sarah friedlander

Imperfect perfectionist living life to its fullest.

  1. Good Morning from Puerto Varas, Chile

  2. My 7 Links: Jumping Back in Time

    I’ve been tagged in the latest internet meme, “My 7 Links” which Tripbase started.  Okay, I lied I wasn’t exactly tagged but rather requested Rob from South America ME to include me.  But it’s all the same, right?

    The last few years have really housed a lot of personal growth for me and it seems fitting to go back in time and dig up some posts that are worth sharing (again).  It’s also amazing that I now have an archive of over 8 years of blog posts – wow!  While most of my posts aren’t focused around travel like Tripbase, I still think this is a general enough Internet meme that is beneficial despite the category.  So without further ado here are my chosen posts:

    Most Beautiful Post

    In April 2009 I spent a little under a week in Oahu, Hawaii.  It was the perfect time of year with fantastic weather and I was really happy with some of the beautiful panoramas I took.  I posted them in my blog post, Hawaii and Life Updates.

    Most Popular Post

    This post, Interior Design in Chile & IKEA Hemnes Shoe Cabinet popularity still blows me away receiving about 33-50% of the traffic that my homepage gets every day.  In Chile, affordable modern furniture is difficult (or impossible to find).  Most expats that move to Chile long for one store in particular: IKEA.  While IKEA won’t be coming to Chile anytime soon (thanks HOMY/Homecenter) there are great alternatives.  I really need to write another blog post soon showing off some of the other IKEA-like furniture I have had made.

    Most Controversial Post

    I wrote this post after being frustrated by many expats people living in Chile that continually complain about how awful it is to live here.  My point was simple: if you don’t like it leave, thus the name of my post, Don’t Let the Door Hit You on the Way Out.  Just scroll down to the comments to witness its’ controversy.

    Most Helpful Post

    While this isn’t really a post (it’s a page) it still deserves a call-out.  The footer of my Chile page in general is extremely helpful for anyone that lives or is thinking of moving to Chile.  I spent a lot of time compiling these lists of favorite places to eat, shop, general resources, expat blogs, must-haves and of course some shameless ads.  Make sure to check it out!

    A Post Whose Success Have Surprised Me

    For anyone that knows me I’m a HUGE interior decorating nerd but it wasn’t always that way.  I remember hating shopping for home goods and finding it the most boring activity ever.  I think part of my passion for interior decorating started thanks to Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan and his books and website, “Apartment Therapy.”  Thus, my blog post, Interior Decorating, Apartment Therpay and How it Changed My Life is well worth the read.  Many others seemed like this post as well, which surprised me.

    A Post Didn’t Get the Attention it Deserved

    I’m going to lump this into a sum of posts from #reverb10:

    I participated in #Reverb10 this past year which is an annual event and online initiative to reflect on your year and manifest what’s next.  Requiring a post a day in December (okay, I was late to the party and only started on the 14th) I was pretty awful at keeping up with blogging consistently and instead wrote all of my posts way past their ‘due date’.  However, I think I wrote a lot of meaningful things that are worth reading.

    Post I am Most Proud Of

    I didn’t tell many people this, but almost chickened out before my big move to Chile.  For a few weeks before to my move it seemed like my days were so packed with relocation bits and pieces that I forgot to have this, “holy crap I’m moving where?!?!” moment.  This eventually did come, complete with buckets of tears.  Writing the post, My Vida took a lot of guts and was the most rewarding.  I was so proud to put my feelings and life out there in such an honest way.  More surprising was the response I got: people reached out to me through my blog, Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, phone and text messages offering words of encouragement.  That encouragement confirmed to me that I was making the right decision.

  3. Jumping for Joy in Paris



    More to come …

  4. Reverb11 – February

    February 2011:

    One month into 2011, what question(s) are you living? Are there any prompts/questions that arose during #reverb10 that are still resonating in your life? Are you living new questions?

    I sat on this for awhile and didn’t write anything because it doesn’t feel like there is anything new to report.  Life is good, full and busy.  I feel like a lot of the questions that were asked in the December 2010 months helped me as I move through the year.  Since I feel like I am without words this month I’ll share some of my favorite photos from February.

    Reverb started as a daily question during December 2010 and has morphed into a monthly prompt that is yours to use as you like: answer it as-is on your blog, take a series of photos that represent your response, get out finger paints and go crazy, write a poem, or reflect privately in your journal. Be as creative or as simple in your response as you see fit. Read more at reverb10.com

  5. Short Vacation to La Isla Negra and Valparaíso

    For the months of January and February, I have been working part-time at my job, while continuing to take Spanish classes. Starting in March my “vacation” is over and I will go back to full-time employment. Due to my part-time status at work, I was able to work a few full days the previous week and take Thursday and Friday off for a short vacation to La Isla Negra and Valparaíso.

