Time (did not) Change in Chile

Just as in the U.S., Chile was scheduled to change its clock this weekend--although in the opposite direction.  The Northern Hemisphere is entering into its summer schedule while we were supposed to be entering into our winter schedule.  However, thanks to the earthquake the time change was delayed until April 3rd.  Be careful with your electronic devices that update the time automatically (computers and some cell phones).  See article in Spanish here or basic information in English here.

~Tyffanie

Nationwide Blackout

Don't forget to buy one (or more) of Christian's pictures and donate to Chile through that purchase!!! See this post for more information!!! All funds raised through March 17th will be donated to Red Cross Chile and Un Techo Para Chile!!!

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Last night, at 8:43pm in Chile, while we were skyping with my parents, the electricity went out. At first, I thought it was just parts of Santiago, but we soon realized that it was a nationwide blackout where 90% of the population in Chile lost power (thanks to the radio I listened to on Christian's mp4 player). Luckily we bought a flashlight after the earthquake and had that to find out way around the apartment. Our building has an emergency generator so the light in the hallway was on. We opened up the door and hung out close to it as to not waste the batteries in the flashlight. Turns out the whole Central Interconnected System (Sistema Interconectado Central, or SIC, as we know it in Chile) was down. This is the principal transmission system in Chile and the outage reached from the 2nd region in the north all the way to Chiloe island. All I can say is thank goodness I work at an energy generation company (we do not have distribution services) because I understood all the technical jargon being said over the radio by the head of the ONEMI, CEO of Chilectra and other high-up energy executives.

At first, I--plus probably a large majority of the population--though the outage was product of another aftershock. It wasn't thankfully. Although I was worried we would have one during the time the power was out. The outage was due to a 500 kV transformer in the Charrua Substation in the 8th region overheating. Although the authorities have not confirmed this, it was most likely a result of damage produced by the earthquake. The transmission system in Chile was damaged during the earthquake, and although there are high security standards to be maintained on the system, getting energy to the most affected zones in the South has been the priority over fixing the t-systems which are working, even though not up to standards. I agree with that decision. It was absolutely necessary to get energy back to Concepción and the Maule Region before trying to fix the transmission system so that it meets the high standards. The repairs could take months and obviously these areas needed energy ASAP.

We unplugged everything, as per typical procedure. This must be done with blackouts because when the energy turns back on, it could have a higher voltage which could fry your electronic devices. The cell phones had died as well--typically in any crisis situation in Chile (cell phone service sucks). But the house phones, or líneas fijas, were working. I called my parents with a phone card to let them know we were ok and the power was out. Didn't want them thinking there was another earthquake or something. Christian then decided it was time to be a photographer and took this awesome picture (inserted below). I stayed with Dulcinea, listening to the radio by the door. Luckily, power came back to Providencia around 10pm so it wasn't terribly long for us. But others in Chile had to wait until past midnight or later for the power to return. Article in Spanish can be found here.

12 Days After the Earthquake

Don't forget to buy one (or more) of Christian's pictures and donate to Chile through that purchase!!! See this post for more information!!! All funds raised through March 17th will be donated to Red Cross Chile and Un Techo Para Chile!!! We only need a bit more to reach our $500 goal, but of course, we want to far surpass that goal!

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It has been 12 days since the 8.8 grade earthquake that literally rocked our world. My nerves have begun to calm down and although I am not as stressed out as before, I sure am exhausted as all heck. I tried to relax during the weekend, but still didn't get much sleep as we had an awesome wedding to go to on Saturday night. One of my good friends was getting married and no earthquake was gonna stop her! Both her and groom looked smokin' hot (as you can see in the pictures) and we had a great time celebrating with them.

That said, I was tired even beginning the week on Monday. Last night I came home and did nothing--drank some wine, ate some Nutella, all while watching episodes of The Big Bang Theory. Then I did something I haven't done in a few weeks: go to bed by 10pm. That definitely helped me recuperate, but then I had a crappy & stressful day at work so whatever I recuperated was once lost again. I will stop complaining now, because I could be way worse off--I could not have a house or a job or food like some of the people who lost everything in the earthquake & tsunami. And with that, here are some other updates regarding life after the terremoto:

