Gringa Amiga

I went to Chile for the wine, and I ran into Amy Ketner!
(Amy, in case you forgot, is the one who loves Juan Pablo).
Amy lives in Santiago where she works in youth ministry and campus ministry for a Catholic church and nearby Jesuit elementary, middle, and high schools. She lives with three other volunteers and a pet cat named Pedro. She also speaks Spanish really well and really fast, which was fun and confusing to listen to.


In Chile, last Thursday was a holiday and schools had the day off. I think it was to commemorate some battle, but I'm not sure. I landed in Santiago Thursday morning and was met by this shining face and a lot of signs that I couldn't read.
The first day, we did a lot of activities. I met the roomies, ate a completo, drank Chilean beer, walked up Santa Lucia hill, and ate dinner with the host family of one of the roomies. The host family spoke little English, but they practiced some for their upcoming trip to Orlando with phrases like "this is a pencil" and obscenities not appropriate for this classy blog. I practiced Spanish phrases like "no espanol." We ate pizza, it was great.
Friday was a sandwich day, which means it was between a holiday and a weekend so it was another day off school! We took a day trip to Valparasio (AKA Valpo) which was so cool and is about an hour from Santiago by bus. Valpo is a port town and became really prosperous because of all the ships that had to stop there on their way around South America. Then the Panama Canal got built, and less ships come to Valpo now. Valpo is still beautiful, though, full of brightly colored homes built into hills that light up in the evening and twinkle off as night gets darker. There is also a lot of street art, exhibits A & B:






Saturday was another adventuresome day, but this time we stayed in Santiago. After breakfasting at noon on homemade bagels, we headed out to the mercado central (I put that in italics because it is another language). This was a really cool space that seemed to go on forever with fresh fruits and veggies like a farmers' market but also stalls for buying cleaning supplies and toilet paper and dry goods. We drank juice-smoothie-things and then walked across a beautiful park to the Pablo Neruda house. It was quirky and interesting and had an original Diego Rivera painting, which I liked because the DIA makes me think Rivera is from Detroit. Neruda was a communist and a big supporter of Salvador Allende, the socialist president of Chile who the U.S.ofA. helped to overthrow and replace with a dictator when we were in that phase (still in that phase?) where we try to control the whole world. Pinochet (the dictator) was a real jerk, so that ended badly. The house was restored by Neruda's lover-turned-wife after he died, and it was one of my favorite touristy activities that we did.


Saturday night we went out to a few bars Amy likes with her friend and I got to see Chilean night life, which goes on far too late for my liking.
Sunday was our relaxed day of hanging out on the porch and cooking together and sharing music. We also went to Amy's host family's house, which is right around the corner in the poblacion, which is what they call the poorer neighborhoods in Santiago. The family was nice to me even though I'm a dumb gringa and travel to Spanish speaking countries without knowing any Spanish. After hanging out with them we went to mass, roasted chesnuts over an open fire, and split a bottle of Chilean wine.
Monday was my last day, so we made the most of it by going up another hill (by fernicular, which is like an elavator/ski lift) and taking in the view of smog and mountains and the biggest city I've ever seen. There was a big old Mary on top of the hill and JP II said mass up there on his papal visit to Chile!

After the hike  down we ate chorianna, which is like chili cheese fries but with way better toppings, and drank pisco sours, which is the name of Amy's cat. I did a little souvenir shopping, we toured Amy's school, and then it was time to leave.
All-in-all, TeenerAdvisor gives Santiago a 5/5 star rating, in particular the accomadations at Amy's casa. And although saying goodbye was sad, Amy will be back in the USA this December (and will probably promptly leave to explore some other part of Latin America).
Now on to the next adventure: Uganda catch that plane!

