the majestic Andes Alpes and beautiful sunshine. The farmer picked us up from sunny Santiago and we headed South to our midway stop Concepciόn, a midsized town on the coast which was about four hours’ drive. My first town to test my rusty Spanish and I have to admit, I hardly understood a word. I was amazed how different the dialect to Colombian Spanish is. Even the tone and body language was so different, no need to say I was a bit lost… But I am determined to understand the Chilean ‘country lingo’ and not lose the Colombian accent!  🙂

Our new home, Chile is a beautiful picturesque country. Valdivia is an attractive town on the river and I have been told it is the home of one of the best unis and the second biggest city in Chile. I can imagine being a student here would be quite entertaining as there are Biergärten at every corner. Mostly named Hofbräu, Salzburg, Bierhaus or any other German, Austrian, Swiss name. The German speaking culture cannot go unnoticed as even the houses are built in old fashion Germanic style, confusing for me as it looks exactly like home. It definitely would be after a few beers on the way home.. I had a giggle a few days ago when I saw a cafe advertise for “Kuchenes” and I can’t believe I never thought of a plural version of “Kuchen” (German for cake} before..

The farmer’s farm is located between Los Lagos and Panguipulli, two completely different towns from each other, only 15-20 min away and escorted by an impressive river, which passes alongside our home.  Today is a public holiday and we decided to go on our first family road trip and we saw my favourite town so far, Pucόn. What a beautiful town, directly on a lake and ruled by a massive Volcano covered in snow. A popular ski resort in Chilean winter – I am in love! And of course full of restaurants, Biergärten and shoe stores… C’mon, what more can a girl ask for!

We have only been here for a couple of weeks but we are settling in nicely. Our little man struggled a bit with jetlag and the sudden change of temperature but we are doing well and are happy to be reunited.

This is only the start, bring it on!

Mrs KRP xxo

My Australian Erdaepfel Vogerlsalat

I am so excited about this as I have been looking for lambs salad since I moved to Australia approximately eight years ago. I’ve googled, asked quite a few veggie shops and looked into growing my own and everything was unsuccessful.. Until a couple of days ago, when I decided to quickly run into Coles in Pyrmont to get a few tomatoes and there it was, a bag full of lambs salad or how the Austrians call it, Vogerl -or Feld salat! It took me quite awhile to understand what I saw, it was one of these moments where you have to look twice.. It was faith!

The farmer couldn’t resist to make fun of me, but I knew..soon he will understand! 🙂

I made my favourite Erdäpfel Vogerlsalat mit Kernöl last night and the farmer and our little man loved it. Both had seconds which is always a good sign for me. So for all my Aussie friends out there you’ve got to try this, the easiest 5 ingredient recipe around!

 

Ingredients:

Pack of lamb’s lettuce rosettes

5 med potatoes

Pumpkin seed oil ( I found this at Norton Grocer in Leichhardt, but I have seen it in a few other health/deli shops before. It’s approx $15 the bottle. I know it’s a bit expensive but it will last.)

Apple cider vinegar

Salt and Pepper

Boil the potatoes and let them cool until warm. I always peel potatoes after as I believe they taste better and are not too soggy for a salad. Cut them in pieces.

Get a big bowl, mix 3/4  of a shot glass of apple cider vinegar and a shot glass of pumpkin seed oil together. Salt and pepper. I season it quite a bit and add a little bit of crushed garlic but this is up to you.

Chuck the lambs lettuce and potatoes into the bowl and marinated it. Ready 🙂

I always keep pumpkin seed oil on the dinner table, so you can just pour over a few drops when it’s on your plate. Last night I served it with steak but this goes really well with Schnitzel, battered chicken or any other type of meat but it’s also beautiful just by itself!

Let me know if you have tried it and if you also believe that this is the simplest but tastiest salad – ever! I would love to hear your thoughts,  your opinion or your ideas on how to improve this recipe!

Guten Appetit!

Mrs KRP xxo

Julie has a new boyfriend!

Here at last! We proudly announce our new addition to the family “Roi”, son of Kamileroy Reef and Capree Poppy.

Born on 19 March 2013, he is now a healthy 4 month old and weighs 12 kg.