• Our gas got turned back on this past Thursday after a careful revision by the gas company. That meant we could take hot showers and cook again. We hadn't turned in the keys to our old apartment and were going over there to shower since the gas wasn't affected there.
• The elevator got fixed last Friday....hooray! Not that climbing 11 flights of stairs wasn't good for my legs and my lungs, but let's just face the fact that having an elevator makes life just a bit sweeter.
• The aftershocks continue. Some days there are a ton and some days barely any. In fact, since about Friday, I hadn't been feeling many at all, which has greatly helped my nerves calm down. But they keep coming. Last night there were two stronger yet shorter ones. Sometimes I wonder if I am not feeling them because I just feel like everything is moving all of the time. Seriously. When I am at work I constantly think there is a tremor, I feel the ground (or rather my desk/building) and see vibrations in things. I think that is why I have missed the real tremors that there have been....my body has converted to making me thing there are tremors all the time!
• Two of our really good friends moved back to the US. :( We are happy for them, of course...but sad for us! Their original flight got delayed after the earthquake and they got put on another flight on Sunday. I got word from them on Monday that everything went well.
• I am SO glad today is Wednesday and that this work week is almost over. I have been stressed out at work all week and don't necessarily foresee an end to that. I have been working on the same project all week with a million changes coming from all angles. Ugf! It has been so frustrating. I just want to move on to my other projects.
• We have another wedding to attend this weekend! This is very exciting. Another one of my good friends is getting married to her Chilean novio so more fiesta fiesta is coming up.

Not much else is new. There is only 1 week left in the picture sales campaign that we have put together so please please please buy your pictures now! Help us help Chile!!!

Buin Community Cheers on Caravan of Aid Trucks Heading South

Don't forget to buy one (or more) of Christian's pictures and donate to Chile through that purchase!!! See this post for more information!!! All funds raised through March 17th will be donated to Red Cross Chile and Un Techo Para Chile!!!

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Christian found this video on Youtube of the whole community of Buin cheering on the caravan of aid trucks heading down south last night after the Teletón had doubled the amount of money it intended to raise. It's SO amazing to see how united and excited everyone is that we raised approx. $60 million dollars to aid the relief efforts!!!! It just gives me the chills!!!

Donation to La Teletón

**Updated with more pictures of actually going to make the donation yesterday.**

The Santander Bank teamed up with Banco de Chile for the Teletón. All branches were open, some the full 24 hours, and others just very extended hours. Above is the Santander branch that we went to in Providencia.

Here I am, being Vanna White by the Teletón sign before going in to make our big donation!

As promised, here is the receipt from the donation we made yesterday to La Teletón:

$151,650 Chilean pesos is approximately $303.30 US dollars!!! So awesome!!! Thanks for the support everyone. This includes the funds raised from the picture sales from March 3rd to March 5th.

The fundraiser will keep going until March 17th. Our goal is to raise a total of at least $500 dollars, if not more. The rest of the donations will go to Red Cross Chile and Un Techo Para Chile.

In other news, La Teletón was EXTREMELY successful this year. The program, which lasted 24 hours, was hosted by Don Francisco (of the "Sábado Gigante" show), had a goal of raising $15,000,000,000 Chilean pesos (approx. US $30 million dollars). The actual amount raised was DOUBLE that number......yes, all of Chile, famous people from all over the world (Evo Morales from Bolivia, Juanes, etc.) plus those of you who participated through other programs to donate helped Chile raise $60 million dollars in relief aid!!!!!

Last night we went to the wedding of some friends here and apart from being so happy to celebrate with them, it touched me that the groom made a toast sharing the news of El Teletón to all of us attending and letting us know how much it has touched him. In fact, his parents were in one of the coastal towns completely wiped away, but they were safe and at the wedding. He was very grateful for that, as I am sure you can imagine. It just goes to show, what an amazing couple they are, to be thinking about others on their important day.

Bottom line.....keep up the help!!!! Even the smallest purchase helps in a big way :)

To stay or to leave....that is the question

Don't forget to buy one (or more) of Christian's pictures and donate to Chile through that purchase!!!  See this post for more information!!!  All funds raised through midnight tonight will be donated to El Teletón!!!

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Many people are probably wondering why, for those of us who can, we don't get the H.E.double-hockey-sticks-out-of-Chile now that we have survived one of the worst earthquakes in history and to avoid risking another.  I know I have family and friends who have asked me, and even Chileans who ask me what I think about Chile (if I continue to like living here, etc.).  

One one level, I can understand that.  My nerves would probably love for us to move away as long as we didn't move to an earthquake-stricken place in the States.  And the thought has crossed my mind, like as if this were a sign that we should go back.  But a big part of me doesn't want to go, not yet.  In some crazy way, I feel more connected to this country.  Some other foreigners have mentioned they feel more "in love" with Chile than before.  I don't know if I can phrase it that same way, but the emotional connection I have to this country, its people and its culture is so much stronger than ever before.  One of my colleagues even said "Ahora sí puedes considerarte casi chilena después de haber vivido con nosotros el terremoto" ("Now you can consider yourself almost Chilean after having lived through an earthquake with us").  And in some way that is true....plus I have permanent residency and so I have all the rights as any citizen, minus voting and being the President.  That is beside the point though.  I don't know what it is about having lived through this natural disaster that makes one feel this way, but perhaps you can relate to how you felt about the US after September 11, 2001.  It is a togetherness that ones feels, because united we can stand up to anything and in the face of natural disasters, we need all the strength we can get.  