    When I think about a vacation to the beach I don’t really get that excited. I think this has to do with my upbringing on Long Island and having such a close proximity to the beach at all times. On Long Island the beach was never a destination, it was more a quick day or afternoon trip. At anytime there were always 3-4 beaches that my family would go to depending on the length of time we wanted to spend.

    The beach is different in Chile – it’s most definitely a destination.  Each town has a bunch of shops, great seafood and a full amusement park that comes to life at night.  I kept thinking that if I grew up in Chile I would look back quite fondly on my summers at the beach.    It’s also worth noting that January and February in Chile (and the rest of the southern hemisphere) is summer time.  Kids are out from school around the middle of December and start up again in March (just like in the Northern Hemisphere; middle of June – end of August).

    Santiago in January (and especially February) clears out – the subways are less packed, the roads aren’t as congested an there is a calmness to the city – mostly because almost everyone is at the beach.

    Overall when I think about it my beach days weren’t all that exciting.  I ate a lot of great seafood, discovered Valparaíso for the first time and bought a bunch of really cute Etsy-like bags.  I uploaded a photo set to Flickr of all my pictures, but below are my top 5 photos that I’ll go into more detail about.

    In Valparaíso the best way to start to know the city is to take a boat tour.  Boat tours are cheap, only CLP $2.000 ($4 USD) a person.  There’s a ton of little shops around the boat area and it’s pretty relaxed.  There was a band that was milling around for a bit before I got in the boat and they were just so much fun.  I’m not exactly sure if they played music or not since they seemed to prefer to just pose and make silly faces with their instruments of choice, but hey it’s still cool!

    This is a picture of the Concepción Funicular Elevator.  This funicular elevator was the first one built, due to the initiative and efforts of the European immigrants who lived in the area of Cerro Alegre and Cerro Concepción.  It dates back to 1883 and connects Calle Prat with the busty traditional throughfare Paseo Gervasoni on Cerro Concepción.

    These are really fun to ride and cheap (only CLP $200).  A bit jumpy but it provides a pretty awesome view of the city and I loved all the cute shops at the top.  So many artists had shops at the top selling all sorts of stuff – Etsy watch out!

    Oh gosh.  At the top of the acensor walking around I saw this guy peering out of his window.  He looked so comical like something out of an old movie and asked to take his picture.  He was so classically grump and said “MIIIIII??? PORQUEEE???”  (Me? Why?)  He then said that I should pay him for the picture but was just joking.  I laughed about this guy for quite awhile.

    Mmmmmm.  One of my favorite things to eat in Chile is called a Paila marina, which is a traditional Chilean seafood stew with a shellfish stock containing different kinds of cooked shellfish and fish (depending on the season).  Just soooo good.

    Beach, beach, beach!  This is the beach at Isla Negra and the amount of people that pile into this area is insane (yet not as packed as some other areas that I have seen).  The water supposedly is just as cold as California water (not like the Atlantic Ocean).  Next time I have time to head this way and its warm I might just have to stick my feat in the water.
    .

    I know I normally write in English, but here are some (extra) thoughts about my vacation in Spanish. Also it’s nice to prove to you that I am I quasi-bilingual!

    Por los últimos cuatro días, fui a La Isla Negra de vacaciones. El viaje fue increíble y aprendí muchas cosas sobre la vida de los Chilenos. Fuimos Santiago después del trabajo el miércoles en la noche. Tuve mi primera experiencia con comida en la autopista pero la verdad – la comida es lo mismo que en otros lugares.

    El jueves, despertamos súper temprano (ok, solamente a las nueve de la mañana) y fuimos a Valparaíso.  ¡Tú necesitas saber que este tiempo en Valparaíso fui mi primera vez! Realmente me encantó. La primera cosa que hicimos en Valparaíso fue un paseo por el puerto. Me gustó mucho, pero fue súper cansada (¡no sé por qué!) y me quedé dormida en el bote por un rato.

    Me gusta el acensor – es un nueva experiencia para mí. Después de el acensor caminamos por los calles en a parte superior de la ciudad. Para mi sorpresa, busqué muchas tiendas pequeñas que venden productos hechos a mano. Compré una bolsa y una caja para mi iPhone. Hicimos muchas otras cosas pero nada importante.

    Otras cosas son importante sobre mis mini-vacaciones en Isla Negra fue la comida. Comí muchas cosas diferentes incluyendo mariscos (almejas y mejillones), carne, lechuga fresca y empanadas. Me encanta sentirme relajada en la playa y poder dormir por mucho tiempo y no tener preocupaciones.

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