When I came to Chile for the first time as an exchange student 15 years ago, I learned my way around Viña by following the directions of my host mom. She was kind, loving, generous with her time, had black hair, wore red lipstick, and, of course, only spoke Spanish. She would give me detailed descriptions and draw little maps telling me how to get from the hills of Viña to the centro of Valparaiso, or wherever I needed to go. “Kerri,” she would say, rolling the double “r” in my name, “take the number 15 bus down the hill, walk two blocks to Calle Arlegui, then take any bus that says Avenida España all the way to Valparaíso. Get off when España turns into Errazuriz and walk one block to Calle Brasil where you will find the school.
This time around, I have GPS to help me navigate the roads, but learning how to navigate the new normal of life during a pandemic in a place where normal is still foreign to me has been a challenge. July marked our 8th month in Chile, 4 of those months spent living in Viña, and 4 of those months in the country. We were just adjusting to life in Viña when the pandemic began and we started all over with a new life and a new new normal in the country.
Now, 4 months later, I’m getting the hang of things. The vegetable truck comes every Tuesday at 11, but I know to avoid the wait I should go at 11:15. I’ve learned my way around a neighboring town that is not under quarantine and where I don’t need a permit to go grocery shopping. I’ve purchased enough bread from our neighbor that she will text me and ask me if I want to reserve some when she’s running low. And then I send my younger son to go get it with 1,000 pesos in hand. I’ve learned that egg cartons are the best kindling for a fire and my husband and I each get up once during the night to put more wood on the stove.
I even felt comfortable enough to expand our boundaries a little bit, and in the month of July we took two day trips to the beach. We weren’t sure if we would make it the first time – maybe there would be a road block or a permit check – but we made it, and it felt good to see the ocean again.
True Story: Chile 