The farmer has been looking for a while now, and today was his lucky day! As you can imagine this was my first time going to a Kelpie stud. For non-Australians, Kelpies are Australian Sheepdogs and are really super clever. Now this is my explanation, any farmer out there would now clear their throat and say: ‘’umm, what is with this woman?!, they are not just clever they can do ‘this and that’’ but I am still learning the farm lingo…

We had to leave quite early to make our way to the Capree Kelpie Stud, hidden in the woods. A place I have never been before. The owner/ trainer had his “crème de la crème” ready on the truck for our arrival.

Roi standing strong and proud

The farmer and I spotted Roi straight away. He was calm, friendly and well behaved, his siblings were competing with each other and showing off, but Roi was of course way too good for that. The breeder was friendly and we could tell he had his heart on Roi, we didn’t blame him. After showing us how he works with sheep the farmer was sold. No need to mention I was sold from the moment I said hello.

The stud was big and I could tell they really look after their dogs. We met Roi’s mum and we instantly could tell where he had his personality from. I did learn something today, except of course that Roi is super clever and the cutest puppy in the world, Kelpies instantly know what to do and have an incredible instinct. I can see how important a dog must be for a farmer, without their help, work would be so much harder and slower. A couple of people I know really appreciate their working companions and value their hard work; they don’t just see them as a working dog but also as their mate.

We now are organising an accredited Vet for our three dogs to get them travel ready for our adventure to Chile. And…I can’t wait to spoil them rotten.. Psst don’t tell the farmer! 😉

Mrs KRP xxo

Roi’s Grandfather – Boss

And so.. The Adventure begins

WOW! So first of all I am extremely overwhelmed that so many are following my blog and giving me such great support! The pressure is on though, especially when a good friend told me I have to be funny too! I will try my best to be captivating, starting with my first post.

Since the farmer signed his employment contract, we have been running on a high. We’ve known for a while that we will be most likely going to Chile but from that moment when we held this longing special piece of paper in our hands, our brains clicked and we understood that we are in fact leaving this beautiful country to start a new chapter.

The farmer has been given a great opportunity to work in Chile, Los Rios Region. There was a letter attached to the contract, addressed to the consul. It gave us a great insight of what will be expected of the farmer and at the same time, it stated why he has been chosen from many applicants from Australia and NZ to fulfil this job. I have to say I was damn proud, speechless and very emotional!  I think I will never forget this evening, when we nervously opened the UPS envelope over a glass of wine.

So, the adventure has started.. emails from future bosses, consulates and pet immigration offices started to fill up our inbox and we knew we had to get organised. But of course, the first thing that popped into my head: “What am I going to do with all my clothes, shoes, bags and my massive make-up case? I can’t leave them here!” Panic! I had to Google and I found out that Qantas and LAN offer two suitcases per person, 25kg each. That means 150kg (!!!) checked-in plus hand luggage! YES, thank you Google, Qantas and LAN! I don’t have to say farewell to my beautiful babies! And good news girls, no need to leave your precious accessories at home when you come and visit us in Chile!

There is really quite a bit to do. The Chilean consulate sent us an email with all requirements and we are almost half way there in having all documents together. Starting from getting documents translated and getting our dogs travel ready. We all have to get health certificates and poor little Remy almost screamed the whole Pathology centre down when he had to give blood for an HIV test.  The nurse promised him a lollipop beforehand and then realised they had run out after, no need to mention how ripped off he felt then!

Our Police check was quite an adventure as well. I had to do it twice as I didn’t press my hands firmly on the paper and the ink was too light. I felt sorry for Constable Bardsley who decided to volunteer for fingerprinting. I am sure we made his Sunday morning very memorable.. Not in a very positive way that’s for sure! We had fun though, Remy got Police tattoos in little lolly bags, saw the “Nee-Naws”, we heard a lady whinge to the police officer about something and we felt a bit ‘shady’ getting our fingerprints taken.  Oh yes, we are rebels!

If all goes to plan we should have our visa by mid-July for the farmer to land in Chile by mid-August. Our life is pretty much a roller coaster ride 24/7 and I am sure there will be more hurdles to come but we can’t wait to face them!

Mrs KRP xxo