the SAGa

One of the most boring things I can think of to read about on a blog is a long tirade of complaints about an esoteric event that I can't relate to my own life. In spite of this, I feel like I owe it to you to explain where in the world I have been and what in the world is going on with our sheep.

We went to Australia with the intention of buying sheep genetic material and growing our own sheep here in Chile. But we quickly found out that buying a live animal was about the same cost and produced more return on our investment (ie we could sell its genetics to others; we had most 'doses' of the 'genetic material') and a much faster result in our flock (a live animal is ready to breed immediately whereas growing our own would take two years). We like to make sound business decisions and buying a live animal sounded like one.

Chile is a very isolated country with few diseases of animals and plants, so there is very tight import control on these. We decided to investigate the process of bringing in a live animal, but because we were in Australia already and the Chilean officials don't have information posted online, the only way we could determine the protocol was to call and enquire.

Any of you reading this from Chile are probably laughing right now because you know that "calling and enquiring" always leads to some sort of disaster. But we were lucky--our vet was with us and she knew the director of Animal Importation for SAG, the Chilean USDA, and we were able to call him directly. "Sure!" he said, "No problem. You just have ot ship the animals through a SAG-approved export and quarantine center." Excellent! thought we. There was one available to handle our animals.

At the end of September, we began the official process of getting import approval, which begins not with filling out paperwork, but with constructing a letter that includes information and answers to questions that you must pull out of the ether. If it's not just right, they basically ignore you. Naturally, they ignored us.

They ignored us for so long, in fact, that we had to make several increasingly angry calls to get any sort of response (which included, of course, "Send it again, but this time hand deliver it. And get a signature. And make copies. And....")

By the middle of October, we got an answer: "I don't know where you got your information, but the farm where you buy the animals has to be inspected and approved first." Huh. We informed them that our information came from their boss and we asked to speak with him. He wouldn't take our calls, the calls of our vet, nor the calls of several of his colleagues who tried to contact him on our behalf. We had been shunned and had nowhere to turn== there was no written mandate supporting our side or theirs, but they had the distinct advantage of being The Ones Who Make The Decisions.

What ensued was a ridiculous dance, the intricate details of which I won't bore you with. But I will tell you that it involved many more letters hand delivered to small offices deep in Santiago, emails CCed to half the universe, calls denied by more and more officials and finally my having to go directly to the Australian Embassy in Santiago to complain that Chilean officials were interfering with perfectly legal trade with their country. It was clear that SAG had no interest in approving our request.

But boy, calling the embassy sure made Chile move. In the end, we did have to send someone to Australia to approve the farm. He was meant to leave on December 9, and it was only on December 5 that they called us and said that the trip was approved and that we had to buy the plane ticket (yeah, of course we had to pay for all of this). And then we had to give them expense money for the trip, but naturally being a Federal Office of Chile, they did not accept the Official Currency of Chile. No, they wanted to be paid, mysteriously, in US dollars. In Chile, this is not a transaction that can be completed by phone or internet. You have to buy US dollars at your home bank, then physically take them to the State bank for deposit. We were at the farm when we were informed of this, and they wanted the money within 12 hours. So we had to make a special trip into Santiago to buy and transport the currency of the United States to the bank of Chile for a trip to Australia. This, my lovely readers, is an example of effective government practice.

In the end, Nick says it wasn't all bad because now we have become intimately acquainted with several national-level government officials (not all of whom are complete morons), as well as several Australian diplomatic officials. We made a name for ourselves as Those Dang People Who Wouldn't Shut Up, and of course, we get the sheep.

A house is not a home without a cat

This week we took the cats to our new casita for the very first time. It was also the first time they have been to the farm since October, when Mister escaped into the darkness and Shady pooped in the car on the way there. As you might expect, I was a tad nervous about it and so were the cats when we took the carriers out of the closet last Tuesday morning. They see those things and immediately must think, "VET!" But they were reasonably quiet on the way to the farm and even when the farm dogs came close to the car to say hi.