The Women Tell All (or Cling to Their Last Moments of Fame)

The Bachelor is getting close to the end, and that means my favorite episode: "The Women Tell All." I think it's funny how they now decide to start calling them all women, because throughout the rest of the show they are just girls. Like, "Hi, I'm Claire and am 32 years old. But I still consider myself a girl and get in catty fights with Nikki, another girl, and our shared boyfriend thinks we are all girls, just like his 4 year-old daughter." As Reba might say, these are grown-ass women. Also girls dating men is illegal.
Well, anyway, Chris Harrison welcomes us all like we are old friends and then we get to be reminded of the people that left super early in the season. Some, like Victoria, we will never forget (because she got drunk and locked herself in a bathroom). Others, like this chick, we think may have just snuck on the set for this one episode.

Oh now I remember, you cried the first episode.

To start with, all the women jump on the Andi bandwagon and say how self-centered JP is and how he never really got to know them. Finally, Kelly has had enough of that, and she's all, "Gurl please, you never had any problem with Juan Pablo when you were in the house. Stop playing." Not that Kelly is defending JP, she later asks him why he hates gays. Turns out he said some dumb things in an interview once. To be honest, I care very little about Juan Pablo's opinions on social and political issues, and I doubt that he's much of an activist about anything. 

But this leads us to another common theme of the night, which is the women accusing JP of using his language barrier as an excuse for being rude. Victoria grew up speaking Portuguese, and she feels that it's not that hard to become quickly fluent in another language. Maybe Amy or Rachael can back her up on that? I find it pretty difficult so I guess I'm stupid.

I kept wondering how uncomfortable it would be to sit like this for several hours

So pretty early in the show we establish that these women are not members of the JP fan club. They also think he wasn't fair because he treated the moms differently, and kept telling Renee he couldn't kiss her and then turning around and having sex swimming with Claire in the ocean. But Renee was defending him. She thinks he was very respectful and really improved her dating self-esteem, so much so that she is now "in a

Renee and "The Situation"

situation," which I think means she has a boyfriend and is unrelated to Mike from Jersey Shore. So that probably leaves her out of the running for next Bachelorette. Good thing, because as much as I like her, she'd be way boring.

Besides Renee, the other women who got the most attention/ had little interviews with Chris Harrison were Andi and Sharleen. Also the two women who left the show voluntarily. Sharleen was beautiful as always. I think I'm developing a crush on her. But she would also be a boring Bachelorette because you gotta have more crazy on the show than I think she could contribute. Also I'm not sure she'd want to be on it. I have a theory that she still likes JP (she was defending him all night and they had some serious eye contact when he came out), so maybe she will take him as her Latin lover for a while. 

Andi, on the other hand, is clearly vying for the next Bachelorette season. She made sure to let us all know she is still single but believes in "that great love," which is just as weird of a phrase as "grown sexy." I think Lucy secretly wants to be on it, too. Remember her? She's a professional free spirit. That's not even the weirdest occupation I've ever seen on this show.

This is the weirdest job title.

After the women tell all, Juan Pablo comes out and they tell him all, basically attacking him. He says it's okay a lot, which is his catch phrase. He also says he has no regrets. Probably because no matter how the show ends up, he will be rich and can just go find some other women to date.

Next week, we get to see the Final Rose...... Who will it be?? Nikki? Claire? Or will Sharleen come back and steal his heart? Taking predictions in the comments section below!

Taylor doesn't love Amy enough to watch The Bachelor

I'll be honest with you: this season of The Bachelor is not that fun to watch. This is, of course, no excuse for Taylor to slack on her duties just because she has a life. Luckily, I've got a lot of time on my hands, so I'll cover for you with a short recap of this week's episode.