Chile needs us to stay here,  to keep providing help to everyone displaced in the earthquake, to keep investing money into the country and quite honestly, natural disaster aside, I do love Chile.  Yes, there are a million little things that irk me, cultural differences that although I am aware of them and understand where they come from, I will never be able to accept.  I know that Christian and I could make more money in the US, we would be closer to my family, we would be probably be able to travel to Chile more often,....but the truth is, I enjoy my life here.  We have a new fantastic apartment (despite having to climb 11 flights of stairs since our elevator is still out of service....although it sure is good exercise!).  We have great friends, good jobs, and a million other little things that make life enjoyable.  I am, and always will be, torn between living in Chile or the US because both have good and bad aspects, and I will always miss the other one, but for now, I like our life in Chile.  

Chile also needs people to keep coming in as tourists, maybe not right at this moment, but in the future, the tourism shouldn't stop.  It is a beautiful country with everything you could ask for--desert, glaciers, mountains, the beach, beauty that can only be understood when looking up, in person, at Los Cuernos ("The Horns") in the Torres del Paine National Park for example.  The wine industry needs you to keep buying Chilean wine.  Matt from El Cochaguino explains the importance of continued tourism in Chile and its effects of helping rebuild the country, which President Michelle Bachelet has estimated will take at least 3 years.

So what is the verdict you might ask?  For now, we will stay here.  My parents and family might not like that answer too much, but this past weekend's events have not pushed us from this country, but rather made us (or at least me) feel closer to it.  Of course we know that life changes unexpectedly and our plans could change.  I guess that is the excitement of life, seeing what it has in store for us.

I want to encourage you to help out Chile in any way you can--if you don't want a one of Christian's pictures, then please donate to one of the other causes:

http://www.stanfordchile.org/

http://www.chicagohelpschile.org/Site/HOME.html

Anyone wishing to donate to relief aid in Chile can donate to Cruz Roja (Chilean Red Cross), the international bank account information is: 

Citibank

Checking Account Nº 9941973331

Code ABA:021000089

Address: 153 east 53 Rd. Street 4th floor. New York, Ny 10022

Another gringa friend who is a photographer is also selling her images & donating profits to El Teletón, perhaps you want one of hers, check out this post for more information!

And a BIG thanks to those of you who have already supported a cause with a donation or picture purchase.

~Tyffanie

El Teletón Starts Tonight--Juanes Confirms his Attendence

Don't forget to buy one (or more) of Christian's pictures and donate to Chile through that purchase!!! See this post for more information!!! All funds raised through midnight tonight will be donated to El Teletón!!!!

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Juanes confirms his attendence to the event on Saturday March 6th. This makes me love him even more ;)

Here is an article in English that better explains what El Teletón is and the goals of this special program.

Emotionally Exhausted

Don't forget to buy one (or more) of Christian's pictures and donate to Chile through that purchase!!!  See this post for more information!!!  We'll be adding some more images soon!  

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Yesterday was a difficult day.  I spent most of it angry or on the verge of tears and feeling useless.  I had to return to work (ur building was inspected and there is no structural damage), but really it was the last thing I wanted to be doing.  Now don't get me wrong, under normal circumstances I really enjoy my work.  I like the people who I work with and I have been getting some cool projects to work on.  However, in the midst of a natural disaster that has left thousands in my adopted country without homes, food, clean water and in some cases, family.....work is the absolute last thing I feel inclined to do.  I find accounting absolutely irrelevant in the face of catastrophe.  Of course, I understand that our power plants and plant employees must continue to work in order to generate energy for the country, but accounting....really?....I mean.....it is not important right now.  I feel completely silly asking people for information to meet deadlines that our corporate office has placed on us, when god knows this country is suffering.  What is important is helping the relief effort in any way possible.  I don't care if it means going shopping for food and clothes to send to those most affected, it if means volunteering to accept donations, or even going south to help sort through the rubble.  I have been so torn between feeling this strong need to be helping and not being able to because I have to go to work.  Yesterday was a day of distractions....conversations with coworkers, bracing ourselves for the strong aftershocks that we felt, examining the emergency exists, and trying to cross at least one thing off of the to-do list.  Once the idea dawned on me to sell Christian's photography and once we decided that it was a great idea, I felt much better.  I had a plan and a goal to get the website up and running, get out a mass email and get people to buy pictures for the sake of helping Chile.  It helped a little to focus on work, but even today, my concentration levels are practically null.  

