We are fed.

And when I say fed, I mean emotionally as well as in our tummies.  

A brief tour of Santiago and we landed at a combo sushi, italian, hamburger place.  The particular plus of this hotspot was that we could have wine that was drinkable while the kids had pizza and spaghetti and burgers.  After our taxi driver dropped us off in sort of the middle of nowhere...we were ok with that because we thought he was sketchy anyhow - we walked along in the, ahem, dark.....and came upon a group of men.  Trying out my Spanish with a friendly Canadian smile I said....Donde esta restaurante Sushi Ya?   The gentleman closest to me responded.....just go down to the corner and turn right.   THAT was a lovely moment.     There really is very little English here so that was quite a pleasant surprise.  Our sushi was fine - but I prefer Wasabi on Taylor.

Lovingly thinking of our friends Ron and Sue who posted dandy pics of their Okanagan wine tour as we drink our Chilean sauvignon blanc out of little teeny plastic cups in this overly hot lobby of our 2 star hotel in Santiago.  priceless. 

I do want  to mention that this is not entirely all fun and games and these kids really should be commended . It  is quite trying sometimes to be here where we don't speak the language and we all somewhat emotionally drained - we worried ourselves sick about the shoe arrival and the shoe distribution part can be a bit overwhelming.  Orderly and peaceful it's not.  The conditions the children live in are horrendous.   My legs are covered in some kind of explosive bug bites.  This is real travelling.  Sometimes a little too much authenticity. 

We needed every hand down here and they all came through with flying colours.  Whether it was finding matching photos or checking shoe numbers, or handing out stickers and neon bracelets, to entertaining and hugging and carrying kids on their backs....the photos will demonstrate all eventually.


(possibly giving the kids cake and pop BEFORE handing out the shoes was not the best idea.  Can you say ENERGY?  )

I think more than anything the amount of work put into our arrival by the Accion Callejara people really humbled us.  Welcome banners everywhere we went.  Unique and treasureably artwork - can't wait to show you some samples.  Parting gifts and the most incredible letter of thanks.  Speeches.  Hugs galore.  What an experience.