Andi + Nikki forever

This was the last week before hometown dates, so the women are pretty antsy. Remember, we have Sharleen, Andi, Nikki, Renee, Claire, and Chelsie left. We learned through this episode that Nikki and Andi are really good friends, and Nikki and Claire are really good enemies.
Obviously we are all on team Nikki there, because she may be a bitch but she's a funny one, and her eyebrows are not in a perpetually surprised face.
Sharleen got the first one-on-one in Miami, and repeatedly questioned whether or not she should be on the show anymore because it just didn't feel organic. She and JP like to kiss a lot, though, so it was hard for her to be sure if she should leave. Their date was on a yacht, and cuddling on deck seemed to be the main activity. After the date, Sharleen came back to the hotel and opened up to Renee, who told her that time means nothing and she should know by know whether or not she loves JP. Typically I like Renee's counseling style but this was pretty stupid.
The group date is with Renee, Claire, Chelsie, and Andi. They do things that I can't remember, I think on a beach, but the important thing about this date is there is a rose (there isn't one on the one-on-one dates), and whoever gets the rose moves forward to the night part of the date and the rest go home. Andi wins, and she and JP go dancing to Latin music in Miami. Turns out Andi is not a good dancer.

While the other women don't go dancing, they decide to be awkward in their hotel room. Nikki suspects they will say bad things about Andi, and she will not tolerate it so she leaves the awkward room. Claire thinks she has been disrespected so she chases her and they have an embarrassing girl fight. Two grown-ass women, supposedly ready to get married and help raise a child, and every other word out of their mouths is "like." TV doesn't get better than that.

Nikki's one-on-one date also involves dancing, because she goes to JP's daughter's dance recital. Camilla is super cute and speaks Spanish, which I know is just because she grew up speaking it but I am still really impressed. Also, JP's ex and Camilla's mom was there, she's a Venezuelan model. Try not to be intimidated Nikki-the-nurse-from-KansasCity.

 

Pretty cute

The rest of the date involved going to the Marlin's stadium where Juan Pablo "works" (we all know his full time job will be Bachelor publicity for the rest of his life). Nikki was wearing almost nothing which made me nervous for her to throw a baseball, but she managed to keep her boobs covered.

Back at the house, Sharleen sits everyone down (Nikki is home too) to say she is leaving. They pretend to be a little sad but are actually pumped because this makes their odds better. She then says goodbye to Juan Pablo, who is grateful for her honesty and is proving to be pretty good at comforting crying women. She leaves, and I will miss her because she is less annoying than everyone else. Not as much as I miss Kelly though, because that dog-lover was hilarious.

Kelly does a live commentary on twitter during the episode. So Funny.

Anyway the rose ceremony/cocktail party comes along. It's not too surprising that Chelsie is kicked off. JP cries saying goodbye to her and she tells him he is a great guy. In classic Bachelor style, she wonders in the limo when she will ever find love, because she is SO READY for it. Bye Chelsie.

To Keep Our Blog from Being Entirely About the Bachelor

I've come to the conclusion that weekends shorter than three days are hardly worth having.

Zack was in Vegas all of last week so I was living up the single lyfe! It was a little lonely, but it also felt good to be an independent woman for the first time in a while.

Friday I went out to this bar called The Mad Hatter with my coworkers. We don't go out super often, so that was nice! Also, rail drinks were only $3, which is super cheap for DC.  I was supposed to meet up with A-A-ron but he didn't have his plans together early enough so I went home, ate Chipotle, drank wine and watched 30 Rock. So that's pretty much straight spinster life right there.

Saturday Morning Brie and I went to the Newseum. It's one of DC's not-free museums, but, unlike the Spy Museum, I definitely thought it was worth it! Also, if you get ticket it's good for two days. So if we ever decide to go, we can do shifts and pay half as much!

They had an interesting/sad 9/11 exhibit. It's the antenna from the top of one of the towers and headlines from around the world on September 12th.  There's one that just reads "BASTARDS" as the headline. I don't know where that one was from, but that definitely doesn't seem like the best headline, you know? Also, some woman thought it was really interesting that none of our teachers told us what was going on while we were in class that day. And that even though my friend told me "Two planes ran into a building," I didn't get what was going on until way later that night.

They also had a lot of JFK stuff, which makes sense.  They have a 90 foot screen that shows scenes from his life. It was pretty interesting, but I think it's temporary.