It doesn't help that physically and emotionally I am stressed out.  I try to not stress, but it is almost impossible not to.  The small replicas ("aftershocks") don't bother me so much, it is the stronger & longer lasting ones, the ones where the walls start to sound and they seem never-ending, that make my heart race.  I can instantly feel shots of adrenaline in my system as my body prepares for fight or flight mode.  For 2.5 years, with each tremor, I have remained calm and waited for the shaking to stop.  But after Saturday's experience, I don't know if I'll ever be able to not become altered when the shaking begins.  The 8.8 earthquake began just like any other tremor--a slight shaking I expected to end within 20 or 30 seconds.  But it didn't.  It turned into 3 minutes of what seemed like the world turning upside-down, with deafening sounds wiping my mind thoughtless.  And so when the shakes and sounds start again....my body innately reacts in a similar manner.  Yes, I am more aware now.  Yes, I know to take cover.  Yes, I know to not to try and escape while there are movements.  Yes, I know that aftershocks are expected and that they supposedly they be as strong....but instincts just don't work off of assumptions.  

The other problem??  Being away from home and my family--this increases the worry, wondering if they are ok, where they are, if they are acting in the correct manner and are safe.  I know I can't stay at home with my family forever, that isn't realistic, but even just for the week would be helpful.  Poor little Dulcinea is home alone today and I just hope there aren't any aftershocks while we are at the office....the poor thing gets really scared and I can't imagine how she would be alone on the 11th floor.  I really don't want to come home to my puppy having a heart attack.

Last night there was strong (6.1) aftershock off the coast in Valparaíso.  I don't know the exact magnitude that was felt in Santiago, but it was strong and lonnnnnggg.  It was also at like 11pm when most people were trying to go to bed.  Then it was followed by two other aftershocks and my nerves were just rattled.  I couldn't go to bed until like 12:30am which I was finally able to relax a bit.  I still sleep with a lamp on in the room, and maybe you might thing that is exaggerated, but it helps me sleep a bit better.  Needless to say I didn't sleep very well last night....nor have I since the earthquake....and getting up for work this morning was difficult.

Work is going a smidgen better today.  I have actually been able to cross some things off of my to-do list, but I think a bit part of this is due to the fact that Christian and I have figured out an additional way to help.  It is helpful to know that while I have to be at work, people can and should be buying pictures for a good cause.  It is really a win-win situation...the buyer gets an awesome picture and Chile gets money to help rebuild what was lost.  And I guess with that I will close....

~Tyffanie

Help Out Chile....and get something for yourself!!!

We are still doing fine after the 8.8 grade earthquake that struck Chile on February 27th at approx. 3:30am. There have been over 170 aftershocks, most small but some quite strong. Thankfully our family and friends are all ok, even though our nerves continue to be tested with the aftershocks. We consider ourselves to be VERY lucky in that we still have an apartment to live in, food to eat and water to drink. Many people further south and on coastal cities lost everything. They were barely able to leave their houses and head for higher ground before the tsunami came and washed everything away. Watching the news and talking to people has been devastating. You see these kinds of thinks on TV, such as the earthquake & tsunami of 2004 or that of Haiti in January, and it seems so surreal. Then it happens to you or someone close to you, and while on some level it is still surreal, the truth is that it shakes you to your core. I cannot believe the state of crisis that exists in Concepción and the other towns. It blows my mind to see the pictures and hear of people displaced from their homes, not to mention then being robbed by theives who are taking advantage of the situation.

Christian and I have been trying to help out in any way we can, despite the fact we still have to work this week. Yesterday we took bags of clothes, personal hygene products and food to a donation site in Vitacura. It was amazing to see what everyone has donated. We are also donating money through my company, which is matching donations, and the money will go directly to the workers of our power plants down south who have lost everything. However, we just don't feel that is enough. So we had another idea....one in which you can all participate to not only help out Chile, but to also get something pretty darn cool out of it yourselves.

We have decided to sell prints of some of Christian's photography. Pictures of Argentina, Chile, Colorado, the aftermath of the earthquake here, Dachshund puppies, and more. All profits made from the sales will be donated to the earthquake relief efforts. Whatever is sold between now and this Friday, March 5th will be donated to El Teletón (The Telethon, which is a huge fundraising campaign that is performed annually in Chile for the disabled, however the organization has decided to put on a special telethon just for the earquake and it will be Friday starting at 10pm). The rest of the profits made between March 5th and March 17th will be donated to the Red Cross Chile and to Un Techo Para Chile ("A Roof for Chile"). These organizations are crucial to rebuilding Chile and we know they money will be put to good use.

