Our family has been adjusting to
the sounds of Chile in the last two months.
Several things to remember about life in Chile when you think of sound. 1. When you live in the city, your neighbors are closer due to each property on your block is smaller than those in the US.
2. People tend to walk the streets more due to a lack of a vehicle. Windows tend to be open all day, due to no air conditioning in the house.
Add all of those factors and you get
a day full of noises.
The following sounds were heard in the previous 24:6 am - Dogs barking
7 am - The city buses driving over a loose manhole cover every 7 minutes or so as morning traffic rushes to work.
8 am - The guys from the construction crew across the street arriving, parking their cars, and for some reason hitting their car alarm button over and over just to make sure that their car is locked.
9 am - The hammering and several sand grinders start up as the construction crew starts its day on the new office building project across the street.
10 am - The spray of water hitting the sidewalk as our neighbor waters her front walk and small grass patch to prevent the morning dust from invading their house.
11 am - American pop songs blaring from the construction guys' radio. Of course, the radio HAS to be louder than the hammering and the sand grinders (see 9 am).
Noon - Truck maneuvering the narrow street trying to back up to unload a load of sand. Meanwhile traffic is backed up and horns are honked due to impatient drivers.
1 pm - Dogs barking
2 pm - A taxi driver talking on his cell phone while parked in the shade of the tree that is right in front of our house.
3 pm - Dogs barking
4 pm - The door bell rings from the next door neighbors. There is a vet's office there and many drop off their pets for appointments.
5 pm - Dogs barking
6 pm - Impatient honking of car and bus horns from the busy corner up the street as rush hour traffic is in full force.
7 pm - Two ladies walk by gossiping about today's events as they walk to the bread store around the corner to buy their daily bread.
8 pm - The occasional loud cheers or groans from the local bar on the corner due to the local important soccer game being televised.
9 pm - The perpetually drunk neighbor couple from down the street who always seem to stop right in front of our gate to fight and argue about something.
10 pm - The clattering of dishes and utensils from the neighbors' kitchen
11 pm - Dogs barking
Midnight - Teenagers kicking a soccer ball back and forth in the street, while listening to loud music.
1 am - The faint sounds of video games coming from across the street where the neighbors have a vending machine business.
2 am - The unloading of the trucks at the neighborhood grocery store around the corner.
3 am - The occasional cat fight on a nearby rooftop.
4 am - An ambulance siren approaching and thus triggering all dogs within a four block radius to chime in with barking and howling.
5 am - For some reason, this hour is surprisingly quiet. Aaaaauuuuuggggghhhhh!!
Our moving truck was loaded this afternoon!!
The trucking company had four guys there to help load the truck.
The doors shut with no problems...
...except for the three mattresses, bed frames, and one bookshelf we hoisted on the top of the truck. Try to get away with that in the US!!
So we're packed, locked, and loaded for Temuco. Our family and Jodie will hop a bus at 11:20 pm that will take us overnight to Temuco. Thank you for your prayers during this trip and for the things we have to do in the coming days.
