Chapter 13 - The Life Of A Nanny In Chile

Life In Chile

Chapter 13 - The Life Of A Nanny In Chile
(August 2014)
1 Month to go

Here are a few things I have learnt whilst being a Nanny:

  

1.     Getting up early in the morning is never fun, especially when it is still dark outside!! 

2.     The names of every character on Peppa Pig & Thomas The Tank Engine. 

3.     Changing pooey nappies never gets easier or better or less stinkier. 

4.     Putting a child down for a nap makes me feel like I have just accomplished Mount Everest!! 

5.     Never wear white.. a white tee with a splash of carrot & lentil down it is not a good look!! 

6.     Watching Cristobal sleep makes me fall even more in love with him. 

7.     I feel amazing when he speaks to me; shoes, water, turtle & Peppa :) 

8.     I love Listening to him crack up laughing when I do something silly (which is ALWAYS)!! 

9.     To dance and clap like a lunatic!! 

10.    I cannot be a Nanny anymore because I get too attached!!!!

The family I have worked for have really accepted me and welcomed me in as part of their family; they make the most delicious lunches; they invite us over for a couples dinner; the mum of the family texts me every day to check I am ok and if I need anything; they have even offered to drive us to the airport when we leave and much much more!!

We have been so blessed whilst being here in Chile and the family I help out has made things so much living in this amazing country even easier!!! I wish I didn’t have to say goodbye to them especially with their second bundle of joy due in December! I am so jealous of whoever gets to work for them next and I cannot wait to come back to visit and see how much Cristobal has grown!! He is my little turtle and I love him so much!!

Being a Nanny is the best!!!!

Chapter 12 - The Crazy Weather

Life In Chile

Chapter 12 - The Crazy Weather
(August 2014)
1 Month to go

As we are now coming to the end of our year abroad, we have taken some time to look back at our time here and our many trips. We quickly realised that we don’t really have the best of luck in terms of the weather when we get a chance to travel.  We have literally experienced every single extreme known to man!! 


-Santiago: You have never had a proper summer until you leave England and spend time in somewhere like Santiago.  It is hot. 38 degree heat, if not more, all of the time, every day throughout the spring/summer time. We didn't see rain for about 7 months.  We almost missed it given that in England the liquid sunshine falls almost every day!!  There is a whole in the ozone layer above Chile too so the sun is extra powerful and you will get 'lobstered' if you spend too long outside basking its rays!! 


-Rio De Janeiro: 44 degree heat and humidity that will make you melt... we were told on our Free Walking Tour that Brazil only has 2 seasons - Summer and Hell :) That was no exaggeration. Torrential rain drenched us during the Carnival but that didn't stop us partying until 5.30 in the morning.. well hardcore!! 

-Viña Del Mar & Valparaiso: The first time we went there, I ended up suffering from sunstroke and threw up all the yummy Churros that we had eaten!! We also found ourselves stuck in torrential rain which caused a certain family member to slip down stone steps... TWICE!!! 

-La Serena: Three of the tours that we had booked were cancelled due to the rubbish wind & rain. We also planned a trip to the Observatory to see the stars and planets as it is supposedly one of the best places in the world to see them.  However, due to the storm clouds, this was also cancelled as not a single star could be seen. 


-San Pedro De Atacama: On our first day, we took a trip to see the famous Geysers del Tatio.  This was freezing, and despite the hundreds of layers that we all wore, we were still as cold as ice.  On the way back to our hostel afterwards, the minibus got caught in a huge sandstorm and we were forced to stay inside for the rest of the day.  We then had to pretty much surrender the second day to the hurricane which relentlessly attacked the village until the evening.  We managed to escape and eat at a restaurant that night only to notice snowflakes falling from the sky as we ate.  The snowfall gradually got stronger and stronger and didn't cease until the morning.  You seriously could have mistaken the desert for the North Pole because that much snow had fallen.  The locals told us that it had not snowed for 13 years and this was the most snow they had seen in over 70 years.  Lucky, or unlucky..?  That is the question!! 