How does it work? It is simple:

• Visit the website: http://christianbphotography.printroom.com
• View the different galleries available and pick your favorite pictures. You can choose from a variety of print sizes.
• When you view your Shopping Cart before checking out, make sure the images look ok in the little icon. You can crop and adjust the images to make sure the whole image is included in the print size you want. You can add borders, etc. as well. Please do not forget to review this before checking out. We cannot be responsible for images that get cut off due to the print size ordered but not adjusted properly.
• Click Checkout and follow the instructions regarding shipping, payment, etc. Payments can be made with Visa, Mastercard and AmericanExpress.
• Done! Now you too have aided in rebuilding Chile and scored yourself some awesome pictures!

We will be posting the total of funds gathered to donate as well as the receipts of donations after the two week period ends here on the blog.

Please take the opportunity to pass on this information to anyone you know so that we have the chance of donating as much money as possible. This was the 7th largest earthquake in recorded history and it is going to take a lot of help to get Chile back to where it needs to be.

We really appreciate you taking your time and helping us out! Any questions that you may have, feel free to send us an email at christianbphotography[at]gmail[dot]com.

My tale of the earthquake in Chile on February 27, 2010--part 1

Those were the longest and scariest three minutes of my life. Not that the fear stopped only after 3 minutes, it has continued on for days, albeit not as strong, but just as present.

My husband, dog and I had just moved into a new apartment in Santiago, on the 11th (and top) floor of a building in Providencia the previous weekend. We decided to travel to Viña del Mar, a coastal city approximately 2 hours west of the capital city of Santiago, Chile to visit my in-laws for the weekend. We normally go about once per month and hadn’t had time to travel for a while, plus we had plans to say goodbye to a friend moving back to Europe permanently and see the new baby of another friend. It was to be a busy weekend.

We left Santiago on Friday night after packing and loading the car. When we arrived in Viña around 10pm on Friday February 26th the streets were packed—it was the last weekend of the famous International Song Festival of Viña del Mar and thousands of people were in town to attend the concerts. Plus, it was the last weekend of summer vacation here in Chile and people were squeezing in every last minute before the vuelta to reality.

When we arrived at my in-laws, an apartment on the 2nd floor of a building in the “plan” of Viña (the plan refers to the flat part of Viña). The plan was to watch the Festival on TV for a bit before going to bed. However, I was exhausted from a long weekend and had forgotten my glasses in Santiago. Thus, once I took out my contacts, which were killing my eyes, I could no longer see anything past the length of my arm. So to bed I went. Christian watched Festival a bit and then joined me in bed with our beloved puppy, Dulcinea.

Now, let me give you a bit of background on my experience with Chile’s seismic activity. I felt my first tremor in 2006 about 2 months after my study abroad program started. I was in the 2nd story of our program’s house in Viña and thought it was so cool to feel a tremor. I mean, this was completely new to me as in Colorado we have no tremors. I remember the director of our program telling everyone to calm down and explaining how tremors are versus earthquakes. She said that if it is going to be an earthquake, the tremor starts out small and starts to build strength. She also said that most tremors only last a short time (maybe 30 seconds) so if the shaking lasts longer than that, one should prepare for the worst. At the time she explained all of this, I didn’t quite care. I enjoyed the little shake and never thought that I would be part of an earthquake in a million years. It wasn’t until many months later, when I was serious with Christian, that I began to worry that these little shakes every once in a while could turn into something more. I think it was the fear of losing this person I love so much or not being with him when a disaster struck. So pretty much ever since then, I worry a bit when there are tremors. At night, I wake up Christian when I feel them and once they pass we go back to sleep.

That is exactly what happened this past weekend around 3:30am on Saturday February 27th, 2010. I started feeling the apartment shake and woke up Christian. Dulcinea was at our feet and woke up and started barking. Christian started to hug me and wait for the tremor to stop (as it normally would), only it didn’t. Instead, it got really strong. The furniture appeared to be possessed. Dulcinea jumped onto my lap shaking more than the ground beneath us. I thought a whole was opening up in the earth and would swallow us whole. I couldn’t believe what was happening and wondered when it would stop. Christian tried to hold up the shelving unit in the room where we were while also holding on to me and Dulci. In hindsight, we should have put ourselves in the door frame, but we stayed in the bed hoping the nightmare would end. It was already dark, but the electricity went out and that is when Christian knew this was serious business. I honestly don’t remember much of what I was thinking other than "holy shit". Plain and simple.

