¿Cómo te llamaí? Nicknames in Chile

El** Kike, Coke, and Vicho were hanging out with la Maite, la Coté, and la Chabelita before class. The bell rang, they took their seats, and the teacher calls out: Enrique (presente), Jorge (presente), Vicente (presente), and then continues… María Teresa, María José, María Isabel (most women in Chile seem to have double names that start with María).

What’s Hers is Mine, said the Hospital to the Bank…

Photo credit: CarbonNYC

Got a shock this morning… It started out as just another Friday—until I checked my bank balance to see if any of my clients had made a deposit, and Pow! Virtual sucker-punch. Chile’s hospital policies and Chile’s bank policies were at odds—care to guess whose dime—make that gamba (100 pesos)—took the hit?

Viña Von Siebenthal Presents: Chico Trujillo

Chico Trujillo celebrating 15 years of Viña Von Siebenthal, November 2012

There are some great stories in Chilean wine, and Viña Von Siebenthal has its share. Wine-loving Swiss lawyer Mauro Von Siebenthal dreamed of making a wine of his own and set about turning wishes to reality in the Aconcagua Valley.

Taxi Tales: I’m Selfish because…

I’ve written about talking with Santiago cabbies  in the past**, and even though I haven’t written much of anything lately, I continue to gather material nearly every time I hop into a cab. In fact, I could probably do an entire blog on taxi tales!

Let’s Call it a Year

Nope, 2011 hasn’t been my favorite year, but I’m putting it all behind me and gearing up for what promises to be a pretty interesting 2012.

Nope, I’m not going to pour out my thoughts on the past 364 days (have pretty much done that already, don’t you think?).

Nope, not going to spill my resolutions for what is to come (would rather just do that as we go along rather than have to explain why I didn’t do this or that after all).

But what I AM going to do:

Here’s Wishing you all One Heck of a Great New Year, and as a bonus, re-share some Chilean tips for improving your shots for 2012:

9 Chilean Traditions for a Happy New Year

So, whether you’re watching fireworks at the beach, smooching your sweetie on the dance floor, or watching the ball drop on TV tonight, I’ll be raising a glass of sparkly and saying:

Cheers! ¡Salud! Saude! Prosit! L’chaim! Chin Chin! Kampai! Proost! Salute! Slainte! and Saha!

May 2012 be your best year yet!!

Cachando Chile… and Beyond?

Most blogs are personal, but serious bloggers keep their readers in mind, so now I have to ask you a thing or two…

Pouf, Jumper, Panty, Slip: More Linguistic Giggles

Image via Wikipedia

Pouf, jumper, panty, slip, and cueca all have in common? No…whatever it is you’re thinking… just stop right there! It’s cross-culture language confusion time again folks!

A guy friend from England said, “You left your jumper in my car,” and I stared at him in disbelief. I haven’t worn a jumper since I was about 14, and I most certainly never left one in ANY guy’s car!

A Walk in the Woods (and a WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: Path

Enormous poplar trees dwarfed us during a walk in the woods made even better with friends on a long lazy weekend at their farm, near Doñihue, about 60 km south of Santiago de Chile.