They basically have the same stuff here for babies that there is in the US. I do really miss having a place like Target (as I thought I would), but there are quite a few stores that have baby items. The stores tend to be brand-specific, like Graco, or Fisher Price, so you can only buy that brand of stuff in one store. We went to buy a high chair (silla alta por ninos comer) and had the choice of a couple of brands, with price ranges from $75 to $300. We got an infanti, which was about $125. Of course, all the prices are in pesos, so I still have to translate it in my mind.
One thing I got at the mall here that I haven't seen before: a bottle and toy leash that attaches to the stroller, to help keep the bottle from being flung from the stroller every 20 seconds.
The things that are different: baby food is not just veggies/fruit and water. It's got citric acid, and sugar (sometimes the second ingredient!) in it. So yesterday we went to the Home Depot/Bed Bath and Beyond store (Sodimac) and got a food processor. The fruits and veggies here are good, and relatively cheap, so I'll just make baby food.
Juice also has lots of sugar, but I found some that doesn't by reading lots of labels. There are millions of kinds of yogurt, but most have lots of sugar and artificial flavoring in them. Or you can just get plain yogurt (which I think tastes horrible). So I will get that and blend fruit in it to make it more tasty. Again, food processor is going to get used a lot. It would be nice to be able to get yo baby, but oh well.
There is no Similac Sensitive (only Advance) so I brought a suitcase full of the Sensitive. Dr. said I could start switching her to milk at about 10 mos. so I can transition her before we run out of formula.
I also saw at a store a car seat that swivels so you can turn the baby towards the car door to take them out. I hadn't seen that in the US, but I hadn't looked for it, either.
Best place to buy baby clothes is at the grocery store. They have a clothes section, which isn't very big, but each piece was $3-4. Had to get more warm pajamas and long-sleeved stuff, because it gets cold here at night and in the evenings.
Probably the best thing about having a baby here is people are very enchanted w/ babies, especially little blonde and blue-eyes ones. Every time we got out, lots of people talk to her, rub her feet, and wave. She gets lots of smiles, so that's nice. Her first word may be "hola," "ciao," or "panal" (diaper)!
Monday, September 29, 2008
Had a long, frustrating day. Started ok, with hair-washing, finishing laundry, and a drive up above the city (tons of orange poppies; will send pix). Then went to mall. First let me say that people here take their clothing way too seriously. They were things like leather jacket (fitted, women's), long skirt, high heeled boots to mall. Men wear long khaki pants, sweater vests, and long-sleeved button down shirts. To mall. No shorts. No flip flops. I'm not sure I want to live in a culture where people dress for the mall like a wedding. Where are the jeans? Next, I know there are people here who are bigger than me. But the only size that fit is the next to biggest. And all pants are about 5 inches too long. Does everyone use a tailor?
We did find a bottle leash (attaches to stroller and bot) to help with Vivi's newfound game of dropping everything. But when clever girl undid fasteners on stroller end of bot leash, bot dragged on ground for a while in mall. Stuartt put bot on top of stroller, and later, when hungry girl cried, I shoved very dirty bot into mouth w/ out noticing dirt. Felt bad that lbs. of mall dirt are now in her tiny intestines. And we kept her out way too long because we spent way too long looking for giant clothes for ourselves, more warmer clothes for her (best place is grocery store???), and it takes forever to find anything at grocery store, because everything has its own section (bread, fish, cheese, meat, deli meat, water, wine, beer, etc) and I don't know where all the sections are yet. I did manage to order 2 lbs. of pavo pechuga because I thought that a kilo is 1/2 lb. instead of 2. So I guess we're going to eat lots of pavo pechuga sandwiches este semana.
Another odd thing-baby clothes here run large. Vivi couldn't wear 6 month sizes in the US, because they were too small, and here they are a bit big, but adult-size clothing runs small???? Are all the babies bigger than the world average, and then they grow into smaller-than-average adults?
