These are just of few of the typical things we do each week as we settle in to life in Santiago. We actually do most of our grocery shopping at a regular supermarket, but it is a lot of fun to go to the Feria to buy fresh produce and just see how the people typically live. Having Tawnee and Ian here is great, but our routine will surely settle down a bit after their visit. We look forward to others coming in the future.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Sunday at Church
We are standing in front of the Chapel where we attend Church. It is actually pretty old, and it is the only one I have seen that doesn't have a steeple. Since it is right next door to the Temple I guess they didn't want any competing steeplery for the Angel Moroni.
In an effort to improve her Spanish, Mickie decided a while back to attend Primary instead of Sunday School and Relief Society. Listening to the children and the primary stories is easier to understand. Here are two of the three children that attend the class she goes to.
Saturday Shopping at the Feria
This is where we like to do grocery shopping. It is called the Feria and is a bunch of open stalls along the street with about anything you would want to buy. Note the dog cleaning up under the eggs.
We fill up our "shopping cart" as we go. As you can see we are just beginning. We quit when it is full.
Here is the FULL cart--it doesn't actually take two of us to pull it, but as you can see it is quite a load.
On the way home Mickie just wanted to take a picture of the "garbage can". They put these baskets up high to place garbage bags in, I suppose so the dogs won't get into them. A pretty good idea, but actually uglier than rural mailboxes.
Energy to Burn!
Ian and Tawnee arrived and are having a great time. He couldn't wait to try his hula hoop and we now know our apartment is a bit small for his active body. But we are enjoying having them here.
Ian picked this leaf up on a walk and it is big enough to be a hat. We took this picture on an 11 1/2 inch plate with a $10 bill on top of the leaf to compare them for size. When the leaves are this size it is easier to sweep them up, I guess.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
God Bless America!
Happy 4th of July from the Johnson's in Chile. We hope you all have a great day celebrating our country's independence.
4th of July (winter) Picnic (indoors)
Our neighbors (vecinos) from Canada joined us to celebrate our Independence Day. We even sang "Oh Canada" with them.
Elder Benson was the MC and music director in his "Cat in the Hat" type patriotic fedora.
We sang, ate dinner, and listened to many stories about America and how people feel about our country while living abroad. We even heard the speech of Patrick Henry given by President Lyon, the president of the Santiago Temple. Elder Benson lent him his hat for the occasion. President Lyon's teacher made him memorize this speech when he was 13 years old--it is amazing how much we can remember when we get old. At least he can.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
A Day At The Coast
Our neighbors, Elder and Sister McCown, have an assignment to take the mail and other needed things to the missionaries between Santiago and the Coast for the West Mission. They invited us to go with them last Wednesday and we couldn't pass up the offer. The McCown's are assigned to a branch in Santiago that took them over an hour and a half to get to on the subway and two bus rides. After about three months they couldn't stand it any more so they bought a car. It has been great for us as they take us around town with them. They have become great friends. The day we went with them to the coast was cloudy and hazy, so some of the pictures don't look very sharp, but it surely was beautiful.
This is a picture of Elder Johnston (the tall one) and Elder Coleman (the really short one). Elder Coleman is from Panama, and when he came to the MTC they asked him if he had a coat. His reply was "What's a coat?" He had nothing to keep him warm, but the MTC and the West Mission came up with everything he needs. (These are actually P-Day clothes). Elder Coleman is a super dynamic missionary with a wonderful testimony.
In the city most people use regular brooms to sweep the sidewalks. But in the countryside they use palm leaves. It seems to be pretty effective and I'm sure the environmentalist encourage it.
This is an avocado tree on the grounds of one of our chapels. It was heavy laden with avocados just a few weeks ago.
This is a fruit and vegetable store on the side of the freeway. The fresh produce is great, but it isn't exactly cheap. It is a better buy when you buy it on the freeway than in the grocery store.
This is a swimming pool at a resort in Algarobos. The ocean beaches have such a strong rip tide that they built this pool as swimming isn't allowed on the beach. It is the largest swimming pool in the world covering 19 acres. It is about a mile long.
There are about 8 buildings in the resort, but the each room is owned by an individual and they rent them. The only problem is that you have to bring your own sheets and towels. It doesn't seem like a good deal for $300 a night.
This must be the "seal" of Pablo Neruda, a famous Chilean poet. He had some kind of thing for fish.
Elder and Sister Johnson standing by one of the many fish sculptures on the grounds of one of Pablo Neruda's estates. It has a glass eye that lets light through, but today was pretty overcast so it is hard to see.
He collected a lot of strange things and had them all around the grounds. Here is the front of a steam engine of some kind. You will notice that the house appears to be supported by a couple of wagon wheels (it really isn't). It was a strange house that seemed to ramble from one room or area to another.
Mosaics of more fish above the window filled with interesting bottles.
This is a view of the ocean from his home. They say that he was afraid of the ocean and never went to the beaches by his home. Maybe that isn't strange for a poet.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Getting Into A Routine
After three weeks in Chile we are getting into a routine. After breakfast we go to the office and do whatever there is on the docket for the day. We go home for lunch and sometimes a nap, then return to the office until 5 0r 6 at night. We go shopping and to the bank or go to FHE with other couples or study in the evening at home. We have had plenty of work projects around the apartment, but hopefully that is coming to an end.
We walk up to the sixth floor to our apartment two or three times a day. When you look down you can see a grocery cart on the bottom floor. It is used to bring bags of groceries or other things up the elevator to your floor. Sister Johnson finally makes it to the top of the stairs and opens the door to find Elder Johnson with a new workbench on her living room floor.
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