We have a little terrace off of our living room, so we decided this would be a great place to put the litter box (especially since our house is thimble-sized), but it needed to be screened and a door needed to be added to make it accessible for them. The screening process was surprisingly easy: We bought some chicken wire--no one here has regular bug screens right now, at least not the kind with mesh small enough to actually keep bugs out--and had it attached all around the porch in about an hour. Nick worked on the cat door while I started dinner and by the time we sat down to eat, the cats could roam in and out.

The problem is this: Our cats do not understand how to maneuver doors. That's not entirely true. They manage to get the bathroom door open whenever it's occupied without a problem. But a cat door? Perplexing! I showed them about 40 times that the flap swung in both directions, that they could push it and it would open, that it wouldn't bite them. No dice. In the end I ended up having to remove the flappy part, at which point they both ran in and out, in and out freely. As soon as I put the flap back on, they were petrified again. Sigh. So as of right now the flap remains off.

The cats LOVED the house, though. I think they loved being with us, being able to go outside again (it's been too cold at the apartment to open the balconies), the fire... Shady was content enough to just sit by the fire, but Mister kept trying to sniff the wood stove. I hope he has enough sense not to burn himself on it. The dogs came up by the house and the cats were even somewhat ok with them. There were some growling sessions, but there were just as many sniffing sessions, too.

When it was time to go back to the city this weekend, I sensed that they were disappointed to leave the house. We'll be back tomorrow, no fear (and we're getting TV tomorrow! still working on the internet problem, but how nice will it be to see the news or a movie or House or something!)... soon the cats will be able to drive themselves there and back!

Back to the grind

You'd think that winter would be more tolerable down here because it is so much warmer than in the Cleveland area. However, I am finding myself with the same level of jetlag that I'd get going back to Cleveland after a February Chile trip. Somehow when I land in summer, I have no problem, but the last two days have been a blur of sleep, headaches and clouds. Blech.

Anyway, it's back to work for us for 4 weeks. We are going to have to keep burning the candle at both ends because we have a LOT of work to fit into this time: On Aug 14, we leave again but this time for 6 weeks. We are going to Cleveland, Jackson Hole, back to Cleveland for a wedding, then to AUSTRALIA! to buy/order sheep embryos, then BACK to Cleveland and finally back here. No joke, I am going to go from being a regular old frequent flier to a gold flier just with these trips. I am excited about Australia, but it will be mostly work-- sheep farms, fairs, mucho hay and manure I imagine. I am most looking forward to Jackson because I need a few days of relaxation and zero obligations. Brian and Becky are coming so goodness knows the food will be good, too!

So, here's what's on our plate:

HOUSE As you all know, the farm house was destroyed in the earthquake. I haven't really updated about that situation because I have been out of my mind busy with that. Nick and I have looked at this past trip as a symbolic closure of the Earthquake Period here-- the straw house is done, and we have a temporary place to live-- we bought a mobile-home-type ditty that was delivered ready-to-go, but it's TINY (two bedrooms/450 square feet) and anyway we were going to build our own house even before the earthquake hit. So since before we moved here, Nick and I dealt with an architect to design a house. We shopped it around to various builders but unfortunately the price was just WAY too high for us (1/4-1/2 million USD! wth!). Back in February we were about to sign a contract with the company that made our casita (it's what we call the mobile house... nicer, isn't it?) to build a full-sized house for us. It was affordable and reasonably nice. Since we've had the casita, though, we've realized that we have a bit more time to think about things and also we weren't crazy about the quality of it. It's fine, but it gave us pause when we realized a whole house like that could be a pain to live in... soo.....

Nick and I have decided to build our own house... ! ..... ! We are going to continue on the straw theme, and employ the same two farm guys that helped build the one on the farm the employee. We came to the realization that in order to get the quality that we wanted (and are used to in the US) for the price that we want, this is the only way. Plus, the only people accountable to us are us. If we don't show up for work one day, we know where we are. If we go over budget, we know why. And saving so much on labor will enable us to have the best quality materials, ensuring that our house will last longer than something we'd contract out. The building project will start around November, but we are going this afternoon to discuss it with an architect, so start looking for posts about this soon. I am really excited to be able to blog about our own straw house!