One good thing-there is a store that is a combination of bed bath & beyond, home depot, osh, and a furniture store. So you can get lots of things in one place. Got a food processor to make baby food (why do they put sugar and citric acid in baby food?) and cat food (no fancy feast for poor beastie w/ only 1/2 her teeth). (That will also be a good use for all that pavo pechuga). it's also hard to find juice w/out added sugar, or yogurt w/out added sugar and other stuff.
Sigh. I am becoming a Californian a bit too late. Donde esta Whole Foods cuando tienes eso?
We did find a bottle leash (attaches to stroller and bot) to help with Vivi's newfound game of dropping everything. But when clever girl undid fasteners on stroller end of bot leash, bot dragged on ground for a while in mall. Stuartt put bot on top of stroller, and later, when hungry girl cried, I shoved very dirty bot into mouth w/ out noticing dirt. Felt bad that lbs. of mall dirt are now in her tiny intestines. And we kept her out way too long because we spent way too long looking for giant clothes for ourselves, more warmer clothes for her (best place is grocery store???), and it takes forever to find anything at grocery store, because everything has its own section (bread, fish, cheese, meat, deli meat, water, wine, beer, etc) and I don't know where all the sections are yet. I did manage to order 2 lbs. of pavo pechuga because I thought that a kilo is 1/2 lb. instead of 2. So I guess we're going to eat lots of pavo pechuga sandwiches este semana.
Another odd thing-baby clothes here run large. Vivi couldn't wear 6 month sizes in the US, because they were too small, and here they are a bit big, but adult-size clothing runs small???? Are all the babies bigger than the world average, and then they grow into smaller-than-average adults?
One good thing-there is a store that is a combination of bed bath & beyond, home depot, osh, and a furniture store. So you can get lots of things in one place. Got a food processor to make baby food (why do they put sugar and citric acid in baby food?) and cat food (no fancy feast for poor beastie w/ only 1/2 her teeth). (That will also be a good use for all that pavo pechuga). it's also hard to find juice w/out added sugar, or yogurt w/out added sugar and other stuff.
Sigh. I am becoming a Californian a bit too late. Donde esta Whole Foods cuando tienes eso?
Thursday, September 25, 2008
spending lots of $$$
The last few days, we've walked around the city in the area near our hotel, and noticed that many things are the same as in the US. There are gas stations with snacks (though you can buy wine at them, too), many of the same restaurants (Subway, McDonald's, Ruby Tuesday's, Tony Romas, TGIFridays, Starbuck's, and more, and many of the same shops and products (Tommy Hilfiger, Puma, Nike, Graco (we're looking for a high chair), Wilson sports, etc. (Sadly, still no sight of a Target).
The other thing that's basically the same is prices. We went to the mall yesterday to go to the home store (basically Home Depot) to buy a fan-to make white noise for Vivi at night, to block out traffic sounds). Jeans are $30-$50. Baby clothes are anywhere from a few bucks to $20 a piece. Groceries are a bit cheaper, with fresh items such as bread or produce being cheap, but packaged items like olive oil or pasta, are more.
Our rent will be slightly less, but for a bigger and much nicer place than the one we had in LA.
We did have 1 pretty small bedroom, a tiny kitchen, living room, dining room barely big enough for a table, and a smallish bath. Now, we will have 3 bedrooms, 1 medium and 2 small, a living and dining room (medium), a sizable kitchen (all the kitchens here are long and narrow), 2 baths and a beautiful view of the Andes (whereas view before was of delapitated fence or brick wall).
I guess the reason we've noticed these things is that we were told "you can live like kings there with a decent salary." It's not that we'll be living like bums, but there seems to be a misconception that everywhere else in the world is cheaper than the US. Some places, yes: Turkey, Serbia, Peru. Others not so much. We were surprised that things cost as much as they did in Belize, Morocco, and now here. Maybe we just haven't found the less expensive places yet. Maybe we've been getting the "gringo rate." But one thing's for sure: it can't be more expensive than LA.
