We don't have a Cat & And other tales..

So, have I told you about the cat? I can't remember if I have or not, so I'm just going to write, and if you feel yourself in one of those situations where you're already familiar with a story but it would be awkward to stop the story teller that mid-story.. all you have to do is stop reading. Easy as cake. I'll never know and won't be offended.

The CAT- After a couple weeks of being here, I realized there was a kittycat that kept showing up around our house - constantly in the back yard and occasionally actually entering the house. I thought it might be a stray since there are stray doggs like allllll over the place here, so I just ignored it. Before I knew it, the cat practically became a resident of the house right beside Coca, the deaf puppy. Cecilia would offer it little snacks, and I finally questioned its presence. Turns out, the story is way more ridiculous than I ever would have thought. The cat is not a stray. The cat has a family. The cat's family is not Cecilia and me. I was confused. The cat is ALWAYS here. When I asked Cecilia why this cat was always in our house, she answered that it liked us better than its own family. Figures. Then I noticed a pink collar on the cat, and apparently, it was Cecilia who had taken it upon herself to put a collar on a cat that doesn't belong to her. She didn't find this strange. I did. Whatever, I moved on. THEN the other day we were walking and she points to a house and whispers, "That's where the cat's family lives." This woman is loca... meaning we're a great fit.

THE CAR WATCHERS- When you go out at night to a bar or club or restaurant in the United States, there's usually a parking lot or street parking or SOMETHING. In Chile... not so much. Since we've started going out with Chilean friends who have cars, I've noticed that it's a bit different. When you park on the street in a neighborhood near a club, there are young guys standing on the street who sort of direct you into a spot. You get out, do your thang at the dance club, and come back at 4 AM [insert your personal bedtime here] and, assuming your car is still there, you provide a small sum of money to these young men who are still standing there. Whereas you might be thinking... oh how nice they looked after my car, most Chileans (understandably) are not so thrilled with this whole system. Apparently, these men present themselves as "caretakers of autos." In reality, if someone is going to steal your car, they aren't going out of their way to stop the thief. At the end of the night, if you don't give them money (a mil or two- about $2-4), they've been known to do some damage to your car themselves. BOGUS.

More tales coming soon...