End of the School Year and Christmas

The boys' school year officially ended on Dec. 10/11th, so there were lots of end of the year events to wrap up different activities. The first one was an exhibition of all of the after school art classes. Emerson had been taking Sculpture on Wednesdays after school, so we got to go see all of his pieces and those of his classmates. It was actually very fun seeing their work as well as the work of the bigger kids in all kinds of mediums.

Avery's after school activity was learning to play the violin. So the following day, he had a little recital, which was absolutely adorable. The teacher did an amazing job. Avery went from never holding a violin before in his life, to actually being able to play a real song, two songs in fact. For the first song, the kids played one note but in lots of different rhythms. The teacher would then play a melody over the top of their one note rhythm, and the result was this really lovely duet that was actually nice to listen to. The second song they played was one where they actually played a little melody on their own. I was so impressed; it was very fun to see Avery do something musical when it's something I love so much. 

There was also an end of the year party for their wrestling class that same week. 

For the boys' end of the year class celebrations, the Kinder classes put on a show about ancient civilizations. One class dressed up like Egyptians, one class was the Maori from New Zealand, and Avery's class dressed up like Ancient Greeks. Avery was chosen to memorize some lines and speak them in front of the entire audience, and he did so great. Proud Mama Bear moment. 

Then each class did their own dance. I was very proud of Avery because in the middle of his dance, his belt came untied, but instead of getting upset or being unsure, he just grabbed it off the floor, held it in his hand the rest of the dance, and kept right on going. Avery's class did their dance last, and it ended with a couple of glitter cannons. What's not to love??

For Emerson, the first and second graders put on a performance showcasing different types on jobs. Emerson was an artist, so he got to wear a beret and a smock. He also got to say a few memorized lines at the beginning on the show. 

The 1st and 2nd graders also did choreographed dances. I didn't get any pictures of this part, but the second half of the showcase was an exhibition where each group had made a display about their profession along with some kind of hands-on activity for the parents. The artists had a painting station set up, and the artists would refill the paint, move pieces to the drying area, and set up new blank canvases for the parents. Very cute and well thought out. 

Since we'd be leaving for our big Patagonia trip on Dec. 14th, we realized having Christmas on the road would be pretty impossible. So instead, we asked Santa to deliver presents on Dec. 6th, and he kindly obliged! So, we had an early Christmas this year, which was the opposite of last year when we had Christmas in January. The boys had no problem with the early time table. I love Emerson's face here. 

Avery's Santa gift was a kitchen set, which we hid on the porch under a blanket so he wouldn't see it initially. Pure joy from Chef Jeff. I love that a kitchen set is still his gift of choice. He was heartbroken when we had to leave our old one behind in CO. 

We leave on Sunday, Dec. 14th for our big Patagonia trip, so the next post will be from the road! My goal is to post after every new section; we'll see how that goes. Van life, here we come!

McDaniel Family Visit: Valparaiso and Casas del Bosque

This post will be mostly second hand, as on Sunday, Drew took Mom, Leah, and Osman to Valparaiso to check out the street art. I stayed back in Santiago with the boys for several reasons. One, the boys had been to Valpo before, and they move too fast past the art for it to be enjoyed properly with them in tow. Two, the boys had a rugby tournament that day that they really wanted to attend. Three, after Valpo, the family went to tour a winery and have a nice dinner, which was also not the boys' scene.  Four, I had gotten to play tour guide all week while Drew was on kid duty non-stop, so we decided it was only fair to switch it up. Five, Drew is the only proficient manual driver out of the two of us. 

The boys had a great time at rugby. It was a tournament with a dozen teams there in their age group. They played 15 minute games for an hour and a half straight, so they played 6 other teams. Avery, who is the youngest and smallest player on the team (he's the only Kinder kid just trying it out to see if he likes it for next year. Most of the other players are 1st or 2nd graders) was awarded the Best Tackle of the Day, so he got to lead the goodbye cheer at the end of the day. Avery likes to hang back on defense until there is a break away, and then he runs at them like a bat out of hell and tackles them, which he knows how to do because its kinda similar to the take downs they've been practicing in wrestling. He managed to tackle some much bigger kids than him. Pretty determined little guy. Long term, I don't think rugby is a sport we will push, due to the same head trauma concerns as American Football. But for now, while the boys are little, they aren't going too hard or too fast to cause much damage, and they love playing on a team with their friends from school. 

