Recent News and Word about our Mini-Vacation
Monday August 7th:
It feels like its been ages since we’ve updated, but only because this last week so much has happened.
Rafael had a bit over two weeks for his winter vacations and for one of the weeks he went with his dad for a business trip in Argentina by bus. Really, they did what they needed in less than 2 days, but it was the gruesome trip by bus through the southern pass of Chile in Barliloche that they knew would take the most of their trip.
Jasmyn was thrilled when Rafa was back and Rafa was thankful to be home. We could also enjoy more days of Rafa’s vacation. We were so excited to see one another, it was like when we were dating. :) We spent extra hours between Jasmyn’s English classes going to parks, eating small cheap meals out and taking walks in the city.
This last Friday we decided to take a trip to Viña del Mar and spend one night there. It was so nice to get away from Santiago smog and breathe the fresh, wonderful ocean air. It was splendid to watch the waves crashing on the beaches and rocky shores. The sunsets were amazing. Have no photos of the brilliant Friday sunset though because that night we left the camera in the car. Yes, and we had a car. Rafael’s parents let us borrow theirs for the two days while we were gone! So nice. The whole trip was so relaxing.
The car gave us the opportunity to drive through Valparaiso too. It is just to the south of Viña. There we saw one of the houses of Pablo Neruda who is a nobel prize winning Chilean poet. This house has got to have the best view ever of the city, harbor and coast below. Valparaiso is similar to San Francisco with a variety of old and modern homes pressed together and splashed with bedazzling colors that often contrast the foggy coastal air. It is also built upon a hill and beside a harbor. It is a poorer city than Viña but has a lot to see.
In Viña del Mar we also went to two museums. One was a free museum for children, much like the San Jose Exploratorium, that was actually a lot of fun because they show you optical illusions and tricks with mirrors and lights. The other museum was the natural history museum and museum of Easter Island history (very neat). We saw how natives in places like the Amazon shrink heads of the enemies they kill. We found out that the reason they did this was that they believed the soul was in your head. Basically this gave that person not only a trophy of triumph but the role as keeper of your soul. Crazy.
We saw a few "castles" in Vina which were old mansions of rich merchants. Along the beach we even rented one of those 4-wheel bikes that everyone helps to pedal (like in Santa Barbara)...that was really fun! We looked a bit ridiculous in the squeaky bike rumbling unsteadily down the street or sidewalks close by, but worth it. We ate ice-cream sundaes at our favorite ice-cream place called Bravíssimo. On Saturday we decided to have one nice meal at a restaurant with an ocean view by our inn. It was delicious. We sat outside by a fireplace, it was great. The ocean weather on Friday was sunny and warm and on Saturday still nice and warm, only more overcast.
The car also enabled us to see the beach town up north too called Reñaca. It was amazing to see the huge apartment complexes built into the hill that looked like stairs with all their patios facing the ocean. Each apartment complex had its own “funicular” which is like an exterior elevator on tracks that run up the hill. We watched the surfers and the people play soccer on the beach.
So it was igreat. When we got back on Saturday night we went to a music concert at our local mall. It was really wild. It was a small orchestra that played punk/rock/folk music that sounded sometimes like jazz and sometimes like a Jewish wedding dance...he he. Everyone was dancing. It was great. But it sure wore us out.
On Sunday after church, Rafael and Jasmyn ate lunch at Rafa’s parents’ house. Afterwards, we all went to see Moscow on Ice (a circus on ice from Russia) which was really fun. Jasmyn loved the clowns and comedy acts the best, but they really were talented skaters. Trying to find our car afterwards we began drenched to the bone since it began to pour buckets of rain suddenly when the circus ended. We decided to return again to Rafael and Nancy’s house for Colombian hot chocolate to warm up. We put cheese in the bottom and also seeped it with mint tea so it was really delicious (minty chocolate and then you eat the melted cheese at the bottom after).
So now, it is back to the university for Rafa and it is back to work for Jasmyn. Tuesday the 8th she will start working mornings with her father-in-law Rafael in his business to help with financial organization. She is still teaching English about 15 hours - 17 a week and will continue until the groups end which is around Jan or Feb 2007. This indicates that her schedule is going to get very full fast, but now that Rafa’s schedule is less, maybe it all works out. Also, when the groups end she will leave Alief Institute work full time with Rafael. Then in March we are going to try to register Jasmyn for business administration courses with a finance focus to improve her practical skills in the business. Lots of changes all the time. Hard to keep up sometimes, but it is only Christ Jesus that holds us in his peace. And we only live for him for he purchased our dying lives on his cross to give us life again.
Hope you are all well. Enjoy the pictures that follow!!