The other thing that's basically the same is prices. We went to the mall yesterday to go to the home store (basically Home Depot) to buy a fan-to make white noise for Vivi at night, to block out traffic sounds). Jeans are $30-$50. Baby clothes are anywhere from a few bucks to $20 a piece. Groceries are a bit cheaper, with fresh items such as bread or produce being cheap, but packaged items like olive oil or pasta, are more.
Our rent will be slightly less, but for a bigger and much nicer place than the one we had in LA.
We did have 1 pretty small bedroom, a tiny kitchen, living room, dining room barely big enough for a table, and a smallish bath. Now, we will have 3 bedrooms, 1 medium and 2 small, a living and dining room (medium), a sizable kitchen (all the kitchens here are long and narrow), 2 baths and a beautiful view of the Andes (whereas view before was of delapitated fence or brick wall).
I guess the reason we've noticed these things is that we were told "you can live like kings there with a decent salary." It's not that we'll be living like bums, but there seems to be a misconception that everywhere else in the world is cheaper than the US. Some places, yes: Turkey, Serbia, Peru. Others not so much. We were surprised that things cost as much as they did in Belize, Morocco, and now here. Maybe we just haven't found the less expensive places yet. Maybe we've been getting the "gringo rate." But one thing's for sure: it can't be more expensive than LA.
Monday, September 22, 2008
flights and arrival
Flying with a 7-month-old and a cat was not as bad as I had anticipated. The key to this success was drugs. Benadryl for the baby (1/2 tsp. for a 21 lb. baby, if anyone is interested) and vet prescribed kitty valium for the cat. Vivi slept most of the whole night, and the cat only made a little noise when we were almost done w/ the second flight.
I usually don't use a travel agent, and now I remember why. She originally booked us flights with an hour layover in Atlanta, which seemed too short. So I had her change it so we had 2 hours, but she didn't book us in seats that time. So we had to beg people (por favor, por favor) to change seats so we could sit together.
The asshole SAG guy didn't want to let poor Bunny into the country when we went through customs because we didn't have one particular form. I was pissed, because I called the Chilean condulate, the USDA, and SAG before we left, and no one ever said a damn word about this form. So I freaked out on him, he quickly tired of me, and called over some other guy who didn't care and let us through.
We are living in a hotel suite, which is basically a small 3 bedroom house, until we find an apartment. Stuartt's work is paying for it, so that's nice. They are also paying someone to take us around and show us how to do stuff, like buy a car, get an apartment, and even buy cat litter. It feels kind of excessive, but if they want to pay someone to wipe our asses for us, who am I to complain?
Yesterday we went to the supermercado to get groceries. It is mostly cheaper here, but some things, like baby carrots, are a lot more. The bread and produce has a special counter for being weighed before you go to checkout. There are also lockers, like at amusement parks. My Spanish wasn't good enough to explain that I wanted to sign up for a discount card, but I'm working on it. Peope speak more English than I expected, though, so I may have to insist that they speak in Spanish so I can get better.
Today we went to the mall to get pictures for our Chilean ID's. We also bought cat litter and a scoop, cat food, and some stuff at the Mac computer store. There is a TGI Fridays and a Tony Romas at the mall, and a lot of the same stores that there are in the US. The mall is very nice, and very clean. The people who are helping us with stuff insist that it's not more expensive to shop at the mall, and until we have a car, we won't be able to do much price-comparing.
Tomorrow we go apartment-hunting. Hopefully we will find something that suits the needs of us, the bebe, and la gata.
Mas Tarde,
Jenn
I usually don't use a travel agent, and now I remember why. She originally booked us flights with an hour layover in Atlanta, which seemed too short. So I had her change it so we had 2 hours, but she didn't book us in seats that time. So we had to beg people (por favor, por favor) to change seats so we could sit together.