Also that feeds directly into something pretty much tailor-made for Teeners. It's called "Make Some Noise" and is all about the student movements during the 1960s. They have the actual table from one of the first sit ins in Greensboro, NC. They've got a ton of pictures, and a lot of descriptions. I'm sure it's all much to elementary for you, Teener--after all, she is published on the matter.

My favorite, though, was the Pulitzer Prize Photographs. It was a lot more like a history lesson that just the news. A lot about the Vietnam War, though, which is always sad, and very frustrating. But I think they did a good job sprinkling in happy/unbelievable photos too so you didn't get too down.

But, the most surprising thing at the Newseum, to me, was that freaking LL Cool J explains your first amendment rights to you?  I can't say I'm familiar with the entirety of his work, but I definitely didn't think ANY of it touched on first amendment rights. But... I guess it's to make constitutional rights "cool" and "hip."

After that we got Chinese food and met up with Mattan, who had decided to shave his head bald. Turns out I'm really freaked out by bald heads. They just look so...vulnerable. So, if any of you are considering going completely bald, don't be surprised if I ask you to cover up.

Then we met up with Aaron and a bunch of his friends and went to the Pistons game! I got to see my favorite person in the world: Greg Monroe. The Pistons beat the Wizards, but missed two free throws in the fourth quarter so everyone in the stadium got free Chik-fil-a! It was really the best combination of things from my perspective.

Sunday I made orgasm brownies:

They were less fudgy than I wanted, but still tasted good.

I was a little bit rushed because I had to go all the way out to Silver Spring for a painting thing with Brie. (It was kind of like I dated Brie this weekend instead of Zack--we did a lot of stuff together)

When we got there the lady said that she didn't have our reservation, but she'd squeeze us in anyway.  It was in a restaurant/bar so there were people like actually eating and trying to just be normal, so that was a little weird. Also, there was way less instruction than what you get at Painting with a Twist, which made the experience feel more stressful, I feel. This is what I ended up with:

I guess it looks nice. You know how when you've looked at something too long, all you see is the mistakes? That's where I'm at right now.  The colors are nice though.

Then I had to rush home because Zack was finally back! We had like an hour before we went to Elizabeth's house to watch the premier of Sherlock.  I like Sherlock, but the problem is that every episode is 90 minutes long, so it's like a REALLY big commitment to watch one episode.  Elizabeth really went all out and had "fish and chips" (chips with goldfish), shepherd's pie, scones, tea, cider, and beer. She's always good for things like that.

People think he's cute. I don't see it. Like, at all.

After we got home Zack was crazy tired. So we went to bed. We also had to go bed early to be in top shape for babbbiiessssssss. We finally got to see our baby friends!

Zack traditionally takes care of Ben and I cuddle with Eli. So that's what we did. Though I did make friends with Ben too. Also Max, the old boy, thinks Zack is really cool so they play together. BUT this time I was the cool one because I brought Max a space book! Both of his parents were like "Oh wow, we've never seen this one before. Good find!" I hadn't even considered that he might already the book I had bought, but luckily he didn't have the one I got! We had to read it three times before we left and he was super into it each time.

Space book, best book.

Also we ate sushi. And the babies were naked for a little while, which is always cute. Then we went home, thinking we would have to go to work in the morning. BUT THEN WE DIDN'T WOOOOOOO

I happened to wake up at 4:30, checked the website that says whether or not the federal government is open (it wasn't) and then went back to sleep. At 6:30 my boss texted me telling me not to come in. At 7:30 a bunch of my coworkers texted me asking if we had work. So really, my sleeping was all messed up. So I got up and made hash browns and pancakes. Then we ate and went back to sleep til noon. You know, adult life. By the way, this is what it looked like outside until about 10:00am:

Then we went to Chik-fil-a to cash in on my free sandwich! I made a small snowman outside. Then I bought floss-y-thingies and we went back home. It was actually starting to snow a little. But you know, not like a ton. In all I think we got about two and a half inches. I guess they had four in Maryland. So, big whoop. It eventually looked like this:

There was a little more later. But I didn't take a picture.