Once the shaking stopped we got up to see if everyone else was ok. My sister-in-law was crying and my in-laws were in bed scared as well. However they were alive and without injuries, just as the three of us and that was the most important thing. I couldn’t see anything thanks to not having my glasses. It was almost a full moon out and thus some light entered through the windows. Christian immediately ordered everyone to get dressed. We had to get out of the apartment and get to higher ground asap. We had no idea where the epicenter of the earthquake was and didn’t want to run any risks of possible tsunamis hitting us. I managed to put in my contacts in the dark, find my clothes and necessary items and get Dulcinea bundled up with two sweaters. My body was shaking even though adrenaline was running high. I could barely stand, but had to in order to get our stuff and go. We took some blankets, toilet paper and bottled water with us and headed towards the car. There are designated escape routes in the event of tsunamis in Viña which were developed after the tsunami in 2004. We followed the route which took us up to the hills of Viña, and were joined by many other cars. Instead of stopping we decided to head towards Santiago, hoping to find some place along the highway with no poles, trees and more open space. We ended up at the police station right outside of Curauma which had an open parking lot. It was a smart place to go. Not only did we not have to worry about poles falling on the car, the police station had a generator and therefore lights and bathrooms in addition to the information that the police themselves could give us.

We stayed in the car far from the city until daylight struck, around 7:15am, when we decided to head back to the apartment. It was almost 4 hours after the earthquake had hit, we knew the epicenter was near Concepción some 200 miles south and that there was no danger of a tsunami according to the confirmations by the Chilean army. We had felt several aftershocks while in the car, but they felt like a big truck had driven close by the car. We heard on the radio that there had been some strong ones, I guess the car absorbed most of the movement.

As we got back to Viña, we could see roads that had large cracks in them, roof tiles or other parts of houses that had fallen off and right by my MIL’s apartment, the streets were flooded as the water pipes below ground had broken. The electricity was out and the phones were dead. The water that came out of the pipes was now brown. The majority of things had been thrown to the floor in the apartment. Vases broken, a sliding glass window on the balcony fallen over but not shattered thankfully, lamps on the floor and all the plants on the balcony dumped over (see pictures below). Only material things lost. Nothing compared to the lives that could have been lost.

Photo by Christian Bobadilla

Photo by Christian Bobadilla

Photo by Christian Bobadilla

Photo by me

We tried to call our family members who were dispersed in various cities that had been hit—Rancagua, Linares and Temuco. I also tried to call my parents despite the fact it was 4am in Colorado. We found out our family in Rancagua was ok. We had no word from Temuco or Linares and it was a joke trying to call internationally. Duclinea stayed in my arms for the rest of the day. We were both on edge, as was everyone else, especially when an aftershock rippled through the apartment, causing us to jump to our feet and our hearts to race. By 10am, it felt like 8pm at night....we were exhausted. We hadn’t slept since 3:30am, we hadn’t eaten and we had no idea what to do with ourselves at that point...

Email: March 1, 2010 10:49am (Chile time)

Subject: The Start of day 3

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to send another update to let you all know we are doing well. Night #2 went much smoother and thankfully we were able to sleep better.

Yesterday when I sent the email, we were heading to the supermarket. Luckily it was early meaning that it wasn't yet packed, although it was already busy, and that there was food left. We got food that doesn't need to be cooked or necesarrily heated up. Yogurt, lunch meats, canned tuna, cereal, things of that sort. By the time we were in line waiting, the store was packed and no bagged bread was even on the shelves. Luckily Chile is known for its homemade bread and the store, plus many other small bakeries, kept on baking bread. We then went to a small market to get some bottled watter and a different store for some veggies. I can't say enough just how lucky we are to even have a place to sleep, electricity and water working and be able to have money to even buy things from the grocery store. Credit cards aren't working much, although Christian was able to put gas in the car with the visa. My mother-in-law luckily had a stash of cash at home and lent us money since we don't know when the ATMs and bank services will be up and running again. We shouldn't need money for anything else now that we have food, but since you never know it is better to have money with you.

After the grocery store, we had lunch. My mother-in-law's kitchen has an electric oven so we were able to bake some chicken. We baked extra so that we could bring it to Santiago with us. Pretty much after lunch we made our way home. Two of our friends were also in Viña saying goodbye to their family there because they had a flight to the USA tonight to move there permanently. They won't be flying out today since the airport is closed and my friend told me they got tickets for next Sunday. But they were trying to get back to Santiago via bus and luckily we were able to get ahold of them before we left Viña to give them a ride. It sure made the 2 hour drive back to Santiago feel much shorter.

The highway from VIña to Santiago is fine. We had no problems or obstacles along the way. Once we took the Costanera Norte highway entering Santiago, to get to Providencia, that is where there were some issues, but nothing that stopped us from getting home. See, that highway has a lot of bridges and overpasses, and the first bridge we crossed, there was a guy telling us to practically stop and go suppppper slow over the bridge. Why? Well because on each end it has separated a bit and the cracks were covered with large sheets of metal. The rest of the bridges mostly had new bumps in the road over which we had to drive slowly as well. Once we got into Providencia it was almost like nothing had happened. You couldn't see much damage to the buildings at all. Some of the old houses, which are few, did have visable damage like roof tiles broken, windows broken etc. There is a church in Providencia which was pretty damaged, but we didn't see it. We did see some other churches with the stained glass broken and some of the decorative structure broken.