-Iguazu Falls: You should assume that you would get wet on a trip to see some of the most impressive waterfalls that this planet has to offer.  However we were literally soaked through before we even got to see them.  Spells of thunder & lightning, hailstones not torrential jungle rain not only dampened our spirits, but also everything we had with us!!  It was an incredible trip, but I'm sure it would have been every better without the inclement weather! 


-Punta Arenas & Puerto Natales: Given that we had planned to visit the extreme south of Chile (the stepping stone to Antarctic), we thought that we had sufficiently prepared ourselves for whatever the elements conjure up for us.  In a nutshell, nothing could prepare us for what was in store for us.  When we landed in Punta Arenas, we were not allowed to leave the plane for over an hour and half as it was not safe to open the door and leave.  The plane was being constantly batter by 135km/h winds; it would have been suicide to try and make it to the airport door without waiting for the storm to die down.  Even after waiting for what felt like an eternity and despite the various buses that had been strategically anchored around the plane to create some kind of wind-barrier.  Bit useless if you ask me! It was still a nightmare to climb down the steps and make it to sheltered safety. Other than that, it rained a lot, and it was very cold - we did see icebergs, and they don't tend to chill in tropical sunshine!! 

-Easter Island: The weather was crazy on Rapa Nui (Isla de Pascua - Easter Island in English!!).  It would literally change every 5 minutes.  On one walk into town from the Hostel, you could go through 3 rainstorms and get sunburnt a couple of times in between.  Its crazy because you can look out across the ocean and see the storm coming as you see the splashes of rains crashing down into the waves.  The nights were quite scary too because our Hostel was right on the edge of the island and so there was no protection from the winds sweeping across the sea.  We had no idea how the roof managed to stay on our room.  We were woken up many times at night by the storms.  It was a crazy place, but one of favourites by far, and an incredible way to conclude an incredible year in Chile. 

Ce Ache Ii, Chi, Ele E, Le, Chi Chi Chi, Le Le Le, Viva Chile!!! 


So, the moral of the story.. If you want to go on a beautiful holiday, do not invite us to come along with you haha!!!

Chapter 11 - The Honeymoon

Life In Chile

Chapter 11 - The Honeymoon
(July 2014)
2 Months to go

Right now I find myself in a rather nostalgic  mood, reminiscing about some of our happiest memories so far. I realised that I hadn't uploaded any honeymoon piccies or spoken much about it, and thought that I would upload lots of photos and write a bit about it :) 

We were lucky enough to spend 10 days in the beautiful Dominican Republic ~ Punta Cana. I had wanted to go somewhere hot, and Josh had wanted to go somewhere where we could speak Spanish, so this really was the perfect choice!!  Our resort was amazing and all-inclusive which meant that every night we were able to devour the most amazing food ever! They had so many restaurants, each offering food from a different part of the world: from American food to Italian, Dominican to our most favourite one - Thai food!!!! 

We only spent one day outside of the resort where we visited this random cigar factory (it was free!), scuba dived (my worst nightmare, may have had a slight panic attack haha!!), snorkelling (second-worst nightmare; I hate when the seawater goes down your snorkel and you almost drown on manky salt water!!) and lastly drove around in a private speed boat (may have almost ran over a guy in the water.... instead of putting the lever in stop position I accidentally put it in accelerate muhahaha).

We really had the best time and soaked up the boiling sun as much as was humanly possible. I was finally able to tick something off my bucket list.....a poolside bar. I've always wanted to go swimming somewhere where I would be able to swim up to a bar and get a refreshing drink :) Amazing! Loved it!!!

It truly was a beautiful place to relax after the stress of planning a wedding and the hectic day itself. We were very lucky and so grateful to have been able to stay in this beautiful part of the world!!

And boy did we leave with a good tan haha!!!