I got bored, so I busted out my sewing machine and completed a project I'd put off for one and a half years:

Senegal pilloowsssss. Pretty easy to make! And now our couch is a little classier, but a little less school spirited.

Then Zack made us a nice dinner:

Chicken, rice, wine. Yum.

Then I had to go into work and answer my kajillion emails. That was less good. But you know, you don't look gift snow days in the mouth.

Wine in a heart mug is the best way to watch

So I'm a day late watching this, because yesterday I had to go to a banquet for mlk. It was a very grown up thing to do, because I am a very grown up person. 

The bachelor episode starts with all the "coming up on this episode," and it looks like it's gonna be a good one! Someone gets called a child and someone else gets called a whore. Here we go. 

Cassandra got the first date, probably because JP recognizes that Michigan girls are the best kind. She has a son and is only 21! Their date starts with a drive in a jeep, then all of a sudden they are driving in the water, so I guess this jeep is like the Wild Thornberry's RV. Not a bad first date! Then they cook dinner together at his house and dance to Latin music. Jealous, Amy? Also they made out in the ocean. Also her baby is definitely some kind of ethnic. 

Renée, back at the house, continues to be the most socially graceful and nice contestant, also she is age appropriate for JP and a mom already, so she's my favorite. 

This is the photo quality that comes of phone blogging

The group date had a lot of people I can't remember, but not Elise and Chelsie or Claire and Kat. 

The group date is a soccer game: SURPRISE! Ali (the nanny) thinks she'll be the best. The 10 women have to split in two teams and play, so they get pretty competitive like winning will be the only way to marry JP. They were all provided with gold sports bras, which everyone knows enhance performance. Sharleen kept getting hit by th ball but took it like a champ. She's another favorite. 

Juan Pablo jersey in the background

Back at the house, Elise pretty much hates chelsie but pretends not to. She thinks she's getting the next one in one, which obviously means she won't. Chelsie does, more to come later. 

So the group date involved some drama at the end. JP kissed too many girls and they all think they've got the rose in the bag. Jokes on (most of) them. Nikki gets it! And the nurse didn't even have to stick her tongue in his mouth for it. 

For Chelsie's date, she had to "trust him," so she prepares by picking a pair of TOMs to wear. Elise still thinks he loves her, idiot. 

Elise talks to yet another woman about how secure her connection with JP is

Chelsie and JP get Venezuelan food and sky dive, which is pretty similar to every date I've ever been on. I think they had bubble tea, too! Just like Rachael! To test how much Chelsie trusts the man she just met a few weeks ago and who is dating 14 other women, JP throws her off a bridge. She passes and gets the rose. They also do some upside down snogging, Spider-Man style. 

After the usual 12 hour freak-out, they jump

Before the cocktail party, JP cooks the ladies breakfast and they have a little pool party and Kat puts JPs head in her crotch. Actually they just played chicken, so it was less gross than that. 

Well the rose ceremony had it's typical level of women complaining about not getting enough time and feeling insecure and to cut to the chase, Lucy and Christy go home. We will miss Lucy's free spirit, but probably not Christy because no one knew who she was anyway. I'm taking bets now to guess when Sharleen leaves

Well now I'm off to watch Denise play broom all, peace out!

Thanksgiving with the Kesslers!

So, since Zack has spent the last three Thanksgivings at my house, I figured it was time we do a CT Thanksgiving. But, I thought it would be sad for my parents and Reba if I didn't come back to Michigan for the holiday, so we alllllll went to CT! Woooooo!

Our trip started out a little less than ideal because we were delayed for about an hour and our dinner was underwhelming. We were delayed because the plane came from Columbus, which is known to be an incompetent and horrible place, so really, we shouldn't have been surprised. Also, the actual plane ride was super bumpy! Like, the worst I've ever taken in my life! Good thing Zack and I aren't the kind of people that are afraid of flying or it woulda been really scary.  Thankfully, Dylan came to the airport and picked us up at midnight and we went straight to bed--in the same bed, which is a first chez Zacky.