We got to our apartment and you couldn't tell anything had happened from outside. The elevators weren't working and still aren't so let me tell you how fun it was to climb 12 flights of stairs to the 11th floor (our parking in underground). I can't complain much as I did it only twice whereas Christian has done it about 6 times. When we opened the door we found pretty much everything on the floor. The wine glasses I had put on the new shelving unit in the living room were shattered, all but 4 which somehow made it through. The other small shelving unit with the phone and misc. items was on its face. All our clothes had fallen from the closet and the closet doors are a bit broken. Neither of the lamps broken in our room even though they were on the floor. In our computer room, the standing closet had one of its doors on the ground. Our LCD TV which was connected to a computer and used as both a TV and computer, was hanging by its cables from the desk. Somehow, it is also working perfectly, which is helpful in writing you this email. The guest room suffered the drawers falling over and marking the wall a bit and the windows opened by themselves. The bed moved a good foot from the wall but nothing more than that. The kitchen suffered the worst. The computer we used as a server to connect the webcams to see Dulcinea during the day, crashed to the ground (it was above the cubboards). The microwave which was on top of the fridge, fell behind it. The light on the ceiling fell off, although the light bulbs are still there. Some small plates from inside of the cabinet fell out and shattered. Our little laundry room was almost impossible to open thanks to the ironing board which had jarred it shut. But christian finally got it open and we were able to get the broom and other items to clean up the floors. During the time we were cleaning I had to lock DUlcinea in her travel home as it was too dangerous for her to be walking around with glass on the floor. You can see pictures of all of this on Christian's album. I will be getting pictures of the highway bridge incidents up later. You will also see how our building was built in the pictures--in 3 separate partes with space in between as to allow for movement. They have been like that forever, they were just covered up with metal pieces or sheet rock, which fell off after the quake. So now we can see the building in front of us from the crack or the floor below us where the separation exists. But it is to accomodate the movement and no structural damage has happened to the building because of it.

I got word that I don't have to go to work until Wednesday which was a big relief because it gives me time to finish cleaning and organizing the mess. Plus I am just not ready to be separated from Christian and Duclinea. I know we are lucky and that what we experienced is nothing in comparison to those in Concepción or other cities further south, but each aftershock makes my heart race and Dulcinea is definitely altered. She knows something is wrong. Last night she felt an aftershock while she was alone in the bedroom and she went running all over the house and into her travel crate. She was frightened. Christian may have to go to work later today or tomorrow, but I will try to keep him home as long as I can! We all slept well last night, which was much needed. I only woke up once or twice and was able to go back to sleep quickly. During the night I don't think I felt any aftershocks. Before we went to bed there was one and this morning around 9:30am there was another. Thankfully they feel pretty smooth and not very strong in the apartment. I am not sure if that is because they are less intense than some of the other ones we have had or because of our building, but either way it is helpful. In fact, when Dulcinea felt one last night, I had no idea it happened. I was texting my boss back confirming I had received her message and was pacing the floor. At one point I almost lost my balance but I thought it was cuz i was going in circles, however it could have been thanks to the aftershock. Christian only told me after that there was one, as to not freak me out.

The plan for today is to make some breakfast--bread with avocado and lunch meat. Then I think we will continue to straighten up the house and look for clothes that we don't need. I want to gather as much stuff as I can to send down South to the places where people lost everything but the clothes on their backs. I have WAY too much clothes as it is and I know we will have stuff to send. I am not sure which organization will be collecting clothes but I prefer to have it ready to go. For those of you who are interested in helping out, I looked online and found the following links with information about organizations who are helping:

http://www.google.com/relief/chileearthquake/

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20100227/wl_ynews/ynews_wl1196_2

Anything will help. Even $5, that is just a Venti Starbucks Frap that you would be giving up. I am going to investigate if groups will be travelling down to help rebuild, I think that would be cool to take part in. We'll have to see though. I just want to help as much as I can. The pictures and news are devastating. Concepción doesn't have much left and it was the 2nd largest city in Chile. Granted, I think the construction was not as anti-sismic as in Santiago plus the strength of the earthquake just flattened and destroyed many things. The tsunami wave that hit within 15 minutes of the quake obliterated what was left as well.

A fellow foreigner who is a scientist of some sort, sent out some cool links to map the different aftershocks and quake. This link shows an actual map with points of where epicenters have been and when it took place. This link has a list, starting with the 8.8 grade quake, listing all of the aftershocks, their stregnthen, epicenter and time. As you can see there have been a ton!

Well I think that is enough for now. I am so glad my friends and family, both immediate and extended, are all ok.

Thanks for thinking of us. We really appreciate it!