The asshole SAG guy didn't want to let poor Bunny into the country when we went through customs because we didn't have one particular form. I was pissed, because I called the Chilean condulate, the USDA, and SAG before we left, and no one ever said a damn word about this form. So I freaked out on him, he quickly tired of me, and called over some other guy who didn't care and let us through.
We are living in a hotel suite, which is basically a small 3 bedroom house, until we find an apartment. Stuartt's work is paying for it, so that's nice. They are also paying someone to take us around and show us how to do stuff, like buy a car, get an apartment, and even buy cat litter. It feels kind of excessive, but if they want to pay someone to wipe our asses for us, who am I to complain?
Yesterday we went to the supermercado to get groceries. It is mostly cheaper here, but some things, like baby carrots, are a lot more. The bread and produce has a special counter for being weighed before you go to checkout. There are also lockers, like at amusement parks. My Spanish wasn't good enough to explain that I wanted to sign up for a discount card, but I'm working on it. Peope speak more English than I expected, though, so I may have to insist that they speak in Spanish so I can get better.
Today we went to the mall to get pictures for our Chilean ID's. We also bought cat litter and a scoop, cat food, and some stuff at the Mac computer store. There is a TGI Fridays and a Tony Romas at the mall, and a lot of the same stores that there are in the US. The mall is very nice, and very clean. The people who are helping us with stuff insist that it's not more expensive to shop at the mall, and until we have a car, we won't be able to do much price-comparing.
Tomorrow we go apartment-hunting. Hopefully we will find something that suits the needs of us, the bebe, and la gata.
Mas Tarde,
Jenn
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Getting Ready to Go
It's T minus 4 days until we leave. Starvation Army comes today to pick up some stuff, and then the movers are here tomorrow to load everything that goes south. After that, we'll be sleeping on our flattened futon mattress on the floor until Saturday, when we load up Vivi and Bunny and head to the airport. (I actually feel bad for whoever sits in front of us. I can hear it now: "You have a cat and a baby? Uh, can I move? To the wing?")
Since we found out they don't have Similac Sensitive in Chile, I bought $500 worth of formula to take with us. Stuartt think's I'm insane, but the last thing I want is a baby in a foreign country with an upset stomach.
We also found out that we have to have a USDA Veterinarian certificate for Bunny, although no one in any position of authority knows this (including the USDA). We learned from a woman who moved to Chile several years ago that they will try to deport any animals without one. So tomorrow morning I'm driving to the USDA office to convince them to stamp a form they don't think I need. But I am NOT putting my cat on a boat to sail to god know's where. So we're getting the form.
Things I will miss about the good ol' US: drive-throughs, huge drinks with lots of ice, commercialized holidays (especially Halloween), Target, college football (go Jayhawks!), college basketball (course, it will be another 20 years until another Hawks championship), baseball playoffs (go Angels and Dodgers!) Gray's Anatomy (have to watch it online;)
But my Spanish will get a lot better, and it will be an enriching culture experience (even more than watching sports and going to Target).
Mas Tarde,
Since we found out they don't have Similac Sensitive in Chile, I bought $500 worth of formula to take with us. Stuartt think's I'm insane, but the last thing I want is a baby in a foreign country with an upset stomach.
We also found out that we have to have a USDA Veterinarian certificate for Bunny, although no one in any position of authority knows this (including the USDA). We learned from a woman who moved to Chile several years ago that they will try to deport any animals without one. So tomorrow morning I'm driving to the USDA office to convince them to stamp a form they don't think I need. But I am NOT putting my cat on a boat to sail to god know's where. So we're getting the form.
Things I will miss about the good ol' US: drive-throughs, huge drinks with lots of ice, commercialized holidays (especially Halloween), Target, college football (go Jayhawks!), college basketball (course, it will be another 20 years until another Hawks championship), baseball playoffs (go Angels and Dodgers!) Gray's Anatomy (have to watch it online;)
But my Spanish will get a lot better, and it will be an enriching culture experience (even more than watching sports and going to Target).
Mas Tarde,
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