BUSINESS The other big thing I have on my plate is a business that Nick and I, a friend from the US, and possibly a partner here in Chile have talked about starting for some months. I don't want to put too many details on the internet because it's a very competitive industry, but I look forward to talking about it more as we progress. But for now I have to write a business plan to get us operational as soon as possible. One thing I learned from attending a entrepreneurship seminar here is not to sit on your ideas because there are ten other people our there trying to make them work already! So we decided that in order to get things into motion, I was the least busy member of this group and I could start the heavy work on things as soon as possible. Exciting, but lots of work.

Ok gotta run to this meeting, but it feels nice to have some clarity of mind, and moreover TIME, to be back here blogging and telling everyone about life in Chile! See you soon!

Back to the USA

Wow, what a visit home. Nick and I went to the US on July 1 and came back to Chile yesterday. It was the first time we had been there since the earthquake and so coming in was extremely emotional for me. The landscape itself is so different than here in Chile, and when I saw the flat land filled with green, green, green and the lake in the distance, I can't even describe the feeling that welled up in me. It was coming home, but it was different, more powerful. It was a place I knew that was still there, unchanged, unshaken.

I won't bore you with too many details of what we did and who we saw because many of you were either there or don't know the people I am talking about! However, I would like to mention a few highlights:

GO TRIBE-- The day we got back, crazy person that I am, I arranged for us to go to an Indians game. They lost miserably and played like an AA team, but it was great to be there. The fireworks were amazing, and it was about as All-American as you can get after 6 months away. Considering all of the drama always surrounding the other teams in town, I hope the Indians can get it together in the coming years... lots more opinions here but this is not a baseball blog.... :)

ROOT CAFE-- I hadn't been here since they moved/changed from the Phoenix, aside from a quick dash in over Christmas to get coffee. I have been hooked on Phoenix coffee since Brian introduced me to it (Phoenix and Equal Exchange decaf are my signature blends!) but the old place wasn't exactly my kind of hole in the wall (and hole in the wall, it was). But the Root is the really comfortable, relaxing kind of coffee house I haven't seen around town since the Red Star was open down on Detroit & 116th. I went once just to try it and we ended up going on several consecutive days. The food, which is sourced locally when available, was great and reasonably priced. I am hooked on the beetnik muffin-- a beet & blueberry creation that is dense, moist and really tasty. I am going to have to experiment with beets in bakery now! They are much sweeter here in Chile, so it will be interesting to see how that works out... Recipes to come?

BAC-- This was the other dining discovery of the trip. Nick, Brian & Becky and I were in Tremont and wanted some interesting food for dinner, so we decided to try Bac. The family who runs it includes a friend-of-several-friends so I had seen details about it while we were here in Chile but obviously didn't have the chance to try it until this trip. The menu had me DROOLING a few months ago when I read it and it turns out that it lived up to its hype. The dumpling and rangoon appetizers we had were excellent, and the sauces flavorful (and not just soy sauce with chili in it like some places). I had Pad Thai because I can't resist trying it wherever I am. It was really different from any I have had but really good. A reviewer on another site said it was better than the one at Ty Fun, which is my favorite pad thai around... I wouldn't say it was better but it was just as good in a different way.

HILL CUMORAH-- After many years of talking about it, Sarah, Alison and I finally went to the Hill Cumorah pageant in upstate NY. For those of you not familiar with it, it's a dramatic rendition of part of the book of Mormon and how it was rediscovered. Sociologically speaking, it was fascinating to see so many mormons in one place, and with the dichotomy of the attendees with the anti-mormon protestors surrounding the place. Despite my fascination with mormon culture and my disbelief in the book of mormon, I really do not understand anti-mormon protestors. I, too, find it quite odd that there is no historical evidence of a book many people believe to be accurate (although this was explained away in the pageant by God having wiped the historical evidence off the face of the Earth), but I have never been driven to yell at believers over it. Also, Mormons? Probably the least likely people in the world to engage in any sort of dialect over their beliefs. The pageant itself was ... odd.. It was about an hour and a half long, and probably 1:15 of that was a summary of fighting between groups of people. Then it got on to what I thought was the important stuff-- the discovery by Joseph Smith of the book of Mormon at the very site we were sitting! But it spent maybe 10 minutes saying "And so Joseph Smith found the book of Mormon here on Hill Cumorah. The end, have a good night!"