In the morning we went to the Landmark Cafe in Manchester. We walked by a burnt down building, had good food and took cute pictures:

After that we went to the Hartford Science Museum. It's a pretty cool place if you ever get the chance to go. My favorite thing there is the "mindball" game. You have to put on these headbands with electrodes and try to move a ball with your mind. I liked it because the first time we went like two years ago I beat Zack.  I beat him once this time too, but then we switched headbands and he won, so maybe the game is rigged. Or, maybe, I just have a stronger mind.

Reba really couldn't handle the human body exhibit and practically ran through it. It was a little funny to see, but I think overall, she liked it. Also, the museum's global warming exhibit inspired me to buy house plants. I feel like it's an adult thing to do, we have a lot of unused space in our apartment, and it helps the environment, so why not?

Mmm potatoes

Later that day we went to Zack's house and had pizza with his dad's step family.  Apparently the pizza place we went to was on Man vs Food and the challenge was to eat 10 lbs of stuffed pizza! We're not gross people, so we didn't attempt that. But, it was good pizza! And Zack's dad made latkes and we lit Hanukkah candles. I like latkes; they're carbs. Also, Camryn is not eating carbs, which is apparently a great diet, but sounds like a sad era. More potatoes for meeeeeee.

The next day we (me, Zacky daddy, Zacky, and Reba) had to run the Manchester Road Race. Camryn went and walked with a friend at the last minute too, but she didn't go with us and I didn't see her there. It's one of the oldest road races in America and SUPER hilly! It was only 4.78 miles, which you'd think after running a half marathon would be nothing, but, turns out I don't really like running that much and kinda totally stopped after I ran the half marathon, so it was a little bit of a struggle. Also it was super freaking cold! Like 19 degrees and feels like 13 or something. But, we finished. Zack's dad finished first, Becca finished second, and Zack and I ran together. And, I definitely used it as an excuse to eat a lootttt of food. 

Ham that my parents sent and that Bodie got into

Thanksgiving was really nice! Definitely the biggest Thanksgiving I've ever experienced!! Zack's cousins came over so I think in totally there were like 18 of us in total, so a lot more than the 5 of us we usually have.  Also, this was like the least involved I've ever been in food preparation. Dr. Kessler totally has food preparation on lock and needed like 0 help. It was pretty impressive! And the lions won! So that was good.

Friday we had brunch with my parents and then went out to Stoors where UCONN is and saw Zack's cousin. Then we all went to see Catching Fire! I was super pumped to see it and Reba was supposed to wait to see it with me, but she had already seen it TWICE--super rude. So I made her buy me Reese's Pieces. So between the Reese's Pieces and liking the movie a lot more than the first one, I had a good afternoon!

Wedding dress inspiration?

Then we got Italian food with my family and I made Reba go spend the night with my parents so they could go see the Mark Twain House in the morning. As Taylor will recall, we have been recently. I guess it was Mark Twain's birthday and the tour was entirely Christmas themed though, so I guess the tour was probably a little different than the one we saw. Anyway, since Reba wasn't there we smoked hookah--apparently that's Dylan's thing these days. It was cold, and I don't really love hookah, but I hadn't done it in a while so that was nice.

I like pie.

Saturday we watched the football game. Sad era, but not as sad as I expected. We ate Chinese food. We watched more football and I ate pie. Even though we're supposed to be Alabama fans because my grandfather was a visiting scholar there, it was kinda funny to see them lose.

Then we went to bed crazy early, woke up at 3:40 and flew back to DC. Flying into Dulles sucks, just FYI. We had to wait like an hour to get on the bus back. Then we took a nap from 10:00 to noon and now we don't know what time it is like at all. But, whatever--had a good break! And you guys will be here soon!