Ski - Valle de Nevado

To go skiing has some sacrifices but it is well worth it. After getting up at 6am and suffering motion-sickening on the 32 hairpin turns up the mountain, we get to Valle de Nevado. The ski resort is at 3,000 meters (9,800 feet)! Due to the high altitude, I felt a little slow, dumb and a little winded, but managed ok. But lets face it, not a the best condition for learning a new high-energy sport. The view up there in the mountains is incredible. Almost worth going just for the view.
Luis and I did pretty good for first-timers. We learned a little in a class. We practiced on the bunny slope. Then we tried a real beginner slope loop. We completed that loop without looking completely stupid or hurting ourselves. So I say that is a success! We hope to go back.

My radio show

Hi, that for staying tuned to hear my next big piece of news. Its not anywhere near as big as the news in the last post. But this is fun for the whole family.
I have a radio show on Santiago Radio. This is a all-english online radio station made in Chile. Its not on the AM FM radio here. (Thank goodness because I would be way too nervous!) My show is Tuesdays from 4pm to 6pm EST. There are many ways to listen, just look at the orange boxes at the top of the page. The orange box on the right-hand page is the easiest, because you can listen through your browser. So try that one if you are having troubles.
So... how did I get this opportunity? A DJ friend of mine told me that the radio station was looking for more DJs and that I should give it a try. But I have no experience and know nothing about how it works. No problem it seems. They trusted in my knowledge of music and my energetic disposition. After 40 minutes of training, and 30 minutes of practice alone. I am ready for the radio. Kind of. sort of.
What's my show all about? I will playing a mix of music that I like. And yes... talking in between! And I will be even doing interviews. This week my guest will be an astronomer. We will be talking about astronomy and alternative energy sources. You can write me with a questions for my guest. My radio email address is elise at santiago radio . cl. (you will need to format this email address to get it to work correctly.)
I did my first show last week. I didn't tell many friends, because I didn't want to be too nervous. My first show went well. I did an interview with a local musician. Which was nerve-racking! But it went well. And we cover some interesting topics, and didn't just giggle nervously.
One cool thing about the radio is that I can see where people are listening currently. For my show 15% of the folks were listening in Chile, 40% from the US, and a large number from Europe. You can see the Live Feed map for yourself.
The best thing about my radio show: no rules! I can say anything and play anything! Which feels so free. I had a dream the night before doing my training session. In this dream, I kept cursing accidently. And no matter how hard I tried, curse words kept slipping out. ha! Well... now that I know that its not a big deal, everything should go smoothly.
Its funny that I feel like I am living out someone else's life-long dreams: Moving to France, having a radio show, etc. Believe me, I can appreciate all things. But I never thought I would be doing these things.
See you on the radio!

Big News

Hi All,
You had almost forgotten about me, had you? I deserve that. Its been a long time since I have updated my blog. But believe me it will be well worth the wait. I am have been cooking up lots of news lately.
The really big news is that I will no longer be Lost in Chile. I will be lost in another foreign country. On another continent, believe it or not.
Luis has accepted a post-doctoral position in Bordeaux, France. We will be moving there on the first of November. And we will live there from 1 - 3 years, depending on how things go.
Luis is looking forward to working with cutting-edge astronomy data from the space telescope Hershel. He is quite excited to be a part if this project. This telescope orbits with the earth to collect images. The satellite Hershel with be able to see things that we are not able to see through the earth atmosphere.
I am excited about more important things. Like living in Europe and be able to travel all over. First stop outside of France will be to go to London to see my good friend there. Then I hope to see Amsterdam and Croatia (for some reason).
However, I am not looking forward to learning my second foreign language in three years. This is a pretty dizzying thought. Also, Luis and I will miss a summer. (This will be the third time in five years that Luis has missed a summer, poor guy). But when duty calls...





I never thought I would live in France. I also never thought I would learn how to ballroom dance, but this is happening too. In Chile, I have had lots of new experiences.
OK, stay tuned kiddies. Because I will have more new experiences to talk about. Things that I never thought I would find myself doing. Hint... it involves me and a microphone.