Love,
Rafael and Jasmyn
It feels like its been ages since we’ve updated, but only because this last week so much has happened.
Rafael had a bit over two weeks for his winter vacations and for one of the weeks he went with his dad for a business trip in Argentina by bus. Really, they did what they needed in less than 2 days, but it was the gruesome trip by bus through the southern pass of Chile in Barliloche that they knew would take the most of their trip.
Jasmyn was thrilled when Rafa was back and Rafa was thankful to be home. We could also enjoy more days of Rafa’s vacation. We were so excited to see one another, it was like when we were dating. :) We spent extra hours between Jasmyn’s English classes going to parks, eating small cheap meals out and taking walks in the city.
This last Friday we decided to take a trip to Viña del Mar and spend one night there. It was so nice to get away from Santiago smog and breathe the fresh, wonderful ocean air. It was splendid to watch the waves crashing on the beaches and rocky shores. The sunsets were amazing. Have no photos of the brilliant Friday sunset though because that night we left the camera in the car. Yes, and we had a car. Rafael’s parents let us borrow theirs for the two days while we were gone! So nice. The whole trip was so relaxing.
The car gave us the opportunity to drive through Valparaiso too. It is just to the south of Viña. There we saw one of the houses of Pablo Neruda who is a nobel prize winning Chilean poet. This house has got to have the best view ever of the city, harbor and coast below. Valparaiso is similar to San Francisco with a variety of old and modern homes pressed together and splashed with bedazzling colors that often contrast the foggy coastal air. It is also built upon a hill and beside a harbor. It is a poorer city than Viña but has a lot to see.
In Viña del Mar we also went to two museums. One was a free museum for children, much like the San Jose Exploratorium, that was actually a lot of fun because they show you optical illusions and tricks with mirrors and lights. The other museum was the natural history museum and museum of Easter Island history (very neat). We saw how natives in places like the Amazon shrink heads of the enemies they kill. We found out that the reason they did this was that they believed the soul was in your head. Basically this gave that person not only a trophy of triumph but the role as keeper of your soul. Crazy.
We saw a few "castles" in Vina which were old mansions of rich merchants. Along the beach we even rented one of those 4-wheel bikes that everyone helps to pedal (like in Santa Barbara)...that was really fun! We looked a bit ridiculous in the squeaky bike rumbling unsteadily down the street or sidewalks close by, but worth it. We ate ice-cream sundaes at our favorite ice-cream place called Bravíssimo. On Saturday we decided to have one nice meal at a restaurant with an ocean view by our inn. It was delicious. We sat outside by a fireplace, it was great. The ocean weather on Friday was sunny and warm and on Saturday still nice and warm, only more overcast.
The car also enabled us to see the beach town up north too called Reñaca. It was amazing to see the huge apartment complexes built into the hill that looked like stairs with all their patios facing the ocean. Each apartment complex had its own “funicular” which is like an exterior elevator on tracks that run up the hill. We watched the surfers and the people play soccer on the beach.
So it was igreat. When we got back on Saturday night we went to a music concert at our local mall. It was really wild. It was a small orchestra that played punk/rock/folk music that sounded sometimes like jazz and sometimes like a Jewish wedding dance...he he. Everyone was dancing. It was great. But it sure wore us out.
On Sunday after church, Rafael and Jasmyn ate lunch at Rafa’s parents’ house. Afterwards, we all went to see Moscow on Ice (a circus on ice from Russia) which was really fun. Jasmyn loved the clowns and comedy acts the best, but they really were talented skaters. Trying to find our car afterwards we began drenched to the bone since it began to pour buckets of rain suddenly when the circus ended. We decided to return again to Rafael and Nancy’s house for Colombian hot chocolate to warm up. We put cheese in the bottom and also seeped it with mint tea so it was really delicious (minty chocolate and then you eat the melted cheese at the bottom after).
So now, it is back to the university for Rafa and it is back to work for Jasmyn. Tuesday the 8th she will start working mornings with her father-in-law Rafael in his business to help with financial organization. She is still teaching English about 15 hours - 17 a week and will continue until the groups end which is around Jan or Feb 2007. This indicates that her schedule is going to get very full fast, but now that Rafa’s schedule is less, maybe it all works out. Also, when the groups end she will leave Alief Institute work full time with Rafael. Then in March we are going to try to register Jasmyn for business administration courses with a finance focus to improve her practical skills in the business. Lots of changes all the time. Hard to keep up sometimes, but it is only Christ Jesus that holds us in his peace. And we only live for him for he purchased our dying lives on his cross to give us life again.
Hope you are all well. Enjoy the pictures that follow!!
Love,
Rafael and Jasmyn
posted by Rafael and Jasmyn | 6:04 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home