So, on to Valpo. Sounds like the Fam had a lovely day. First stop, street art. 

When we went to Valpo the first time, we saw an artist just beginning to work on a piece. Now it's finished!

Before:

After!

View of the harbor from lunch.

They toured the Chilean Maritime History Museum, which, aside from being interesting considering how much coastline Chile has, apparently had the best view in the city. Good to know!

After Valpo, the family went to a vineyard called Casas del Bosque, which means Houses in the Forest. Sounds like it was a very lovely vineyard, very Napa-esque. The Fam went on a tour and then a tasting, of course. They were nice enough to bring us back a couple bottles of their favorite stuff, which I'm very excited to try.  

They then had dinner at the vineyard, at a restaurant called Botanico. Yummy looking desserts!

On Monday, Leah and I hiked up Manquehue. Two bad asses hiking with no mans. Drew has done this hike numerous times, and Osman was having some foot pain, so off we went. Manquehue is a squirrelly one, but we got 'er done with no issues. 

Monday night, everyone flew out. Nana left a parting gift, two alpaca stuffies made with the fur of alpacas, so they're outrageously fluffy. IT'S SOOOO FLUFFYYYYYY!!!!! Instant hit. 

Thanks Family for making this journey around the world to visit us here in Santiago. It meant so much that you came to see us, and we loved every minute of it. Being away from family is definitely the biggest con to this whole living abroad experience, so getting to see you guys and show you our lives here makes the two realms feel more connected, even if only for a little while. Love you guys. 

McDaniel Family Visit: San Cristobal and Franklin

On Thursday, which was Thanksgiving, we decided to mix things up a bit. Thanksgiving obviously isn't a thing here, so the boys still had school. So we decided to do our own 5K Turkey Trot and ran along the Mapuche River to a nice park nearby. Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

After the run, we met up with Drew and Mom and had a lovely brunch at a cute little cafe in our neighborhood called Cafe Figo. 

During the run, Osman took a lovely photograph of the purple jacaranda trees that bloom here in the spring. They are the most beautiful trees I have ever seen, aside from cherry blossoms. Definitely a highlight of springtime here for me.

We also got a chance to stop by our gourmet Whole Foods equivalent grocery store, the name of which is Jumbo, but it's pronounced Yumbo, and somehow that makes it fancier to my brain. Jumbo, not fancy, almost trashy. Yumbo, a step up for sure. The mascot of Jumbo is an elephant, which I forced Leah to take a picture with, because her Burner mascot is a much more adorable elephant called Swamy Toots (see pic below), so every time I go into Jumbo and see the elephant, I think of her. Toooooooottttssss! 

After brunch, we wanted to go to the Museum of Memory and Human Rights, which is a museum dedicated to the lives lost and the atrocities committed during the Pinochet dictatorship. Unfortunately we got there and the museum was closed because they were refinishing the floors. And it would remain closed for the entirety of their visit. Bummer. But you can't win them all. Instead, we walked over to this Church Drew and I discovered a few weeks back that looks like a mosque almost. Made from alot of concrete, it has a dark vibe inside, but it is filled with stained glass which is lovely. 

Our housecleaner, Karen, came by that day, and she cooked up homemade arepas with a chicken and avocado filling called Reina Pepiada. They are as delicious as they look. Karen is an amazing cook, and I love these things. I could eat ten of them.

Nanas gotta Nana, so she treated the boys to a brownie sundae for Thanksgiving.

On Friday, we walked up Cerro San Cristobal. First stop on the walk was the Japanese Gardens, which is lovely and very curated, as every Japanese Garden is. 

At the top of Cerro San Cristobal is a statue of the Virgin Mary, which Mom was very pleased to see. 

You can hike down Cerro San Cristobal, bur we took the much more fun funicular, which is essentially a box on tracks that goes up and down a steep hillside by a pulley. This one has been working since 1925.

More Nana lovin.

On Saturday, we took a trip to a part of town called Franklin which has an amazing restaurant scene and happening flea markets for things that both came in on trucks and fell off trucks. It's an interesting area, but it's certainly seedier than most. But our lunch there was super yummy. 

Saturday night, Mom and I went to Mass at the Catholic Church down the street from us. Had a really interesting mural behind the alter. 

Finally, had to top off Saturday with some $0.50 oysters. The ones from the South of Chile are small and briny and cheap, and I love them. So I knew Leah would love them too.