We landed in Chile in December 2019, two months after the start of a social revolution, and four months before the Coronavirus arrived. That might sound like unfortunate timing, but looking back, we couldn't have possibly planned it better. We had no idea what the year ahead of us would bring, but we were prepared … Continue reading A Year in Chile
Since my children were born, I have put a lot of pressure on myself to ensure that they are bilingual. My husband is a native Spanish-speaker (and an annoyingly fluent English-speaker), but as a stay at home mom, I have been the main source of language and communication with our children throughout the days, months, … Continue reading My Favorite AUTHENTIC Spanish Resources for Kids and Adults
Summer has officially begun, and the garden has come such a loooooooong way from where I started when we arrived in summertime last year. Here's the obligatory reminder photo from December 2019. We had been in Chile for less than two weeks, and I had made my first trip to the nursery to fill in … Continue reading Summertime in the Garden
Have you seen the viral video of the comic, Robyn Schall, who pours herself a glass of wine and cry-laughs as she reads her goal list for 2020? Clearly we can all relate. Let's take a moment to laugh at the fact that you are reading a travel blog that I started in 2020 - … Continue reading A Family Getaway to Playa el Canelillo, Algarrobo, Chile
Time has been playing tricks on all of us this year. For me, moving abroad, changing hemispheres, living under strict lockdown for 8 months, and losing one of the biggest markers of time for a family with young children - school - has made it feel as if time has abandoned me. Without the sense … Continue reading Springtime in the Garden
When does a house become a home? Is it the moment you decide to move because it's the safest place to be? Is it when you've finally moved all of your belongings from the old place to the new place? Is it when you install shelving? Is it when you've cooked 100 meals in the … Continue reading Turning a Weekend Cabin into a Long-Term Home
This week on my Instagram account (@truestorychile) we went on a virtual vacation to Viña del Mar so I could introduce you to the city where we were living until the pandemic turned us into country mice. As of Tuesday, October 13, the mandatory quarantine that has had Viña under lockdown for the past 4 … Continue reading Things To Do With Kids in Viña del Mar, Chile: Museums
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 … Continue reading El Mes de Julio
I've been so busy trying to figure out how to homeschool, that I forgot to show you the rest of the cabin! Since it's been so long, let me give you a refresh on the master bedroom situation. Previously, it was a perfectly lovely room with zero privacy. The lattice paneling to the left opened … Continue reading The Cabin Bedrooms: After
Perhaps it won't come as a surprise to learn that I had no plans to homeschool my children in the Chilean countryside this year. My kindergartner and 2nd grader started the school year in the U.S. back in September. The plan (oh how naive we were in 2019) was to give them a couple of … Continue reading Elementary School Dropouts, Homeschooling Failures, and Moving Forward
True Story: Chile 