Post-wall building... go on a road trip!

What sounds like the best way to relax after building the walls to a house? How about a 1000-km road trip the next day??? No? Well, that's what we did.

On Sunday, we left the straw house project around 4pm, only to rush home, shower, put something classy on and attend Nick's grandma's 95th birthday party. Normally this would have warranted a post all of its own, but I was so wiped out and thinking of the upcoming trip that I barely have any recollection of the party (except that I FINALLY got to wear this cute strapless red dress I found at a thrift store in Cleveland for $5).

Monday morning, we hit the road in the farm truck at 7:30 am. We were trying to beat beep-o'clock but it started early that morning, so there was lots of traffic and noise trying to get out of the city. Just on the other side of the mountains that form the border of the Region Metropolitana and Region VI O'Higgins, we encountered our first earthquake-related delay. Both the bridges on Route 5, the Panamerican highway, had collapsed, so we had to take a detour through the country. The upside of this was that they didn't charge tolls, so we didn't have to stop and wait in the toll line every hundred kms or so.

The whole way down, we passed many bridges that had completely collapsed or sides of the road that disappeared. Here's one where the other lane just fell off:

From Straw house and Puerto Varas

Another where the bridge just snapped off:

From Straw house and Puerto Varas

This is the old bridge over the Rio Claro that broke as well:

From Straw house and Puerto Varas

I was a bit disappointed when we got to the South because it was cloudy from farmers burning off their fields. Burning stuff is one of my biggest frustrations here. No one seems to care about the environmental implications of burnings acres and acres of vegetation, let alone the quantity of garbage that is burned. I read reports from the tsunami ravaged areas that said they were dealing with the debris by burning it all in order to avoid a health crisis. Avoid a health crisis? It just changes what type of health crisis you will have! But I digress...

We got to where we were staying, outside Puerto Varas on the shores of Lago Llanquihue, late in the evening, but the skies had cleared and we were greeted with one of the most spectacular sights I have ever seen in Chile. Above the grand Volcan Osorno, a full moon had risen and was wrapped in a beautiful halo.

From Straw house and Puerto Varas

I know this looks completely fake, but this is an unretouched photo (long exposure obviously) I took of the situation

From Straw house and Puerto Varas

Straw House Pics

There are so many photos that I took that I can even begin to tell a story around, so I thought I'd just post a bunch of photos here of the process.

The first wall developing

From Straw house and Puerto Varas

Within an hour or so, the walls were developing

From Straw house and Puerto Varas

From Straw house and Puerto Varas

From Straw house and Puerto Varas

The walls where I planned for sections to be one bale thick turned out the best.

From Straw house and Puerto Varas

While the walls were going up, they started planning the roof dimensions on the floor:

From Straw house and Puerto Varas

From Straw house and Puerto Varas

The house was like a beehive:

From Straw house and Puerto Varas

Nick and the farm guys enjoy a late afternoon beer. It was HOT that day.

From Straw house and Puerto Varas

This was most of the people who came, but not even everyone. I can't thank them enough.

From Straw house and Puerto Varas

At the end of the day, the house looked like THIS!

From Straw house and Puerto Varas

Here's an interior shot with the roof plate:

From Straw house and Puerto Varas

From Straw house and Puerto Varas

Ongoing list...

This is sort of for myself, sort of for you. People have asked me what I need from the US and also I tend to forget these things when I'm actually there, so I thought I'd start a list of things I/We could always use and/or always want. (Note that this is not directed at the group of you coming to visit in a couple of weeks!!!)

Mr Clean Magic Erasers

Q-tips

Rica-rica sauce from Teahouse Noodles

Malley's hot fudge

Decaf coffee (esp Trader Joe's Mocha-Java or Phoenix anything med/dark)

Trader Joe's olive tapenade

Flip flops from Old Navy (love 'em! but the farm kills them)

Almond butter

Beer- especially

Briana's blush vinagrette dressing

Campbell's tomato soup