Email: February 28, 2010 9:15am (Chile time)

Subject: We made it through the night

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to let you know we made it though the night. There were several aftershocks and I was awake about every two hours, but I still managed to sleep. We aren't sure if we are going back today or not. We talked to the people in our building and there isn't any gas, so we won't be able to cook or have hot water. There is electricity and water according to them, but I wonder how much water b/c not a lot got to our shower anyway hahaha. I prefer to stay here, but I feel like we need to go home to see what damage is there and throw away the rotting food in the fridge/freezer. We asked the conserje to turn off the electricity just to be safe this morning when we talked to him. Right now we are eating breakfast and are going to go to the supermarket to stock up on food. There isn't any gas at bernarda's house either because they are worried there might be leaks in the building, but at least the water has better pressure and we are more together. With every aftershock Bernarda freaks out and tries to leave. Most aftershocks don't bother me, just the longer ones. There was a long one this morning that was scary.

Last night I made them shut off the TV because the news make things so much scarier. I know it is bad down south and in other areas but watching it repeatedly makes me nervious. I prefer to live in a bit more ignorace than leave the TV on.

I still can't believe we were in one of the worst earthquakes in the world. One news article, in WSJ or BBC, said it was tied for the 5th largest earthquake of the century. The no. 1 was in Valdivia (Chile) and was a grade 9.5 and actually change the axis that the earth rotates. So crazy! Those were serioulsy the longest and scariest 3 minutes of my life when the earthquake was happening. I am just so glad we were able to react in a timely manner to get dressed, get in the car and head for higher ground. This was all because Christian stays so calm in emergencies. Once the sun came up and we had confirmed with the police there was no tsunami warning for Viña or other parts of Chile, we came home to see the damage. Christian photographed everything and posted some of the pictures here. I took pictures too but haven't got them up yet.

Well I better go, we need to go the supermarket to try and buy whatever is left that doesn't need to be cooked on the stove since we don't have gas. We are seriously lucky. Please keep Chile in your thoughts as many many people are left without homes and everything else.....they left with the clothes on their back.

Lots of love,

Email: February 27, 2010 5:56pm (Chile time)

Subject: WE ARE OK!!!

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to send you a quick note to let you know that we are all ok (Christian, Dulcinea, me, Erica Bobadilla, Bernarda, Papi Lucho, Alexis & Dana, Kerstin & Noelia, as well as other friends who I have talked to:Heather & Vuko, Isabel & Italo, Sarah & Felipe, Gabriela). We are with my in-laws and family in Viña. All my siblings-in-laws are ok, even Roberto who lives close to the epicenter of the earthquake. We have food and water and just got electricity. Int'l phone service is not working well but we will be in contact when we can. We aren't sure when we will be traveling back to Santiago and have no idea how the "new" apartment is.....

The important thing is we are safe and the epicenter of the earthquake was in the south. From what we have heard, it was a grade 6 or so in Viña, not sure how accurate that is, but that is what we know.

Thanks again for thinking of us and please continue to keep us (and the rest of Chile) in your thoughts.

Lots of love,
~Tyffanie, Christian & Dulcinea

Who's Your Dachshund: Opening Presents on Christmas

Hop on over to Who's Your Dachshund for the latest on Dulcinea.....

~Tyffanie

Merry Christmas to All 2009!!!!

Who's Your Dachshund: My First Dachshunds

It is true what Frankie said....once you have a dachshund, you are hooked!

If you want to hear about how I got hooked, check out the following post: My First Dachshunds.

~Tyffanie

P.S. Parents got into town just fine, Dulcinea already loves them!

Who's Your Dachshund: Pillow Hog

Dulcinea steals my pillow and so I wrote about it on Who's Your Dachshund.....read all about how she is a Pillow Hog here.

~Tyffanie

Who's Your Dachshund: Thankful, Oh So Thankful

Forgot to post this one here: Thankful, Oh So Thankful
~Tyffanie

I Heart Christmas-time

Went shopping for Christmas decorations last night.  My parents will be here for the holiday and we will spend it at our home (instead of traveling), so we have to make it Christmas-like.  This holiday is by far my favorite! I can´t wait till we put up the decorations and our little tree.  Maybe tomorrow night....I want to make sure all 3 of us participate in the decorating process.  If not tomorrow, for sure on Sunday afternoon.

I've also tried to get a start on the gift buying, etc.  I hate leaving it to the last minute and I love getting gifts for people.  I normally do some sort of craft or homemade gift to give to friends and family, but I haven't been able to think of a good and *feasible in Chile* idea....so that tradition might be on hold until we return to the US.  

Yay for Christmas!!
~Tyffanie

Me Ganó El Toro

This:

+ your typical fall =

Me not blogging for a while....at least until I can type with both hands again.