February 24th: Arrive in Chile for a once in a lifetime opportunity to train with the number three wine company in the world, taste wines with 3rd generation wine growers, and accompany my Japanese clients on a cruise up and down the Chilean coast line.
February 26th: Experience a once in a century earthquake that topples buildings, destroys bridges and roads, causes tsunamis around the world, obliterates vineyards, and ruins Ezra’s plans to do all of the things previously mentioned.
So I got to experience my very first earthquake last week, and this will probably be the strongest earthquake I’ll ever experience. Not only did it ruin my trip, but it also ruined every other earthquake for me because I know none of them will be as good as my first…. That sounded less weird in my head….
Anyway, before I talk about my Chilean experience devoid of earthquake, let me first describe what an 8.8 behemoth feels like, for those of you who have never had the pleasure. It was 3:30 am and I was sleeping in my amazingly soft, not-rock-hard-Chinese bed. When all of the sudden, I was woken up by my bed vibrating. Now, I consider myself a pretty smart guy, but I had never experienced something that would cause my bed to shake spontaneously in the middle of the night. So I deduced what anyone would deduce when they’re sleeping in a strange hotel bed….it’s a plug-in vibrating bed. I wish I was joking, but after a few seconds of looking for the cord, I realized that the whole room was undulating. It wasn’t too bad as I was on the ninth floor, right at the center of the building’s height; the perfect distance from the ground to reduce vibrations but not high enough where the building would sway a significant amount like the Gilligan’s boat on a three hour tour.
But, the quake was strong enough to cause some lamps to fall over, my ceiling and wall’s plaster to crack and dump white molding on me, and cause an extremely loud rumbling sound for about 3 minutes. After it was over, the bellhop came to make sure I was ok, tested the power, and gave me the go ahead to go back to bed….so I did. It wasn’t until the next morning that I learned about the devastation throughout the whole country. So I hope you join me in keeping those less fortunate than I in your hearts and prayers. The aftershocks are still occurring noticeably 3-4 times a day for the last week and a half.
But, other than the Earthquake, CHILE IS AMAZING. The weather is gorgeous, the air is the cleanest I’ve ever breathed, the view of the Andes Mountains bordering the city is phenomenal, and the women aren’t too bad to look at either. ;-) Overall, there is so much culture and beauty here that I wish I could spend more time to travel around…but I go back to China this coming Friday. Oh well, guess this is just another place to visit when I become a millionaire.
Things Ezra has learned…
1. Skype phone calls are much cheaper then calling cards and usually even clearer
2. I don’t want to go back to China, but am going to instead stow away in Chile.
3. Chileans are the fastest Spanish speakers in the world as well as have the longest working hours.
4. Mullets are extremely trendy here. Everyone is business in the front, party in the back.
5. Pisco (Chile’s most famous drink)– Vodka distilled from grapes is delicious. Should have brought two suitcases.
6. Chileans are just as short as Chinese people, and stare just as much. Glad my height makes me stick out no matter what continent I’m on.
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